Central Maine News: Dec 9, 2015

These are some of the stories central Maine is talking about today.

(AP) — The Governor's Energy Office says the average statewide cash price for heating oil is down one cent from a week ago. The statewide average is $1.97 per gallon. Kerosene was also down a penny at $2.56 per gallon and propane held steady at $2.20 per gallon. The highest average price for heating oil in Maine was $2.17 per gallon in northern Maine. The lowest average price was $1.90 per gallon in western Maine. The highest heating oil price found in Maine was $2.40 per gallon in the eastern part of the state.

(AP) — A state official says more than 3,000 signs are being installed across Maine to mark routes that can take bicyclists and pedestrians all the way to Florida. The signs have been appearing in the central part of the state recently to mark the East Coast Greenway. The plan would connect Washington and York Counties, and include Bangor, Augusta, and Portland. The signs will all be up by the end of May. The executive director of the East Coast Greenway says the goal is to have all 2,900 miles of the trail marked by signs by the end of the decade. The $75,000 state project is being funded by the federal government.

(AP) -- An employee at J&S in Waterville was injured after a woman allegedly stepped on the gas pedal instead of the brake and drove him through the station's bay doors. 28-year-old Daniel Littlefield suffered a broken left leg and broken elbow in the accident Monday. 52-year-old Carolyn Bluhm didn't remember pressing the gas, but police don't believe there is anything defective with her 2010 Toyota Prius. Speed and alcohol are not considered to be a factor in the incident. Charges are not expected to be filed in the case.

(WGME/KJ) -- MaineGeneral Health announced on Tuesday that it has had a cyber attack on its computer network. MaineGeneral was notified by the FBI on November 13 of the detection of certain MaineGeneral data on an external website that is not accessible by the general public.  The data identified by the FBI includes the date of birth and emergency contact name, address, and telephone number for certain patients referred by a treating physician to MaineGeneral Medical Center for radiology services since June 2009. MaineGeneral will be mailing letters directly to patients impacted by this incident.

(KJ) -- A Lincoln County woman was injured badly Tuesday morning during a four-car pileup on Route 17 in Windsor. Andrea Severson, 49, of Waldoboro, was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with life-threatening injuries, Kennebec County The remaining drivers were treated for minor injuries at the scene but were not taken to the hospital. All of the drivers were alone in their vehicles. The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The National Weather Service had issued an advisory warning about icy roads in the area. Officals say it is too soon to know if that contributed to the crash.

(AP) — The votes are in, and Republican Robert Macdonald will return for a third term as mayor of Lewiston. Macdonald defeated Democratic challenger Ben Chin in Tuesday's runoff election. Macdonald collected 4,398 votes to Chin's 3,826. Chin was the top vote-getter in the city's Nov. 3 election, which pitted five candidates against each other. He had 44 percent of the vote, compared to Macdonald's 37 percent. Since no candidate got 50 percent of the vote, the top two moved on to the runoff. Macdonald said that if he won, welfare reform and housing would be top priorities.

(AP) -- Life expectancy in the United States has stalled for three straight years. New numbers from the government show a child born last year can expect to make it to 78 years and 9and ½ months .”The same prediction made for the previous two years. It's not clear why life expectancy has been flat lately, but experts believe suicides and fatal drug overdoses probably are playing a role.

(AP) — Lawmakers in the House want to tighten the "visa waiver" program following the Paris terror attacks. They voted overwhelmingly to require citizens of 38 "visa wavier" countries to obtain a visa to enter the U.S., if they've been in Iraq or Syria in the past five years. Belgium and France are in the "visa waiver" program. Most of the suspects in last month's Paris attacks were from those countries.

(AP) — Officials say two Afghan nationals being trained at an Air Force base in Georgia have gone missing. Base officials say the two men didn't report Monday to "their regular maintenance training" with the 81st Fighter Squadron at Moody Air Force base, located near Valdosta, about 230 miles south of Atlanta. Officials say the students have been at Moody since February and "were screened prior to their arrival in the United States more than a year ago."