The Fort will also offer a "low-Fright children's day" the Saturday before Halloween.Visitors are treated to a frightening experience as they make their way through historic Fort Knox’s dark passageways where they encounter ghosts, goblins, ghouls and other indescribable scenes of the macabre. Fright at the Fort was not held in 2005, but attracted over 10,000 visitors in 2004.
The event will take place the last two Fridays and Saturdays, October 20‚ 21 and 27, 28, from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. (visitors are asked to arrive by 8:30 p.m. and children must be accompanied by an adult), admission to Fright is $5 per person. [source]
Cemetery ducks, geese going to Biddeford farmThe great blue heron will find himself with little company if this all goes through and the ducks are not returned in the spring. PHOTO by Michelle Souliere.
By Kate Bucklin
PORTLAND – The Evergreen Cemetery ducks and geese will be moved permanently to a farm in Biddeford this winter.
Although the waterfowl have lived at the pond at the rear of the cemetery for more than a decade, the city decided this year it could no longer care for the 14 geese and half-dozen ducks.
The decision, according Parks and Recreation Department Assistant Director Tom Civiello, was made for two reasons: The shelter the birds used in the winter is being torn down, along with the maintenance shed it is attached to; the shed will be replaced, but not the shelter. Also, the employee who took care of the waterfowl retired last year.
City Councilor Donna Carr said the ducks and geese will probably be moved in early or mid October, when the migratory fowl head out for the winter. The birds will be housed in a barn during the coldest months, and placed outside when spring comes, Carr said.
The farm is owned by Richard Lagarde, the city’s treasury director.
Although the geese and ducks will have winter shelter, at least one admirer of the animals is unhappy with the city’s decision to remove the waterfowl permanently from Evergreen.
“There must be a feasible solution to having them returned to Evergreen Cemetery in the spring,” said Annette Kearney. She said she was pleased the city had found adequate winter shelter for the birds.
Kearney said she plans to keep after the city in hope of getting the ducks and geese back to the pond during the warmer months.
Councilor Cheryl Leeman also said she did not like the idea of the waterfowl leaving the cemetery permanently.
“Why would they do that?” she said.
Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin[at]theforecaster.net.[Source]
A teddy bear has been implicated in 2,500 deaths — trout deaths, that is.
State officials say a teddy bear that fell into a pool at a Fish and Game Department hatchery earlier this month clogged a drain. The clog blocked the flow of oxygen to the pool and suffocated the fish.
Hatcheries supervisor Robert Fawcett said the bear, dressed in yellow raincoat and hat, is believed to be the first stuffed toy to cause fatalities at the facility.
The deaths prompted Fawcett to release a written warning: "RELEASE OF ANY TEDDY BEARS into the fish hatchery water IS NOT PERMITTED." [source]
If anyone is interested in learning beginning bellydance with a Goth twist, Aepril Schaile is conducting a Gothic Belly Dance class Tuesday nights from 6:00-7:00 pm at The New Church on 302 Stevens Avenue in Portland.
While there were those of us in Maine who didn't know of him, Eddie Driscoll was an internationally-known TV personality and host who operated for many years out of Bangor, hosting shows which aired in locations elsewhere including a wide part of Canada. He passed away Saturday here in Portland.Long-time WLBZ Personality Eddie Driscoll DiesMore information about Eddie Driscoll can be found here, at The Genius of Eddie Driscoll, where Weird is discussed briefly:
Web Editor: Maureen O'Brien, Managing Editor
Created: 9/24/2006 9:43:01 AM
Updated: 9/24/2006 8:36:33 PMEddie Driscoll, host of the Bangor areas's first live children's program, died Saturday in Portland. He was 81 years old.
Eddie Driscoll was with WLBZ from the beginning, when the station signed on in 1954.
In his heyday in the 1960s, Driscoll hosted shows including "Weird," "Chef Eduardo," "The Great Money Movie," and "Mason Mutt." He was known for his quirky characters and offbeat skits.
Eddie Driscoll retired from television in 1986.
Driscoll had alzheimer's disease, and had been living at the Barron Center in Portland. He leaves behind his wife, Ruby, daughters Amanda and Wendy, and grandsons Tucker and Wilson.
Calling hours will be Saturday, September 30 from 12-1 at the Dolby and Dorr Funeral Chapel in Gorham. That will be followed by a celebration of Eddie's life from 1-2.
[ Source ]
In his books, author Stephen King mentions Eddie Driscoll and “Dialing for Dollars.” King was also a big fan of “Weird.” Late night on Saturday, Channel 2 would show some typically awful, lousy, horrible movie with live commercial breaks featuring Eddie. These breaks could be up to fifteen minutes long and were usually more entertaining than the movies. Members of the Air National Guard from nearby Dow Field joined Eddie for one “Weird” stunt. In the field behind the station, with volunteer service people, US government equipment, and fake ammo, Eddie created a live World War Two scene . Neighbors came out to see what all the commotion was about at eleven o’clock on a Saturday night. It was just Eddie Driscoll and his co-conspirators, making TV history.Here's to the real entertainers. Here's to Eddie Driscoll, King of Weird TV.
Press Photo © 2006 Amy GuipStudents Find Dead Body Near School in WestbrookThe following day the story was followed up on in the www.keepmecurrent.com article mentioned above:
School got off to a frightening start for some elementary school students in Westbrook Wednesday. They discovered a dead body.
School officials say four 2nd-graders chased a ball from the Sacarappa School playground into some nearby woods, and found the body. They thought the person was asleep.
They notified a teacher, who confirmed the person was dead. Police were called in, and the school immediately sought to calm the children.
"Our job has been to make sure the children are OK with it emotionally. We called in our guidance team and a social worker has been with the children all afternoon. We called the parents and have sent letters home to all the children. The children are doing absolutely fine," said Assistant School Superintendent Jan Bretton.
Guidance staff will also be at the school Thursday morning. Police say the death does not appear suspicious.
[Source including video clip]
Police identify body found near Westbrook schoolThe sermon blog of the Stevens Avenue Congregational Church here in Portland mentions John's passing, adding the detail that the spot he died on was that of the grave of his much-missed dog. He must have been very lonely without him.
by Robert Lowell, Staff WriterAugust 31, 2006
Police have identified the body of a man that was found at about 12:20pm August 30 in the woods behind the ball field at the Saccarappa School in Westbrook. Police say the man was John Allard, 54, of Westbrook. Police said while they don't consider Allard's death suspicious, they are awaiting the results of an autopsy before closing the investigation. Allard's next of kin have been notified, police said.
Over on Flickr, chubfisherman has a pretty wild photo posted on his site, called 54 stitches: The Hand. Owww! ACK!!! That's what you get with a table saw accident. All kinds of fun. Stay tuned for the chainsaw accident. Ewwww!!!
Every time I go up north to Presque Isle to visit my in-laws, I see the alluring twinkle of Hubcap Heaven tempting me to stop and explore. Well, I finally did it. Yesterday, on our way back to Portland, Tristan and I pulled over and made a foray into this gem of a Maine roadside establishment. I even got to meet the owner, Glenn Violette. He owns Hubcap Heaven with his wife Patricia, and has been running it for a few decades now.
Yesterday, a small squirrel (not pictured at right) was hanging around and under our front porch. Its behavior seemed a bit strange, but within the range of normal squirreliness.
Update (11:14 pm): An hour or so after I posted this, we managed to distract Squirrel #1 long enough to cart away the body of Squirrel #2. Not long after, our 16-pound cat faced off with Squirrel #1, and in doing so pushed the screen out of a basement window. The squirrel ran through the window into the basement, alarming my brother-in-law who was working there at the time. He shepherded the intruder toward the bulkhead, where it finally made its escape.
