Two Aroostook County men drown in fishing accident

TOWNSHIP 4, RANGE 3 (AP) – Two Aroostook County men drowned after their boat swamped on Mattawamkeag Lake while they were fishing.

Three men were fishing in a 16-foot fiberglass boat Wednesday afternoon when a wave came over the stern, said Mark Latti of the Maine Warden Service. The lake straddles Island Falls and Township 4, Range 3.

Latti identified the victims as Wesley Porter, 81, of Patten and Claire “Pete” Sides, 68, of Sherman.

None of the men were wearing life jackets when they went into the water, but 60-year-old Charles Hurlbert of Patten grabbed hold of a floating cushion and made it to shore, Latti said.

After Hurlbert flagged own a vehicle on a logging road, the warden service launched a search and called in an Air National Guard helicopter for assistance. The victims’ bodies were retrieved shortly before 11 p.m.

Government seeks to fine shipyard for safety violations

AUGUSTA (AP) – Federal safety inspectors are seeking $124,300 in fines from Bath Iron Works for alleged workplace safety violations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the Maine defense contractor for 39 serious and repeat violations, such as electrical equipment in wet locations, inadequate or missing guardrails and slippery conditions. The alleged violations were found following an inspection that began in March.

BIW spokesman Dirk Lesko said Thursday that the shipyard has worked with the federal agency and corrected all of the deficiencies within 24 hours they were identified. BIW will continue to work with OSHA to resolve the safety issues, he said.

Man shot during FBI arrest

BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) – A man wanted for armed robbery was shot at a Braintree hotel Thursday when FBI agents and Quincy police moved in to arrest him, the FBI said.

The man was wanted for an armed robbery in Manchester, N.H., FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz said.

The incident occurred at 6:30 p.m. at the Extended Stay Hotel on Route 37 in Braintree. The man’s identity and extent of his injuries were not immediately released.

“When that arrest was occurring, that individual was shot,” Marcinkiewicz said.

It was not immediately known if it was FBI or local police who shot the suspect.

There were no immediate details of the Manchester crime.

EEE kills two emus in northwestern Worcester County

BOSTON (AP) – Eastern equine encephalitis killed a pair of emus in the town of Athol, state health officials said Thursday.

The two birds died earlier this week at the same farm. It’s the first time the mosquito-borne virus has been detected in the western part of Worcester County this year.

Emus are large, flightless birds native to Australia. Experts say they are very susceptible to infection from the disease and often die soon after become ill.

Four human cases of eastern equine encephalitis – two of them fatal – have been reported so far this season in Massachusetts. All four of those cases were in Plymouth County. Horses in Wrentham, Haverhill and Merrimac have also been infected.

There have also been three reported non-fatal cases of West Nile Virus, which is also spread by mosquitoes.

More animals test positive for Triple E

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Health officials on Thursday said they had found Eastern Equine encephalitis in five birds and a horse.

The birds were found in Hopkinton, Merrimack, Webster, Plymouth and Durham. A horse in Webster also tested positive for the potentially deadly illness.

A bird in Nashua tested positive for West Nile virus, another mosquito-borne illness.

Health commissioner John Stephen says that until there’s a frost in New Hampshire, people need to continue taking precautions against mosquito bites.