WATERFORD — Police were looking Monday for the driver of a truck that was ripped in half when it slammed into a large maple tree beside Hunts Corner Road on Sunday night.

"Whoever was driving that truck, they cheated death," Oxford County Sheriff's Deputy William "Willie" Nelson said Monday night. The bed of the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado was ripped off and the drive shaft and spare tire were hurled some distance away, he said.

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

• Janis A. Sloan, 31, of Porter, Oct. 20, domestic assault, unpaid fines, negotiating a worthless instrument, bail unavailable, Maine State Police.

• Joshua D. Spencer, 24, of West Paris, Oct. 20, operating after suspension, $500 unsecured bail, Oxford Police Department.

• Dustin M. Towers, 21, of Jay, Oct. 21, violation of bail conditions, no bail listed as of Oct. 23, Rumford Police Department.

NORWAY — Halloween is coming to Main Street on Friday, Oct. 30.

Children and adults from everywhere are invited to participate in the Norway Halloween Fest from 2 to 5 p.m, said Deb Partridge, Parks and Recreation director.

BETHEL — Residents will have a chance on Monday to learn more about a proposed $5 million construction project to provide a new gymnasium and theater at the Telstar middle and high schools complex.

The public hearing begins at 7 p.m. at the high school on Route 26.

Proposed are a 10,200-square-foot gym to be built at the rear of the school, and a 7,800-square-foot performance art center on the side of the complex.

OXFORD — Classrooms at the Agnes Gray School in West Paris now have huge white ventilators bringing in fresh air and heat to classrooms.

They take up a lot of space, but at least one teacher has found a way to make the unit a less obtrusive part of the classroom.

"They're magnetic," said fourth-grade teacher Catherine Bickford who can use the wall space that was lost when the units were installed to hang students' work and other items with magnets.

WOODSTOCK — His mother had always wanted to go to Israel, but never made the trip. A month before she died in August, Tim Buck brought over his favorite rock, from Israel, picked her feet up, rested them down and told his mom she'd put her feet on Israeli soil.

"(It came) from the Sea of Galilee where Jesus actually walked," Buck said. "She was tickled by it."

That rock has an honored spot, the only one behind glass, in a 758-rock fireplace where every stone has a story.

PARIS — Dozens of people listened to five speakers give their views on wind energy at a forum Friday.

Linda Walbridge, of the Western Maine Economic Development Council, said the goal of the forum was to help residents make informed decisions about wind power on a local level. The speakers included one proponent and one opponent of wind power, a sound permitting specialist and two people involved with proposed wind turbine projects in Oxford Hills.

WOODSTOCK — Twenty voters unanimously approved spending $35,000 Tuesday for a 1987 Pierce Arrow Pumper for the fire department at a special town meeting.

The money will come from the town's equipment account, according to Town Manager Vern Maxfield.

"The truck is being purchased from the South Berwick Fire Department and will replace our 1974 Bean Pumper for $27,000. The other $8,000 will be used to equip the unit to our standards," Maxfield said.

BETHEL — After 35 years as executive director of the Bethel Historical Society, Stan Howe will be moving to a different position in the organization.

The society's board of trustees approved a staff restructuring plan with Howe being associate director and director of education and research. Randall Bennett, who has worked at the society as assistant director and curator of collections since 1986, will become executive director on Jan. 1.

OTISFIELD — The former town hall passed into the hands of the Otisfield Historical Society as selectmen approved the transfer Wednesday evening.

The board unanimously voted to sign a quit-claim deed giving the Bell Hill Town Hall to the society. The structure, built in 1905, is one of three buildings on Bell Hill listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bell Hill Meetinghouse and a former one-room schoolhouse are both owned by the Bell Hill Meetinghouse Association.

DENMARK — Four people were arrested Friday morning on charges of kidnapping, threatening and assaulting a man earlier in the week.

Police arrested Joseph B. Brown, 49, and Constance M. Brown, 38, of Spike Ridge Road in Denmark, along with Constance's 18-year-old son, Matthew Peavey and Richard E. Barden Jr., 23, of Rocky Knoll Road in Denmark.

PARIS — Members of the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School's Team Green will turn the lights on the school's outdoor signboard with a wind turbine they constructed during a renewable energy fair Saturday.

BETHEL — Gould Academy has confirmed four student cases of H1N1, Director of Communications Tucker Kimball said Thursday.

A total of 200 H1N1 vaccines, including 100 nasal mist and 100 injections, were received from the Maine Center for Disease Control late Thursday afternoon in response to the outbreak. The school will begin to administer the vaccines to students Friday, focusing first on those who fall into the higher-risk category.

NORWAY — The Board of Selectmen unanimously voted Thursday night to try to negotiate the purchase of the Opera House by Nov. 19 rather than take it by eminent domain.

The motion made by Selectman Warren Sessions and seconded by Bill Damon provides that a "one-time" effort be made and that an answer must be received by the board's second meeting in November, which is set for Nov. 19. An offer will be made that is within the limits of the $200,000 donation offered by Damon last year, on behalf of a local group, to purchase the building, according to the motion.

POLAND — Poland public schools nurse Elizabeth Inniss said Thursday that she is still waiting for confirmation of when the H1N1 vaccine will arrive.

The Maine Center for Disease Control has received a limited number of H1N1 vaccines and some public and non-public clinics for H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccination have been scheduled across the state for people in high risk categories.

The Elan School, a residential school in Poland, is among the locations listed as having a seasonal flu clinic on Oct. 26 for its students.

NORWAY — Two organizations will once again hold a workshop on homemade solar heating systems after one earlier this year proved popular.

The workshop will be taught by Larry Jordan, maintenance manager of The Progress Center, and Ken Hamilton, director of Healing of Persons Exceptional, and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 31 at the Progress Center's workshop. Registration is limited to 12 people.

OXFORD — An article published Wednesday, Oct. 14, on page B1 of the Oxford Hills edition contained the wrong name in a quote by Town Manager Michael Chammings. It should have said: "I had that checked by two different people and to say I didn't, that's (Knight) being mistaken," Chammings said. The town manager was responding to former reserve officer Chris Knight's accusation that Chammings lied about looking into an infraction by police Chief Jon Tibbetts at the Oxford County Regional Communcations Center in 2007.  

BETHEL — For 15 years, Wayne DuPlessis counseled individuals, couples and families with a host of mental health issues from conflict resolution to coping with grief.

On Wednesday, the 57-year-old therapist was found dead of an apparent suicide at his home.

Working out of an office at the Norway Savings Bank building on Parkway, DuPlessis provided help to the depressed and anxious. He also sought to share his wisdom through workshops and discussions as a member of To Your Health, a program organized by Western Maine Senior College.

BETHEL — A free transportation system offered for the past nine years between Bethel village and Sunday River Ski Resort in Newry will now include Mount Abram Family Ski Resort in Greenwood.

"We are in the process of raising the funds to be able to provide the service we have for the past nine years between Bethel village and Sunday River Resort for 118 days this season, as well as between Bethel and Mount Abram for 15 Saturdays," Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, said by e-mail Wednesday.

ALBANY TOWNSHIP — Oxford County commissioners voted Tuesday to award a snowplowing contract to a new person this year.

The commissioners unanimously voted to award the contract to Earl Tyler of Bethel, a change from longstanding plower Everett Hatstat of Albany Township. County administrator Carole Fulton said Hatstat has been plowing for the county for more than 25 years. However, several residents complained at Tuesday's meeting that the roads have not been adequately cleared in recent years.

OXFORD — A total of 1,800 doses of H1N1 flu vaccine in both nasal spray and injection forms are expected to arrive at the Oxford Hills School District on Oct. 30, special education director Marcye Gray said Wednesday.

Flu clinics will be set up for students during the first week of November, she said.

Gray and head nurse Ann Johnson told the school district's Board of Directors earlier this week that they hope to catch the outbreak early.

"We're hoping we can get that vaccine and get ahead of the curve," Johnson said.

NORWAY — A new indoor farmers market and online farmers market has opened at the Progress Center, offering a variety of Maine produce and goods throughout the cold winter months and beyond.

"The market at the Progress Center is open to the public to come and shop without pre-ordering," said Patricia Verrill of the Oxford Hills Food Collaborative. "The preorder is a convenience of time and a guarantee that the product will be there."

OXFORD — In case of an imminent public health threat, such as an outbreak of H1N1, state agencies in consultation with local superintendents have the statutory authority to order the closure of schools, according to Dr. Dora Mills of the Maine Center for Disease Control.

BETHEL — If the Mahoosuc Land Trust can secure grant money to build a trail segment over Alder Bridge and along Route 26 to Intervale Road, the town will maintain the short stretch, according to Town Manager James Doar.

That's what selectmen decided at Monday night's board meeting when trust Executive Director James Mitchell asked for a maintenance agreement to accompany their application for a Recreational Trails Program grant.

BUCKFIELD — The new Maine Community Foundation president and CEO, Meredith Jones, was introduced to area town officials and residents at a reception Tuesday at the home of Diana Dunn and Don Saunders. About two dozen people attended the event.

Jones said, "The Maine Community Foundation is a testament of good people doing good things." She said that over the last 26 years its funds have grown from $10 to more than $200 million through more than 800 charitable funds and thousands of small contributions.