Central Maine News: Blue Alert Program Gains Support of Criminal Justice + Public Safety Committee

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

Humans aren't the only ones facing issues from high snowbanks. Officials in Maine say a seal had to be rescued after getting stranded on a snowbank in Wells. Members of the Wells Police Department and the Marine Mammals of Maine organization were getting ready to help the seal when it returned it to the waters of Wells Harbor yesterday. Officials say seals sometimes get stuck near roadways in winter because they follow the ice and snow. (AP/centralmaine.com)

A Maine lawmaker says the state needs to do more to showcase the various opportunities for hunting and fishing the state has to offer. He wants to create a marketing program in the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for Maine's sporting activities. His bill has not yet received a public hearing. The measure is designed to help Maine's rural economy, which relies heavily on hunting and fishing. House Democrats say that studies commissioned by the state show that non-residents who visited the state to hunt and fish pumped more than $6.5 million into the state's economy in 2013. (AP)

Police in Oakland say a cat is cause for concern after it attacked a neighbor in a mobile home park. According to WGME, the cat attacked a woman last week as she put out some food for it to lure it out of a tree.  The cat’s owner believes the cat was acting that way because he was traumatized and scared. The cat had been out for a few days.  The cat was picked up by the animal control officer brought it to the shelter, it got loose in the holding room and the officer had to use a net to get it under control. Police say they're concerned about what the cat might do next since the owner lives in a mobile home park and there are a lot of kids in the area.  (WGME)

A bill that's moving forward in the Maine legislature would create an alert system that notifies officials and the public when a law enforcement officer is injured or killed. The Blue Alert program has the support of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. It will now be considered by the full House and Senate. Twenty one states already have Blue Alert programs. (AP)

A 21-year-old man has been convicted of using a fake Facebook profile to lure a Maine teenager to her death in a failed plot to look like a hero. A jury yesterday found Kyle Dube (DOO'-bee) guilty of kidnapping and murdering high school sophomore Nichole Cable. Police charged Dube with staging Nichole's kidnapping in May 2013 so he could later rescue her. Instead, she died of asphyxiation. (AP)

A legislative committee has dealt a blow to an effort to roll back the state's seat belt law. The Transportation Committee completely rejected the bill to allow people over the age of 17 to not wear their seatbelts. The bill’s sponsor said the seatbelt mandate is government overreach. The committee also has narrowly rejected a bill that would prohibit drivers from using handheld cellphones. They voted 7-6 against the bill. It will now be considered by the full House and Senate. (AP)