Officer Richard Polk stopped a man walking briskly towards Central Street and observed blood on his pants and an injury to one of his fingers. Polk identified him as 24-year-old Walker Gaspar, of Deer Isle, and briefly interviewed him as other officers spoke with the victim and witnesses.
According to police, Gaspar was asked to leave the club for being disorderly and trying to start a fight with another patron. When Gaspar left, the patron told police he later walked outside and was immediately attacked by Gaspar, who was flailing a knife, cutting him several times.
The victim, a 26-year-old man from Newburgh, was treated by Bangor Fire paramedics for cuts to his arm and upper torso and reportedly refused to be transported to a hospital.
Walker Gaspar was arrested and charged with class B felony aggravated assault and class B felony aggravated reckless conduct, and was taken to Penobscot County Jail.
Two pedestrians injured by man driving mini-van
BANGOR Police say an 83-year-old Brewer man allegedly struck and injured two women crossing the street on Hogan Road.
On Nov. 11 around 6 p.m., Officer Keven Haefele and back up units were dispatched to the area of Hogan Road and Longview Drive to the report of a motor vehicle accident involving two pedestrians.
Two women were crossing Hogan Road just south of the intersection with the Olive Garden parking lot when they were struck by a 2003 GMC van operated by the man. Both women were treated at the scene by Bangor Fire personnel and transported to Eastern Maine Medical Center's emergency room. As of Monday morning, Nov. 12, one woman remained at EMMC listed in fair condition and the other in critical condition.
Orono police assisted in the investigation with their accident reconstruction team. No charges are expected at this time, according to police.
At least four witnesses stopped to provide care and comfort to the victims of the accident, and one of them a Bangor woman who is a cardiac nurse at a local hospital provided life-saving emergency first aid to one of the victims before emergency crews arrived.
More than just a gate crash
ORONO A Bangor woman was charged with operating under the influence after she allegedly struck a gate early Saturday morning.
Officer Willy King responded to the Grove around 2:41 a.m. on Nov. 10 for a possible OUI. When he arrived, KE Security explained that a vehicle struck the exit gate before pulling over on Park Street. A woman, later identified as Kayla Willigar, 22, of Bangor, appeared intoxicated, according to police. She told police that her mirror had been broken off and she had a flat tire.
After a subsequent field sobriety test, Willigar was arrested and taken to the hospital for a blood test. She was later released from the hospital with a summons for operating under the influence.
Hurricane relief efforts continue
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY Maine state troopers have been patrolling in Union Beach during the overnight hours. The area is across the bay from Staten Island, New York.
In New Jersey are Sgts. Jeff Mills and David Millett, Cpls. Lance McCleish and Ed Furtado and Tprs. Jessica Shorey, Alan Levy, Aaron Turcotte, Chris Fowler, Chris Rogers and Joe Bureau. Levy and McCleish previously lived in New Jersey.
In New York, state troopers and Maine forest rangers are part of an emergency operations center encompassing three floors of an office building in Brooklyn, along with representatives from 60 other agencies providing relief.
'The coastline looks like a war zone and we have only seen the devastation under darkness,' said Millett. 'We have a great group of troopers and are working hard and doing what they can do to make a difference.'
According to Rogers, about 500 homes were destroyed in Union Beach and their remains are scattered throughout the community.
"You go down these streets and it's just mountains of debris. It looks like a war zone. It's incredible," Rogers told the Kennebec Journal. He added one house was picked up and dropped in the middle of an intersection, while cars are flipped upside down and boats are wedged between utility poles and houses.
'We are proud of all that you are doing in the assignments you have volunteered for. I'm sure you are experiencing situations, viewing sights and forming new relationships that will last you a lifetime,' Lt. Col. Ray Bessette e-mailed the troopers. 'Keep up the hard work, and we can't wait to get you all back home safe and sound.'
Most of the troopers will be returning to Maine next week.
State to receive restitution for Big Spencer Mountain firefight
AUGUSTA The state will receive nearly $74,000 in restitution for its suppression of a fire that burned two acres atop Big Spencer Mountain in August.
A District Court judge in Dover-Foxcroft ordered restitution of $73,972.96 to be paid over five years by Richard Wes Coers, of Utah, who pleaded no contest on Monday to a summons of failure to extinguish the fire on the mountain, which is 20 miles north of Greenville. Coers will also pay a $490 fine.
The fire began when embers from an unpermitted burn pile of leftover construction materials on top of the mountain was blown by a helicopter airlifting a communications building to the site.
Maine Forest Service rangers and local volunteers led an impressive firefighting effort by ground and air including dropping 44,880 gallons of water on the fire from helicopters before eventually extinguishing it.
'This was an expensive mistake and the Maine Forest Service should be commended for quickly putting out the fire and bringing this case to a resolution,' said Walter Whitcomb, commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 'As a reminder, fire permits protect people and our natural resources and are easy to obtain.'
For more information on obtaining an open burn fire permit, including an online permit application system, visit www.maine.gov/burnpermit or call (800) 750-9777. For more information on the Maine Forest Service, go to www.maineforestservice.gov.
