The Maine Center for Disease Control notified Augusta city officials that a skunk in the area of Northern Avenue has contracted rabies.

The American restaurant chain serving Mexican fast food closed its Augusta location after employees were the first in the country to file for union representation.

Maine Maple Sunday Weekend is an annual event, with sugarhouses across the state opening their doors for visitors to see the maple syrup-making process and taste the final products.

Voters agree to a municipal budget Saturday morning that is about $500,000 less than last year's spending plan.

Twenty students from around the state were honored during the celebration.

For Absolem Cider Co., Run Amok Mead and Sidereal Farm Brewing, digging in and growing their craft beverage businesses is as important as the drinks they are making.

Plans to help Augusta residents recover from substance use disorder include a proposal to offer people revived from an overdose by rescue workers immediate, on-scene treatment with Suboxone and help accessing longer-term treatment.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for March 17-24, 2023.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Climate resilience is the project theme; the entry deadline is April 24.

Chanda Lilly pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery in Bath Superior Court on Tuesday in connection with the 2019 murder of Andrew Sherman in his Richmond home and has agreed to testify against Tyon Shuron, who has been charged with murder.

The candidates for president of the University of Maine at Augusta will visit the Augusta campus next week.

Before Amanda Olson became executive director of the organization, it had no housing. It now has 76 units of rental housing in Augusta and more than 100 proposed.

The town's new school district is seeking funds to hire key administrators and buy financial software before the school budget takes effect in July.

The Augusta School Department administrative staff narrowed a projected budget increase from $5.9 million to $1.8 million by drawing on reserves.

The Gardiner City Council is seeking letters of interest from anyone interested in filling vacancies after District 4 City Councilor Marc Rines and Gardiner-area school board member Matthew Marshall resigned before the end of their terms.

Monday's election drew 408 voters, with Joe Caputo and Jeff Hanley winning respective seats on the Select Board and school board.

Washington residents will elect municipal officials Friday and gather Saturday for the annual Town Meeting.

The vehicles cost the city $643,000.

The project would reduce the frequency of — but not eliminate — flooding and add pedestrian amenities to make the riverfront more attractive.

Landscaping for biodiversity and water quality is the focus of the event.

Annual Town Meeting voting in Pittston on Saturday is to be followed up with local elections on Monday.

Reopening ends need for 11-mile detour.

Kim and Chris Brawn, with help from their son Carter, have been running Pease Hill Farm, a cut flower farm located in Monmouth, for three years and this is the first year they've tried growing tulips indoors. Last fall they bought and planted 15,000 tulip bulbs. They planted 5,000 in the ground outside and 10,000 were planted, 66 to a plastic crate, in potting soil to be forced to bloom over the winter.

A reception will be held Monday, April 3.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for March 10-17, 2023.

The explicit image was discovered as a screensaver on Joel E. Williams Jr.'s phone after he left it behind at a store, authorities said.

While West Gardiner residents have historically favored little regulation, more than 200 residents turned out to a public hearing Thursday to support a ban on commercial solar and self-storage facilities rather than regulation.

Even though the budget numbers are expected to change over the coming months, RSU 2 school officials are seeing the impact of federal COVID-19 funds ending and Richmond’s recent withdrawal from the regional school district.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Paul F. Fay III, 38, told a judge he has been unable to get help for mental illness that causes him to lash out during manic episodes.

The annual Town Meeting is Saturday at Pittston Randolph Consolidated School and will be followed by a municipal election Monday at the Pittston Town Office.

Derik Broox Wight allegedly held a knife near the throat of a federal officer before he was shot by another officer at the Edmund S. Muskie Federal Building in Augusta last year.

City Manager Gary Lamb said the land cost $275,000 altogether, but because the city's borrowing limit is $250,000, it had to pay $25,000 down and then take out a loan.

The school committee voted unanimously Friday night to hire Bob Webster as the Richmond School Department's start-up administrator and interim superintendent.

Officials say quick action by two men, one of whom broke through the ice at Pleasant Pond during rescue efforts himself, could have been lifesaving.

A late winter nor'easter is expected to blow through the state Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing strong winds and up to a foot of heavy snow across the region, the same day that brought snow to the region in 2017 and 2018.

Allen Easley, 54, was killed Sunday in the blaze at 578 Mullen Road. His mother, who owned the house, survived, according to officials.

The second Hallowell in Pictures program is scheduled for April 22.

A rental inspection ordinance proposed by city staff to address safety concerns in rental housing in the city would charge landlords a $100 fee, require inspections and has drawn strong opposition.

An Angel's Wing Inc. will hold a grand opening Saturday for Cory's Place, for women, and Kristopher's Home, for men, in Winthrop.

The 132nd annual edition of the Chizzle Wizzle musical variety show “Now in Season” will run from Tuesday, March 14, to Friday, March 17, at 7 p.m. in the Viles Auditorium at Cony Middle/High School in Augusta. All photos are by Kennebec Journal photographer Joe Phelan.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for March 3-10, 2023.

Hyunkook Korsiak, 41, was arrested in New York this week after planning to kill a man in exchange for $50,000.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Some city services will be impacted.

While a plan has emerged to handle 911 calls across northern and western Kennebec County by splitting the duties between Waterville and Androscoggin County, the county's Emergency Management Agency director is working to identify whether a different long-term solution is possible.

The funds would pay for a superintendent, business manager and other directors to begin before the first budget year takes effect and smooth the transition during the town's separation from Regional School Unit 2.

Preston Garrett Caron, 19, allegedly pulled out and opened a pocket knife at Walmart and was charged by police with robbery, criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and theft.

At its Town Meeting, residents unanimously approved setting up guidelines and oversight of the town-owned high-speed broadband network that could deliver reliable internet service to every home in Vienna.

Visitors to the historic building that houses Kennebec County District Attorney's Office and Probate Court office are now being screened by security.

Maine Superior Court Justice Thomas McKeon ordered the demolition Wednesday of 235 Water St. after Gardiner city officials evacuated the adjacent building in February after fears of its catastrophic failure.

Residents also approved $40,000 for start-up costs for the district during a special election Tuesday.

The race is one of the Sexual Assault Crisis & Support Center's largest fundraisers and outreach events.

The town will pay about $220,000 over five years to bring the Winthrop Grade School parking lot into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The budget reflects nearly an 11% increase in county spending, in part to pay for unfunded state requirement to provide medication-assisted treatment at the county jail.

Robert Santerre has paid $5,000 as part of his sentence for committing a motor vehicle violation resulting in death. That money has been turned over to the city of Augusta to create a memorial to the crash victims.

Due to Maddie Weymouth's efforts, some 50 people contributed about $800 to buy items expected to bring joy to foster children awaiting placement at a new home.

Defend Our Health officials say Casella, which contracts with 30 wastewater treatment plants for sludge removal, says company data shows the situation for Casella is not as dire as portrayed, but Casella characterizes the allegation as insulting and dishonest.

The rate of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service in Gray, was higher than usual at roughly 2 to 3 inches per hour in the morning. 

First Amendment advocates across New England say the sweeping decision sets a dangerous precedent.

Superintendent Jim Hodgkin will ask the town to designate the funds for a mandatory paving project at the Winthrop Grade School. The cost increased from a year ago when the initial estimate was made.

Rick Amero, former Monmouth Academy principal, will become RSU 2's new superintendent.

Stephen B. Richardson III pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated assault in connection with a crash on Oct. 31, 2021, that killed Julie Clark, 19, of Troy.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for Feb. 24-March 3, 2023.

The storm will cap a busy week for public works crews that have been plowing roads all week after earlier storms dumped snow across the region.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Jeffrey A. Tyler, of Augusta, is to serve one year in prison for sexual abuse of a minor.

In a plea deal struck Thursday, Jon L. Westerlund was instead sentenced to nine months in prison on an aggravated assault charge.

Michele Pelletier and Daniel Webster III reside in Winthrop.

As the cost of hauling sludge from wastewater treatment plants spikes after two state laws have limited how it can be handled, city leaders are weighing how to pay for the additional unanticipated costs of shipping it to Canada.

Construction on the bridge to replace the Rines Hill Bridge on Water Street, between the Augusta Fire Department headquarters and downtown, is expected to start this month and take about a year.

If a grant is approved later this month, residents could have internet by the end of 2024.

Route 17 to be closed until the end of March and drivers are being directed to an 11-mile detour on the road between Augusta and Rockland.

Wastewater treatment plant operators across Maine face paying higher fees to truck sludge to New Brunswick after two state laws curtailed how biosolid disposal is handled.

Services were held in Augusta, Camden, China, Gardiner and Skowhegan.

The man who was hit in the eye by a BB pellet underwent multiple surgeries, officials said.

The fire was reported at noon on Saturday and the fire marshal is looking into the cause of the fire.

Maine Forest Service entomologist Colleen Teerling gave a presentation Saturday to a small crowd at Gardiner Public Library on how to use a pole pruner and saw to cut browntail moth nests out of trees.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for Feb. 17-24, 2023.

Defense attorneys for Jesse W. Morang said police failed to properly investigate the allegations against him.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

The event will support the Friends of Lithgow Library Puzzle + Pie Sale.

The Central Maine Commerce Center changed hands earlier this month for $18.5 million, the largest commercial real estate transaction in the Augusta area since 2019.

Jesse W. Morang's defense lawyers claim Kennebec County Sheriff's Office investigators failed to collect evidence.

Tyon Shuron, who is accused of fatally shooting a Richmond man, has spent three years in jail awaiting his trial.

Crews are working to determine what caused the structure on Route 17 to collapse Tuesday evening.

Kennebec County officials are now considering what steps they can take to fill the gap in emergency communications after Somerset County commissioners voted to not renew contracts with 16 communities across northern and western Kennebec County.

The National Weather Service says snow will begin falling late Wednesday night, bringing 6-8 inches of snow to the Augusta and Waterville area by Thursday, while a second snowstorm is expected to bring an estimated 2-4 inches of snow on Friday.

The hearing is set for March 13, after which the ordinance will need a second and third reading before approval.

Officials are looking to put away funds to help pay for the potential vertical expansion of the landfill, which could cost about $20 million and extend the landfill's lifetime by 12 to 15 years.

Elaborate model train layouts featured at annual Augusta State Armory Show

Officials hope to attract enough Elvis impersonators to the building, which hosted Elvis in his only Maine appearance in 1977, to set a world record.

Library Director Richard Fortin said the replacement is estimated at just under $50,000.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for Feb. 10-17, 2023.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Superintendent Jim Anastasio said the board will have to figure out how to close the multimillion-dollar shortfall that's caused by necessary expenses, such as an increase in natural gas, electricity, transportation and tuition for special education. 

The City Council voted to take money out of two accounts so the city does not exceed its $250,000 borrowing limit.

The move to match the $130-a-day rate substitute teachers are paid makes Winthrop Public Schools among the highest-paying district in the Augusta area for substitute education technicians.

Town councilors appointed Steve Eldridge as the interim manager. Outgoing Town Manager Jeff Kobrock's last day is expected to be Friday.

The news could be a boon to central Maine districts that were facing thousands of dollars of unbudgeted expenses or ending the school year in late June.

The appointment of Sgt. Christopher Giles as interim police chief comes as former Chief Scott MacMaster is leaving the top job to become a patrol officer for the Gardiner Police Department.

Shane M. Sawler, of Bath, was arrested on several charges.

Evidence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in Kennebec County means more vigilance on the part of those raising domestic poultry and relying on measures already in place.

Districts, including those based in Augusta, Gardiner and Winthrop, are no longer reimbursed for providing students meals on remote learning days, complicating efforts to reschedule missed hours of instruction.

With the landfill projected to be full in about four years, officials say they need to put money away to help offset the future cost of expanding the landfill.

Richmond's bicentennial year celebration began with a weekend of fire and ice, with fireworks Friday marking the 200th anniversary of the town's incorporation, and ice carving, ice history and ice skating scheduled for Saturday.

"The Art of Assemblage: Myth, Mystery and Spirituality" includes the work of four contemporary Maine artists who have recontextualized found objects into spiritual-themed pieces.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for Feb. 3-10, 2023.

Both wild birds and a domestic flock in Kennebec County have been found to be infected with highly pathogenic avian flu this year.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

The Augusta Fire Department said the smell is not coming from the city, but that the investigation is ongoing.

The money from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant is planned for improved extrication equipment and tools to outfit a Gardiner Fire Department engine and its three ambulances.

“The financial consequences of not being ready are far more serious than the fact you might be short," consultant Jack Turcott told the committee overseeing the town's transition out of Regional School Unit 2.

Authorities said officers arrested a 17-year-old boy from Richmond on multiple charges in connection with the high-speed pursuit.

The Maine Connectivity Authority is expected to decide later this month whether to give final approval to an application from Matrix Design Group to build a state-of-the-art fiber network in Fayette.

The Maine Deadly Force Review Panel, created the same year as the Augusta incident, recommends officers identify themselves as police officers loudly when knocking at someone's door.

Prompted by parent concerns, the Regional School Unit 2 board of directors unanimously approved the move at a recent meeting. The students had been temporarily placed in Hall-Dale Middle School.

Last weekend's record-breaking low temperatures turned the oil into sludge, leading to a major oil leak at the library, officials said.

The Cony Concert Choir kicked off the morning session Tuesday of the House of Representatives.

The presentation can be watched on Facebook live.

The plan will even out the populations of each ward and bring the city back into compliance with state regulations.

Clinton Richard Damboise, 47, robbed the Camden National Bank branch in Manchester in 2016.

Officials hope the initiative, a collaboration between the Maine Veterans' Home and Augusta Adult and Community Education, will help address the state's shortage of health care workers.

Nicholas P. Lovejoy, 32, was convicted of murdering his longtime girlfriend, who was the mother of their twin daughters, in 2019.

Wilcox, 33, accepted the award last Friday and is to be honored this week for her accomplishment.

The commander of a new combat ship nearing completion in Alabama hopes to bring the USS Augusta to Maine for its commissioning.

If passed, the ordinance would prohibit synthetic pesticides on private property and all pesticides within 75 feet of any body of water.

Amanda and Tom Roddy bought their redemption center on Route 3 nearly five years ago and they're hoping that this year, lawmakers will be able to make changes to the state's bottle redemption program.

The capital city had record lows for both Friday and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for Jan. 27-Feb. 3, 2023.

Abby Leger of Cony Middle School and Abhinav Reddy of St. Michael School will compete in the statewide tournament for a chance to make it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The order to evacuate 247 Water St. came after an engineering review commissioned by Gardiner city officials found the fire-damaged building at 235 Water St. to be at risk of catastrophic failure, which the mayor says is the result of "stubborn inaction" by the owner.

Derek Wilhelmsen, found not criminally responsible for the 2002 shooting death of Portland cab driver Nunzi Mancini, will now be allowed overnight visits with girlfriend after a judge gave approval Friday.

The special election will be held on March 7.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

Life-threatening cold temperatures expected Friday and Saturday will put unhoused people at risk. Members of the South Parish Congregational Church are scrambling to ensure an overflow space is available for the overnight warming center if needed.

Scott MacMaster is to begin working in Gardiner later this month.

The proposal would help address the growing amount of unsafe rental housing conditions in the city, officials say.

The district is searching for an interim replacement for Kathy Casparius "as soon as possible," said Board of Education Chair Amanda Olson.

Augusta and Hallowell may exceed their budgets for salt, but elsewhere in central Maine, municipalities say they are on-track for spending on salt and sand at this point in the season.

Tracy C. Dorweiler pleaded guilty to felony counts of forgery and theft in cases dating to 2019-20.

Kyle Joseph King, of Augusta, has been indicted on two charges. The officer whose cruiser was stolen, with an AR-15 inside, was suspended for one day without pay.

Connor Perkins, a Winthrop firefighter, and his brother Cody Perkins, a Winthrop police officer, rescued three ducks trapped against a grate in the mill stream that flows under Main Street, and they also found several dead ducks.

The Planning Board has requested more information on a Lewiston-based company's plans for a mining operation off Turkey Lane.

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The repairs are expected to last three to five decades, according to Town Manager Kelly Weissenfels.

More than 800 people turned out for the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce's annual Kenney Awards at the Augusta Civic Center.

Augusta- and Waterville-area arrests for Jan. 20-27, 2023.

Dylan Ketcham, 23, was found guilty Friday of three crimes tied to a January 2020 incident in Gardiner. He faces a sentence of between 25 years to life in prison.

Here are some of our favorite Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel photos from the past week.

The jury recessed Thursday before reaching a verdict about Dylan Ketcham, who is accused of killing Jordan Johnson and attempting to murder Caleb Trudeau in Gardiner in 2020.

The two collapses were among those reported in Maine in the aftermath of a storm Wednesday that brought snow and rain to the region.

As construction on Senior Living at the Marketplace wraps up, leasing is expected to start for the affordable units targeted at those 55 or older.

Awards were presented to outstanding businesses during the campaign celebration.

Voting will take place at the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce's annual formal banquet, the Kenney Awards, which returns to the Augusta Civic Center for the first time since 2020.

This is not the first time the Augusta courthouse has experienced the major technical failure, which prevented proceedings from being electronically recorded and blocked lawyers' ability to show evidence on monitors, says Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy, who is calling for the system to be replaced.

Caleb Trudeau testified Tuesday that Dylan Ketcham, who is on trial for murder and attempted murder, shot their friend Jordan Johnson then attacked him with machete in January of 2020.

Mike Johnson volunteers at the Augusta Food Bank.

The Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce's Kenney Awards returns to a live, formal event at the Augusta Civic Center on Friday, where members will honor award winners for their accomplishments.