Mount Vernon firefighter Harry Johnson, left, and Fayette firefighter Alex Rose, right, comfort a hound that was discovered hiding in a dog box as a fire raged around it at a Fayette residence on Sunday. The blaze destroyed a 42-by-28-foot workshop and garage belonging to Meredith and Tim Pepper, according to Fayette Fire Chief Marty Maxwell. Firefighters from the Lakes Region Mutual Aid compact were summoned to the residence on an unpaved section of the Young Road at 3:22 p.m., Maxwell said, and encountered a building that housed logging equipment engulfed in flames. Crews used an excavator to extinguish the flames under the collapsed building at 5:30 p.m. “It will take a couple hours to stir it up and water it down,” Maxwell said. No injuries were reported.
Trever Tardiff wipes away a tear as he eats the Liberal Cup’s Vesuvius Chili during the 14th annual Chili Chowder Challenge on Saturday at the Augusta Armory. The Liberal Cup’s concoction won the prize for hottest chili among 15 restaurants participating. The event raised $31,000 for the Children’s Center in Augusta.
Travis Parlin of Fairfield casts a set of nymphs into Cobbossee Stream Tuesday in Manchester beneath clear blue skies. Parlin said he’s been addicted to connecting flies and fish since he was a freshman in high school.
Jake Rackliff wades through a stream Wednesday near Minnehonk Lake in Mount Vernon while fishing on the first day of the open water season. Since most bodies of water are still frozen, Rackliff, of Mount Vernon, said he was cruising to all the spots near his home that may have a thawed spot to wet a line. He hadn’t snagged any fish on his first trip.
Canada geese feed through the ice caking the Kennebec River at the confluence of Cobbossee Stream in Gardiner on Monday.
The Coast Guard cutter Shackle, one of three 65-foot ice breaking tugs working on the Kennebec River, breaks ice on Thursday as it steams south toward the Maine Kennebec River Bridge between Dresden and Richmond. The old green metal bridge that was replaced by the new taller bridge is being dismantled.
Two firefighters emerge from the smoky ruins of Ray’s Auto garage in North Belgrade that was destroyed by fire on Monday.
Local & State 
