Nicholas McCrea
Reporter
Nick McCrea covers Orono and Old Town from the Bangor bureau.
Ex-Maine police officers claim law enforcement failed in its duty to confiscate Lake’s guns
DEXTER, Maine — Nearly one year ago, on the morning of June 13, Steven Lake used a Remington model 11-87 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun with a five-round capacity to kill his estranged wife, Amy, and his two children, 13-year-old Coty and 12-year-old Monica, before turning the gun on himself. Lake pulled ...
Old Town wins grant to start redevelopment of downtown Old Town Canoe site
OLD TOWN, Maine — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $600,000 brownfields grant that will allow the city to clean up the asbestos-ridden historic Old Town Canoe building. City officials were notified of the grant approval on Thursday. Old Town Canoe occupied the 5.5-acre downtown site from 1902 ...
Orono-area school board votes to look internally to find new middle school principal
VEAZIE, Maine — The RSU 26 board of directors officially accepted the resignation of Orono Middle School Principal Robert Lucy and voted to begin an internal search for the school’s next lead administrator during Monday’s board meeting. Lucy’s last day will be June 30, but he will take the remainder ...
High school students put geometry, design lessons to use on ramp for elderly woman
BANGOR, Maine — A group of Old Town High School freshmen geometry students honed their hammer skills on Wednesday as they helped bring to life a construction project that will help an elderly Glenburn woman regain her independence. The high schoolers had been collaborating since mid-February with students from Orono ...
University of Maine System chancellor says he’s OK with program to hand out raises
BANGOR, Maine — After a review of the University of Maine System’s $7 million in salary increases over the past seven years, the system’s human resources office and the chancellor said they are largely satisfied with the system’s compensation program but are suggesting a few changes. The human resources office ...
University of Maine System faces declining enrollment, aging facilities
BANGOR, Maine — The University of Maine System board of trustees passed a balanced budget for 2012-13 on Monday despite a $2.3 million reduction in the state appropriation, decreasing enrollment and the first freeze on in-state undergraduate tuition since 1987. But “the current operating model will not be sustainable over ...
Penobscot author publishes children’s book about baskets, culture, family
INDIAN ISLAND, Maine — A basket is more than just a basket. For Lee DeCora Francis — a member of the Penobscot Indian Nation and a native studies teacher at Indian Island School — a basket is one of life’s early lessons in patience and perseverance and a cultural tradition ...
University system computer security continues to evolve in wake of server hack
BANGOR, Maine — A “tragedy of errors” led to the compromise of Social Security and credit card information stored on a University of Maine server last month, according to the University of Maine System’s information technology chief. John Forker, who has led the system’s Information Technology Office since May 2011, ...
Stetson man found guilty of setting fire to field, trying to reignite as fire crews fought flames
NEWPORT, Maine — A Stetson man charged after setting fire to his farm field and then trying to reignite the fire as firefighters were attempting to douse it was found guilty on May 18 in Newport District Court. James Pimental of Wolfsboro Road was found guilty of burning without a ...
Maine Troop Greeters gather on Armed Forces Day, celebrate 9th anniversary
BANGOR, Maine — The Maine Troop Greeters came together Saturday to celebrate their ninth year welcoming troops to Bangor International Airport and honor servicemen and servicewomen on Armed Forces Day, a recognition often forgotten. Armed Forces Day was established in 1949 to honor all branches of military service in the ...
Cyr company celebrates century of service stretching from horses to school buses
OLD TOWN, Maine — A century ago, the city of Old Town issued a truck license to John T. Cyr & Sons, a company that has blossomed into a transportation business with more than 250 vehicles and nearly that many employees. Nearly 500 people joined the company’s centennial celebration on ...
Hundreds of Harleys roll into Hermon to raise funds for Camp CaPella
HERMON, Maine — As many as 200 motorcycle enthusiasts from across the state rumbled into town Saturday for the Central Maine Harley-Davidson all-day open house. Dozens of men and women adorned in Harley-Davidson gear and denim gathered in front of a garage at the event on Saturday morning, watching as ...
POLICE BEAT
Hampden motorcyclist charged with driving 77 mph through Holden
HOLDEN, Maine — A motorcyclist from Hampden was charged with criminal speeding early Friday morning after a police officer clocked him traveling more than 30 mph faster than the speed limit on U.S. Route 1A, according to Police Chief Gene Worcester. Officer Bruce Graybill stopped a motorcycle driven by Pedro ...
Bangor arena ‘topped off’ again as final piece of structural frame hoisted into place
BANGOR, Maine — Consider the new arena officially “topped off.” Steelworkers with Brewer-based Arc Erecting fixed the final important structural beam in place at noon Friday, a little more than nine months after ground broke on the project. The subcontractor’s topping-off ceremony was a far cry from the one Cianbro ...
Orono town manager cleared to sign contract for designer of downtown landmark
ORONO, Maine — Town Manager Sophie Wilson said she plans to sign a contract within the next week that will allow the Bangor’s WBRC Architects-Engineers to design a new downtown centerpiece. WBRC will work with University Credit Union and municipal officials to develop a plan for UCU’s new headquarters, which ...
Old Town budget plan would raise taxes 4 percent
OLD TOWN, Maine — Residents could see a 4 percent tax increase in fiscal year 2013 if the newest city budget projections hold up. The most recent budget numbers, proposed by Councilor Bill Lovejoy at a Monday night budget workshop, fall well short of the $600,000 in reductions the council ...
Orono principal leaving for Bangor job after board’s decision to keep position
ORONO, Maine — Orono Middle School Principal Robert Lucy is leaving for a post in the Bangor school system less than two months after the RSU 26 board voted to eliminate his job and later decided to reinstate it. He announced his decision to take an assistant superintendent job in ...
University of Maine server hacked, data may have been stolen
ORONO, Maine — A security breach on one of the University of Maine’s servers may have compromised information on people who made purchases through campus-based computer stores at the Orono campus and the University of Arkansas, UMaine announced in a press release Thursday. Early forensic analysis showed that information from ...
Orono-area school district unsure about who can talk to who about what on withdrawal efforts
GLENBURN, Maine — Uncertainty, confusion and gray areas continue to dominate withdrawal efforts in RSU 26 as secession committees from Veazie and Glenburn begin to work out plans for leaving the school district they share with Orono. At the center of debates during Wednesday night’s RSU 26 board meeting was ...
Board to decide whether to overrule state agency on Juniper Ridge Landfill expansion
AUGUSTA, Maine — After an appeal from a nearby resident, the Board of Environmental Protection will decide in July whether to overrule the Department of Environmental Protection decision that backed a partial expansion of Juniper Ridge Landfill. The appeal by Ed Spencer, who lives less than two miles from the ...
Glenburn art teacher killed in Friday morning collision in Bangor
Harvard student asked to leave bar for ‘bad behavior,’ not drunkenness
LePage blasts teachers union for endorsing same-sex marriage question
Reporting crime
A people’s revolt in Bar Harbor
Old Town football coach steps down
Perakslis helps UMaine beat Albany; Binghamton next in America East tournament
Orono baseball shuts out archrival Old Town for ninth straight victory
Stony Brook knocks out UMaine to win America East tournament
Aroostook businessman expands company out of home with hit mobile app 7 Little Words
Former CEO of MaineToday Media Richard Connor sued over $250,000 in loans
Small idea launches major project in Hampden
Diversity predicts export success, MIT professor tells Maine audience
New, old methods combine to deter scrap metal thefts in Aroostook
Gary Allan talks with the BDN leading up to Bangor concert
Out of the ashes, Central Street’s garden grows
Mid Coast Actor’s Studio provides new forum for classic plays
Signs lead artist to opportunity
Bangor Daily News
Account
Start a blog
Post News
Post Events
See it. Fix it.
Subscribe