Station’s final payment delayed

GREENE – The contractor that built Greene’s new fire station will have to wait a little longer for a final payment, at least until selectmen are satisfied the roof will not leak again.

Selectmen voted 4-1 not to pay a $43,825 bill to the general contractor Monday night. Selectman Kevin Mower cast the dissenting vote.

The board will revisit the matter. The town owes $72,486 to the general contractor, Glen Builders of North Conway, N.H.

The Fire Department recently dedicated the new station.

The roof recently leaked and the contractor repaired the roof.

Several selectmen supported removing a check to Glen Builders from the warrant authorizing bill payments. Some board members said they want to see what happens with the forecasted rain and melting snow later this week.

Lewiston:

Misson will bar sex offenders

LEWISTON – Pastor Paul McLaughlin has dedicated his life to providing food and shelter for people who have nowhere else to go. As long as there is room at Hope Haven Mission, McLaughlin opens his doors to anyone who needs to come in out of the cold.

With a few new exceptions, that is.

Child molesters and rapists are no longer welcome at the Lincoln Street shelter.

“We’re concerned about the safety and well-being of the rest of our clients,” McLaughlin said. “We cannot put them at risk while they are taking refuge in our facility.”

Hope Haven has room for 25 people. On any given night, the shelter is filled with men, women and children. Entire families will wander through the doors, homeless and hungry.

“We don’t want them to feel threatened when they stay here,” McLaughlin said.

Salem:

Collins’ aide hears complaints

SALEM – A representative from Sen. Susan Collins’ office got an earful about the No Child Left Behind Act at a SAD 58 board meeting.

Chuck Mahaleris, who works in Collins’ Lewiston office, was in northern Franklin County to listen to people’s concerns and make them aware of resources available through the senator’s office.

Talk at the school board meeting quickly turned to the act. Many schools in Maine aren’t making adequate progress to meet standards, according to a recently released list.

Superintendent Quenten Clark has been outspoken about the act.

“It looks to me like a system designed to do away with public education,” Clark told Mahaleris. “It isn’t an issue of leaving children behind, it’s an issue of throwing them overboard. It’s discoursing kids from education.”

Chesterville:

Teen charged with murder threat

CHESTERVILLE – A 19-year-old man was charged with terrorizing after he allegedly threatened to kill his father and lunged at him with a cast-iron fire poker.

Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Nathan Bean was called around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday by a Chesterville man who said his son, Joseph Conlogue, had come after him with a fire poker.

According to Bean, Conlogue was caught drinking vodka by his father, who took the alcohol away, dumped it down a sink and then went upstairs to sleep.

Angered that his father took away the booze, Conlogue grabbed a 2-foot-long cast-iron fire poker and charged up the stairs into his father’s room, Bean said, adding that the poker weighed about six pounds.

According to Bean, Conlogue allegedly told his father that he would put him in the hospital if he didn’t give back the alcohol. When he learned the vodka had been poured out, the teen allegedly ratcheted the threat up a notch, Bean said, telling his father he would kill him.

Before any physical harm was done, Bean said, Conlogue’s girlfriend separated the two men.

Chesterville:

Man charged with gross sexual assault

CHESTERVILLE – A convicted felon living in Chesterville was arrested in connection with the rape and assault of a longtime woman friend.

Douglas Harris, 49, of 209 Adams Road was arrested by Franklin County Sheriff’s Department Deputy David Rackliffe Wednesday afternoon after a short investigation.

According to the deputy, a Chesterville woman came to police asking how she could get a restraining order against a man who had been bothering her.

“It was obvious there was more going on,” Rackliffe said.

After more discussion, he was arrested and charged with felony Class B gross sexual assault, punishable by up to 10 years and a misdemeanor domestic-related assault, punishable by up to 364 days in prison.

Lewiston:

Plow shears off part of house.000

LEWISTON – A steep drive and slick streets were too much for a city plow truck that plowed into a house and sheared off the porch and laundry room.

“It’s pretty amazing to look at,” said homeowner Carol LeBlanc. “Luckily, nobody was hurt.”

LeBlanc’s house at 17 Sand Hill Road is down a steep side street that connects to Strawberry Place. Plow trucks don’t usually try to tackle it, LeBlanc said.

“The big plows just go by Sand Hill, then one of the smaller trucks comes up Strawberry Place and clears out our area,” she said.

Lewiston:

Brawl breaks out in bar; six arrested

LEWISTON – A love triangle, an upbeat country song on the Karaoke and a hurled pitcher of beer. Police said those classic ingredients started a barroom brawl that spilled onto Walnut Street.

One man was taken to a hospital after his head crashed through a pane of glass. Others were examined for lesser injuries and a half dozen more were arrested in the brawl.

The fight ended with a pile of people battling in the middle of Walnut Street while police tried to break it up and sort out the details.

When all was said and done, six people were taken to the Androscoggin County Jail. Investigators learned the scrap had started during Karaoke night at Del’s Bar and Grille.

It started about 8 p.m. when a woman was singing “Guys Do it all the Time” on the Karaoke, police said.

As the singer crooned, a man she knows walked in with another woman, according to a witness. Jealousy brewed in the bar and shortly after 8 p.m., someone hurled a pitcher of beer across the room.

Greene:

4 hurt in crash on slick road

GREENE – Four people were injured when two cars and a sport utility vehicle collided on Route 202. Police said speed and slick roads were likely factors in the crash.

Police said Tyra Turgeon, 21, of Sabattus was driving north near the IGA when her sport utility vehicle began to slide out of control. The vehicle skidded head-on into a car driven by John Chick, 44, of Monmouth, police said.

Both vehicles spun in the road, with Chick’s car landing in a snowbank. Turgeon’s van spun into a southbound car driven by Peggy Young of Monmouth, police said.

All three drivers as well as a passenger from Turgeon’s vehicle were taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Auburn:

Girl hit crossing Minot Avenue

AUBURN – An 8-year-old girl escaped serious injury when she was struck by a car while trying to cross Minot Avenue.

Kelly Shoptaw of Auburn was examined for an ankle injury and other possible wounds.

Police said Shoptaw was trying to cross four lanes of traffic at about 4 p.m. in the area of 800 Minot Ave.

A driver in an eastbound lane stopped to let Shoptaw cross in front of his vehicle, according to a police report. The driver of a second vehicle, heading east in the passing lane, did not see the girl until she stepped out in front of him, police said.

Lewiston:

City’s Bates Mill exit proceeding

LEWISTON – Councilors paved the way for a Bates Mill exit over the next few months, agreeing to let City Administrator Jim Bennett sign a contract with developers Bates Mill LLC.

Bennett said he expects to sign the contract with the business’ principal, Tom Platz, and his partners, after city attorneys have given the agreement one last look.

“Then, we’ll take a little time on both sides to work everything out,” Bennett said “I expect to close in about 90 days.”

Bennett said there have been few changes made to the deal since councilors last discussed it on Nov. 25.

“Mostly, it’s been word-smithing between our lawyers and their lawyers,” Bennett said. “They’ve finally gotten to the point where the words say what we told you they said, and both sides agree about what they say.”

Sabattus:

Resident told to follow sand rules

SABATTUS – Selectmen told a town resident that he must follow rules when obtaining sand from the town.

Selectman Chairman William Luce said Code Enforcement Officer Richard Behr caught Rick Therrien getting sand at the town garage. Luce said residents can take sand, but only from the transfer station and there is a two-bucket limit. He asked Therrien to keep the discussion civil.

“It was just sand and for them to call the cops on me. I wasn’t stealing town-owned property. My tax dollars paid for it,” Therrien said.

He also responded to a comment that he could have legally collected sand during the summer. “You can’t plan for winter snowstorms in the summertime,” Therrien said.

Lewiston:

Sidewalk clearing crews fall behind

LEWISTON – Snow crews are behind schedule in clearing city sidewalks following this month’s heavy snow falls.

Public Works Director Dave Jones said his crews and those from the recreation department are working to clear some sidewalks as quickly as possible.

“But some of them are buried under so much snow, the little sidewalk machines can’t do it,” Jones said. “Those are going to have to wait until we can go in and haul the snow out.”

The problem is the amount of snow that has fallen so far. The city averages about 70 inches of snow each winter. The last two storms have already dumped about 30 inches.

“We’ve used up almost half of our budget, and it’s not even Christmas yet,” Jones said.

Lewiston:

Small changes made in Wal-Mart plan

LEWISTON – Wal-Mart’s grocery warehouse will be slightly taller and farther back from River Road and Plourde Parkway than planned.

Work on the retailer’s distribution center is to begin in April. “We’re getting closer to it, and the plans are getting more concrete,” said Deputy Development Director David Hediger.

Plans include adding another 6 feet on top of the warehouse, but reducing the building’s footprint by about 43 feet along the southern side. Original plans set the building height at 100 feet, and the size at 485,000 square feet.

“The end result is that the building is moving farther away from the intersection of River Road and Plourde Parkway,” Hediger said. “It’s a little change and shouldn’t have much impact.”

Hediger said the designs of machinery to be housed in the warehouse made the shape change needed. The building will be a huge grocery and produce transfer facility, full of conveyor belts and storage areas.

“Originally, they were planning to build a shell and then put the mechanics inside,” Hediger said. “Now, they’re planning on building the actual conveyors and mechanics into the building. To do that, they needed more room on top.”

Lisbon:

Selectmen seek to extend contract

LISBON – Selectmen have authorized Town Manager Curtis Lunt to begin negotiations for a new, longer contract with Earthtech Inc., the firm that operates the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

Their decision came after a performance review Tuesday night indicating “significant improvement” in the first six months of a one-year contract that began July 1.

Minot:

Lack of water closes school

MINOT – A crisis at the Minot Consolidated School gave students and teachers an early start on their holiday vacation.

A failed well prompted school officials to cancel school due to lack of water. No water means no school lunches and no use of bathrooms for the approximately 300 kindergarten through eighth-grade students. It also may mean between $5,000 and $20,000 in unbudgeted expenditures to resolve the problem, said school Principal Don Bilodeau.

“This has really created a crisis for the school,” said Bilodeau.

The school’s 50-year-old well is 220 feet deep and normally pumps 20 gallons per minute.

The problem was originally thought to be a failed pump caused by a power surge during high winds and heavy rains and snow. However, the problem has become more complicated and will probably mean putting in a new well, said Union 29 Assistant Superintendent Bill Doughty.

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