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Mike and Doreen Haven of Waterville, whose son, Nate, is engaged to Julia Gagnon, said they were blown away by her singing voice the first time they heard it.
The 7-year-old boy, who suffered a severe injury, was rushed to Redington-Fairview General Hospital and then by LifeFlight to a Portland hospital, according to Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam.
Officials say they are looking for ways to ease costs, which are being driven upward by debt repayment on a sewer project and the rising price of sewage treatment.
From free movies to a community dance, here's what's going on this weekend in Central Maine to mark the anniversary of the start of the modern environmental movement.
The county will spend just $30,000 to implement a satellite network that will serve as a backup to county-owned fiber internet that connects the county’s jail, courthouse, and emergency communications center.
While investigators declined to say which business reported the threat, the incident comes as more than 40 Planet Fitness locations across the United States have been targeted by similar hoax threats in the wake of a social media campaign against the company's trans-inclusive locker room policy.
While many central Maine school districts saw their budgets rise by nearly 10% this year, RSU 18 administrators say they avoided the funding cliff by investing in short-term projects.
The incident, which took place following the sentencing last week of Jason Servil to 45 years for the murder of Alice Abbott, also raises questions about court security.
Councilors are scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the City Hall Annex at 46 Front St. for a budget workshop, followed by the regular council meeting.
In court Friday, the brother of victim Alice Abbott surged from his seat in the gallery to try to attack convicted killer Jason Servil and was stopped by a county corrections officer with a stun gun.
Pleasant Street, from Gilman to North streets, will be closed to traffic Tuesday and the street will be closed between North and Main streets starting Wednesday.
Spending funded by local property taxes is expected to increase 3.95%, though the expected impact of the increase on the district’s six towns varies widely.
We may think of birds and other wildlife as separate from us humans, but we really are all a symbiotic part of this Earth we call home, Amy Calder writes.
Amanda Douglass, 38, and William Douglass, 38, were arrested Wednesday morning as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal drug sales throughout central Maine, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster.
Officers are asking those who have surveillance cameras that might have caught footage of the burglaries to contact the Police Department at 207-453-9321.
Town officials agreed the project needs more oversight, after some were disappointed in the quality of construction at Skowhegan’s new public safety building.
A Jay woman said she followed the driver, August Darge, 60, on Route 2 in Canaan because he appeared to be intoxicated. Shortly afterward, police said, Darge's pickup hit the woman's vehicle.
Jesse Harvey, 30, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a child younger than 16 over the past four years, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
Naomi Trepanier, 37, was taken by helicopter to a Bangor hospital with severe but not life-threatening injuries after the Tuesday morning crash, according to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
The horse and the operator of the carriage were both injured in the crash, which happened when Brittany Guerette, 34, attempted to pass them in her vehicle.
Officials said Monday the crowd was likely the biggest they had seen in the northern Maine town, which by midmorning was packed with visitors ahead of the afternoon eclipse.
There could be some cirrus clouds floating around in the area of totality but they are expected to be to the southeast, according to a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray.
Some residents have been pointing fingers at the town and the school district as Skowhegan Area High School’s baseball and tennis teams are set to begin their spring season without their usual home field and courts.
For the once-in-a-generation event, some schools, including Madison Junior Senior High School in Madison, are embracing science and learning, while others are sending students home early or canceling school for safety reasons.
Two men in their 70s who met three years ago ride their bicycles from their homes in Waterville and Fairfield every day to talk, share stories and watch the world go by.
Nicholas Trask, 25, of Cambridge, was arrested March 29 after police found several allegedly stolen items during the execution of a search warrant, according to the Somerset County Sheriff's Office.
Patric Moore is buying 48 Water St. and wants to convert the second floor into five apartments, while the current owner and occupant, Greg Salisbury of Hilltop Antiques, plans to consolidate his business to the first floor.
Former Waterville mayor Tom Nale is opening MEZZA, a new Lebanese restaurant, located near the area where their Lebanese immigrant relatives settled in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Meteorologists expect the storm to be one of the season's biggest, bringing between 12 to 18 inches of snow and wind gusts between 30 and 40 mph to Kennebec and Somerset counties.
The driver died after colliding with another vehicle while attempting to pass it shortly before 6 p.m., Monday, which sent the car out of control and off the highway, police said.
City officials say efforts to move homeless people from tents into the city's lone shelter are working. Shelter officials say their facility is in financial trouble, and many homeless people fear arrest if the shelter closes.
The annual interfaith gathering held at dawn at Head of Falls has become a tradition for the city's smaller congregations, as churches throughout central Maine face waning attendance and shrinking numbers of parishioners.
About 90 high schoolers from across the state competed in the annual Thomas Cup on Friday, an event where students stay up all night to compete in a unique array of challenges ranging from crime scene analysis to a League of Legends tournament.
The cause of the fire that had destroyed the home when the Madison Fire Department arrived on scene around 11:40 a.m. Friday is under investigation by the Office of State Fire Marshal.
With low-lying public spaces along the Kennebec River closed as a precaution following this week's rain, officials are eying a storm next week that's expected to bring rain and snow to the region.
Children from 32 central Maine schools are exhibiting their works at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center and Greene Block + Studios through Sunday as part of Youth Art Month, Amy Calder writes.
The bill would look at the feasibility of running a passenger rail between Portland and Bangor, with stops in Lewiston, Auburn, Waterville and just west of Augusta.
The proposed $23.7 million spending plan is 22% greater than the current spending plan, but because revenue that county officials have tapped in the past has either decreased or is no longer available, the portion proposed to be raised by county taxes has increased by nearly 44%, to $20.5 million.
The Travis Mills Foundation’s annual Vietnam-Era Veterans Breakfast was held Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center. The free event hosted 600 veterans and guests for breakfast, speeches and music by the Volunteer Improvisers. All photos by staff photographer Joe Phelan.
Nickerson Yard Maintenance recently opened a small hardware store in the town of about 3,000, and the family members who own it said it has been received with excitement — and nostalgia — from the community.
Town officials hope to continue working with the state Department of Transportation to minimize the impacts of the proposed Kennebec River crossing near Skowhegan’s downtown.
The Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce, which owns the 62-foot-tall sculpture of a Native American fisherman, has offered the artwork to the town of Skowhegan, before seeking other potential owners.
More than 1,000 marijuana plants, over 30 pounds of processed cannabis, and other "drug paraphernalia and documentation" was confiscated when authorities executed search warrants at two residences in Norridgewock and one in Madison, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster.
The mill's owners say they need more funding to repair damages from a storm last year and to address more than a dozen fire code violations within the building.
Costs are going up, county officials said, and revenue that has been used in the past to offset spending is no longer available, meaning residents will have to make up the difference.
The lawyer for Benjamin Brown, 45, said he is concerned Brown might not be competent to undergo initial proceedings, stand trial or assist in his defense.
The alleged victim told police that Brian Cloutier had strangled her with a belt several times to the point she passed out, before she escaped and sought help from a neighbor, according to court records.
Kennebec Behavioral Health intends to use $750,000 in congressional funding, secured by U.S. Sen. Angus King, to support the services it offers at five community clinics in Augusta, Farmington, Skowhegan, Waterville and Winthrop.
By mid-afternoon, several inches of snow fell across the region, as forecasters expect the highest snowfall totals from a storm this winter in central Maine.
The new ordinance, which was spurred by complaints about properties in town, sets standards for properties that will help maintain public health, public safety and property values.
A task force is expected to inventory existing trees on streets in city neighborhoods and work to maintain and replenish those that have been lost, including elm trees, which were ravaged in the 1950s and 1960s by Dutch elm disease.
Authorities recovered a body from Martin Pond near The Forks after Pierre Alexander Drolet, 35, of Saint-Zacharie, Quebec, was killed in a tractor-trailer crash Thursday morning.
The $3.7 million Kennebec Water District project, to start April 1, also will include replacing water mains on Pleasant Court, Pleasant Place and Center Street, all of which are off Pleasant Street.
Josh Schleier, 34, of East Madison, started collecting returnable cans and bottles from the side of the road when he was 5 and has continued the hobby to this day.
More snow is expected Friday night into Saturday, with forecast totals ranging from 5 inches across southern Kennebec County to 10 inches or more in Somerset County.
Councilors debated for hours Tuesday night about how to distribute American Rescue Plan Act funding, and must take second votes on funding for housing initiatives and outside agencies that requested money.
Businesses around the Waterville Area Soup Kitchen complained to city officials that their employees are afraid of some homeless people loitering in the area and confronting and scaring them.
A criminal complaint filed last year alleged that Charles Frost “did engage in a sexual act with a minor,” according to Somerset and Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney.
Benjamin Brown, 45, was arrested March 11 by the FBI over online threats to gun down President Biden, other politicians and immigrants and is being held pending further appearance in U.S. District Court in Bangor.
Michael Perkins, a Republican candidate for the Maine Senate, released a flyer that some residents and town officials say could mislead voters into thinking he has been endorsed by the Winslow Town Council and town of Winslow.
As Maine wraps up one of its warmest winters in recorded history, lakes and ponds across the state are seeing ice-outs earlier than ever. Experts say that's affecting everything from algae to moose.
Park organizers were planning to begin construction this year, but a delay in the availability of one of the project’s contractors has pushed back the original timeline.
The developer rehabilitating the old downtown mill has said a tax increment financing agreement is crucial to getting the project back on track after it sustained millions of flooding damage in December.
Although labor costs, inflation and several large infrastructure projects are expected to raise the town's budget by about $2 million, Town Manager Ella Bowman is proposing no change in the tax rate.
Congressional spending of $1.9 million passed last week, along with local fundraising totaling $3 million, should cover the cost of an early childhood wing, the part of the project not funded by the state.
The rescue took place on a small pond off Middle Road in Fairfield around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday where a dog is believed to have suffered life-threatening injuries.
Prosecutors dropped theft charges against Michael Corson, 54, of Madison, as Corson’s jury trial was set to begin Wednesday morning but also filed a complaint for a new charge of aggravated criminal invasion of computer privacy.
State transportation officials have settled on a general location for the bridge near the downtown area, but said they still need to complete an impact study as residents raised concerns at a public hearing Tuesday.
Benjamin Brown was arrested Monday on a warrant charging transmitting a threatening interstate communication and his Spring Street apartment was searched, according to a U.S. District Court official.
Clinton police and fire-rescue responded to a call reporting a man down on the side of Silver Street shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday, the Clinton Police Department said in a news release posted to its Facebook page.
About 60 people turned out for the meeting at the community center, passing all 31 articles, with few amendments, in about 2 1/2 hours, according to officials.
Conrad Ayers, 22, of Waterville, was driving a 2020 Subaru Outback on New Portland Road in Embden when the vehicle drifted into the oncoming lane, striking a Honda Pilot with a man and three teenagers inside, according to a Somerset County Sheriff's official.
Factoring in funding from the state and other sources, the district’s preliminary budget proposes an effective increase of about 4.6%, or $1.93 million, over this year's spending, MSAD 54 Superintendent Jon Moody said.
The person found dead Feb. 26 in a school bus at Waterville Junior High School was transgender and struggled with mental health and other issues, according to friends and former co-workers.
The Skowhegan Regional Chamber of Commerce, which owns the sculpture, asked the town to cordon off the area around the 62-foot-tall statue as a safety precaution after recent strong winds damaged it last week.
Some city councilors said they were concerned that American Rescue Plan Act money would not be given equitably if, for instance, other social service agencies asking for the same amount and are denied.
A study has found Skowhegan has more than enough parking in the downtown area, but the Planning Board is considering updating its requirements for businesses to provide a certain amount of off-street parking as officials anticipate more commercial and residential development.
This year's semi-open presidential primary, which allowed unenrolled voters to cast partisan ballots for the first time, didn't boost turnout at polling places across central Maine.
Ruth Estévez, an artist with years of experience organizing exhibitions and programs in multiple countries, will take over as one of the Madison-based school’s leaders next week.
Though municipal spending is set to go up 10.1% over last year, the amount needed to be raised in property taxes to cover the municipal budget will likely go down about 10%.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened Disaster Recovery Centers across Maine to help residents recover from losses related to the Dec. 18 storm that brought floods and power outages across the state.
While many industries that rely on winter weather are reeling from the effects of climate change, many maple syrup farmers say they are finding ways to adapt and even thrive.
Ying Xia Liao, 54; Xi Qiang Zhao, 56; and Yao Bin Cheng, 41, all of New York City, were arrested Friday when a search of a residence on Waterville Road uncovered a 'substantial' amount of cannabis, Sheriff Dale Lancaster said.
Emergency management agencies, law enforcement, medical providers and others are coordinating plans ahead of the April 8 eclipse, which is expected to draw visitors to rural areas across the state.
Town Councilor David Groder, who is a volunteer, on-call emergency responder, voted last month to approve pay raises for firefighters, a move that a resident Kelly Roderick called a conflict of interest.
Cody Mosher, arrested in January 2023 following a high-speed chase through Norridgewock and Madison, has been sentenced to 57 months in prison on federal drug trafficking charges.
After more than a century at the town’s Island Avenue fire station, the department officially moved Wednesday to its new home at the town’s public safety building.
The developer of the mixed-use project has said previously that a tax agreement will be the ‘last piece of the puzzle’ to get the development back on track after it suffered severe flooding damage in December.
At an arraignment Tuesday in Somerset County Superior Court, Raheem Goodwin, 22, of Benton, pled not guilty to a charge of murdering Edwin Weeks, 62, of Fairfield.
At a lightly attended public hearing Monday night, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said his office continues to struggle with staffing as it works to cover every law enforcement shift required by Madison’s contract with the Sheriff’s Office.
Police say the body was found early Monday in the driver's seat of a school bus parked at Waterville Junior High School at 100 West River Road; foul play is not suspected.
Thousands came to the Skowhegan State Fairgrounds to watch the annual skijoring competition, which has become a unique tradition that is growing in popularity.
Janathian M. Viles, 19, of Waterville told investigators that he and another 15-year-old suspect broke into the vehicles following instructions from viral internet videos that show how to steal Kia and Hyundai cars.
Justin Keleher of Bowdoin has worked for the past 11 years as a special education administrator, including seven years as director of special services in Regional School Unit 1, based in Bath.
Steve Miller was a prolific author in the science fiction community, having written hundreds of stories with his wife, Sharon Lee. They built a dedicated following and sold millions of books worldwide.
Christopher C. Cates, 48, of Bingham, who is a lifetime registered sexual offender, was indicted earlier this month on charges he sexually assaulted multiple children and later attempted to interfere in the investigation into his conduct following his arrest.
A year after a fire devastated Gifford's production facility and headquarters, the Skowhegan-based ice cream maker has started making ice cream on a limited basis.
Randy and Lisa Jones of Augusta bought the former Railroad Square Cinema complex, which they have renamed The Playhouse at Waterville Station. Their long-term goal is to make it a center for the arts and artisans.
Randy and Lisa Jones of Augusta bought the former Railroad Square Cinema complex with a long-term goal of making it a center for the arts and artisans.
The Maine State Police said they were assisting the Waterville Police Department in investigating the fatal shooting Monday morning on South Grove Street.
Brock Peters, 29, credits an arrest at the height of his opioid addiction with saving his life. After detoxing at the jail, he became part of a pilot program to treat opioid addiction in a different way.
Police Chief David Bucknam has served as interim town manager after Christine Almand, who held the position for nearly a decade, resigned in November after a monthslong medical-related leave.
Officials want guidance on whether it is legal for a town councilor to vote on matters involving the Oakland Fire Department if the councilor also receives pay for responding to rescue calls on an emergency basis.
Floodwaters damaged much of the park, where the historic blockhouse sits, but Winslow's town manager sees an opportunity to revitalize 'the diamond of the town.'
The Police and Fire departments are expected to move soon into the $8 million building, but town officials are withholding the final $20,000 payment while the contractor, Benchmark Construction of Westbrook, addresses issues.
Spurred by an ongoing traffic improvement project and December’s historic flooding, town officials have settled on a location for a long-discussed second bridge, though residents will weigh in before the state develops more detailed plans.
The Waterville Board of Education on Monday also heard from Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Allen that the Maine Department of Education had awarded Waterville schools a $190,000 literacy grant to be used at the junior high and high schools.
The station, built in 1970 and not updated since 1998, pumps all of Winslow's untreated sewage in a single pipe beneath the Kennebec River to a treatment plant in Waterville. It sustained major damage during last year's floods.
No arrests were made because no one was at the Rome Road home when the raid was carried out, but officials say charges are expected after the occupants are located.
Vendors were selling chocolate treats, crafts, toys and other items Sunday at the Fairfield Community Center, all to benefit the Central Maine Fourth of July Celebration in Clinton.
Volunteers, spectators and players acknowledged the ice wasn't great on Messalonskee Lake, also known as Snow Pond, in Sidney, where it was held, but said they were enjoying the tournament being held for a good cause.
Spridal Hubiak, 20, who was wanted on a charge of murder in connection with the December killing of Angela Bragg in Waterville, was arraigned Friday at the Capital Judicial Center in Augusta after being extradited from Arkansas, where he was injured while being captured on New Year's Eve.
That Peter Bruun is putting his heart and soul into a months long community art initiative was palpable Monday as he worked with a homeless mother and son on an art project at the Waterville Area Soup Kitchen's warming center, Amy Calder writes.
Despite warm temperatures, organizers of the Maine Pond Hockey Classic, set for this weekend in Sidney, say they have been working hard to prepare for the event.
The bust of the illegal marijuana growing operation is part a larger investigation involving local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, according to Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster.