LIVERMORE FALLS - Area residents will soon have an opportunity to select sweet gifts when Jason Ward opens his Sweet SenSations at 74 Main St. in Central Plaza.

In his application to the Planning Board, Ward stated he will offer candy bouquets, candles, Boyd bears and gifts in his shop next to Pam's Pantry, which recently opened in the plaza.

He also plans to carry several types of regular candy as well as sugar-free candy for diabetics.

KINGFIELD - Planning Board Chairman David Guernsey asked members Monday night to consider their obligation if Poland Spring Water Co. seeks to build a pumping station or bottling plant in Kingfield.

Company representatives met with town residents Jan.

JAY - Four people were injured, one critically, early Sunday after the driver of a sport utility vehicle lost control on Route 140 and struck a pole, police said.

LIVERMORE - Charity Rebekah Lodge of Livermore Falls will meet Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Ralph Wright Memorial Building, 294 Federal Road. The gathering will start with a potluck at 12:30 p.m. This will be an "everything red" meeting - including the food. Hostesses will be Hilda Corkum and Mildred Wright. People attending are being asked to bring a baby picture of themselves for the 1:30 p.m. meeting.

FARMINGTON - Firefighters battled a fire Saturday afternoon on Farmington Falls Road that destroyed a barn extension and roughly 150 round bales of hay.

According to Tim Hardy of the Farmington Fire Department, about 30 Farmington firefighters and several from Chesterville and New Sharon battled the blaze for nearly five hours starting around 2:30 p.m.

LIVERMORE FALLS - Longtime town election clerk and American Legion Unit 10 member Laura Alvino was remembered Monday as being very patriotic, feisty and dedicated to her causes.

Alvino, 85, died peacefully at her home Sunday on Park Street, her daughter, Lorretta Hamann of Lewiston said.

WILTON - A 78-year-old man was arrested on a warrant for unlawful sexual contact early Monday morning at his home in Wilton.

Alton J. Walston was arrested without incident, according to Wilton Police Chief Wayne Gallant, on his first day in the position Monday.

Wilton officer Terry Warren filed an affidavit in May 2004 with a request for the arrest warrant, alleging that Walston had unlawful sexual contact with a female victim under the age of 16, he said.

FARMINGTON - The Knowlton-McLeary building, which was recently sold to Massachusetts developers, has a diverse history and was the site of Farmington's first Ford dealership, according to local historian and attorney Paul Mills.

After nearly five years on the market, the Church Street building was sold to developers Stephen Braconi and Joseph Carlson.

The building consists of a large brick structure measuring about 3,000 square feet and a small wooden one about 1,300 square feet, according to Braconi.

Mills said the smaller wooden section was formerl

JAY - Budget Committee member April Hartford said Monday she was concerned that an explanation about raising $2.1 million more than a state school funding formula allows puts school programs and staffing in a negative light.

Hartford made the comment during an informational meeting on a proposed combined $16 million school and municipal spending package for 2005-06.

FARMINGTON - Volunteer tax preparers throughout the state are ready to provide low- and middle-income families with free assistance filing their tax returns. In Farmington, more than 20 university students are available Thursday evenings and Saturdays. Other volunteers are poised to help elsewhere.

The VITA program - volunteer income tax assistance - brings certified volunteers together with people who need help preparing their income tax returns.

FARMINGTON - Everyone's Resource Depot is inviting children and adults to make valentines from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Feb. 10 and 11, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 12.

Those attending may choose from materials such as yarn and trim, card stock and red envelopes, glitter and sequins, odd bits of lace and ribbon, and pretty papers.

FARMINGTON - Volunteers who staff the rape crisis hot line will be honored by the Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Service on Friday. The annual meeting to recognize volunteers will be in Fellowship Hall at Henderson Memorial Baptist Church on Academy Street.

The evening will begin at 7 p.m. with music by Farmington flute teacher Anne Geller and her student Emily Pottle.

EUSTIS - With winter's icy chill in the air and the Super Bowl fresh in thought, town members of both Eustis and Stratton turned their attention to a much more important issue, this year's annual Polar Blast.

Snowmobile lovers of all ages took to the trails this past weekend to participate in the ninth annual Polar Blast.

WILTON - Planners on Thursday approved a permit for the Hawks Nest Diner on Route 2. It is expected to open within a month in the same building as a card shop. The business is owned by Barry Hawkins.

The diner will be open seven days a week. Hawkins is required to have at least 20 parking spaces for patrons, plus five for employees.

Planner Keith Swett said a total of 45 parking spaces will be available.

WILTON - Town Manager Peter Nielsen has received notice that $60,000 has been reserved in a state grant to extend the public water line to nine homes on Bennett and Thompson streets that have contaminated wells.

Now, the town has been invited to participate in the second phase of this application for a Community Development Block Grant, Nielsen said.

FARMINGTON - After nearly five years on the market, the Knowlton-McLeary building on Church Street has been sold to Massachusetts developers.

Stephen Braconi and his partner Joseph Carlson purchased the former printing facility Jan.

FARMINGTON - Through February and early March, the University of Maine at Farmington will host a series of public lectures on religion and politics by historian of religion Kees W. Bolle.

The first lecture, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, will be titled, "Politics and Religion in Ancient India"; the second, "The Lessons from Islam," is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16; and the final lecture, "The Religious Structure of Us, Moderns," will be held at 7:30 p.m. March 2.

JAY - School and Budget committee members voted Thursday to recommend to voters a $10.5 million school-spending plan for 2005-06. The panels also recommended reallocating existing funds for reserves or special projects to lessen the impact on taxpayers in the future.

The total package represents a decrease of $101,692, or 1 percent less than the existing $10.6 million school operating budget.

FARMINGTON - Farmington artist Susan Pomeroy will show her paintings during February at Heirlooms of Tomorrow at 710 Wilton Road. The show will open Friday, Feb. 4, with an open house planned from 4 to 7 p.m.. The show will continue from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5. Pomeroy's work will be on exhibit and available for sale throughout the month. Profits from the show will benefit Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice.

Pomeroy, after 23 years of volunteer work, lots of travel and 15 years of teaching mainly high school French.

FARMINGTON - Tickets are still available for the Farmington Emblem Club's annual Valentine's Dance and Dinner, to be held on Saturday, Feb. 12, at the Farmington Elks Lodge.

A supper will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. followed by the dance from 8 p.m. to midnight. Entertainment will be provided by the Legends. Donations of $25 per couple include both the dinner and dance.

Tickets are available at Mickey's Hallmark or by calling 778-4726.

FARMINGTON - The driver of a vehicle involved in a head-on collision Wednesday was listed in good condition at Central Maine Medical Center Thursday. Jacqueline Tullercash, 42, of Farmington, had been taken to the Lewiston hospital by LifeFlight.

Tullercash was heading west on Wilton Road when she crossed over the center line in front of the Franklin Somerset Credit Union at roughly 6 p.m.