Pair plead not guilty in Rumford double-homicide case

PARIS — Two young men with charged shooting to death Victor Reed Sheldon and Roger Leroy Day Jr. at their Rumford home pleaded not guilty to murder in Oxford County Superior Court Tuesday.

Richard Moulton, 20, Erik J. Hamel, 19, both of Mexico were charged after Sheldon, 22, and Day, 48, were found shot to death around 10 p.m. on Aug. 3 at the house Day and Sheldon lived in on Pine Street in Rumford.

Both Moulton and Hamel were honor roll students at Mountain Valley High School in Rumford and Hamel graduated in June of 2009.

New gym, theater voted down

BETHEL — A question asking voters to approve construction of a new gymnasium and performance arts center for the Telstar Middle/High School complex was losing in partial results of Tuesday's election.

With all five Regional School Unit 44 towns reporting, the vote was 1,077 yes to 1,707 no. Bethel voted 506-723; Newry, 58-111; Greenwood, 137-224; Andover, 140-290; and Woodstock, 236-359.

Rash of car break-ins has Cumberland sheriff warning Lakes Region residents

Authorities in Cumberland County are warning residents of the Lakes Region to double-check that their cars are locked following a rash of break-ins that have hit the area since late last week.

Buckfield Planning Board members chosen

BUCKFIELD — Selectmen approved Jennifer Therriaut for a three-year seat and Rebecca Perry for a two-year seat on the Planning Board after an open interview.

Selectmen had agreed to interview all committee members more fully and the volunteers had the option to be interviewed openly or in executive session.

Alternate Michelle Casey said she felt uncomfortable in an open interview and opted for a closed session. She was also approved as an alternate.

Lone milkweed

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

A lone milkweed tosses it's seeds to the wind in a field off the Greenwood Mountain Road in Hebron Tuesday afternoon.

Lots of leaves

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Edson Staples rakes rakes leaves in front of his house on Fair Street in Norway Tuesday morning. "She's a beauty of a tree, and I enjoy it all year long except now, you really pay for it with all these leaves you have to rake."

Paris voters approve recall

PARIS — Voters overwhelmingly approved an ordinance Tuesday that sets up a procedure for the removal of elected officials.

The town had to make additional copies of the local ordinance after it ran out of 2,000 printed for the election. A total of 2,135 votes were cast in the referendum, with 1,555 in favor of the measure and 537 against it. Forty-three ballots were blank.

Cell phone 911 callers should use home land-lines instead

PARIS — People are being urged to use their home land-line telephones when calling 911 instead of cell phones, when possible, so dispatchers get the caller's identification and exact location immediately, said James P. Miclon, director of the Oxford County Regional Communications Center.

In a Monday report, he said that more than 50 percent of cell phone 911 calls go to another dispatch center and are then transferred to the Paris dispatching center.

Norway driver unhurt in Oxford crash

OXFORD — A Norway man walked away from a crash Tuesday night that destroyed his father's truck and sheared a utility pole off next to Route 26.

John Grant Jr., 18, of 9 Hemlock Drive, lost control of the 2003 Toyota pickup truck as he drove south near the ServiceMaster business, Oxford police Patrolman Shawn Wood said. The truck struck a telephone pole, shearing it off at the base but not toppling it, he said.

Two plead not guilty to Rumford murders

PARIS — One of two men charged in a double homicide in Rumford in August told police he was paid $2,000 by the other suspect to kill the victims.

According to a police affidavit, Eric Hamel, 19, of Mexico said Richard Moulton, 20, of Rumford offered the money and gave Hamel a pair of latex gloves to use in killing Victor Reed Sheldon, 22, and Roger Leroy Day Jr., 48, on the evening of Aug. 3. The men were shot to death in the living room of Day's home at 244 Pine St.

Historic bridge lit up

A replica of the original bulb has been mounted on the historic quartz bridge on Main Street lighting up the bridge at night for the first time in years.

Oxford County arrest log

PARIS — The following arrests were recorded at the Oxford County Jail:

• Loriann M. Rumley, 46, of Mexico, Oct. 30, charged with domestic criminal threatening, $500 unsecured bail, Oxford County Sheriff's Office.

• David L. Wing, 34, of Dixfield, Oct. 30, charged with aggravated assault, $2,000 bail, Dixfield Police Department.

Albany man pleads to drug trafficking charge

PARIS — A 57-year-old man was sentenced to serve five years in prison after pleading to a drug trafficking charge on Friday.

Sherwood Jordan, of 42 Lovejoy Mountain Road in Albany Township, pleaded guilty in Oxford County Superior Court to aggravated trafficking in marijuana, and admitted to the forfeiture of $2,380 in cash. A charge of unlawful possession of cocaine was dismissed. The trafficking charge was aggravated due to Jordan's prior conviction in 1992 of possession of less than 50 kilograms of marijuana with the intent to distribute.

This week's agenda

Tuesday

Buckfield: Selectmen, 6:30 p.m., Municipal Center

Greenwood: Selectmen, 5 p.m., Town Office

Paris: Subdivision Panel, 7 p.m., Town Office

 

Wednesday

Casco: Recreation Committee, 6:30 p.m., Central Fire Station

Hartford: Waste Committee, 6 p.m., Town Hall

Newry: Planning Board, 7 p.m., Town Office 

Oxford: SAD 17 Budget Committee, 6 p.m., Central Office

Paris: Policy & Procedure Committee, 7 p.m., Town Office

 

H1N1 vaccine clinics under way

OXFORD — An H1N1 flu clinic at the Guy E. Rowe Elementary School scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed until next week because the Oxford Hills School District does not have enough vaccine now.

A majority of the 200 spray and 1,600 injectable doses arrived Friday, clinic organizer Marcye Gray said, but the district is waiting for the rest of the order. She told the school board Monday night that officials did not feel confident enough that the remaining vaccine would arrive in time and therefore made the decision to postpone.

Siblings indicted on robbery charges

PARIS — A grand jury has indicted a brother and sister on robbery and assault charges against a young man in Brownfield earlier this year.

Daniel M. Bokuniewicz, 23, of Misty Lane in Brownfield, and Stephanie A. Bokuniewicz, 26, of West Main Street in Denmark, have each been charged with robbery and two counts of aggravated assault. Stephanie also faces a charge of violation of conditions of release.

Veterans Day ceremonies at high school

PARIS — Gil Turner remembers marching in Veterans Day parades decades ago when veterans would line up at the courthouse and march to the Legion Hall downtown.

As many as 25 to 30 veterans would march past a large turnout of residents from Paris and Norway who used to combine their Veterans Day parades, switching from one town to the next each year for the parade route.

Oxford County arrest log

PARIS — The following arrests were recorded at the Oxford County Jail:

• Dylan Woodhouse, 23, of Saco, Oct. 26, Rumford District Court warrant for failure to appear in court on a charge of unlawful use of license, $300 bail, transported from York County.

• Michael Paul Higgins, 26, of Oxford, Oct. 26, operating after suspending, $200, Norway Police Department.

Oxford Hills polling station and times listed

Polling places and times for Election Day

Bridgton: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 26 Old North Street at the old Town Hall. Three local questions: approval of a special amusement ordinance, a "pooper scooper" ordinance and a straw poll about fixing up the old Town Hall

Casco, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Central Fire Station, one local question to allow the school board to issue bonds to renovate the Lakes Region High School, not to exceed $13,837,000.

Fryeburg, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., American Legion building on Bradley Street

Wrong information

Wrong information
BETHEL — A story that was published on Oct. 30 on B1 of the River Valley and Oxford Hills should have reported that Rep. Jarrod Crockett decided to withdraw a bill he submitted to the Legislature on behalf of Bethel Water District trustees. The information was incorrectly reported by the Sun Journal.

Main Street ghouls

Leslie H. Dixon/Sun Journal

Maine Supreme Court holds session at Fryeburg Academy

FRYEBURG — Arguing cases before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, three pairs of lawyers had more of an audience at their back than usual: hundreds of students from three high schools.

The court heard three cases in the Leura Hill Eastman Performing Arts Center at Fryeburg Academy. In addition to students from the academy, classes from Lake Region High School in Naples and Sacopee Valley High School in Hiram were invited to the event.

Pair indicted in Rumford murders

PARIS — A grand jury has indicted two men in two shooting deaths in Rumford last summer.

Eric Hamel, 19, of Mexico Avenue in Mexico, and Richard A. Moulton Jr., 20, of Franklin Street in Rumford, were each charged with two counts of murder. They are accused of killing 22-year-old Victor Reed Sheldon and 48-year-old Roger Leroy Day Jr. at Day's Pine Street residence on Aug. 3.

According to police affidavits, both men have admitted to the crimes.

Man barricaded in Sweden house causes police standoff

SWEDEN — Oxford County Sheriff's deputies, assisted by Maine State Police troopers, responded to the scene of a standoff at a house on Sweden Hill Road on Friday night.

According to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland, the standoff involved "a man having a bad night. It started in Lovell, but he's holed up in Sweden," McCausland said.

Troopers cleared the scene shortly after 10:30 p.m. No further information was available by press time.

Electronics, furniture store opening in Oxford

Leslie H. Dixon/Sun Journal

A new roof is being installed on the former Oxford True Value store on Route 26 in Oxford in preparation for the opening of Aaron's Inc. next month. The business rents, leases-to-own and sells brand-name home and office furniture, electronics and computers.