Central Maine News: Oct 7, 2015

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

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating two cases in which Androscoggin County children were hospitalized with symptoms associated with E. coli. The agency is looking for common links, including that both children attended the Oxford County Fair in September. A spokesman says the CDC is sending the state veterinarian and Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the fair to investigate. They'll be looking at animal exhibits, among other things. Fair President Jackie Young says she's cooperating with the investigation.

The CDC spokesman says lab tests revealed the presence of toxins associated with E. coli in both children. The agency says the best defense against the bacterial illness is to thoroughly wash hands with soap and water. (AP)

The principal of Gorham High School says the school will not offer any school dances this academic year with the exception of prom, because administrators believe modern dance culture is too suggestive for them to condone. Gorham High School Principal Chris Record says in a post on the school's website that the school administration will offer different kinds of "social, safe, and appropriate" events for students this year. Record says school dances in past years have been "plagued by the culture of grinding." Record's post cites a Homecoming Dance a year ago in which students were reminded that grinding was not allowed. He says this led to a walk-out for two-thirds of the students at the dance. Record says activities like bonfires could be more appropriate. (AP)

Democrats are criticizing Gov. Paul LePage's statements about gun control and mental illness related to his order to lower flags to half-staff in honor of the victims of the mass shooting in Roseburg, Oregon. The flags were half-staff until Tuesday at sunset. The Republican governor issued a statement on Monday that faulted politicians for blaming guns when in his opinion, the nation's problem with violence is about people with mental illness getting access to guns.State Democratic party spokeswoman Rachel Irwin says LePage should expand Medicaid so more Maine residents can access treatment if he is serious about addressing mental illness. (AP)

A Waterville woman is suing T-Mobile after saying she was sexually harassed while working there. According to WCSH she was at the company for eight years before leaving, saying she was touch inappropriately by a male supervisor. She and her lawyer believe the company is suppressing its employees ability to speak out about problems like that. The company says their actions were to protect all of the parties involved with sexual harassment investigations. (WCSH)

A panel Gov. Paul LePage created in April to investigate the Maine Human Rights Commission was never publicized. According to WABI, one of the stated purposes of the review panel is to “identify factors causing and/or contributing to the perception of prejudice against respondents and bias in favor of complainants.” The executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, said the commission’s annual reports show that it sides in favor of complainants about 10 percent of the time. (WABI)

Tuesday was the first dry day since Sept. 24 in Columbia, South Carolina, where days of heavy rains caused flash-flooding, killing at least 15 people in the state. But officials are warning that it may not be over. They say evacuations could come again as a huge mass of water flows toward the sea, threatening dams. And crews plan to work overnight, trying to block a hole in a canal. If the water level gets below the intake valve, there'll be less than a day's supply of water for some 375,000 customers in Columbia. (AP)

The National Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation into the sinking of a U.S. container ship in the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin last week. Thirty-three people, including 28 Americans, were on the 790-foot El Faro when it's believed have gone down in 15,000 feet of water after reporting its last known position Thursday. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard is continuing to search for any sign of survivors. One unidentified body has been found. (AP)

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is promising that he's "not John Boehner. " McCarthy and his two Republican rivals for the House speaker job took turns meeting behind closed doors Tuesday with the most conservative members in the House. Those lawmakers forced Boehner to resign and are ready to try to deny McCarthy the chance to ascend unless he agrees to various demands. (AP)

A model who has accused Bill Cosby of drugging her at the Playboy Mansion in 2008 is suing Cosby for sexual assault. Chloe Goins filed the suit Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles, seeking punitive damages for a variety of problems she says she has endured since the incident, including mental anguish. The lawsuit is the third filed against Cosby since last year, and it includes a list of 40 women who have accused the comedian of some form of sexual misconduct. (AP)

Relatives of a young Canadian woman found dead in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park say the 23-year-old woman was on her first solo backpacking trip that would have taken her all the way to Europe. Family members say Audrey Carey told them she was traveling to the United States for the first time and that the U.S. was just the first leg of her journey. Carey's body was found Saturday morning following the first day of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, but it's unclear if she attended the event. (AP)