CARMEL — At least two people are dead after a single car crash in Carmel.

State Police said the car hit a utility pole Monday night and knocked down the lines. Authorities said emergency crews could not get to the car right away because of the downed lines.

Officials are not identifying the victims until family members are notified. They did say at least two people were in the car.

WABI-TV reports state police are investigating what caused the crash.

City seeks winter plan from OccupyMaine

PORTLAND — The city of Portland wants OccupyMaine to produce a plan explaining how protesters will stay safe and warm in the coming weeks as temperatures drop.

Spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said a letter that was sent to protesters at Lincoln Park on Nov. 1 yielded no response. The city repeated its demand Monday.

Clegg said the letter asks for a fire, safety, medical and evacuation plan, as well as plans for staying warm and for stewardship of the park.

OccupyMaine in Portland has been at Monument Square and Lincoln Park since Sept. 30. John Branson, a lawyer representing OccupyMaine, said the group discussed winter weather at a general assembly last week. He said the group planned to send a formal response Tuesday.

I-295 improvement project completed

PORTLAND — Maine transportation officials said an 84-mile highway-improvement project’s been completed along Interstate 295.

After nearly six months, orange barrels that have become a familiar sight to commuters have disappeared along the stretch of the highway improved in the $22.4 million project.

Signs of ongoing construction were present from late spring along I-295 from the Scarborough toll booths to Brunswick. Construction crews were on the job mostly from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m.

All told, construction crews paved 40 miles of highway and 36 on and off-ramps, completed maintenance and repairs on 29 bridges and overpasses, most notably all eight lanes of Tukeys Bridge, and installed 1,200 feet of drainage culvert and 14 miles of new guardrail.

The state has scheduled more I-295 improvements for next yearl.

Dixfield man accused of shooting dog

MAGALLOWAY — A Dixfield hunter is facing charges for allegedly shooting a dog that was walking in the woods with its owner.

The Maine Warden Service said Christopher Salatino was charged Monday with shooting a domestic animal. He was issued a summons to court.

Authorities said the German shepherd was shot Nov. 2 in the woods of Magalloway. Salatino, who was deer hunting, told authorities he thought the dog was a coyote.

A spokeswoman for the Warden Service said the shooting was a case of hunter not practicing 100 percent identification.

On the same day, an Orrington man also was charged with shooting a dog he mistook for a coyote.

LePage says he’s not behind casino calls

AUGUSTA — A spokeswoman for Gov. Paul LePage said he didn’t have anything to do with a series of anti-casino “robo-calls” made as Mainers prepared to vote Tuesday on a pair of casino proposals.

Adrienne Bennett said the governor didn’t authorize the calls featuring remarks he made questioning whether Maine can support three more casinos, bringing the state’s total to five.

Bennett said the governor is not making endorsements one way or the other on casinos. She said it’s LePage’s position that voters and local communities should decide whether they want casinos.

The robo-calls and a new website feature LePage’s remarks made at a forum at Colby College. The recorded phone calls contained a disclosure that it was funded by Mainers Against a Rotten Deal.

Police say man shot wife then self

CARMEL — Maine State Police said a Carmel man shot and killed his wife and then himself.
Police said Patricia Johnson, 69, and Laurel Johnson, 74, were found dead in their home Tuesday morning.

Police said a hospice worker who visited the home daily to care for Patricia Johnson found the house was locked and called relatives, who found the bodies inside.

The couple was last seen alive about 7 p.m. Monday night.

Spokesman Steve McCausland of the state Public Safety Department said the deaths are unrelated to a highway wreck in Carmel.

Shots fired in chase; suspect, officer hurt

LEWISTON — A high-speed pursuit Tuesday ended with the passenger taking the wheel and striking an officer in an attempt to escape before police shot him, officials said.

The stolen Ford Focus sped through Lewiston streets with police cruisers in close pursuit, at one point going the wrong way down a one-way street, before crashing into a fence, police said.

Police arrested Richard Thorpe, 30, of Norway, and his passenger, Kyle Corey, 43, of Portland, who was shot in the shoulder by police.

The chase started when a Lewiston police officer spotted the stolen vehicle and tried to pull it over at 12:15 a.m. The car sped away, leading police through the streets of Lewiston and Auburn.

Thorpe was the original driver before crashing the car, then smashing a police cruiser in an attempt to escape and eventually flee on foot; Corey then hopped into the driver’s seat and drove into a police officer, knocking him to the ground, police said. Corey was taken to a hospital along with the officer, who was treated and released, officials said.

Man sentenced for taking VA benefits

BANGOR — A former Maine resident has been sentenced in federal court to 18 months in prison for submitting false claims for nearly $50,000 in veterans benefits.

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Mark Palmquist, 45, of Menominee, Mich., illegally received monthly checks that were intended for a former spouse and child for nearly six years following his divorce, from 2003 to 2009. Authorities said Palmquist submitted a fake letter from the Veterans Affairs Department to back up receipt of the benefits.

Authorities said Palmquist also was convicted of illegally receiving benefits from 2008 to 2011 for an alleged back condition after he created a false document from a Marine Corps detachment commander.

Palmquist was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay the money back.

Compiled from wire reports