NewsBreak Original

The city of Bangor, Maine recently gave the Bangor Police Department $285,000 in its annual budget to fund the Bangor Community Assistance team. This team will consist of four mental health workers. The idea behind the team is to minimize interactions between those experiencing a mental health crisis and members of law enforcement.

Versant has requested a distribution rate increase from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Versant says the rate increase will amount to an increase of $12 per month on a customer's bill which will allow Versant an additional $34 million in annual revenue.

Stonecipher Farm, located on River Road in Bowdoinham, has had the unfortunate experience of experiencing a few bad apples in the bunch. Stonecipher Farm is an organic vegetable farm on 10 acres, and they also have eggs from their free-range chickens. While the farm has been in operation since 2009, the pandemic forced them to make changes. Before the pandemic, the farm was growing mixed vegetables and items such as ginger and turmeric. The farm's owners, Ian Jerolmack and Emily Goodchild, provided their farm products to health stores and many restaurants in Portland. When the pandemic came along, they needed to change their business model and started a CSA(Community Supported Agriculture). Along with starting a CSA, they also started a farm store to sell their vegetables to the public.

A new program has been launched in Maine called the Maine Water Assistance Program. The program is being run by MaineHousing and the program was started to help Maine residents keep their water service from being shut off. The program is for low-income and moderate-income homeowners and renters in the state. The program will be funded with $4.7 million from the American Rescue Plan.

Catholic Charities of Maine is planning to welcome 20 refugees to the city of Bangor by the middle of October. Federal approval was granted last December to resettle up to 50 refugees in Bangor. The refugees will be coming from Central America, the Middle East, and Africa, from countries like Somalia, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. Catholic Charities will help them find housing, jobs, food, clothing, and more. In the past, refugees to Maine have been resettled in the cities of Portland and Lewiston.

The small town of Milo, Maine in Piscataquis County has, unfortunately, been forced to switch its elementary school to remote learning due to COVID-19. Milo elementary school, which has about 172 students in grades Pre-K to 2nd grade, announced to parents on Sunday, September 11th that they would not be able to safely and efficiently staff the school due to the number of school staff COVID cases. The difficult decision was made to go remote until at least Wednesday, with the plan to start back at school tomorrow, Thursday, September 15th.

RSU 9 has eight schools in the county of Franklin, Maine, serving 2,423 students. At Tuesday night's school board meeting, there was a discussion about two of the schools, Mt. Blue Middle School and Mt. Blue High School, having a gender identity poster. Concerns were brought up by members of the community over the poster titled "Gender 101." The poster is being displayed in the guidance offices of both Mt. Blue Middle School and Mt. Blue High School. The concern is that the poster is not age-appropriate for the age of the students at the middle and high schools. There are also concerns that the poster is being used in the curriculum at middle and high schools.

Tipped Trailer Co. Newport, MaineTipped Trailer Co. With the current annual U.S. inflation rate at 8.5% and grocery prices rising, having the option to save some money when buying groceries is something shoppers will be happy to do. Luckily for Penobscot County, that idea has become a reality with the opening of a new business in Newport. Tipped Trailer Co., a mobile trailer outlet grocery store, just opened on August 31st.

The Portland Police Department is reporting that they have arrested a man in connection with the September 3rd, 2022 targeted attack on a woman who was shot in the Riverton housing complex just after 3 a.m. Police have arrested Abdihamit Ali and charged him with elevated aggravated assault, reckless conduct with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and violation of conditions of release.

Brian Snow sadly passed away on July 21, 2022, at the age of 75 in Maine. Mr. Snow has no family to claim him, and the local funeral home that was contacted to lay him to rest would like to make sure that he is properly honored. Brian will be laid to rest with a military funeral with honors on Thursday, September 8th at 1:00 p.m. The funeral will be held at the Maine Veteran's Cemetery located at 163 Mt. Vernon Road in Augusta, Maine. The public is invited to attend the service, pay their respects to one of our veterans, and thank him for his service.

Fulton County DA Fani Willis delivers serious warning to alleged criminals, advises public not to display valuables on social media. Fulton County DA Fani Willis warns heavier sentences to gangs committing crimes in her jurisdictionShopify Partners.

The University of La Vernes Sara and Michael Abraham Center for Veteran Student Success.University of La Verne. For the eleventh consecutive year, The Military Friendly Company has recognized the University of La Verne’s long-lasting pledge to support veterans in reaching their educational goals with a “gold” ranking for 2022-23.