Thanks’ to the thieves

Diane Beaucage doesn’t get it.

A pair of sunglasses and an ice scraper?

That is what was taken from her and her daughter’s cars Monday night.

The 46-year-old widow noticed Tuesday morning that someone had broken into the cars while they were parked in her driveway on Scribner Boulevard. The burglars had tried to remove the stereo.

When that job proved to be too tough, she assumed they simply took off.

Then she reached for her sunglasses, a gift from her brother-in-law to help cheer her up after her husband’s death last April. They were gone.

For a fragile woman still grieving over the sudden loss of her husband, discovering the theft was particularly hard.

Days later, she was still asking, “Why?”

“I want to say thanks to whoever broke into my car on Monday and took my sunglasses,” she said. “I hope you wear them without any guilt.”

– Lisa Chmelecki

Big, but not biggest

When 350 bikers swept through Lewiston on their way to a rally in Caribou on Thursday, they drew attention.

Lots of it.

On Main Street, workers left their businesses to stare as the stream of motorcycles flowed past. Children gawked from the sidewalk. One man grinned and waved as he walked outside to check his mail.

“The little restaurant down the street here, I don’t think anyone was getting served. Everyone was outside watching,” said rally coordinator John Lutz as the bikers milled around the Schott Harley-Davidson dealership.

But compared to others, Thursday’s influx was tiny.

During the fall Toy Run, 1,200 to 1,500 bikes rumble into town. That’s about four times Thursday’s total.

Still, no one complained about a meager 350.

Said Paul Castonguay, Schott’s general manager, “It’s great. It never gets old.”

– Lindsay Tice

Teen rights, Right Guard

When Maine police announced Wednesday that they’d be calling parents when they pull over teen drivers, someone asked whether demanding phone numbers would violate kids’ civil liberties.

Absolutely not, answered Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara. Teen drivers are legally obligated to give officers their phone numbers. Teen passengers are not, but they’d be well-advised to do so, he said.

“Now having said that, we can all take notice that a 16-year-old may perceive that as extraordinarily invasive,” he added. “So too is asking them to pick up their room. So too is asking them to cut the lawn.”

The 45-minute, outdoor press conference was on a warm, sunny afternoon, which brought out drips of sweat. Cantara was among those wearing a dark suit. Maybe the SAFE-Guard program should be called Right Guard, he joked.

– Bonnie Washuk