Staff photo by David Leaming

INVESTIGATION: Madison police officer Kevin Hartley returns to his crusier while investigating an armed robbery at the Franklin Somerset Federal Credit Union in Madison on Wednesday.
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WATERVILLE: Man invades home on Western Avenue
WATERVILLE -- Police were on the hunt Wednesday for a man who invaded a home early Tuesday morning on upper Western Avenue.

WATERVILLE: Official defends Woodlands
WATERVILLE -- Rachel Nelson, whose body was found Tuesday in the Kennebec River, was an 82-year-old who lived independently with little supervision.

PALMYRA: Police seek knife-wielding intruder
PALMYRA -- A lone man armed with a knife entered a Lang Hill Road home Tuesday night, threatening the woman living there and demanding money, police say.

EMBDEN: Thieves take part of dock
EMBDEN -- Organizers of the summer-swim program for children at Embden Pond this week are looking for the vandals who disassembled their dock at Sandy Beach and stole five wooden panels from it.

Drawdown rate depends on rain
WINSLOW -- The drawdown of the Sebasticook River might take another week, depending on the amount of rainfall for the week, a spokesman for FPL Energy said Wednesday.

Beverage tax foes far ahead in funding
AUGUSTA -- The proponents of an effort to repeal a new tax on beer, wine and soda grew their cash advantage over an opposing group in June and July as they closed in on meeting a voter signature threshold to land a question on November's ballot.

Highland Plt. to vote on move toward deorganization
HIGHLAND PLANTATION -- An increase in education costs and taxes has petitioners in Highland Plantation seeking to deorganize, according to assessor Jo Dunphy.

Beetles battle invasive loosestrife
Portland's effort to fight the spread of a pretty, but unwanted, purple flower got some fresh reinforcements Wednesday morning when officials released an army of tiny leaf-eating beetles in a few strategic areas in North Deering.

Fire chief opts out of stipend
ALBION -- Fire Chief Jerry Keay has opted to forgo his stipend of $1,500 to help ease a funding crunch for the Fire and Rescue Department.

Federal judge sides with Pittsfield police dept.
A federal judge has adopted a finding of a magistrate judge which says that Pittsfield police did nothing wrong when they arrested a suspected drug dealer three years ago.

Farmington fetes the strawberry
FARMINGTON -- The Farmington Art in the Park will be a feature attraction of the two-day Strawberry Festival.

Network survey seeks ways to improve health
FARMINGTON -- Over the past 16 years, the Franklin Community Health Network has asked the community to tell them how they can make Franklin County a better place to live.

No yard layoffs forecast
BATH -- News of the U.S. Navy's decision to abandon plans for a fleet of new, larger destroyers quickly spread through the Bath Iron Works shipyard and the surrounding community Wednesday, capping more than a week of rumors and speculation about the future of the work force.

Navy plans to buy only 2 stealth ships
Navy officials held a series of meetings with Maine's Congressional delegation Wednesday to explain the decision to cut the DDG 1000 next-generation destroyer program -- and to detail how Bath Iron Works would survive the abrupt change in shipbuilding plans.

POLICE
WATERVILLE -- Two men were arrested Tuesday on drug charges.

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SPECIAL REPORTS
Capitals series Read our series on Northern New England's capital cities: Augusta, Concord, N.H. and Montpelier, Vt.

Maine's aging boomers Read our series on the pending retirement and health care challenges the baby boom generation faces in Maine.

A look back at Maine's Governors Maine has had some interesting characters who have occupied the Blaine House over the years. Read the stories and list of governors here.

'For I Was Hungry' Series
"For I was hungry," a seven-part editorial series, documents the depth and breadth of hunger in Maine, from the dramatic increase in food pantries to the thousands of children who come to school hungry to the elderly with bare cupboards. For more, click here.

Business & finance Keep an eye on the markets. Check your stocks. Track your mutual funds. Use our new business site to keep tabs on your investments and the latest financial news from Wall Street and beyond. Click here.
Business headlines from around Maine

Maine town meetings When, where and what. Whether in Central or Southern Maine, we have your town covered. Complete Somerset, Kennebec and Franklin County town meeting updates and town election results. Also coverage from Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc, Androscoggin, Knox and Lincoln counties courtesy of our sister paper — the Portland Press Herald. Get statewide gavel-to-gavel coverage here.

Web cams LIVE PHOTOS: The U.S. Geological Survey has set up a web camera to monitor water levels in the Kennebec River. The camera takes images of the river in downtown Augusta which are displayed in real time.
View Kennebec River web cam.

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What's the perfect day in Maine? Is it visiting one of the area's many community festivals, or spending a lazy afternoon at your favorite fishing hole? Is it a walk in the woods with your family, or a party on your boat at the lake? What makes Maine so special this time of year, anyway? E-mail your thoughts - in brief or at essay length - to Morning Sentinel City Editor George Myers Jr. at gmyers@centralmaine.com. We'd like to quote you for an upcoming story. Please include your name, town and phone number.

How are you preparing for the winter? The cost of heating oil and firewood is going up along with the price of everything else. How are you preparing for the winter -- by insulating, by saving more now, by dropping some things you typically would have paid for? E-mail city editor George Myers Jr., at gmyers@centralmaine.com, with your name, town and phone number.