Morning Sentinel from Waterville, Maine • 1

lr4 Av Calendar 15 Classified 24 29 Comics 25 27 Crossword 25 Editorials 89 Landers 27 Helolse 26 Movies 23 Obituaries 10 Sports 16 20 Sportsmen say 20 Stock listings 14 TV listings 23 WEATHER REPORT: Cloudy showers Thurs day Sunny riday Page 2 LOTTERY: Wednes day's winners: 382 and 3352 VERSE: my breth ren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil Ephesians 4:1011 (King James Version) 1 Bee sweetener Honey: How sweet it is in pies cookies jams and all Page 21 NBA honor Larry Bird named league's MVP Page 16 (Central HHaine f1 if Mnr ttttuj wsttwl (207)873 3341 Vol 83 No 76 WatervilleWinslow Maine Thursday May 29 1986 30 Pages 30 Cents Maine off the hook in radwaste search rl DV rr VD117VKT ID rt An MO 4 4 By CLARK IRWIN JR Guy Gannett Service PORTLAND The US De partment of Energy has canceled its search for a high level nuclear waste repository in Maine and six other Eastern states Energy Secretary John Her rington made the announcement in Washington Wednesday afternoon ending four months of emotional and political turmoil in the states that might have hosted a radioac tive waste burial site Two Maine sites and 10 others in New Hampshire Virginia North Carolina Georgia Wiscon sin and Minnesota are longer under active the DOE announced The department cited progress in the search for a Western reposi tory lowered estimates of nuclear DOE announcement a major victory for the people of Maine anti removes the noxious cloud of fepr which has hung over our state sihee He cred ited public involvement for in fluencing thedecision In that vein said Sen George Mitchell people of Maine spoke out louder and more force fully than anyone else on the issue and it is clear their efforts have paid off dark cloud of uncertainty and doubt has he said Rep Olympia Snowe said that the search for the second site is Mrs Snowe said the DOE deci sion recognized what the affected delegations had argued about a second repository from the outset: simply is no need for waste generation and costs as rea sons for considering the second site search indefi Both searches were or dered by Congress which has assumed responsiility for dealing witn high level wastes that take thousands of years to decay to in nocuous levels of radioactivity The search for a Western site advanced in another development Wednesday as President Reagan approved areas in Nevada Texas and Washington state for more in tense study That step removed sites in Utah and Mississippi from consider ation as first repository hosts Maine reaction to word of the scrubbed second site search was quick and positive Sen William Cohen the se nior member of the con gressional delegation said the i Ilea 1 1 for Ma in ra i I By MARIE HOWARD Sentinel Staff Two local lawmakers said Wednesday they have submitted a bill to create a legislative task force to study the economics and operating practices of Maine rail roads Their action they said was prompted by Guilford Transporta tion unwillingness to sell its abandoned Maine Central Railroad branch lines to the state Sponsored by Rep Donald Carter Winslow and co spon sored by Rep Ruth Joseph Wa terville the task force legislation would also specifically suspend any state subsidies paid to Guil ford until the state acquires cer tain branch lines or until the task force submits its findings in Jan uary whichever comes first Carter said Wednesday he has no doubt the bill will be voted on during this special legislative ses sion which is scheduled to con clude riday He expects it will come before the House for a vote Thursday The subsidies the state would withold from Guilford include tax exemptions and state monies used for maintenance of grade cross ings and certain railroad bridges According to Carter and Mrs Joseph the bill if enacted would also have the task force: Review all economic incen tives for the railroads Determine if existing subsi dies are being used or abused Determine whether special accounting procedures are nec essary to handle them Examine the status of short line operators Determine causes for drops in tonnage on certain rail lines The Maine Central rail acquisi tion mentioned in the proposed leg islation refers to the $850 million railroad bond referendum passed by Maine voters last November In addition to authorizing feed er rail acquisition the successful bond referendum established a new policy by which the state is committed to finding short line op erators to lease and run abandoned branch lines The referendum also allowed the state to assume half the cost oil maintaining railroad bridges and grade crossings The proposed rail acquisition hit a snag however when Guilford refused to deed the lines over say ing it wanted to retain its rights of More on RAIL Page 5 IE1 '4 fa' Ik A Al Sentinel photo by David Learning Good buddy: Sue Ann Michaud 7 hangs on as friend Melanie Bean also 7 pushes her on a toy truck along King Street in Waterville early Wednesday evening lewelling acquitted of attempt at murder By LINDA BEGIN Sentinel Staff SKOWHEGAN Peter le welling was found not guilty of at tempted murder but guilty of aggravated assault Wednesday in connection with the March 26 1985 shooting of his former girlfriend A jury of eight women and four men deliberated more than four hours before returning verdicts in four separate charges against the 47 year old amputee lewelling was found not guilty of attempted murder and criminal threatening and guilty of aggra vated assault and reckless conduct with a firearm The defendant seated next to his attorney Robert Sandy Jr of Waterville showed no reaction when the findings were announced by jury foreman Brian Richmond Shooting victim Allison Bick ford who testified last week she supported contention that she was struck by a bullet acciden tally during a suicide attempt by lewelling burst into tears in the back of the courtroom when Rich mond pronounced her former live in boyfriend guilty" of trying to kill her She left the courtroom minutes later smiling with friends and rela tives Presiding Justice Morton A Brody scheduled sentencing of le welling at 9 a Monday Prosecutor Somerset Kennebec District Attorney David Crook who argued the case with Assistant District Attorney William Bagh doyan said in response to the ver dicts continue to have faith in the jury system It was a well tried case from both lewelling had no comment More on TRIAL Page 10 abricator wins nod in Skowhegan $20000 in camp loot recovered By DARLA PICKETT Sentinel Staff SKOWHEGAN Police have recovered up to $20000 in goods they say were stolen in a series of camp thefts in the Belgrade China and Albion areas over the last several months The items were found after police searches Sunday and Tuesday of residences in Benton and Waterville State Police Cpl Robert Metivier the investigation coordi nator said Wednesday Bruce A Danforth 25 and Ruth Ann Klaiber 22 both of Countryside Trailer Park West River Road Waterville were ar rested on charges of burglary and theft Sun day after a search of the Steve Goodwin a farm in Benton Metivier said A third person is also being sought Meti vier said an arrest warrant has been issued for Steven Violette no age given of Clinton in connection with the burlgaries Danforth and Ms Klaiber were taken to the Kennebec County Jail where Danforth posted $2000 single surety bail on Tuesday and Ms Klaiber was released Monday a jail spokesman said The Sunday search of the Goodwin farm and Tuesday night search of the Aubrey Danforth residence on 2 Pine St Waterville Ifl BUB State Police Cpl Robert Metivier at the Troop State Police Barracks in Sentinel photo by Darla Picket! Skowhegan with some of the recovered items from area camp burglaries resulted in the recovery of an assortment of stolen household items tools and home en tertainment equipment from camps in the Belgrade China and Albion areas Metivier said our vehicles and a pick up truck were also impounded he said More on LOOT Page 10 Brennan asks sentencing alternatives By PETER JACKSON Associated Press Writer AUGUSTA (AP) Maine law makers opening an election year special session Wednesday were urged by Gov Joseph Brennan to new for dealing with criminals in partic ular the alternative sentencing programs he has advanced But at the end proposals remained bogged down in the Human Resources Commit tee whose members planned to work into the night on largely tech nical refinements in the legis lation The panel was scheduled to brief the rank and file on the de tails of its version of the bill Thurs day And one Republican on the com mittee Sen Barbara "A Gill of South Portland raised the possibil ity of augmenting plan with a bond issue for adding more cell space to relieve the ever in creasing overcrowding of us feel there has to be some capital construction along with said Mrs Gill the as sistant Senate minority leader al though she said no specific proposal had been drawn up In his half hour speech before a joint assembly of the House and Senate Brennan said experts dis agree on the need for a new maxi mum security prison and flatly declared prisons the answer at this need to free ourselves from this habitual way of think he said fact many of us are in an intellectual prison of our own making walled in by our in ability to think in new terms We need to escape from this rut to envision new the bill you have before you the framework is in place for a total cost effective ana I feel humane and flexible corrections system for he said Despite editorial criticism that he has turned his back on the over crowding that has plagued correctional system throughout his 7 year tenure Brennan de clared have not ignored cor rections In fact we have actively addressed Brennan noted that new mini mum security facilities with room for more than 200 inmates have been opened in Hallowell Charles ton and Bucks Harbor Also he said a $10 million bond issue ap More on SESSION Page 5 By DON WATERHOUSE Sentinel Staff SKOWHEGAN On Tuesday Ed Harmon got the news he had been waiting for: A bank loan he had sought in order to locate his growing welding and fabricating business into the Skowhegan In dustrial Park had been approved As a result of the loan in the amount of $200000 from Key Bank and secured by the Small Business Administration Harmon expects to break ground for his new facility this riday greatly relieved We have a lot of work in front of us but no where to do said Harmon who is currently operating his business in cramped quarters off Madison Avenue The new plant will be 64 by 140 feet providing nearly 9000 square feet of fabricating space and an ad ditional 1000 square feet for office purposes about eight times the work room he has at the cur rent plant which he moved into just a year ago Harmon said Combined with $50000 of his own money the bank loan will re sult in a quarter million dollar in vestment Harmon said Selectmen on March 4 approved a plan selling a 45 acre lot at the industrial park to Harmon at the nominal fee of one dollar per acre The agreement stipulated that Harmon begin construction of a building at the lot within six months and that it be completed within a year Those deadlines were well with in reach Wednesday going to start just as soon as we Harmon said if all goes well we should be in there by the middle of Patricia A Dickey administra tive assistant to the Skowhegan se lectmen said Wednesday she was only awaiting written notice from the bank of the loan approval be fore the transaction deeding the lot over to Harmon could be com pleted Harmon said he was grateful to Key Bank and Skowhegan branch manager Gary Poulin for support ing his proposal had a lot of belief in me stuck by me and gave me good Harmon said a good Contacted by the Sentinel Pou lin said bank officials were not so much by figures of projected business and revenue for the fledg ling company but by intangibles my opinion Ed Harmon has all the optimism in the world" Poulin said felt this was a good venture and clearly very knowledgable in his industry And very Poulin said he had checked with several contractors and industry representatives who had done business with Harmon and had found him to be highly regarded Also Harmon demonstrated abili ty to manage his business Poulin said do very the bank official said Harmon said Joy Rea secre tary of the Skowhegan Economic Development Corporation made several phone calls in his behalf and assisted in other ways with his loan application firm produces struc tural steel for new and existing buildings such as steel skeletons for new schools and catwalks and handrails for paper companies He said his aim is to produce one mil lion tons this year and is already halfway to his goal The firm currently employs four people but Harmon said he expects to have up to 14 on the pay roll by the end of the year Wednes day he said he was in the process of contacting local Maine Job Service staffers seeking individuals to train for the business Harmon said 40 people could More on HARMON Page 10 1 i.