New officers alphabetical by department:
Auburn Police - Sean G. Dyer; Augusta Police -Alex T. Morin; Bangor Police - Jacob R. Sinclair, Brian P. Higgins & Gerardo A. Mendoza; Bar Harbor Police - Caleb N. Mora; Belfast Police - Kyle M. Masse; Biddeford Police - Deric A. Maddaleni; Boothbay Police - John P. Braley; Bridgton Police - Matthew R. Regis; Bucksport Police - Gerald F. Lowe & Christopher D. Woodman; Brunswick Police - Adam A. Merrill; Clinton Police - James L. Leathers; Cumberland County Sheriff - Josiah C. Cushman, Matthew T. Stoll & Marc J. Yankowsky.
Eliot Police - Ryan D. Mazur; Farmington Police - Jeffrey E. Brann; Freeport Police - Jason T. O’Toole; Kittery Police - Michael J. Webster; Lewiston Police - Joseph M. Nixon; Lincoln Police - Arron D. Rideout; Lisbon Police - Kristopher A. Kauffman; Maine Marine Patrol - Will L. Reinsborough; Maine State Police - Trooper Recruits Noah D. Castonguay, Chris Chu, Victoria A. Knight, Einar R. Mattson, Kyle D. Rider & Nicholas E. Watson.
Oakland Police - Nickolas L. Von Husen; Old Town Police - Catherine N. Denning; Old Orchard Beach Police - Angelo R. Sellitto; Orono Police - Tyler D. Young; Oxford County Sheriff - Jake F. Clark & Brandan N. George; Oxford Police - Justin D. Cummings; Portland Police - Patrick L. Duddy, Theodor R. Ehmer, Craig R. Knight, Garrick L. Rogers, & Kyle M. Vaught; Rangeley Police - Tyler S. Fournier; Rockland Police - Jordan B. Jandreau.
Saco Police - Kyle T. Sheahan & Timothy M. Wright; Sanford Police - Cody V. Rickevicius; Scarborough Police - Christopher J. Gerossie, Jacob E. Murphy & Alex M. Burns; South Portland Police - Cathleen M. Kellems; Topsham Police - Courtney S. Everett & Jose R. Gomez; Waldo County Sheriff - Anthony B. Nucolo; Wells Police - Joshua N. Poirier; Winthrop Police - Drew F. Webster; Wiscasset Police - Jonathan D. Barnes; Yarmouth Police - Derek S. Miller; York Police - Michael J. Kehoe & Richard J. Ruscica.
In addition, Chase E. Turgeon from Chelsea, who attended the academy as a tuition student from Thomas College, also graduated.
Wardens rescue hunters from ice
MILLINOCKET (AP) — Two hunters who got stuck on the ice are safe after Maine Game Wardens used a hovercraft to rescue them.
Officials say 42-year-old Jason Hartley and his 18-year-old nephew, Hunter Cote, were trying to cross the Penobscot River in Millinocket on Saturday in an aluminum boat and towing a canoe. The pair, both from Millinocket, got stuck in ice that was too thin to walk on and too thick to break up with the boat.
Cote made it to shore, but as he tried to pull his uncle to shore in the canoe, the rope broke, sending Hartley down the river, where he got stuck in more ice.
Game Wardens used a hovercraft, which can operate in shallow moving water or ice, to rescue the men.
Keep an eye out for feral hogs
BUXTON (AP) — Police in a Maine town say they need the public’s help locating feral pigs, if there are any living in the area.
Buxton police ask that anyone who sees the pigs lurking in town should immediately contact the animal control officer. The Portland Press Herald reports the federal government has called on communities in Maine and elsewhere to report sightings of feral pigs or escaped domesticated hogs.
Feral pigs represent a major invasive species problem around the country, but they haven’t yet been seen in Maine. They cause crop damage and can ruin private and public property.
The public can report any sightings by calling Buxton police at 207-629-5178.
Booby trap kills Van Buren man
VAN BUREN (AP) — Police say a Maine man was shot to death by a homemade security device in his home.
Van Buren Police say 65-year-old Ronald Cyr dialed 911 to say he’d been shot.
WAGM-TV reports that police arrived Thursday evening to find his Van Buren home was outfitted with a boobytrap designed to fire a handgun at anyone opening the front door. Officers called the state police bomb squad after discovering other “unknown devices.”
An investigation by state and local police determined that Cyr was fatally injured by the unintentional discharge of one of his homemade devices.
According to police, Cyr was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Further details weren’t immediately available. Van Buren is on the Canadian border, about 320 miles from Portland.
Palmyra arson arrest
PALMYRA – A Palmyra couple has been arrested in connection with a truck fire earlier this fall.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office says the couple were arrested Nov. 26 and charged in connection with a fire that destroyed their pickup truck two months ago. Fire Investigators say the couple torched the truck to collect insurance proceeds.
Ann Hicks and Thomas Carlton are charged with arson, conspiracy to commit arson, insurance fraud and filing a false public alarm. The truck was destroyed by fire on September 29 on the Pond Road in St. Albans. Both were being held at the Somerset County Jail.
