In the News
Saco man held after break-ins
A Saco resident is now in the Cumberland County Jail in Portland after varied encounters with man’s best friend Saturday morning.
Scarborough police said Richard R. Martin Jr. of North Street is charged with burglary, burglary of a vehicle, five counts of attempted burglary of a motor vehicle and violating bail conditions after he and his pit bull allegedly broke into a home on Ross Road just after midnight Saturday.
Martin appeared in Cumberland County Superior Court Monday in front of Justice Thomas Warren, and officials at the Cumberland County Jail said Martin is currently being held on cash bail totaling more than $1,700.
According to jail officials, $210 of the bail is for an outstanding warrant in York County on Martin’s failure to appear in court to answer to a charge of harassment by telephone.
After leaving the home on Ross Road, Martin, 29, was tracked to the Pine Point area by a canine team from the Old Orchard Beach Police Department, Scarborough Police Dispatcher Jaime Higgins said.
Police responding to the burglary call found a car outside the residence had been broken into and five other cars along Ross Road showed signs of attempted entry.
Martin’s dog was picked up at the Scarborough Police Station by a family member early Saturday morning, according to Rouse.
Body of man found near river
Saco and state police are waiting for autopsy results to determine how a Saco man died.
Saco Detective Sgt. David Loranger said the body of a 60-year-old Saco man was found by people walking along the Saco River. The body was found around 11 a.m. Sunday under a railroad trestle in the area of Lincoln Street.
Loranger said state police were called to assist in the investigation because it was not clear how the man died and under what circumstances. State police investigate most homicides and suspicious deaths in the state.
The state medical examiner’s office was expected to complete the autopsy early this week, Loranger said.
Threatening list discovered
Superintendent Mike Lafortune said there was no immediate threat to students’ safety after a threatening list was found last week at a Saco school.
Lafortune said police were called to Saco Middle School to investigate a list written by a male student. School officials sent a letter to parents Friday explaining the incident. Students named on the list also were notified.
Lafortune characterized the note as a “fictitious list” created by a student who had been bullied but had not reported the incidents. He said the student said he wished lightning would strike someone in 2013 and that a piano would fall on someone’s head.
“I think it was a call out for help,” Lafortune said.
Lafortune would not release the student’s age or grade. The middle school serves children in grades six through eight.
Lafortune said the student currently is not in school while he undergoes a risk assessment with a psychologist.
Lafortune said the school district does a lot of work on bullying prevention, especially at the middle school where name calling is common.
“It’s a constant education on the effects of bullying,” he said.
FCC will settle GWI dispute
The Maine Public Utilities Commission ruled this week that the issue of dark-fiber access in a billing dispute between Great Works Internet and FairPoint Communications must be decided by the Federal Communication Commission.
An ongoing dispute between Biddeford-based GWI and FairPoint centers on billing and GWI’s use of high-capacity dark-fiber loops owned by FairPoint. FairPoint officials said they will disconnect GWI’s use of the lines if the billing issue is not settled.
GWI filed asked the Maine PUC to investigate FairPoint’s business practices. If FairPoint disconnects 17 lines on Feb. 12, it would affect GWI’s ability to serve 14 of its largest commercial customers, according to the Biddeford company.
“We cannot take sides in this case. The issue of who has access to dark fiber and at what cost is firmly in the hands of the FCC,” said commission chairman Sharon Reishus.
The commission directed the two companies to negotiate in good faith to prevent any service disruptions. Both companies also were encouraged to file comments with the FCC.
GWI Founder and CEO Fletcher Kittredge said in a prepared statement that the commission’s willingness to look into FairPoint’s business practices is “a positive message.”
“As a company that was born and raised in Biddeford over 15 years ago, we are pleased that the Maine Public Utilities Commission agrees with the Maine Public Advocate Office and [GWI] that FairPoint Communications has made ‘shamefully slow progress’ in correction ‘blatant’ errors in its service and billing practices,” he said.
A Saco resident is now in the Cumberland County Jail in Portland after varied encounters with man’s best friend Saturday morning.
Scarborough police said Richard R. Martin Jr. of North Street is charged with burglary, burglary of a vehicle, five counts of attempted burglary of a motor vehicle and violating bail conditions after he and his pit bull allegedly broke into a home on Ross Road just after midnight Saturday.
Martin appeared in Cumberland County Superior Court Monday in front of Justice Thomas Warren, and officials at the Cumberland County Jail said Martin is currently being held on cash bail totaling more than $1,700.
According to jail officials, $210 of the bail is for an outstanding warrant in York County on Martin’s failure to appear in court to answer to a charge of harassment by telephone.
After leaving the home on Ross Road, Martin, 29, was tracked to the Pine Point area by a canine team from the Old Orchard Beach Police Department, Scarborough Police Dispatcher Jaime Higgins said.
Police responding to the burglary call found a car outside the residence had been broken into and five other cars along Ross Road showed signs of attempted entry.
Martin’s dog was picked up at the Scarborough Police Station by a family member early Saturday morning, according to Rouse.
Body of man found near river
Saco and state police are waiting for autopsy results to determine how a Saco man died.
Saco Detective Sgt. David Loranger said the body of a 60-year-old Saco man was found by people walking along the Saco River. The body was found around 11 a.m. Sunday under a railroad trestle in the area of Lincoln Street.
Loranger said state police were called to assist in the investigation because it was not clear how the man died and under what circumstances. State police investigate most homicides and suspicious deaths in the state.
The state medical examiner’s office was expected to complete the autopsy early this week, Loranger said.
Threatening list discovered
Superintendent Mike Lafortune said there was no immediate threat to students’ safety after a threatening list was found last week at a Saco school.
Lafortune said police were called to Saco Middle School to investigate a list written by a male student. School officials sent a letter to parents Friday explaining the incident. Students named on the list also were notified.
Lafortune characterized the note as a “fictitious list” created by a student who had been bullied but had not reported the incidents. He said the student said he wished lightning would strike someone in 2013 and that a piano would fall on someone’s head.
“I think it was a call out for help,” Lafortune said.
Lafortune would not release the student’s age or grade. The middle school serves children in grades six through eight.
Lafortune said the student currently is not in school while he undergoes a risk assessment with a psychologist.
Lafortune said the school district does a lot of work on bullying prevention, especially at the middle school where name calling is common.
“It’s a constant education on the effects of bullying,” he said.
FCC will settle GWI dispute
The Maine Public Utilities Commission ruled this week that the issue of dark-fiber access in a billing dispute between Great Works Internet and FairPoint Communications must be decided by the Federal Communication Commission.
An ongoing dispute between Biddeford-based GWI and FairPoint centers on billing and GWI’s use of high-capacity dark-fiber loops owned by FairPoint. FairPoint officials said they will disconnect GWI’s use of the lines if the billing issue is not settled.
GWI filed asked the Maine PUC to investigate FairPoint’s business practices. If FairPoint disconnects 17 lines on Feb. 12, it would affect GWI’s ability to serve 14 of its largest commercial customers, according to the Biddeford company.
“We cannot take sides in this case. The issue of who has access to dark fiber and at what cost is firmly in the hands of the FCC,” said commission chairman Sharon Reishus.
The commission directed the two companies to negotiate in good faith to prevent any service disruptions. Both companies also were encouraged to file comments with the FCC.
GWI Founder and CEO Fletcher Kittredge said in a prepared statement that the commission’s willingness to look into FairPoint’s business practices is “a positive message.”
“As a company that was born and raised in Biddeford over 15 years ago, we are pleased that the Maine Public Utilities Commission agrees with the Maine Public Advocate Office and [GWI] that FairPoint Communications has made ‘shamefully slow progress’ in correction ‘blatant’ errors in its service and billing practices,” he said.
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