Morning Sentinel du lieu suivant : Waterville, Maine • 7

INSIDE Local news: B3 Obituaries: B4 Calendar: B5 Opinion: B6 Maine news: B7 iHurttitig eutiurl Local City Edition SECTION Thursday March 29 ggOl Sharing the load rt Staff photo DMID LEAMING Members of the Waterville Senior High School track team clear snow from the Drummond ield track Wednesday afternoon raH BBB whHL If OollfeS KwwJl wwvbk law S1 MM Bb JJo wROL 1 Ht WJ Ut' mt" 5'' ''7 IKIMW' SyiM KKfci UQLOfei' NmNN jJWfi JguOiX 4aa appw rX ap i a a aaa a xoi IN ARMINGTON Police officers return from Bosnia By BETTY JESPERSEN Staff Writer ARMINGTON A week ago two armington police officers took their last look at war rav aged Bosnia and saw farmers ever alert for hidden land mines and unspent ammunition prepar ing their fields for spring planti ng As the survivors of the civil war in Yugoslavia are putting their lives back together the two men from ranklin County were head ing home their assignment to aid the peace effort completed Randy Keaten 25 and James Rice 22 both members of the 94th Military Police Detachment US Army Reserves are back on the job after a six month tour of duty in the Balkans patrolling armington streets instead of roads in Br cko and Sreb nica Their return means the armington department is up to its full complement of 13 officers and Chief Richard Caton III has plans for the best use of RICE Eh' Rw KnGA jSwbiM RHKSAwMRfl 1 that force A realignment of assignments is in progress that will mean greater emphasis on patrol especially on speeder prone Wilton Road and more staff for investigations and work with community programs will be a larger presence in town and we will be making more contacts especially with businesses and (their) managers to see if they have concerns we can help Caton said Rice and Keaten who returned to work Monday seem unfazed by their hazardous duty assignments in an area where civ il unrest among ethnic groups erupts at the slightest provoca tion or the most part their assign vJH KEATEN ment was interesting but undra matic they said was a lot of damage everywhere but the people are Keaten said any refugee camps anymore They are back living in houses but there are still people not living in their own He was assigned to the tive and was a body guard for an American political adviser Most of that time was spent smoothing over myriad problems and complaints about services or resources lodged by representatives from internation al non governmental organiza tions working in the area Please see RETURN 133 Officials seek grace period for Somerset jail By DARLA PICKETT Staff Writer SKOWHEGAN Somerset Coun ty officials are seeking two years of grace to respond to a long list of staffing and building violations at the county jail County commissioners Wednes day signed a request asking state correction officials for a variance while they investigate whether to renovate or rebuild the dilapidated jail to correct the violations A variance is official permission to bypass regulations other words going to have to do something in the next two jail administrator Capt Stephen Giggey said The cost to renovate or rebuild could range from $7 million to $14 million county officials agree The action follows review of a recently released report from state jail inspectors that listed dozens of violations at the 1800s vin tage jail The county had until April 6 to re spond to multiple areas of noncom pliance at the jail According to the report the jail is overcrowded under staffed and does not meet electrical and fire safety codes The safety of officers is routinely at risk plumbing is substandard storage is inadequate and exer cise detoxification cells and admis sion areas are too small Of 34 activities and functions for which Maine jails are supposed to provide space the Somerset facility lacks room for 15 Over the next several weeks com missioners indicated they hope to hire a Portland consulting firm to come up with cost projections for re building and expanding the jail In the meantime commissioners plan to form a building advisorycommittee to study problems at the jail and possible solutions Giggey said prompt action will be viewed positively by state correct tions officials we start to do something be easier on Giggey said could come in right now and shut us He said such a move would be un likely but the violations are serious enough to warrant it Commissioner Joseph Bow man of Skowhegan who has been a vocal opponent of rebuilding the jail said Wednesday he is willing to lis ten to all sides not against anything Bowman said like to have us figure out what is the least expen sive and the most To reach Darla Pickett Phone: 474 9534 mail: cmnxom inintnet' Thomas drops classes for power repairs i By COLIN HICKEY Staff Writer WATERVILLE Thomas Col lege students got an unexpected day off from classes Wednesday as Central Maine Power Co kept pow er shut off to part of the campus while a CMP crew cleaned up and replaced a transformer that caught fire Tuesday night Robert LaBreck director of the physical plant said CMP expected to complete the installa tion of a new generator by early Wednesday evening At the same time environ mental division personnel took samples of oil from the generator to test for polychlorinated biphenyls more commonly known as PCBs PCBs banned in 1979 make up a toxic chemical compound once used widely as a liquid coolant and insu lator in industrial equipment and power transformers CMP spokesman Clark Irwin said tests detected PCBs in the oil but at levels considered not hazardous initial testing indicated PCB levels below the 50 parts per million that the EPA (Environmental Pro tection Agency) classifies as conta Irwin said But he said CMP conducted fur ther tests after being concerned that the intense heat generated by the transformer fire changed the chemistry of the oil and thus might have affected testing results Irwin however said that addi tional investigation found an even less concentrated level of PCBs in the oil Waterville fire Capt David Laountain said his department was anxious to learn the outcome of those tests are looking at tens of thou i sands of dollars in equipment tied up until we can find he said irefighters were forced to leave behind air packs (breathing appara tus) and five sets of firefighting gear each set including a helmet jacket pair of gloves pair of boots I and a two way radio Laountain said local firefighters are not involved in determining what caused the fire adding that think that probably is going to be an issue between Thomas College and LaBreck said CMP continued to keep power shut off to the main administrative and academic building as well as to the student centercafeteria and two student housing units known as Village A andB CMP was able to provide electric ity to dormitories he said because those buildings are the first facili ties on the power line off West River Road 1 He said each building on campus is served by a separate transformer LaBreck said damage as a result of the blaze was limited to the trans former that actually caught fire and some secondary wiring By late Wednesday morning a CMP crew had placed the burned transformer on the back of a compa ny truck and was soaking up oil that had spilled Workers had several metal drums nearby to transport the spilled oil To reach Colin Hickey Phone: 861 9205 mail: chickeycentralmainecom ire chief undergoes triple bypass surgery By COLIN HICKEY Stall Writer WATERVILLE ire Chief Ray mond Poulin underwent triple by pass surgery Wednesday morning at Maine Med ical Center in Portland after apparently suf fering a heart attack Tuesday night in Water ville a ire De partment offi cial said did un dergo an opera tion that in volved six hours on the operating Capt David Laountain said Laountain said fellow Capt Phil Simonds was with the 51 year old Poulin at the Portland hospital and provided information on the chief condition Poulin went into surgery at 7 am and doctors completed the proce dure at 1 pm Laountain said Laountain and the rest of the ire Department went throughout the morning and early afternoon with little knowledge of condition The previous evening many of the firefighters were with Poulin at the scene of a transformer fire at Thomas College was here last night and I saw him as he was on his way out to Thomas Laountain said was having some pain in his chest while he was at Thomas and he thought it was from the cold Laountain said Poulin went home after leaving the college cam pus His discomfort continued Laountain said and that con vinced Poulin to call for emergency medical technicians to evaluate his health Poulin checked in at Thayer Unit MaineGeneral Medical Cen ter before ultimately being sent to Maine Medical Center Laoun tain said A spokesman at the Portland hospital Wednesday afternoon confirmed Poulin was in the in tensive care unit but said fur ther information could only be provided to immediate family members City Administrator Ronald Sin gel determines who will head the Please see POULIN B3 OPEN 7 DAYS 9AM TO 8PM 30 Day Guarantee Policy With Receipt Only Blue Shopping armington 12 Pc OAM BRUSHES Good for Home Crafts i Much More! a Camban at $499 PRICE We' Accept I IP' SORRY NO PffISONAL CHECKS SJ ALPODQG BONES Comfcata at $199 AIPOb bwi PRICE Rte 201 Skowhegan Tube Style BIRD EEDER Compart at $999 99 PRICE Anchor Hocking GLASSWARE Camban at $997 PRICE $4" 99 BP a i UHtr BeycRAg Spring Into Savings' Large Selection of Spring Summer Apparel CARIB BEER Was $2649 52 ront Street 1 'atcrvillc 873 6228 i oanroKei Toaswo juice wNEtwouQucAaorrust I GEJEBSSElS) cth Loni 328 Main St Wtvl 877 9600 COORS EXTRA GOLD 12 Pack HOOCH 12 Pack Bottles Was $1069 12 Pack SQ99 8099 I Case 'K Kl NEW LOCATION 328 MAIN ST ACROSS ROM £3 6W talite Bl aww Going out of town for a few days? Donate your newspapers to area students! Take a vacation AND contribute to the education of area students by taking part in the Newspapers In Education Vac Pack Program Call 1 800 370 5701 and ask about Vac Pack for Newspapers In Education! OMARDEIfS VfVEj surplus salvage 184 College Ave Waterville ME i 207 873 61 11 UUEmEB WE OUST DECEIVED A WWElUEK GMIPMENT EXETCIGE cvr'ccQ EQUIPMENT THE 6AVINGC EXCESS IkJVEkJTOPY LEATHER JUMP POPE frUMBBELLC Compare at $1299 flR 5 jMmMMMIIIM 1 1 a i jHjBwPI6T WEI0HTC IBEn Compare at $999 MBS wwaft price DEVELOPED OPEN 9 8 SAT 9 5 SUN 11 5 SECTION IN ARMINGTON OMARDEIfS VfVjL surplus salvage 184 College Ave Waterville ME i 207 873 61 11 siimniw OPEN 9 8 SAT 9 5 SUN 11 5.