Things You Need to Know: Oxford County Commissioners Looking to Remove Sheriff Over Explicit Photo
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A 21-year-old Augusta man is accused of severely beating a Kennebec County jail inmate. Centralmaine.com reports Elijah L. Ashley faces a charge of aggravated assault. That carries a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment.
From the Associated Press:
Members of the Oxford County commission are seeking the removal of a sheriff who admitted sending a sexually explicit photo of him in uniform in his office. They voted unanimously to file a complaint asking Gov. Paul LePage to remove Oxford County Sheriff Wayne Gallant. It says a three-week investigation showed Gallant sent a photograph in which his genitals were exposed to a female employee of another law enforcement agency. The complaint stated Gallant sent text messages to a subordinate officer and his female companion containing indecent photographs of himself and soliciting sex acts and nude pictures. Gallant has denied that he solicited two employees for sex and threatened to fire one who rebuffed him.
Maine law enforcement officials are searching a property in Skowhegan as they look for a woman who has been missing for six months. State Police, Skowhegan police and the Maine Warden Service focused Tuesday on a home and an adjacent wooded area in the search for 40-year-old Tina Stadig. Police say the Skowhegan woman sometimes stayed at the home that's being searched. The last known sighting of Stadig was on May 28. She is described as 5-foot-2 and 140 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
State police arrested a 17-year-old Vassalboro runaway boy was arrested after breaking into summer homes, one of which he was living in Belgrade. He was charged with burglary and released into the custody of his mother. Police are still investating and other charges may be filed.
Maine's public advocate says he's going to work to preserve Maine's 207 area code on a panel that makes recommendations on telephone numbers and area codes. The Federal Trade Commission recently re-chartered the North American Numbering Council to ensure the efficient, impartial assignment of numbering resources. Barry Hobbins is on the council, which meets Thursday.
The new arena football team in Portland is going to be called the Maine Mammoths. The National Arena League says it's signed a three-year contract, with the possibility of a two-year extension, for the team to play at Portland's Cross Insurance Arena. The season starts in April.
Police believe a medical issue could've preceded a fatal snowplow crash in Clayton Lake Township, Maine. WAGM-TV reports that 51-year-old Cedric Pelletier of Sinclair died when his dump truck equipped with a plow and sander veered off the road and into a stream on Monday.
Maine utility regulators are delaying implementation of a shift in how owners of rooftop solar panels receive compensation for generated energy. Solar installers say a push to gradually reduce such compensation for new customers would dissuade residents from installing solar panels. The Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday voted to push back the pending rule's effective date from Jan. 1 to April 30. Democratic Rep. Seth Berry says the delay gives lawmakers and the court time to reverse course.
U.S. officials say President Donald Trump will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital on Wednesday and instruct the State Department to begin a multi-year process of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city. The officials say recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital will be an acknowledgement of "historical and current reality" rather than a political statement.
The biggest and most destructive wildfire burning in Southern California has jumped U.S. Highway 101, nearly reaching the ocean and forcing new evacuations. The flames crossed the highway at the rocky and sparsely populated Solimar beach. Officials say that minimizes the damage the fire will do.
It's easy to view the IOC's decision to ban Russia from the Olympics as a victory for clean athletes who have been desperately waiting for that sort of news. But there have been so many missteps along the way that it's hard to declare anyone really won.
Seeing retention of the Senate seat in Alabama as a political imperative, Republicans who initially avoided or disdained the candidacy of former judge Roy Moore are now coalescing around him. In doing so, top GOP figures led by President Donald Trump are showing a willingness to look past allegations of sexual misconduct with Alabama teenagers. Trump only this week embraced Moore's candidacy and the Republican National Committee also threw its support to the embattled candidate.
The Republican-controlled House is taking up a bill to make it easier for gun owners to legally carry concealed weapons across state lines. It is the first gun legislation in Congress since mass shootings in Nevada and Texas killed more than 80 people.
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