Economic Struggles? How Rural Maine Stirs Up New Business

Vassalboro Views vary on proposal for topless coffee shop

BY SUSAN M. COVER for the Morning Sentinel

VASSALBORO -- Neighbors who live near the Grand View Motel, which could soon offer a grand view of another sort, offered mixed opinions Sunday on a proposal to turn the old motel into a coffee shop with topless waitresses.

Members of the Vassalboro Planning Board on Tuesday will consider Donald Crabtree of

Ellsworth's request for a business permit. Crabtree, who was working inside the building on Sunday, said he did not want to talk about his proposal prior to the meeting.

"I'd rather not talk," he said. "Not right now."

The former motel, which has been the site of many business ventures in the last several years, is on Route 3 just over the Augusta line. It was most recently Mac Daddy's Pub at the Fat Cat Grille, which closed three or four years ago, said Planning Board Chairwoman Virginia Brackett.
The one-story building with log cabin-style siding still has an array of signs out front, including a real estate sign, a Pepsi sign, a solicitation for someone to lease the building, and one that says

"Entertainment Thursday, Friday, Saturday."

Becky Young, who lives on Mudget Hill Road, which runs behind the motel, said they got a lot of unwelcome traffic when there was a bar open at that location. She's not in favor of a topless coffee shop.

"This is a rural town," she said as she walked her two dogs. "It's country. People move here to be quiet. I think it would bring a bad crowd."

Yet others said they hope some sort of stable business is able to make a go of it, regardless of whether waitresses wear tops or not.

"I'm hoping whatever takes place, hangs in there," said Mike Provencher, who's lived on the road for 20 years. "There were entertainment gals there before and it didn't seem like it was problematic."

Susan Smith, who rents a house on the road, said there were strippers at the bar a few years ago.

She isn't worried about a topless coffee shop.

"I work a lot, so it's no big thing," she said.

Randy McKiel said he too isn't bothered by his potential new neighbor.

"I don't mind what they do," he said. "They're just trying to make a living."

When the Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Town Office, it will not have the power to judge the business based on the attire of the staff, Brackett said. The business is required to apply for a permit because that site hasn't been used for more than 90 days, she said.

The board is charged with considering whether the site can handle the traffic the business is expected to draw, whether there's adequate parking, and other things such as lighting and the septic system. Brackett said she has no opinion on the topless aspect of the proposal.

"It's not within our ordinance to say anything about it," she said.

Man accidentally shoots self in hip during target practice; Says he'll dress like New York Giants Star-Wideout for Halloween

(Insert your best Plaxico Burress joke here...)


BY BETTY JESPERSEN of the Morning Sentinel/Kennebec Journal

TEMPLE -- A Temple man is being treated at a Lewiston hospital for a gunshot wound in his hip after he accidentally fired his 9 mm handgun Saturday while reloading the weapon during target practice, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.

Chad Baker, 20, was able to get back on his own to his car, where his girlfriend had been waiting for him, and she rushed him to the emergency room at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington.

About noon, Baker was target shooting alone in a sand pit on Maple Street and was trying out a gun he had acquired recently, Sgt. Steve Lowell said on Sunday.

Emergency workers are required to report all gunshot injuries to police. Lowell and Deputy Kenneth Charles questioned Baker at the hospital before he was transferred to CMMC.
The officers recovered the handgun at the scene, and no charges are being filed.

"The incident highlights the need for proper training when handling firearms," Charles wrote in a news release. "Proper maintenance and repair of firearms should also be promoted."

Police said a possible malfunction may have been a secondary cause of the incident.

Where $2 PBR Pounders Will Leave You in the Morning

From the Portland Press Herald:

Police charge man with OUI on Zamboni
David Hench

A Portland man faces charges of drunk driving and burglary after police found him atop an idling Zamboni inside the Cumberland County Civic Center this morning.

Firefighters and police were called to the civic center at 2 a.m. for a fire alarm. It turns out someone had been driving a forklift inside the facility and had hit a sprinkler line, damaging the system and setting off the alarm.

Officers investigating the damage found Adam Patterson, 25, sitting on the Zamboni which was running but not moving. He appeared extremely intoxicated, police said. There were signs that the building had been broken into, police said.

Patterson is being held without bail at Cumberland County Jail because of a charge of violating bail conditions. He also is charged with aggravated criminal mischief, burglary and operating under the influence.

Speeding tales you won't believe

By David Hench
Portland Press Herald

Sometimes, it might be better to be late.

Public Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland today provides these gems from the State Police newsletter of late motorists who wound up in even more trouble.

On Sunday, Trooper Marvin Hinkley stopped a 20-year-old man on Interstate 295 in Freeport driving 99 mph with his hazard lights flashing. The man told him he was late getting to the methadone clinic, an appointment which he did not make.

Trooper David Andreasen, driving an unmarked 2008 Dodge Charger on the Maine Turnpike, was recently passed by two motorists: one who was late for a Portland court date and so was going 97 mph, and another going 100 mph trying to get to work on time.

Finally, McCausland's speeders of the week were a couple who were driving separate cars on the interstate in Clinton, trying to see which one was fastest. The man hit 107 mph, just edging out the woman at 106 mph.

Both were arrested.

Maine: Where Sesame Street and Harlem Intersect

From The Morning Sentinel:

Police: Man shoots 12-year-old with BB gun

SKOWHEGAN -- A 23-year-old Sesame Street resident was arrested Wednesday after he fired a CO2-powered BB gun at a 12-year-old boy alongside Dr. Mann Road, hitting the boy in the stomach, according to police. Randall L. Brackett, 23, has been charged with assault and may face other charges, Deputy Police Chief Rick Bonneau said Thursday.

Bonneau said neighbors began calling police at around 6:30 p.m., saying they heard a ruckus near a mobile home park on MRI Drive, off Dr.Mann Road, and said people were fighting.

"Three boys were out playing by the road on a pogo stick when people began yelling profanity at them," Bonneau said. He said one of the adults in a nearby mobile home came out and began staring at the boys and one of them raised the gun and fired.

Witnesses told Patrolman Joel Cummings that they heard a "pfft" or the sound of a pellet gun going off, according to Bonneau.

The suspect apparently had aimed at and struck a 12-year-old boy in the stomach. The pellet did not pierce the skin, but did cause a wound, Bonneau said. The boy was not hospitalized.

"A CO2-powered BB gun can be powerful, and it can be very damaging," Bonneau said. "I'm assuming the boy was protected by some clothing" and still got hurt. "I wouldn't want to have one pointed at me."

A Note to my Valued Reader(s)

While every other news outlet can not get enough of Sarah Palin, Financial Crisis's and other issues, let me come forth and say "Only In Maine" will remain what it's always been about, Maine.

But while I do have your attention, do you feel like Sarah Palin is the second coming of Paris Hilton? Suddenly famous for not really doing much. I don't know, just a thought.

Let me introduce you to a "Maine Mechanic"

From the Morning Sentinel:

WINSLOW - Police stopped a vehicle that had its passenger-side headlight out at 1:47 a.m. today, on Bay Street.

According to the report filed by Officer Haley Fleming, the operator stepped out of the vehicle and punched the headlight. The headlight came on and was functional, and no action on the part of police was required.

What the report failed note was that the man originally fixed his headlight with a roll of duct tape, a bottle of Allen's Coffee Brandy and a 9-iron.

Are you running for office, or going camping?

From the Morning Sentinel:

AUGUSTA -- The state ethics commission voted 5-0 today to require a Maine Senate candidate to reimburse the Maine Clean Election fund for purchases deemed primarily personal in nature.

Independent candidate Dana Kadey of Princeton, who is running for Senate District 29 in Washington County, will be required to pay back the state for a $1,363 truck cap and roof rack; $109.62 spent on mileage to buy the cap and rack; $414 for a Global Positioning System; and $188 for a cooler with electronic cooling and warming capabilities.

Kadey told the commission he is willing to pay back the money. He said he worried that if he used his own money to pay for those items, which he believes are related to his campaign, he would have violated clean election guidelines.

Maine (Blind) Lawyer Gone Wild

From the Associated Press:

PORTLAND - The chief executive officer of Maine's Iris Network faces criminal charges after flying into a rage over his daughter’s $5,000 cell phone bill.

James Phipps, 50, grabbed his 20-year-old daughter and repeatedly spanked her in a dispute over the cell phone bill and her boyfriend, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said. There is some dispute over who is responsible for the bill, investigators said.

The Iris Network is a nonprofit organization that helps people who are visually impaired or blind become independent. Phipps, a Portland lawyer, is blind.

Members of the Iris Network’s board say it’s too early to say whether the incident would affect his job there, the Portland Press Herald reported.

Investigators say Phipps spanked his daughter repeatedly with his hand as a dispute escalated in his home on Chebeague Island. The daughter then went upstairs to call her boyfriend and another scuffle broke out that involved the daughter taking her father’s cell phone, authorities say.


Not much I can say. Wow, just wow.

(Bad) Excuses for going 108 mph

From the Bangor Daily News:

Bangor -- Two people from the Waterville area were arrested Monday night in Bangor after passing a state trooper in an unmarked police car who clocked them going nearly 110 miles per hour on Interstate 95.

Maine State Police Trooper Forest Simpson said he’d heard a report of a vehicle with its hazard lights flashing traveling too fast on the interstate. A few minutes later, the car came up behind Simpson and his radar registered the vehicle at 108 mph in a 65 mph zone. The car passed Simpson and continued to go more than 100 mph into a 55 mph zone and when exiting I-95 onto I-395 toward Brewer.

The passenger, Thomas Selby, 42, of the Waterville area, opened his door while the car was moving and it looked as if he were going to jump out of the car, Simpson said. Selby then shut the door and the vehicle pulled over.

Simpson gave Selby and the driver, Dawn Parker, 29, orders using the cruiser’s speaker system because they both were acting strangely and Simpson said he wasn’t sure with whom he was dealing.

Neither would cooperate with Simpson. At one point Selby got out of the car and started running toward the trooper who said he then called for backup.

Police eventually were able to get the two suspects into custody.

The two said they were in a hurry to get to the airport for a 5 p.m. flight because Selby had a family emergency. Simpson said no plane tickets or receipts were found in their possession, the two were headed in the direction opposite from the airport, and it was 5:07 p.m. when Simpson pulled them over.

A search of the car turned up prescription drugs, only some of which Selby and Parker had prescriptions for, Simpson said. Police also found drug paraphernalia.

Selby was charged with disorderly conduct and Parker with criminal speed. Both also face charges related to the drugs found in the vehicle. They were taken to Penobscot County Jail.


If I were a betting man, I would say mind-alterating medication were involved. Call me crazy. If you are going to lie about your destination, at least pick destination in the direction you are traveling. And if making up a flight time is involved, make it for a time that hasn't already occurred.

Why Maine is "Vacationland"

Found this beauty of a headline in today's Kennebec Journal. This is why people come to vacation in Maine:

"Sword fights, fire eating on tap in Manchester"

The article was actually highlighting the upcoming Maine Renaissance Faire, but I was sold on the event after reading the headline... mostly because in past years I needed to travel all the way to Lewiston to see a good sword fight.

You Know You Failed Your Drivers Exam When...

From the Morning Sentinel:


ROCKLAND -- A state driving examiner was injured when a student crashed the car during her test.

Police say no charges were filed but the student, 18-year-old Desirea York of Port Clyde, did not get her license.

State Department of Motor Vehicles examiner Linda Norton complained of neck pain after the crash and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Police say Norton was administering a driving test to York when York made a left-hand turn into the path of an oncoming Mercedes Benz. Police say the Mercedes T-boned the passenger side of Toyota driven by York.

Total damages are estimated at $6,000.


My favorite part of the story is that the reporter had to confirm that she didn't get her licence. Honestly, we kind of figured.

And another point, why is this a news story?

Celebrating the 4th -- Maine Style (or is that Indianapolis?)

WATERVILLE — Police say a Waterville man faces felony charges for firing a pistol several times into the air as part of his Independence Day celebration.

Police say they received a report about 4 a.m. Saturday of a man firing a handgun outside a Main Street apartment building.

After police arrived, they arrested 46-year-old Gregory Markey and confiscated a 9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol.

Police say Markey told them that he fired the gun because he was homesick and missed his family and because "that's how he celebrated the Fourth of July where he came from."

Police say Markey, who was released on bail, is originally from Indianapolis.


Wow, just wow.

As a buddy put it, "I didn't think that was an arrestable offense in Maine. Was this guy wearing a Marvin Harrison jersey at the time?"

Maine Needs Representation on MTV’s The Real World

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of seeing the tiresome, run of the mill, good looking people on MTV’s The Real World. Honestly, how many pretty women and meat-heads from Boston can we put on this show and expect something new and different?

I think the producers need to cast someone new, a fresh face who brings a new dynamic to the house where “people stop being polite... and start getting real.”

So I say, BRING IN SOMEONE FROM MAINE! And you know what, I got just the guy. Cony High Schools (Augusta) very own, "Scotty to Hotty."

See more funny videos at CollegeHumor

or simply go to: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:50765

Finally, It's Over...

From the Morning Sentinel:

WATERVILLE -- A taste for French fries cost this pig its freedom.

The Vietnamese pot-bellied pig that has been roaming the Waterville area this past month was captured Saturday on West River Road.

Waterville Police Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said Monday that someone who had been feeding the pig French fries called police, who responded to the scene around 6 p.m.

Police then briefly stunned the gray pig with a Taser gun, then captured it with a snare pole, Rumsey said.

"We took the opportunity to deploy that Taser for a short time," he said. "The pig was not injured whatsoever. It suffered no ill effects."

Police took the pig to Donald and Judy Shores' Oak Street farm in Oakland until its owner can pick him up, Rumsey said.

Rumsey said it was important to capture the pig because it could pose a public hazard if it dashed across traffic.

"We were very concerned with it running out into the roadway and causing a traffic accident," he said.

Judy Shores said that she is keeping the pig in a cattle pen for now, hoping someone will claim him. The animal seemed no worse for the wear, she said.

"He seems to be OK," Shores said. "You can't put them pigs just anywhere because they get away."

The pig's owner sure knows that. Shores hopes the owner will step forward and claim it.
"I don't really want it," she said. "They're a nuisance. You have to have a pretty good fence for them."

Waterville homeowner Pam Hart tried to capture the pig Thursday.

Hart used cat food to lure the animal, but was unable to get close enough to grab it.

In late May, Colby College officials spotted the swine near the softball field.

Students were able to leash him, but he slipped the leash at a cookout, and had been a free-range pig from then until Saturday.


Wow, good to see those taser guns are being put to good use *insert sarcasm here*

I'm not saying call PETA over the incident, but come on, a taser to catch a pig? Talk about bringing a gun to a knife fight.

But thankfully, this story is over. We laughed, we cried, but really, we just laughed a lot.

This Is Still Going On?

From the Morning Sentinel:

WATERVILLE -- A little pig that evaded captors on the Colby College campus last month turned up Thursday morning four miles away on a West River Road lawn.

Homeowner Pam Hart lured it with cat food, called it a good pig and tried to get close enough to capture it, but to no avail.

"Come here, I won't hurt you," she crooned, as the charcoal-gray pig slurped noisily, its tail swishing to and fro.
"He doesn't really seem too afraid," she said.

Hart was at work Thursday morning at Maintenance Plus in Winslow where she got three phone calls from friends who had driven past her house and said they saw a pig there.

"They were laughing. They said, 'Did you know you had a black pig on your lawn, eating?' I came home and he was standing right there by the birch tree, just grazing."

Hart called the Police Department, hoping an animal control officer might come and capture the pig.
"I was afraid he might start eating the flowers or the shrubs or he might end up in the pond -- who knows? Of course, I wouldn't want him to go out in the road and get hit."

As she waited and watched and the pig continued to munch, Hart's son Jerry arrived in his pickup truck. He lives on nearby Dusty Lane and his wife, Bridget, had called him to report a pig had just wandered up the path to his mother's house.

"It's been a long time since there were pigs on this property," Jerry Hart mused. "We used to raise pigs out back. You want to talk about somebody trying to catch a pig -- they're like a rabbit. They cut on a dime. If you chase 'em, the next thing you know, they're heading the other way."

When an animal control officer did not arrive more than an hour later, Pam Hart said she had to return to work.

"Keep grazing and I won't have to mow the lawn," she told the pig.

The swine, ears flapping, eventually trotted down the hill and over a little bridge to the neighbor's lawn and then headed to a vacant house next door.

Jerry Hart, owner of Hart construction, drove there in his pickup truck, got out, and fed the pig with dog treats he plucked from inside a plastic bag.

"I keep them with me when I go on job sites," he explained.

The pig approached Hart whenever he tossed a morsel and then retreated to munch. Back and forth it went, for another half-hour, with the pig occasionally scratching its head with a rear hoof.

"I'm almost out," Hart said of the dog treats. "I've got to get back to work."

With that, he drove off, leaving the pig looking. The animal waited a while and then trotted back toward Pam Hart's house where there was more cat food on the lawn. As of Thursday evening, the pig's whereabouts were unknown.

It is unknown who actually owns the gray Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, which left Colby in late May after some students apparently took it to a campus cookout and it slipped its leash.

Colby spokesman Stephen Collins said he would try to find someone at the campus' physical plant who might be able to help capture the pig Thursday, but he could not make any promises.

"Can you grab it?" Collins asked. "What I've heard is that he's tame enough so you can feed him by hand, and as soon as your other hand moves as if to grab him, he's gone."

Uh-huh.


Not sure what's worse: the pig being loose for a month, or the fact the paper gives weekly updates on the progress of catching it (Complete with pictures!)?

I Don’t Know What's Worse… The Ford Escort or the John Deere Tractor

From the Bangor Daily News:

James Gardner had planned to pick up his prom date driving his dad’s John Deere tractor and wow the crowd of more than 200 well-wishers snapping pictures in the parking lot of Penobscot Valley High School.

But because of the heavy rain Saturday, he picked her up in the Ford Escort his father drives to work most days.

Each year, Gardner said, seniors come up with unusual conveyances for prom night. In the past, revelers have arrived on firetrucks and flatbed trailers, he said. Last year, a couple arrived in a motorboat pulled by a truck.

Gardner’s parents, Ellen and William Gardner of Howland, are teachers in SAD 31, which comprises Burlington, Edinburg, Enfield, Howland, Maxfield and Passadumkeag,

Not being able to make an entrance on the tractor, used on the family blueberry farm in Ellsworth, was the only thing that dampened Gardner’s prom and graduation weekend.

Read the entire article here


Now that I think about it, coming in on a tractor would have really topped off my prom night too. I knew I was missing something to accommodate my tin of Skoal and Canadian Tuxedo. Then again, I think I made up for the tractor when I showed up with my sister.

Honestly though, this is a nice story. It’s nice to see teens have fun with prom and not make it some Hollywood-event where everyone is nervous about losing their virginity or where they are going to drink cheap beer after the dance…

Relief Is Only 1.5 Hours Away

From the Associated Press Wire Service:

TOWNSHIP 22 - Relief has arrived for motorists traveling along Route 9 in eastern Maine.

Beginning Friday, drivers will have a pit stop along the hour-and-a-half drive from Calais to Brewer. New year-round public restroom facilities will give drivers a break in Township 22, adjacent to the Airline Snack Bar and Lounge.

There were plenty of snickers and jokes when state Sen. Kevin Raye introduced legislation for the facility.

But he said the lack of public restrooms along the route was no laughing matter and caused a hardship for many Mainers, especially for Washington County residents traveling to Bangor for medical treatments.


I would think the town would want to name their town before they started throwing up pit stops, but maybe that’s just me. Also, did the Airline Snack Bar and Lounge not have public restrooms?

In any case, enjoy Township 22; I look forward to pictures of the ribbon cutting ceremony…

What does it take to be a celebrity in Maine?

Apparently, not much.

From the Morning Sentinel:

WATERVILLE -- Waterville's own singer, songwriter and producer Jeremy Greene will really hit the big time Monday as he stars in "Living Lohan," a reality show on the E! Network featuring actor Lindsay Lohan's

family.

Well that’s a pretty big break! To come from a small town and work your way towards staring in a nationally televised reality television show. But wait… there’s more…

The show, which will appear on Time Warner Cable's Channel 60 in Waterville, starts at 10:30 p.m. and will feature Greene in three episodes out of eight over a period of several weeks, according to Christel Wheeler of E!'s public relations.

Wait, appearances in 3 episodes? He is considered one of the stars of the show for having his mug in frame for 3 episodes? Is this seriously the best we can come up with for profiling local talent? A guy who will be in 3 episodes of a show that clearly will NOT get renewed.

To Jeremy’s defense, the rest of the article goes on to tout some of his successes. I simply found humor in the fact the Morning Sentinel would dub Jeremy a star for being on a trashy reality television show.

Either The Girls at Colby Are Letting Themselves Go, Or...

From the Morning Sentinel:

WATERVILLE — Colby College campus has had a new visitor at large, recently, and he isn’t paying tuition.

The uninvited guest is a medium-sized, charcoal-gray pig, presumed to be male, that has been on the loose on campus for more than a week.

“It’s currently a free-range pig. I spotted it a couple of days ago, grazing on grass on the girls’ softball field, when I drove past on my bicycle. It’s about the size of an English Springer Spaniel,” said Colby director of communications Steve Collins, Wednesday.The pig is believed to be a Vietnamese Potbelly, he said.

The pig was last under human control when Colby students, who were not identified, had taken the pet pig to a campus cookout, where it slipped its leash, Collins said.

According to Collins, some of Colby’s grounds crew had collaborated with the animal control officer in Waterville, to set up traps on campus, in an attempt catch the free-roaming hog.

Waterville police Sgt. Joseph Shepherd said the pig has been on the loose at Colby for more than a week.
Colby’s assistant grounds supervisor Peter MacDonald confirmed that attempts to catch the elusive pig by Wednesday, had failed.

“We tried to catch it a couple of ways, like physically chasing after him and using a net to throw over him. That didn’t work," MacDonald said. "He is very friendly, but as soon as you think about moving, he shoots right away. We actually had him eating out of our hands.”

I guess all you can say is, "You know you've gone to school in Maine for to long when you bring a live pig to your cookout."