PERC/Eagle Point Suit
(Orrington) –Where your trash ends up in the future remains undecided at the moment. A judge may have something to say later this year as the former owners of a trash to energy incinerator in Orrington sue the current owners over fees towns pay to get rid of the trash. Eagle Point Energy purchased the assets of the incinerator which has been closed for more than a year, but the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company says they should be collecting the tipping fees, because the towns signed a contract with them. PERC went bankrupt and the plant was auctioned off last year. The judge will decide whether the contracts were part of the plant’s assets.
Albion Crash Victims
(Albion) – We know a little more about the children and mother struck by an allegedly drunk driver in Albion late last week. Three year old Bradley Engold died of his injuries, and his family says his twin brother Noah was brain dead. Their mother, Molly, was also injured when a car allegedly driven by 44-year oldBenjamin Lancaster struck the trio on Hussey Hill Road. Police have charged him with driving drunk and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Lancaster made his first court appearance Monday.
MDI School Reorganization
(Bar Harbor) – Voters on Mt. Desert Island and Trenton will NOT vote on a plan to reorganize the school system in November. The Mt. Desert Islander reports the Superintendent of Schools notified the school board members the plan will not go before voters yet following a pair of community meetings. A planning committee has proposed reducing the number of committees from 11 separate boards down to one RSU school board district wide. The plan also had proposed that the current Pemetic Elementary School would house the middle school for the MDI Regional School System. More forums are planned in the coming months.
Farm Closes
(Penobscot) – An organic farm in the Town of Penobscot has closed down after the federal government charged one of the owners with assault after an altercation at an Acadia National Park entrance booth. Jason Langley was arrested at his home which also serves as Northern Bay Organics. The October 2023 dispute at the park was allegedly over a policy that only accepts credit and debit cards for payment of the entrance fee. The Bangor Daily News reports the farmers sent out a newsletter by e-mail that the federal government’s charges have forced them to shut down the farm and the prosecution of the case is overblown.
Rockland Chase
(Rockland) – A 36-year old transient from Rockland faces drug possession and traffic violations after police gave chase early yesterday morning. The Rockland police department reports an officer pulled over Jamie Nickerson shortly after midnight for a vehicle defect. She refused to get out of the car and sped off after officers spotted a bag of drugs in the car. Officers caught up with her about 5-hours later after the car crashed through the gate at the Thomaston recycling center.