Central Maine News: Nov 19, 2015

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

The Maine Secretary of State's Office says a citizens' petition to consider adoption of a ranked-choice voting system has been validated. The proposal would provide ranked-choice voting for candidates for U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, state senate and state representative starting in 2018. Ranked choice voting lets voters rank candidates in order of preference, knowing that if their first choice does not win, their vote will go to their second choice. The initiative will now go to the state legislature, which can enact it or forward it for a statewide vote in November 2016. (AP)

The Maine Warden Service says it has charged four people in connection with deer poaching incidents last April in towns in Franklin and Androscoggin counties. The service says the four were charged with night hunting and more charges are likely to come. Game wardens in April responded to a complaint of an injured deer in Chesterville that turned out to be a pregnant doe that had been fatally shot in a "no trespassing" zone. More deer were later found in Leeds, Livermore Falls and Livermore. The warden service charged 19-year-old Zachary Black of Jay, 19-year-old Kyle Elliott of Fayette and two male juveniles who they did not identify. It was not immediately known Wednesday whether the four have lawyers. (AP)

Maine's big game hunt is heading into its final days for 2015. The general firearms seasons for deer, bear and moose end on Saturday, Nov. 28. Moose season is limited to specific wildlife management districts in southern and coastal Maine. It will still be legal to hunt deer in certain areas until archery season ends Dec. 12. There is also a special season for hunting with muzzleloaders that begins Dec. 7 and ends Dec. 12. Bear season's busiest period was the baiting season, which ended in September. Deer and moose permits were both cut back this year. Deer lost population because of the harsh winter and many moose have fallen victim to parasites. Each hunting season includes specific limitations and hunters are advised to check with authorities before hunting. (AP)

Beginning this week, Lewiston City Hall's clock tower will be illuminated in shades of blue, white and red to show support for the people of France in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris. Approximately 80 percent of Maine's French population lives within a 50-mile radius of Lewiston, which is also home to the Franco-American Heritage Center. Deputy city administrator Phil Nadeau says the southern Maine town has a deep connection to the Franco community and residents feel strongly about those emotional ties. City officials say the clock tower is generally only changed for holidays and breast cancer awareness month. Flags remained at half-staff at city hall to honor the victims lost. (AP)

A Maine community is in mourning over the deaths of two former residents who were among six people killed in Texas. Carl Johnson was killed along with his daughter, Hannah Johnson, last weekend. Carl Johnson's wife, Cynthia, was the sole survivor. The University of Maine at Farmington says the parents retired from UMF in 1999 to pursue their passion for travel. Their daughter graduated from Mount Blue High School in Farmington and held a degree from the University of Maine. In Texas, police have charged 33-year-old William Hudson with murder. The victims were killed on wooded land owned by Thomas Kamp, Hannah's boyfriend. He was killed along with his older children and Hannah's 6-year-old son. (AP)

A Lewiston teen with autism reported missing has been located in Los Angeles. He is making his way back home to Maine after a surprise trip to California. James Allen made contact with his family early Wednesday morning. Last weekend, the teen hopped on a bus in Lewiston, making the 3,000 mile trip to North Hollywood. He's coming back home Thursday night. After he made contact with his family, they were able to get assistance to him. James has wandered before but never this far. James is 18-years-old, a legal adult. Lewiston police will keep the missing persons case open until James is officially with his parents. (WGME)

An elderly man was killed Wednesday night after he was hit by a car while walking down Lisbon Street in Lewiston. Police were called to the scene around 5 p.m. The victim was in his 80s. Officials say the driver, a 25-year-old man, is cooperating with the investigation. The driver passed a breathalyzer test administered at the scene, which police say was mandatory. No charges are expected to be filed against the driver, however police say the findings of the accident investigation will be handed over to the District Attorney's Office. (WMTW)

Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney plans to announce Thursday morning whether her office will press criminal charges against former Waterville High School Principal Don Reiter. According to the KJ, Reiter has been accused of calling a female student into his office Aug. 27 and asking the girl for sex. Reiter, 44, of Mount Vernon, was dismissed from his job as high school principal Monday night following a 6-1 vote by the Waterville Board of Education. He had been on paid administrative leave from his job since September while school officials conducted an internal investigation. The Waterville Police Department in September completed a criminal investigation of Reiter and sent its findings to Maloney’s office for review. The district attorney has previously said she did not want to announce a decision until the Waterville school board completed a disciplinary hearing for Reiter. (centralmaine.com)

A lot of fast food jobs lost in the area this week. Tim Horton’s restaurants in Augusta, Lewiston and Auburn and two in South Portland closed abruptly this week. Other Tim Hortons in the area were closed in 2013.  And according to the Sun Journal, Pizza Hut has closed two locations in Auburn this week. (centralmaine.com/Sun Journal)

President Barack Obama says Russia and Iran must decide whether they want to prop up Syrian President Bashar Assad or "save the Syrian state" by finding a Syrian government that can be legitimate. Obama is in the Philippines, attending the APEC summit. He says it's unimaginable that Syria's civil war can be stopped without Assad leaving power. He says Assad "cannot regain legitimacy." The U.S. is hoping that Russia may be warming to the idea of a future Syria that doesn't include Assad. (AP)

New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton says the city should "be aware" but "not afraid" following the release of a video by the Islamic State group showing images of places in New York, like Times Square. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that after last week's terror attacks in Paris he has directed state agencies to "enhance their preparedness." (AP)

No one has claimed responsibility for an attack Thursday on a government compound in southern Afghanistan. An Afghan official says a suicide bomber blew up a car and four other attackers tried to enter the district governor's compound. The five attackers were killed. One soldier also was killed and four others were wounded. (AP)

Former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle is due in federal court in Indianapolis Thursday to learn how much time he'll spend in prison on child porn and sex-crime charges. Fogle has admitted paying for sex with girls as young as 16 and receiving child pornography. Fogle agreed in August to plead guilty to the charges following a July raid on his suburban Indianapolis home. The resulting criminal case destroyed his career with Subway. (AP)