Portland Press Herald from Portland, Maine • 5

land Press Herald Tuesday December 2 2008 PAGE TWO Dispatches CARRABASSETT VALLEY Collision on slick road kills 25 year old from Whitefield Police say "terrible" road con ditions caused by an overnight snowstorm contributed to a head on collision Monday morning that killed 25 year old Craig Morin of White field Morin was driving a 1997 Geo Pnzm south on Route 27 when he lost con trol of the car near the intersection with Campbell ield Road and the Carrabassett Valley Touring Center said Carrabassett Valley Police Chief Scott Nichols The car skidded sideways crossed the center line and was struck by an oncoming 1999 Dodge Ram driven by Martin Tomich 65 of Hacketts town NJ The Geo was hit with such force that the impact bounced it back more than 20 feet down the road Nichols said Tomich suffered some facial cuts Both men were wearing seatbelts Nichols said Tomich was staying with friends and was on his way to Sugarloaf to ski and Morin was head ing home to Whitefield after visiting his mother Karen Hutchinson in Stratton His father is Peter Morin of Whitefield HOLLIS ire causes heavy damage to second floor of house A 2'z story home at 544 Hollis Road sustained heavy fire damage Monday and the cause appears to be accidental Hollis ire Chief George Davis said the fire started in an upstairs bedroom at around 11:30 am and appeared to have been caused by an electrical malfunction Davis said the woman who rents the home was out of town ire fighters were able to save most of her belongings but damage to the second floor was significant Davis said the property's owner is Gary Stevenson of Saco Police identify woman killed in head on crash Police say the person killed in Sunday's crash in Hollis was Michelle Allen 56 of Bridgton The accident happened at 10:35 am on Route 5 when a 2000 ord Windstar driven by David Daney 56 of Hollis collided with a 1999 Dodge van driven by Allen ac cording to the York County Sheriff's Office There were no skid marks and they were both going at about 40 mph when they collided head on police said Daney was extricated from his vehicle and taken to Maine Medical Center with leg injuries A passenger in vehicle San dra Larrabee suffered minor injuries The accident remains under investigation but police say it does not appear speed alcohol or road conditions were factors PORTLAND WCSH 10 pm news moves from WPXT to a subchannel TV station WCSH (Channel 6) recently moved its 10 pm news to its digital subchannel WCSH an NBC affiliate has been producing a 10 pm newscast and selling it to WPXT (Channel 51) a CW affiliate since 2002 But the program never brought in much advertising revenue said Doug inck WPXT gen eral manager "The contract expired and there wasn't enough advertising support to make it profitable for said inck inck said competition from the 10 pm news produced by CBS affiliate WGME (Channel 13) and aired on ox affiliate WPO (Channel 23) was not a factor The WCSH 10 pm news is now shown on digital subchannel WCSH DT 62 The newscast can also be seen on WLBZ DT 22 out of Bangor the subchannel of sister sta tion WLBZ (Channel 2) Both channels can be received free over the air by equipment that accepts a digital signal WCSH's digital subchannel is also available on digital cable In the Portland area the 10 pm news can be seen on Time Warner digital channel 166 Digital broadcasting because of how data can be compressed allows TV stations to have subchannels in addition to their primary channels Officer hurts hand in arrest of map wielding metal pipe A Portland officer is recovering from a broken hand after he arrested a distraught man wielding a metal pipe Saturday Police were called to an apartment building at 131 Sherman St at 7:18 pm for a man bothering resi dents there and police found Carlos Bosque Vega 19 of Portland at the top of the stairs smashing things with a metal pipe He refused to drop the pipe and when the officers used pepper spray it had minimal effect police said Officers grabbed and restrained him but not before Bosque Vega hit Officer Ben Roper in the right hand with the pipe Bosque Vega was charged with assault on a police officer and was taken to Maine Medical Center for a mental health evaluation Roper was treated for what appears to be a compound fracture police said AUGUSTA ormer UMaine athlete wins Miss Maine USA pageant A basketball player 10th on the University of all time scoring list has notched a win as a beauty pageant rookie Ashley Underwood has been crowned Miss Maine USA outper forming a dozen other contestants at last week's pageant in Portland The 23 year old Underwood who graduated from UMaine with a nurs ing degree says she loves watch ing pageants and this was her first chance to compete in one Pageant officials say they were impressed with Underwood's command on stage The 5 foot 8 former UMaine guard scored more than 1000 points for the Black Bears and accomplished the same feat while playing at Cony High School in Augusta WELLS Mainers report more scams involving money police say The number of financial scams reported by residents has increased police say possibly because of the difficult economic times Police say a common tactic used in these scams is to convince the victim to transfer money through a service like Western Union or MoneyGram or example a victim may receive a letter about winning an international sweepstakes but a money transfer is needed to cover taxes and insurance Police are urging anyone who has been a victim of such a scam to notify authorities SCARBOROUGH Officials will recount votes in slots referendum today Scarborough election officials will recount town votes today to verify the result of a Nov 4 referendum on whether to allow slot machines at Scarborough Downs The recount begins at 8:30 am at the Scarborough Municipal Offices In the initial tally the slots proposal lost 5804 to 5565 or 51 percent to 49 percent An inspection of the ballots resulted in no change in the totals Supporters of the proposal however filed a petition seeking a recount and provided a check for $3100 to cover the cost HOUSTON ormer first lady to remain in hospital for several days ormer first Iddy Barbara Bush is expected to remain in a Houston hospital for several more days after undergoing surgery to correct a perforated ulcer a family spokesman said Monday Bush 83 started a liquid diet Monday after all test results from the surgery came back normal The wife of former President George HW Bush and mother of President George Bush will remain at the Methodist Hospital so her doctors Can monitor her spokes man Jim Appleby said The Bushes have a home in Houston in addition to their summer residence in Kennebunkport YARMOUTH Nova Scotia Lobstermen want to stop trucks to protest low prices ishermen threatened to stop trucks carrying lobsters from leaving southwestern Nova Scotia on Mon day after dozens of boats returned to port to protest low lobster prices Jody Smith of Digby Neck said they Want to stop trucks from leaving the province on Highways 101 and 103 and from the ferry terminal in Digby i Dozens of fishermen headed back to port Monday until they get a bet ter price for their catch" I isherman Ashton Spinney said fishermen are getting $3 a pound and no enough Spinney chairman of the manage ment board for lobster fishing area 34 says lobster boats could be out of the water for two weeks Maine lobstermen have also been rocked by plummeting prices attrib uted to low demand rom staff and news reports Lindsay McMahon a ranger for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands left talks with trail steward Lynn Bradbury last summer along a trail in Cutler part of the Bold Coast that is among Maine's public reserved lands 'c 'i fit W' Guide leads to public lands A master Maine guide writes about the state's overlooked preserves that belong to everyone By GLENN ADAMS The Associated Press WHITEIELD Take Deboul lie if prepared Or Scrag gly Lake or the Unknowns Wheeling and tramping across thousands of miles of remotest points Join Hanra han has been to those pristine patches and plenty more While he mind being alone he want the million plus acres of Maine public lands to himself At the request of the state Conservation Department Hanrahan has written a book Maine Lands Reflec tions of a Maine to introduce Mainers and visitors to the wild and breathtakingly scenic preserves with which few people Mainers included have more than a vague fa miliarity want people to know about these places and to go and enjoy said Hanra han 53 a Princeton graduate whose resume includes working as a boxing writer in New York City and an inmate advocate at Maine State Prison public forever orever is a very strong word but these are locked up The master Maine book is a series of first person reflections on chunks of the state he regards as heaven on Earth that should be enjoyed by all who appreciate the outdoors But also careful to point out not places for casual day hikers and are full of poten tially mortal hazards that can turn an unprepared foray into sheer hell The state has outright owner ship of some 500000 acres of public reserved land plus con servation easements of nearly 1 million more acres that are protected permanently These public lands are open to anyone to hunt fish hike trap cross coun tryski snowshoe snowmobile or enjoy any other of a myriad of back country ac tivities And as the burly bearded author says in his book it costs a to enter and stay as lopg as you like Promoting these open spaces also plays into Gov John Bal It pub lic health campaign said state Conservation Commissioner Patrick McGowan Take Deboullie 22000 acres of low rugged mountains and re mote trout ponds in far northern Maine accessible from Portage or St rancis The Web site of the Conservation Department (wwwstatemeusdoc) includes a description of Deboullie and other areas and maps that can GETTING THE GUIDE MAINE LANDS Reflections of a Maine by Tom Hanrahan published by Polar Bear Co costs $1095 and is available at bookstores and online at wwwmainegovdOc parksprogramsbook landsbookhtml be downloaded A few public reserved lands are almost urban in setting such as Mackworth Island at the mouth of the Presumpscot River in southern Maine McGowan said maps on the Web site are being improved But for now Hanrahan said think of heading off to one of the remote regions without an ample sup ply of topographical maps not to mention other survival items he lists in his book 8 Tom Hanrahan amily sues police South Portland The parents of Donald Gray shot and killed by police in 2006 seek a jury trial and damages By DAVID HENCH Staff Writer The family of Donald Gray who was shot and killed by South Portland police in 2006 has filed suit challenging the po lice claim that Gray opened his bedroom door and brandished a gun just before he was shot Donald estate filed suit riday in US District Court The suit names the city its police department and Jeffrey Cogswell and Theodore Sar gent the officers involved The suit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages said Dr Owen Pickus who along with his partner Elliott Epstein is representing the Gray estate jury trial is critical because a jury rather than a judge has the emotional empathy to un derstand the pain a family such as the Grays have to experi ence and live with after law enforcement has acted inappro Pickus said Monday a judge might apply just the law and come up with a different sense of the dam South Portland Police Chief fid Googins said the city would respond to each point of the complaint are held as accountable for our actions as any segment in society held more ac countable than he said The Attorney Office found the officers were justified in using deadly force and the department convened a deadly force review board to review its investigation Googins said board found that the use of deadly forct? in response to Donald life threatening action of pointing a pistol at the officer was reasonable and con sistent with department Googins said Herbert Gray and his wife Jacqueline called police after an argument with their 40 year old son about Whether he would attend a court hearing the next day about collection of a debt he owed The parents said Donald Gray went to his car and retrieved his gun then shut himself in his room Police arrived took up posi tion outside Donald door and asked him if they could speak with him Police say Gray opened the door then grabbed a gun from a desk or dresser The officers said he chambered a round in his Taurus 9 mm handgun then pointed it at one of them prompting the two officers to fire four shots each all of which hit Donald Gray The confrontation happened a month after a South Portland of ficer had been shot in the head hand and chest by a man being sought by police That officer and the suspect who was shot by police both survived i ne Gray snooting was nean wrenching for many in the de partment and Googins said at the time officers felt sympathy for the family and wished there had been a better outcome Cogswell has since left the force The attorney report cites Donald parents saying they heard officers order him to drop the gun The lawsuit says Herbert Gray saw police grab the knob of his bedroom door and that he and his wife heard the officers tell their son they were entering the room Police had no right to enter Donald room even if his parents did call them Pickus said Because he paid his parents rent police should not have entered his residence without his permission unless they believed a crime had been committed or that he posed a threat to himself or sojneone else Pickus said The suit also questions wheth er Gray would have been wield ing a gun in his left hand since he was right handed parents never indi cated he was a threat to them or himself and officers should have taken more time to assess the situation Pickus said without talking to the Grays they took it on them selves to make a quantum leap assumption that Mr Gray was a Pickus said or the Grays to prevail a jury would have to find the officers acted negligently and unrea sonably because they are en titled to qualified immunity over their actions as officers Pickus also has been repre senting the family of Michael Norton who was shot and killed by South Portland police on Aug 25 family is inclined to sue the department he said but needs to first review the attorney report which found the officers were justified in using deadly force Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791 6327 or at: dhench(apressheraldcom Double homicide trial set to begin Dec 8 John A Okie is charged with murdering a former girlfriend and his father in July 2007 By BETTY ADAMS Kennebec Journal AUGUSTA Lawyers spent Monday morning discussing an insanity defense in anticipation of John A double homi cide trial next week Ju Kenne bec County Superior Court Okie 22 is charged with murdering a former girlfriend 19 year old Alexandra Mills on July '10 2007 in her Wayne home and his father John Okie 59 in his Newcastle home six days later The state medical examiner said Mills was bludgeoned to death and the senior Okie was stabbed to death Jury selection is set for riday and the trial is to begin Dec 8 for Okie who pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to both charges at an arraignment Sept 72007 Okie has been held in Kenne bec JJounty jail since his arrest on July 17 2007 He was not in court Monday for a hearing on motions to limit testimony from experts Prosecutor Andrew Benson an assistant attorney general is seeking to limit and opinions about whether Okie is criminal ly responsible for the crimes John A Okie has been evaluated by a number of psychologists and psychiatrists for the state and the defense Benson said experts might offer opinions on whether at the time of the killings the de fendant had the capacity to un derstand criminal conduct and whether he acted intentionally or knowingly Justice Joseph Jabar said he would rule early riday on how to handle expert opinions this is a mental health he said Okie was ordered by a sepa rate court in April 2006 to con tinue with mental health treat ment and medication as part of a resolution of criminal charges in Lincoln County The hearing Monday also dis cussed whether family or friends of victims can sit through part or all of trial The attor neys agreed that parents0 Timothy and Donna Mills who attended hearing could remain in the courtnim during the trial They also are expectcd to testify Generally witnesses are sequestered and do not hear others testify The attorneys agreed to de cide later whether Karen Okie a potential witness wotrid allowed to hear testimony is a victim and also Va mother of my said pp' DeTroy one of John A Ja i defense attorneys Assistant Attorney Lisa Marchese said she id ir know whether she wovrf mother as a w'j jj ing Karen Okie has crxtan to speak to prosecuVx 'T 1.