Last fall, Peter Ricker debuted Nightmare on the Ridge at Wallingford’s Fruit House in Auburn, a haunted hayride frightfest with chain saws, cackling women and ample ooze and splatter. Ricker has ditched Nightmare’s tractors and wagons. This season — the first after a Maine teenager was killed in a hayride crash in a nearby town […]
safety
Posted inMaine
Maine group and national coalition call for stricter gun laws
LEWISTON — A group hoping to bring a statewide ballot question to voters in 2016 to require federal background checks on all gun sales in Maine is joining similar organizations across the country in urging Congress to tighten gun laws. Emma Connor, director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said Friday her organization is concerned […]
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Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Lewiston-Auburn, Oxford Hills
Superintendent reports confirmed case of viral meningitis
PARIS — Oxford Hills School District Superintendent Rick Colpitts has notified parents of a confirmed case of viral meningitis in SAD 17. The affected student has been identified as a fifth-grader. Colpitts is prohibited from revealing specific information under federal law, but he said the notification to school officials appears to have been done quickly […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Maine
Officials urge caution as motorcycle deaths climb
News that this year has been the deadliest for motorcyclists since 1991 came just days before the state’s largest motorcycle event of the year. Six people were killed in five crashes over the Labor Day weekend, bringing the state’s total for the year so far to 26. Thirty-four people died in motorcycle crashes in 1991. […]
Posted inMaine
Handgun sales spike in advance of Maine permit change
AUBURN — An upcoming change in Maine law that allows adults to carry a concealed handgun without a permit is triggering a spike in gun sales at some local shops. John Reid, owner of J.T. Reid’s Gun Shop in Auburn, said Tuesday that sales of handguns are up and he’s ordered more firearms to keep […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Rabid or not, bats acting ‘really weird’ this summer
The number of troublesome bats seems to be on the rise across the state, and for animal control expert Rich Burton, it’s like life in a horror movie. “I’m seeing some really weird stuff this year,” said Burton. The animal control officer for Livermore and Canton, he also operates Maine Animal Damage Control in Lewiston. […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
How to handle lead paint ‘on the job’
SABATTUS — It looked like any other house in need of work, but it wasn’t for Randy Trefethen and his team from Renovate Right Construction. Danger lurked on the job. The house was packed with lead paint, a poison that can damage the brain and organs when it gets into the bloodstream through lead dust […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Maine
Legislature overrides Paul LePage’s veto of bill to study hayride regulations
Also on this page: Legislators busy overturning vetoes AUGUSTA — The Legislature on Monday overturned a veto of a bill to create a task force to examine the safety and possible regulations for farm amusement rides, such as the haunted hayride that claimed the life of an Oakland teen last fall. The House voted 146-0 to overturn by […]
Posted inMark LaFlamme
Warning: Childhood can be hazardous to your health
When I was a boy, each day was a date with death. By today’s standards, anyway. We used to climb trees like monkeys, and sometimes we’d fall out of them. Falling out of trees was half the fun of climbing them. It was also how we verified, once and for all, that gravity was real. […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Elderly driving: Tour calling attention to turning over keys
WESTBROOK — Katherine Freund, an advocate who has called attention to the problem of seniors driving when it’s not safe, is about to hit the road. On Tuesday, she’s launching a nationwide, 60-day cross-country trip to spotlight the need for seniors to hang up their keys when it’s time and have alternative transportation available. Freund […]