Central Maine News: June 10, 2015

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

Waterville residents decided to keep the pay-as-you-throw trash collection and single-stream recycling program in a 1,338-688 vote. According to the KJ, Waterville has reduced the trash it picks up by about 55 percent since the programs started. They had expected to reduce it by only 40 or 45 percent. As part of the program, residents must buy designated trash bags for curbside pickup. (centralmaine.com)

The town is moving ahead with plans to withdraw from School Administrative District 74 after residents approved the formation of an official withdrawal committee Tuesday. According to the KJ, the vote Tuesday is nonbinding, which means residents will have a chance to review negotiations with the district school board and the Department of Education before casting a final vote on withdrawal. (centralmaine.com)

Residents of Madison have elected to have their police department absorbed by a county sheriff's office. Town meeting members approved money for the plan on Monday night. A public safety budget of more than $850,000 was approved by a vote of 103-73. Residents rejected a higher $940,000 budget proposal that would have supported a police chief and department. The lower budget would save money now and in the future for capital projects and road repairs. The transition plan goes into effect July 1. No Madison officers will lose their jobs, although the police chief's job will be eliminated. (AP)

The Travis Mills Foundation broke ground on a retreat for combat wounded veterans and their families. According to WCSH, they did so with help from some special guests from Fenway Park. The Director of Grounds for the Boston Red Sox, and his crew donated a stencil of the Travis Mills Foundation logo for the front lawn. They traveled to Rome to put the logo on the grass for the groundbreaking ceremony. Mills is one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He's now dedicated to improving the lives of disabled veterans. His foundation purchased an estate in Rome for wounded warriors and their families, where they will be able to experience outdoor activities and get support from other disabled veterans. (WCSH)

Augusta Police Department received a call Tuesday about a possible bomb threat at Cony High School. According to WCSH the school was put into a lock down while it was investigated. This is the third time in a week police have responded to Cony High School following concerning threats made against the school.  For now, students now are being asked to sign in and out of classrooms, and staff members have increased their presence in public areas and are doing safety checks in bathrooms. The last day of school is June 16. Anyone with information about the threats at Cony High School is asked to contact the Augusta Police Department @ 626-2370.  (WCHS/centralmaine.com)

Police say one person was killed Tuesday in Hope when a rock fell from another vehicle through the windshield of the car he was driving. It happened just before 3pm on Route 17, near the Hope-Union town line. The drive of the car died, his wife was taken to the hospital and treated.  According to WABI, police are looking for the vehicle the rock came from and say the operator may not even realize what happened. Police believe that vehicle would have been hauling rocks 6 to 8 inches in diameter. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at 593-9132. (WABI)

Central Maine Power is warning customers about a surge of calls from scam artists calling you and demanding money.  People are calling home and business customers, warning that service will be disconnected if they don't purchase and send a pre-paid debit card. In some cases, the callers tell customers they haven't received a recent payment and to pay again. CMP said the callers are also using spoof caller ID systems to make the call look like it's coming from CMP. According to WGME, CMP won't call a customer for payment if the account is in good standing and CMP never asks customers to purchase debit cards to make payments. You can check your balance at the CMP website or by calling the company. You can also verify the identity of a CMP employee by asking for their photo ID card if someone is at your home in person or ask for his or her employee number, then call CMP to verify. (WGME)

The death of a 47-year-old woman in Durham is under investigation. Police say Sandra Corrigan of Whitefield was found dead at a friend's house Monday. According to WGME officials say the 911 call was made for the man who lives in the home because he recently had heart surgery and was having chest pains. But when first responders arrived they found a dead female. Investigators say Corrigan was a friend of the homeowner and was visiting from Whitefield. Since no one saw what happened and it's unclear how she died, the case is being investigated as an unattended death. (WGME)

The Maine Senate has backed Gov. Paul LePage's proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the income tax, but the measure doesn't have enough support to win final approval. LePage wants to prohibit the state from collecting income tax in 2020. Because that requires a constitutional amendment, it needs the support of two-thirds of lawmakers in both chambers plus voter approval. The Senate voted 20-14 Tuesday to give initial approval to the governor's proposal. But the vote falls short of what it will need for final approval. The House rejected the proposal Monday. LePage has said he will veto every bill sponsored by Democrats until they pass his constitutional amendment. He vetoed 10 on Monday because he said Democrats have "stifled the voice of Maine citizens." (AP)

A Maine judge says Gov. Paul LePage's administration doesn't have to reimburse cities and towns for welfare provided to some immigrants who can't prove they're living in the U.S. legally. But the Superior Court Justice also ruled that LePage can't penalize municipalities for providing those payments because the Department of Health and Human Services didn't go through the proper rule-making process before issuing a directive last year. LePage had threatened to withhold all general assistance payments for cities that don't comply. The Maine Municipal Association and the cities of Portland and Westbrook sued the administration over the policy last July. The judge stopped short of issuing an injunction. Instead, he released a declaratory decision, laying out his view of the law. (AP)

Police are investigating after several headstones were knocked over and U.S. flags were snapped and thrown on the ground at a small Carthage cemetery. Some of the graves in the Winter Hill Cemetery are about 200 years old. Cemetery caretaker discovered the damage on Sunday when he went to trim weeds. He contacted the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, which determined that the vandalism had occurred after dark Saturday. The stones will be repaired and unbroken stones will be up-righted. Anyone who knows anything about the damage is asked to call police. (AP)

Police say they're continuing to get leads in the search for two convicted killers who escaped from a maximum-security prison in upstate New York. But reports of two men walking along a road in a small town in the Adirondack foothills have turned up empty. Tuesday's search focused on Willsboro, close to Lake Champlain, after residents reported seeing a couple of men walking on a road late Monday during a driving rainstorm. (AP)

A Texas community leader says there needs to be a "serious investigation" into how a white police officer treated black teens at a pool party in McKinney. Officer David Casebolt resigned from the police force Tuesday, after a video showed him pushing a black girl in a bikini to the ground and pointing a gun at other black teens. Dominique Alexander, president of the Dallas area-Next Generation Action Network, says the resignation "is a step in the right direction." (AP)