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Mark LaFlamme is a Sun Journal reporter and weekly columnist. He's been on the nighttime police beat since 1994, which is just grand because he doesn't like getting out of bed before noon. Mark is the author of eight published novels and rides a dual sport motorcycle everywhere he goes. Unless it's winter, in which case he just sulks a lot.

Latest
  • Published
    June 28, 2019

    One person dead after car collides with motorcycles in Turner

    Police say Matthew Houle died when a car crossed the centerline into the path of two motorcycles.

  • Published
    June 27, 2019

    Army band to play at Liberty Festival

    LEWISTON — For as long as anyone can remember, organizers of the annual Liberty Festival have had one big item on their wish list: They wanted more than anything for the 195th Maine Army National Guard Band to play there. Wish noted, wish granted: The highly sought band will play this year as the festivities […]

  • Published
    June 27, 2019

    Water mains break throughout Thursday in Lewiston

    LEWISTON — City crews were vexed by a series of water main breaks Thursday in three areas along Sabattus Street. Traffic tangled in the afternoon on outer Sabattus Street when a pair of water main breaks were discovered while construction crews were working in that area. Traffic between Lewiston and Sabattus was limited to one […]

  • Published
    June 26, 2019

    Poland motorcyclist dies in Casco crash

    CASCO — A Poland man was killed Wednesday afternoon when his motorcycle and a pickup truck collided at Routes 121 and 11. Police said 52-year-old Robert Hollingshead was dead when emergency crews arrived at the 5 p.m. wreck. Deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office shut down a section of the road as emergency crews […]

  • Published
    June 25, 2019

    Mark LaFlamme: Move along, nothing to see here

    The interview was just terrific. The subject was a man who had been an emergency dispatcher for more than two decades, and he had amazing stories to tell. Powerful stories about trying to keep steady and calm when bullets were flying, when cars were crashing or when buildings were burning. A significant chunk of the […]

  • Published
    June 23, 2019

    Mark LaFlamme: Win a prize for your honey

    Light of the seven I SWEAR I saw George Carlin Tuesday afternoon on Pine Street in Lewiston. He was standing on a corner, bearded, one eyebrow lifted in bemusement and scowling in that Carlin way. It was him, all right. Never mind that he was reported dead more than 10 years ago, I know what […]

  • Published
    June 20, 2019

    Unknown driver rolls across tomato crops at Blackie’s Farm in Minot

    Parts of the car or truck, including a bumper, were left behind in the field at the intersection of Jackson Hill and Center Minot Hill roads.

  • Published
    June 19, 2019

    Street Talk: Siren songs of the Androscoggin River

    Maybe river whispers promises of sweet relief if one can just take that final step off the greasy bridge railing. If so, I say ignore it, my friends, at all costs.

  • Published
    June 16, 2019

    A paper carrier’s tale: Mayors, business owners, police officers — they all got their starts delivering the local paper

    They became mayors and business owners, martial arts experts and police officers. And they all got their cold, snowy rainy, dog-snarling, fourth-floor-climbing, ultimately (mostly) rewarding starts delivering the local newspaper.

  • Published
    June 16, 2019

    ‘Bad dreams’ and ‘appreciation’ stay with former super carrier Sadie Landry

    It’s been nearly three decades since Sadie Landry delivered a newspaper and yet there are still nights when the bad dreams come. “I’m out delivering and I can’t remember where the paper goes,” Landry says of those dreams. “I can’t remember who gets the paper and where it goes. I’m 41 years old and I […]