BATH – The barge Ashland, loaded with 1,513 tons of coal for this city and owned by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal Co., went ashore on the rocks and sank today while being towed up the Kennebec River to this city. Captain A. A. Gould and crew were taken off safely. It was not known whether the barge could be saved.

• The committee recently appointed in the Auburn School Board to investigate the cost of having fire escapes placed on the school buildings and to see where they were needed the most, made a partial report, an estimate of $2,500 being made for the cost of equipping six of the buildings. Special attention will be given to placing the Webster School in a safer condition.

50 years ago, 1958

• Plans for a $10 million Boston sports center, featuring a 60,000 capacity horseshoe-shaped stadium, were announced today. Construction of the center is contingent upon an agreement from the Boston Red Sox to move there from their present Fenway Park home.

WASHINGTON – American families paid off old debts faster than they incurred new ones in February. Total consumer installment credit dropped by $435 million. The drop reflected chiefly a decline in installment buying of autos and major household appliances.

25 years ago, 1983

At the movies: Jessica Lange in “Frances,” rated R, and Mel Gibson in “The Year of Living Dangerously,” rated PG at Auburn Twin Cinema, next to Porteous; “The Black Stallion Returns,” rated PG, and Tom Selleck in “High Road to China,” rated PG, at Lewiston Twin Cinema, Promenade Mall; “The Outsiders,” rated PG, and “Spring Break,” rated R, Northwood Cinema, Northwood Plaza; “Wanda Whips Wall Street,” rated X, at the Ritz, 31 Maple St., Lewiston; Sylvester Stallone in “First Blood,” rated R, Parkview Cinema, 90 Pine St., Lewiston; “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” rated R, and Cheech & Chong’s “Next Movie,” rated R, Lisbon Drive-In, Lisbon Road, Lewiston.