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Police Say Man’s Blazer Caught Fire After He Masturbated In Front Of A Four-Year-Old In A Gravel Pit. Perhaps Some Lubrication Is In Order

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:15:17 +0000

A 19-year-old man was arrested Friday on charges of indecent conduct and visual sexual aggression against a child. Simeon Welch was charged for allegedly masturbating in the front of a sport utility vehicle while a 4-year-old boy was in the back seat, according to an affidavit filed in Kennebec County Superior Court by Detective David Bucknam, of the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office. Bucknam was initially contacted by a State Fire Marshal’s Office investigator after an SUV driven by Welch caught fire in a gravel pit in West Gardiner on the evening of May 15. He was accompanied by a 4-year-old boy, and the fire investigator contacted Bucknam to investigate. According to Bucknam’s affidavit, the boy spoke to a forensic interviewer and described Welch “showing his private parts as well as touching it. When asked where this happened, (the boy) stated it happened in the ‘blazer.’” The affidavit indicated the Blazer was the vehicle that burned in the gravel pit. (read more at Morning Sentinel)

Portland Schools Lay Off Teacher Of The Year To Make Room For Someone With More Union Seniority. You Know, For The Children

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:03:52 +0000

PORTLAND — Four years ago, Gloria L. Noyes found herself at the pinnacle of her teaching career. Noyes, who was teaching fifth grade at Westbrook’s Congin Elementary School, was chosen by her peers and the Maine Department of Education as the 2009 Maine Teacher of the Year. The list of nominees for teacher of the year typically spans the state in an effort to recognize an outstanding educator who has served as a powerful advocate for students and educators. “You beautiful children are the reason I get up in the morning,” Noyes was quoted by the Portland Press Herald as saying during a surprise school assembly where she received the award. But at Tuesday night’s Portland School Board meeting, Noyes will find herself on a list of a much different nature. Noyes, who left Westbrook in October to take a job as assistant principal of the Fred P. Hall elementary school in Portland, is on the list of teachers and school administrators who will be laid off at the end of the school year. (read more at Portland Press Herald)

6.9 Percent Of Mainers Are Out Of Work, And Are Running Low On Coffee Brandy, Too

Aubuchon Connery — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:44:46 +0000

State Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette released April workforce estimates for Maine.

Survey of Households – The preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate estimate for Maine was 6.9 percent in April, down slightly from 7.1 percent in March and 7.3 percent one year ago. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 48,600 were unemployed, down 3,100 over the year. The unemployment rate was below 7 percent for the first time since December 2008.

Preliminary unemployment rate estimates tend to move in a direction for several months and then move in the opposite direction for several months. This pattern often reflects an estimating methodology rather than improvement or deterioration in conditions. Maine analysts note annual revisions in March 2014 are likely to remove those directional trends, as has been the case in recent years.

Maine had a higher share of employed population than the nation for the 67th consecutive month in April (60.7 percent compared to 58.6 percent for the United States).

The U.S. unemployment rate was estimated at 7.5 percent, little changed from 7.6 percent in March and down from 8.1 percent one year ago. The New England unemployment rate estimate was 6.8 percent; estimates for other states were 5.5 percent in New Hampshire, 4.0 percent in Vermont, 6.4 percent in Massachusetts, 8.8 percent in Rhode Island and 8.0 percent in Connecticut.

Survey of Employer Payrolls – Preliminary estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate there were 597,400 nonfarm payroll jobs in April, down 400 from the revised March estimate. The estimate of U.S. nonfarm payroll jobs was up 165,000.

May 17, 2013
Labor

South Bristol Bans Praying Before Getting In A Boat Made by Eighth-Graders, But Trust Me, You’ll Be Praying After You Get In A Boat Made By Eighth-Graders

Aubuchon Connery — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:29:24 +0000

BATH, Maine — Last week South Bristol School canceled its traditional blessing of the fleet after a Washington, D.C.-based organization declared the prayer unconstitutional. But on Friday, controversy was kept at bay as the school’s eighth-graders scrambled to finish building the wooden skiffs with an eye toward the June 14 launch into South Bristol Harbor. They’re a bit behind schedule, volunteer Kate Beaudette said, with only three Fridays left before the event, which has drawn much media attention. Thalia Eddyblouin, 13, her long braid swinging, braced the cedar planks of a 12-foot boat at the Maine Maritime Museum boat shop, while her classmate 14-year-old Jillian Page, sporting bright blue fingernails, drilled pilot holes to prepare the sides for wooden frames. “Make sure it’s in exactly the right place because once you do that, it’s irretrievable,” Beaudette, of South Bristol, told them. The class of five students has worked every Friday since September to build two flat-bottomed skiffs made of cedar and red and white oak. When the boats are finished, one will be sold by the museum and the other will be raffled off by the school to benefit its boat-building program and help finance an eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Saco Husband Finally Gets The Last Word

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:32:40 +0000

SACO — A man who was recently separated from his wife caused a 4½-hour standoff with police that ended Saturday night when he apparently set their house on fire and died inside, police said. Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Holland identified the man as Charles Scontras, who was born in 1955 and had previously run a shoe repair shop on Main Street in Saco. The incident began shortly before 2 p.m. when Scontras’ estranged wife went to the couple’s house at 16 Hillview Ave. to retrieve some belongings, Holland said. She was escorted by a police officer. Holland said the couple had been having problems and had recently separated. When the officer saw smoke coming from the house, he took the wife to a neighbor’s house, Holland said. Then the officer heard “at least one” shot fired, and the Maine State Police tactical team was called in, Holland said. More than a dozen state troopers surrounded the house. Holland said police had intermittent contact with Scontras, but that ended at 3:15 p.m. (read more at Kennebec Journal)

Rumford Fire Department’s Save The Mower Blade Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:19:05 +0000

RUMFORD — Rumford and Mexico firefighters were sent to a tractor and structure fire on Route 2 late Saturday afternoon. But when they arrived, the tractor, a small riding lawnmower, had been pulled away from a garage at 1086 Route 2 and flames on the garage wall were extinguished. No one was injured. Damage to the garage was minimal, but the riding lawnmower was destroyed, said Deputy Chief Chris Bryant of the Rumford Fire Department. The fire departments and Med-Care ambulance were called out at 5:23 p.m. when a passer-by spotted the fire. Bryant said the tenant, Al White, “got done mowing the lawn, set (the mower) by the garage and went into the house, and then a passer-by stopped by and said his tractor was on fire.” (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Canton Fire Department’s Save The Rims Strategy Works Like A Charm

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:16:10 +0000

Fire destroyed this 2000 GMC pickup truck owned by Robert Ouellette of 4 Golden Pond Road off Route 140 in Canton early Friday afternoon. Ouellette said he was working near it and getting ready to work on the truck when flames suddenly erupted in the back of it. Firefighters from Canton, Dixfield and Peru extinguished the fire. (read more at Lewiston Sun Journal)

Waldoboro Fire Department’s Save The Basement Strategy Would Have Worked Like A Charm If Barns Had Basements

Aubuchon Connery — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:07:36 +0000

WALDOBORO, Maine — A fire of undetermined origin destroyed a barn and its contents on Saturday afternoon. There were no injuries in the fire, which occurred in Donald Lee’s barn on Friendship Street in Waldoboro. The state fire marshal will inspect the rubble on Monday, Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer said at the scene of the blaze. The fire is not considered suspicious but he said determining the cause may not be possible because of the extent of damage. (read more at Bangor Daily News)

Eight Months After Diplomats In Benghazi Ask For It, Obama Finally Allows The Marines To Provide Cover

Aubuchon Connery — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:33:38 +0000

The commander in chief of the American armed forces today forced a violation of Marine Corps regulations, so he wouldn’t get wet. According to Marine Corps regulation MCO P1020.34F of the Marine Corps Uniform Regulations chapter 3, a male Marine is not allowed to carry an umbrella while in uniform. There is no provision in the Marine Corps uniform regulation guidelines that allows a male Marine to carry an umbrella. Nevertheless, during a press conference under a light drizzle with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this morning, President Obama allowed the First Head to be protected from the elements by an umbrella held by a male Marine corporal. (read more at The Daily Caller)

Westbrook School Committee Member Helps Put The “Special” Back In Special Education

Aubuchon Connery — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:23:01 +0000

WESTBROOK – Westbrook officials expressed shock Wednesday that a School Committee member has been indicted on charges of hindering the apprehension of a former Westbrook Middle School employee charged with sexual abuse of a minor, a Westbrook student. According to the Cumberland County grand jury indictment list for May, Suzanne Joyce, 51, a longtime public figure in Westbrook, was charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution after a three-month investigation by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office that started in January. The employee, Dereck Gilman, 24, a former Westbrook Middle School special education educational technician who resigned April 1, has been charged with unlawful sexual touching and sexual abuse of a minor following a seven-month investigation from May 2012 to January 2013. (read more at American Journal)