Nov. 5, 2013 Elections: Municipal and state referendums, ordinance changes, candidates

The following cases were closed in Rockland District Court from Oct. 1 through Oct. 5, 2012.

Nicholas Adkins, 22, of Warren, violating conditions of release in Thomaston Sept. 12, 48 hours in jail; attaching false plates in Thomaston Sept. 12, 48 hours in jail.

Eleanor J. Brugger, 27, of Freedom, violating conditions of release in Rockport Aug. 30, 15 days in jail; operating under the influence in Rockport Aug. 30, $700 fine, 30 days in jail and license suspended for three years…

The following cases were closed in Belfast District Court from Oct. 1 through Oct. 5, 2012.

Louis Ares, 36, of Searsport, operating a vehicle without a license in Belfast July 23, $250 fine.

Jason Armstrong, 42, of Searsmont, operating under the influence in Belfast Aug. 8, $500 fine, four days in jail and 90-day license suspension.

Cody Brassbridge, 23, of Frankfort, operating an unregistered ATV in Frankfort Aug. 12, $200 fine.

Brenda L. Brown, 55, of Belfast, theft…

BELFAST - Brennan Moore wants to get gnarly. He and his newly founded skate company, GNARK, have been hard at work designing merchandise, shooting videos, and planning their “End of Summer Throwdown”, a crazy combination of jackassery and competitive skateboarding to be held in Belfast later this month.

The inception of this sure-to-be wild gnark-tober carnival can be traced back to Brennan Moore’s idea to film and distribute a skateboarding video.

“The original idea was to get a…

Old grist mills don't always get a second chance, never mind a third.

For much of 19th Century and half of the 20th, the one on Sandy Stream in Freedom, like mills in many New England towns, was a focal point of the community and an economic engine for the village and surrounding area.

By the 21st Century, however, it had fallen into such disrepair that it seemed poised to fall into the very stream that once turned its millstones and lathes.

This might have been the end of…

BELFAST — Two-dozen opponents of a proposed liquefied petroleum gas terminal in Searsport turned up at a Belfast City Council meeting Tuesday to ask officials to help put the brakes on the project, until a privately-funded review could be conducted.

In public comment sessions, 10 citizens from the group — most Belfast residents — urged city officials to draft a letter to the Searsport Planning Board requesting that a decision or public hearings on the LPG development wait for the…

PROSPECT – Demolition of the old Waldo-Hancock Bridge is expected to begin on November 1, according to Doug Coombs project manager for Maine Department of Transportation, who said workers are currently finishing preparations at the site.

The bridge, which has been out of service for six years, opened in 1931 crossing the roughly 1,100 foot wide “narrows” of the Penobscot River between Prospect and Verona Island. 

It was the first long-span suspension bridge in Maine and used a…

BELFAST – Waldo County Judge of Probate Susan Longley said she was nervous about campaigning for reelection for the first time since she took the bench in 2004. So she took the advice of someone she met along the way.

"He said, 'you'll be alright, just be yourself,'" she said. "And I've always been a bicyclist."

Longley, who lives in Liberty, is facing some real competition in the upcoming election from former Judge of Probate Randy Mailloux of Belfast, so she started campaigning…

BELFAST – The Belfast Planning Board on Wednesday approved a plan that would convert a historic Primrose Hill residence into a daycare and preschool.

The Children's Voice Preschool, as it is named in official documents, would serve primarily preschool age children, with the board's approval being based on a maximum projection of 40 students. At previous hearings, Iris Hooper, of Frankfort, the former Head Start teacher who is proposing to open the school, said she anticipates roughly…

SEARSPORT – Voters in Belfast, Belmont, Morrill, Northport, Searsmont and Swanville have approved pursuing withdrawal from Regional School Unit 20. But have they voted to withdraw or simply to weigh the options?

Belfast petitioners who started the movement to secede from the nine-town district that stretches from Northport to Frankfort are envisioning a return to the six-town School Administrative District 34, which was merged in 2009 under a statewide consolidation law with…

The following cases were closed in Rockland District Court between Sept. 17 and Sept. 21, 2012.

Eric Davis, 37, of Rockland, operating a vehicle without a license in Warren April 15, 2011, $150 fine.

Jason J. Delano, 32, of Friendship, displaying fictitious vehicle certificate in Thomaston July 22, 2012, $250 fine.

Judson Dodge, 56, of Union, motor vehicle speeding 30+ miles per hour over the speed limit in Hope April 20, 2012, dismissed.

Jacob Felton, 33, of Rockland…

The following cases were closed in Belfast District Court between Sept. 17 and Sept. 24, 2012.

Timothy J. Adkins, 38, of Swanville, criminal mischief, $250 fine; criminal trespass, $250 fine. Both incidents occurred in Northport July 8, 2012.

Hector Amaro, 27, of Brooks, terrorizing, seven days in jail; harassment by telephone, seven days in jail. Both incidents occurred in Searsport April 1, 2012.

Sean R. Anderson, 30, of Liberty, displaying fictitious vehicle…

The first of five pieces of the new Stockton Springs Community Church steeple arrived last week and is expected to be installed sometime in the next four to six weeks. In the interim, the building will be fitted with a box-shaped footing on which the rest of steeple will sit.

The church has been without its landmark spire visible near the intersection of Route 1 and 1A since 2008, when rot required it to be removed. And while the completed reconstruction is likely more than a year off…

The White Hot Spotlight features local people and their creative passions or careers.

Capt. Brenda Thomas is a schooner owner/captain and the co-owner of Maine Boating Adventures, LLC . She is married with two kids and lives in Rockland. Thomas has been sailing since 1994, mostly on schooners in Maine, but also in the Chesapeake, Caribbean, and through the Panama Canal up the west coast to Los Angeles.

Q: As a captain, it's clear your passion is schooners and…

Following is a roundup of Maine State Police Troop D weekly activities, as reported by the agency, for the time period Sept. 10–16, 2012.

Troop D is responsible for the areas of Maine that include Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Waldo, Knox counties, the southern half of Kennebec County and part of northern Cumberland County. The Troop also patrols Interstate 295 from Brunswick to Gardiner. The Troop's compliment includes a lieutenant, three sergeants, 25 troopers and a secretary.

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The following case was closed in Belfast District Court between Sept. 10 and Sept. 14, 2012.

Arnold Thompson, 43, of Bangor, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, 48 hours in jail.

The following cases were closed in Rockland District Court between Sept. 10 and Sept. 14, 2012.

Jerimy R. Alden, 32, of Rockland, violating a protective order in Owls Head July 11, 2012, $350 fine.

David Alley, 26, of Bangor, operating a vehicle without a permit in Rockport Aug. 6, 2012, $150 fine.

John G. Barns, 20, of Irvine, Calif., passing a stopped school bus in St. George May 29, 2012, $250 fine.

Makayla Batty, 14, of Owls Head, operating a vehicle without a…

CAMDEN — Cooler temperatures have arrived and Columbus Day is a little more than two weeks away, both signals that fall is just around the corner. These realities mean that Camden Harbormaster Steve Pixley is sending notice to harbor users that it's time to start making plans to put boats away for the season.

For all but…

BELMONT – “Did you see the Irish tub?”

Bill Coughlin, looking disheveled but momentarily energized by his own question, sat on the closed lid of a toilet in the bathroom of a home overlooking Belfast Bay. In front of him was a gleaming white cast iron tub he had just finished reglazing. The rest of the room, too, sparkled as though all of its dirt had been relocated to the man now looking over the tops of his glasses, waiting for an answer.

A half hour earlier, I'd called him…

Whether you're one of those purist camping types, who will only bring whatever you can physically carry in/carry out; i.e., chamois towel the size of a Wet-Nap, fire-starting flint, two-ounce micro stove, or you're a cram-everything-you-can-into-your car-type (three-foot cooler, hand-blended fruit purees for the evening's happy hour cocktail, air bed and 15 pillows), you're going to love what Lafe Low, author of Best Tent Camping In New England, has to say about the best car camping…

The following cases were closed in Rockland District Court between Sept. 3 and Sept. 7, 2012.

Arnold L. Craney, 43, of Fairfield, disorderly conduct (loud unreasonable noise) in Rockland Aug. 31, 2012, five days in jail.

Varland L. Gray, 45, of North Haven, littering in North Haven July 1, 2012, $100 fine.

Aaron J. Heald, 34, of Rockland, obstructing government administration, 10 days in jail; disorderly conduct (loud unreasonable noise), dismissed; violating conditions of…

CAMDEN - For 40 years, Marge and John Koonz spent full days sitting on a bench watching the ebb and flow of life along Camden's waterfront.

They shared their stories with their eight children and numerous grandchildren when they went back home to Vermont and then Connecticut, and during the times when their children joined them on their three- or four-day sojourns to the Midcoast, four or six times a year.

On Wednesday, Sept. 12, their daughter Marta Koonz was sitting on one of…

The following cases were closed in Knox County Superior Court between Sept. 3 and Sept. 7, 2012.

Paul A. Heino, 37, of Waldoboro, trafficking in prison contraband, dismissed; criminal conspiracy, dismissed. Both incidents occurred in Rockland on Dec. 1, 2011.

George A. Prentiss Jr., 49, of Thomaston, unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs in Thomaston on Nov. 24, 2010, dismissed.

Cory S. Simmons, 30, of Tenants Harbor, domestic violence assault, dismissed; criminal…

“Many people think of bats as vicious animals that carry diseases and get tangled in hair. Others consider them to be friendly, cuddly animals that need only our love and understanding. Both images are somewhat misguided.”

- From A Homeowner’s Guide to Northeastern Bats and Bat Problems, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

BELFAST – Adrian Turner's isn't the only…

When John Loxterkamp left Belfast in August to attend college in New York City he had already been recognized as a filmmaker. The Fly, a four-minute short he coproduced with classmate Wes Sterrs, took first prize at the Maine Student Film and Video Festival in 2011 and was given a screening as part of the Maine International Film Festival that year.

Less well known are the roughly 100 films Loxterkamp produced himself during his last three years of high school. Most of those,…

A new coffee shop called Toast Gourmet Coffee and Provisions opened this summer and plans to stay open until the last sailboats leave Maine's harbor for the season.

At Wayfarer Marine, 59 Sea Street, Camden, it sits right at the water's edge. We checked in with owner Stephanie…

Here are the recaps of the Midcoast opening day golf matches.

Golf

The Windjammers opened the season with a solid 8-1 win over Winslow at the par 36 Natanis Golf Club.

The aggregate scores for the top four players from each team gave the Windjammers a 161-183 win.

Daulton Wickenden was the medalist with a 1-over par 37.

Camden Hills starts the season 1-0 while Winslow falls to 0-1.…