WILTON – Nearly 40 firefighters from three towns fought a fire that heavily damaged a house at 113 High St. A couple living at the home and their pets escaped without injury.

The fire started as a chimney fire but quickly spread into the walls in ceilings in the kitchen area of the older home, Wilton Fire Lt. Kyle Ellis said.

The two-story house with a one-story addition was owned by Stuart Allen of Wilton, Ellis said.

Allen’s son, Daniel, and girlfriend, Katie Harris, who were living at the home, were able to get out with their two dogs.

Most of the fire damage was contained to the kitchen area, Ellis said. There was smoke and water damage to other areas, he added.

Jay implements

air quality fixes

JAY – Most of the recommendations by air quality experts have been implemented at the elementary school.

The only recommendation not completed but expected to be finished during school vacation, is changing a few more water damaged ceiling tiles.

The latter recommendation was not proposed due to air quality but to prevent mold from developing.

State air quality specialists were called in last month after 47 staff members and students complained of sickness symptoms in the first-grade wing on Jan 16.

Quimby Pond

subdivision OK’d

RANGELEY – The 267-acre Quimby Pond Overlook subdivision has been unanimously approved by the Planning Board.

Rick Jones of Jones Associates, on behalf of Don and Dick Morton, presented the final application.

Approximately 55 acres are to be divided into 14 lots ranging in size from 1.9 to 7.9 acres each.

The final plan reflected a change in the proposed snowmobile trail relocation. It shows the trail using the road right of way on Bart’s Way and Quill Gordon Road and exiting the subdivision though Lot 10.

The board held a public hearing on the proposed amendment to the Idlewood condominium development by Paul and Ruth Anderson of Augusta. Idlewood, which is located on Route 4, has nine cabins, three of which are owned by the couple. They proposed rebuilding them and enlarging them 30 percent.

Mallett School

readers improve

FARMINGTON – Increased parent involvement and staff development is leading to improved scores in reading and writing assessments at the Mallett School, the principal told the district board.

W.G. Mallett School serves around 355 students in grades K-3, according to Principal Melvin Burnham.

Several years ago, a goal was set at the school to increase the number of students who meet or exceed the reading standards by the time they leave Mallett.

According to Developmental Reading Assessment results, 90 percent of Mallett kindergarten students were reading at or above grade level in 2003, which was a 39 percent improvement from 2001.

Interrogation was

OK, says judge

AUBURN – A Sabattus man charged with manslaughter in connection with a fatal snowmobile accident in December 2002 attempted to convince a judge that police bullied him to get a confession.

Steven Davies argued at a court hearing last week that investigators from the Maine Warden Service deliberately tried to frighten him and his wife by banging loudly on the door and shining flashlights into the house.

The 37-year-old also claimed that the officers kept him against his will and never advised him of his constitutional rights. As a result, Davies wanted his statements thrown out of court.

But Justice Ellen Gorman didn’t buy his argument.

In her ruling, Gorman denied Davies’ request to suppress the statements that he gave to police after the body of Robert Levesque was found on Sabattus Pond.

“Although Mr. Davies had every reason to be nervous while speaking to the investigators, his nervousness was due to his own actions, not the interrogation methods of the investigators,” she wrote.

Lewiston police

to tackle traffic

LEWISTON – Police will target speeders, red-light runners and other traffic scofflaws beginning in March.

The city will dedicate three officers to a special enforcement team. They won’t have regular patrol duties but will focus on projects and enforcement problems in specific areas. Traffic control will be a big part of that, according to Chief William Welch.

“That’s the majority of the complaints we get from the public directly and through city councilors,” Welch said.

Patrol officers don’t spend much time doing traffic control, he said.

That will change. Sgt. Mark Cornelio will lead two patrol officers, and they will target problem areas such as schools, intersections and stretches of roads known for speeders.

‘Seed of Sarah’

author honored

AUBURN – Judith Magyar Isaacson remembers reading a magazine article that explored the debate of what it takes to be a Mainer.

After living in Auburn for 57 years, Isaacson considered herself a Mainer. But given her heavy Hungarian accent and her well-known history as a survivor of the Holocaust, she wasn’t sure others would embrace her as one.

She got her answer a couple of weeks ago when she found out that she is being inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame.

“It came as quite a surprise to me,” she said.

Published in 1991, “Seed of Sarah: Memoirs of a Survivor” has been acclaimed for its feminist perspective on the Nazi atrocities.

It tells of Isaacson’s experiences pulling carts laden with live artillery, her struggles in the post-war years and her subsequent move to Auburn with her American husband, local attorney Irving Isaacson.