Police plan vehicle safety checks in Saco

 Three local police departments will hold a checkpoint Saturday to ensure vehicles are properly inspected.

The Saco and Old Orchard Beach police departments and the York County Sheriff’s Office will hold a vehicle inspection checkpoint from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday in Saco. Officers will check cars for valid inspection stickers and compliance with state laws.

The checkpoint is the first of several planned for this summer in the Saco and Old Orchard Beach area.

Sheriff releases review of shooting

York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette last week announced an administrative review of an officer-involved shooting is complete.

The investigation began following the Jan. 15 death of Andrew Landry at the home of his relatives in Lyman. Police were called to the home because of Landry’s unusual behavior, Ouellette said.

The state attorney general on June. 16 deemed police were justified in using deadly  force against Landry when he charged at an officer while holding knives.

“On a daily basis, law enforcement officers are faced with a myriad of challenges and encountering unstable individuals is one of our greatest challenges,” Ouellette said in a prepared statement.

Ouellette said two deputies “were forced to utilize force which resulted in the mortal wounding of Mr. Landry.”

“While I am very sorry for the loss the Landry family suffered, I am confident that Mr. Landry would have seriously injured or killed one of my deputies and possibly his own family members had the deputies not responded definitively,” Ouellette said.

Ouellette said he assembled an incident review team in compliance with state law to look at training and tactics used by the sheriff’s office. He said the review team determined the department’s current equipment and resources are adequate.

The review was conducted by Major William King Jr. of the sheriff’s office, York Police Chief Douglas Bracy, State Police Lt. Walter Grzyb, Auburn Police Lt. Tim Cougle and Cornish resident Joseph Watson.

Endangered birds found near Pier

Old Orchard Beach town officials announced there are piping plovers on the beach to the east side of the Pier.

Piping plovers are federally threatened and state endangered birds that nest and feed on sandy beaches on the Atlantic coast. The small sand-colored, sparrow-sized bird is known to nest on southern Maine beaches, including Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough, Biddeford Pool, Wells and Ogunquit.

A portion of Old Orchard Beach in 1995 was designated an essential habitat for the birds by Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Fewer than 30 pairs of piping plovers nest in Maine each year.

Old Orchard Beach last year entered a beach management agreement with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Maine Audubon to protect the town from liability if a piping plover is accidentally killed.

Under the agreement, trash barrels are removed from areas where piping plovers are nesting because they attract predators such as seagulls.

People on the beach as asked to stay away from the birds. A $20,000 fine can be imposed for any injury to a plover.

OOB seeks donations for mannequin

The Old Orchard Beach Fire Department is seeking donations toward the purchase of a computerized training mannequin.

Don Pelletier, a career firefighter/paramedic with the department, said Saco Biddeford Savings Bank recently donated $1,000 to the fund. The cost of the Smart Stat Manikin by Simulaids is $20,000.

The Smart Stat Manikin is designed to mimic lifelike situations for training rescue personnel and is operated remotely by a trainer. Pelletier said the mannequins currently are used primarily in school settings because of the high cost.

“It’s a great training aid,” he said. “It’s an amazing piece of equipment. It looks and acts like a real person.”

The department is currently using outdated equipment from the 1980s, Pelletier said. The department in February set up the fund and has distributed posters asking for donations throughout town.

Pelletier said the department will use the mannequin for its own training, loan it to other departments and use it for educational programs with groups such as Boy Scouts.

Pelletier said the department appreciates any donation, no matter how small. Donations can be sent to Old Orchard Beach Department, attention Don Pelletier, 136 Saco Ave., Old Orchard Beach ME 04064. Checks should be made payable to the Town of Old Orchard Beach.

For more information, call 934-4911 or e-mail dpelletier@psafety.oobmaine.com.

UNE announces new tutoring program

The University of New England’s Office of Citizenship and Service Learning received a grant to establish a literacy and math tutoring program with local schools.

The $4,035 grant from the Community Building Grant Program of the Maine Community Foundation will be used to start a program where university students will be trained to tutor students at Biddeford Middle School, Loranger Middle School in Old Orchard Beach and C.K. Burns School in Saco.

“The grant will allow UNE to further strengthen its connections to local area schools while also providing young students with help in reading, writing and arithmetic as well as providing off-campus work study opportunities for UNE students,” said Theo Dunfey, coordinator of citizenship and service learning at the university.

– Compiled by Staff Writer Gillian Graham