foaa police chief
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ADVERTISER DEMOCRAT — THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015 3A
Person on the street
“(It ’s a) good idea, because you’ve got a lot of houses close by.”
Bill WentworthOxford
“No, it’s un-American. I love fireworks.”
Tim CyrLovell and Norway
“Absolutely. I just can’t stand the sound and smell.”
Brent FategoniWest Paris
“They shouldn’t have t h e m , p e r i o d . Somebody’s going to get hurt.”
William HeinoSweden
“I don’t see that it would do any good (because people would use them anyway).”
Barry SturdivantNorway
Should Norway voters approve a town-wide ban on fireworks, which
will appear on the June ballot?
What do you think?If we missed you while gathering opinions for our
Person on the Street feature, please feel free to send us a Letter to the Editor to express your point of view. All letters should be legibly printed or typed, and must include the name, address and phone number of the author for verification. Letters have a 350-word limit. Deadline is Friday at 2 p.m. Please mail letters to: The Advertiser Democrat, 1 Pikes Hill, Norway, ME 04268 or email to: [email protected].
“No, as long as they’re used safely and in the right area, with the right safety precautions.”
Ray CharestAuburn
“If they are used safely and responsibly, I don’t think they should be banned.”
Ryan DillinghamSouth Paris
“No, they should not. Fireworks are fun for the whole family to enjoy.”
Fiona GizinskiWest Paris
“There are some people who abuse it. ... It is loud and obnoxious.”
David PhillipsNorway
“I don’t mind it. If it’s (around the Fourth of July) it’s expected. But if it’s late at night, after 10, no. Before that, people can make whatever noise they want.”
Julie SwansonNorway
Paperwork not filed in Paris police chief OUI arrestBy Erin Place
P O RT L A N D — T h e Cumberland County Sheriff's deputy who pulled over Paris p o l i c e C h i e f M i c h a e l Madden nearly three months ago and summoned him to court for operating under the influence never sent the required paperwork to sus-pend Madden's driver 's license, according to Chief Deputy Naldo Gagnon.
He said Sgt. Andrew Feeney could face disciplin-ary action if another breach in protocol occurs.
Madden, 50, of Harrison was pulled over by Feeney on Harrison Road in Naples shortly after midnight on Nov. 21, 2014. Police say Madden was driving errati-cally in his personal vehicle.
Gagnon said Feeney failed to send a form to the Secretary of State's Office, which is required for all OUI arrests to suspend the indi-vidual's driver's license.
Gagnon said he told Feeney on Wednesday, Feb. 11: "'You're going to send it in.'"
He said Feeney filed the paperwork Wednesday night and it was mailed Thursday, Feb. 12.
“It is our intention to use the full force of the OUI law,” Gagnon said.
Gagnon and Madden's Portland-based defense attor-ney, Matt Nichols, say
Madden hasn't received pref-erential treatment. The chief deputy promised there would be consequences if standard procedures are ignored in the future.
“Hopeful ly, (Feeney) learned by his mistake," Gagnon said. "I brought it to the attention of his captain and they're going to address it.”
Robert O'Connell, director of legal affairs, adjudications and hearings for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, said by phone recently that the pro-cess of suspending a license for an OUI arrest includes an administrative hearing, at which drivers or their law-yers can request to stay a suspension.
“A n y p e r s o n w h o ' s stopped for operation under the influence, a law enforce-ment officer is required by statute to send in a statement of probable cause that the individual was operating under the influence of alco-h o l ( a n d / o r ) d r u g s ,” O'Connell said, including breathalyzer test results.
Once all of the paperwork is filed, he said, a notice of suspension is mailed three weeks af ter h is office receives the report.
“That happens relatively quickly unless the reports aren't in order and they're sent back for additional information,” he said, noting that this could be why a sus-
pension or administrative hearing is delayed.
For a first OUI offense, the license is suspended for 150 days, O'Connell said. The driver should receive notice of the impending sus-pension 14 to 17 days before it becomes effective.
Nichols said by phone Tuesday, Feb. 17 that his cli-ent had yet to receive a notice of suspension and when he does, he would have 10 days to request an admin-istrative hearing.
O'Connell said such a hearing would be held in Port land and would be scheduled three to four weeks from the date it was requested.
At OUI administrative
hearings, issues that can be explored include determining whether the officer had prob-able cause to pull the driver over and whether or not the blood alcohol level was 0.08 percent — the legal limit — or higher, he said.
The Cumberland County S h e r i f f ' s a n d D i s t r i c t Attorney's offices have declined to release the test results on Madden, or the police report. If the suspen-sion is upheld, the license could be suspended directly following the hearing or become effective midnight the night of the hearing, O'Connell said.
Nichols entered a not guilty plea for Madden last m o n t h . A c l e r k w i t h Portland's Criminal Court division said Tuesday a hear-ing has been set for 8:30 a.m. Monday, May 11.
Madden has worked in law enforcement for 29 years and was hired as the town 's po l ice ch ief in October 2013, leaving his job as deputy chief in Shelton, Conn., a city of more than 39,000 people about an hour northeast of New York City.
Madden is a graduate of St. Joseph's College in Standish, with a bachelor's degree in communication, and is a 2008 graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Paris Police Chief Michael Madden
Otisfield man indicted on multiple drug-related chargesBy Christopher Crosby
PARIS — An Otisfield man has been indicted on fel-ony charges of selling mari-juana and furnishing firearms for another man accused of trafficking heroin.
An Oxford County grand jury on Friday handed down a five-count indictment cha rg ing Sco t t Cu r t i s Holden, 29, with multiple drug-related felonies in events leading back to the arrest of a man who escaped from the back of a police cruiser.
Holden faces charges of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, conspiracy to commit aggravated traf-
ficking in drugs, hindering apprehension and criminal forfeiture of firearms. The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of more than 20 years.
According to the indict-ment, on Sept. 24, 2014, Holden was in possession of more than a pound of mari-juana which he intended sell or traffic. At the time, multi-ple firearms were found in his possession — including a rifle and two shotguns — elevating the severity of the offenses.
According to the evidence, which was presented by M a i n e S t a t e D r u g Enforcement Agent Tony Milligan, Holden provided a
residence, access to firearms and transportation to another man, Maxx Christopher Noble, in order for him to purchase cocaine and heroin from a Lewiston supplier, which he then allegedly sold.
Noble, who turned himself in to police after escaping from a Maine State Police cruiser, faces aggravated drug trafficking, criminal conspiracy, possession of firearms by a prohibited per-son, violation of bail condi-tions and escaping custody.
Holden, according to the indictment, then helped shel-ter Noble from police during their manhunt.
Photo courtesy of Oxford County Jail
Scott Curtis Holden
Bill to regulate beer pints runs into industry oppositionBy Christopher Crosby
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers grappled with a pint-size prob-lem Wednesday, Feb. 11 tak-ing public testimony about what should constitute a 16-ounce pour of brew.
Unlike milk, gasoline and many other liquids that are sold in consistent sizes, beer goes unmeasured when poured into a glass. So, in an effort to standardize 16 fluid ounces in each and every pour, Maine lawmakers are considering LD 122, a bill that would require bars, tav-erns, taprooms and restau-rants to ensure their custom-ers are served a full pint — and not a drop less.
Under this bill, barkeeps could not consider foam that forms during the pour part of the pint measure. The pint must be a liquid measure.
The bill was introduced by S e n . J o h n P a t r i c k , D-Rumford, and subject to a public hearing before the Legislature's Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee on last week.
The committee, which has jurisdiction over the sale of alcoholic beverages in Maine, is tumbling into the world of unregulated glassware sizes to prevent patrons from get-ting ripped off by so-called "cheater pints." Such glasses, often with heavy bottoms or
varied dimensions, appear to contain 16 ounces but actual-ly hold less. And, for the most part , patrons are unaware.
The intention, according to Dr. Bumper White, a profes-sor at the University of Southern Maine, is akin to regulating milk and gasoline, which are monitored.
"We need to be on guard that we're always getting full measure for what we pay," White testified.
In the world of craft beer, it's common for Maine bars to serve some high-alcohol or specialty beers in smaller glasses that hold 8, 10 or 12 ounces. Accordingly, beer lists typically tell the custom-er how many ounces are in a serving.
One means of enforcing the measure would be to mark glasses with a 16-ounce fill line, White suggested.
White said it's common when traveling in England and other countries for beers to be served in 18-ounce glasses: pours are a full 16 ounces, leaving an ounce or more for foam.
White said that most craft brewers are not intentionally shorting customers, but the terminology either must change or the industry must retool and purchase the larger glasses to ensure everybody gets a fair deal.
"People are torn in that we don't want to legislate every-thing, but at the same time we can't sit back and have short pours," he said.
The idea was met with resistance from industry repre-sentatives.
Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers' Guild, said changing the law would require bars, restaurants and breweries to buy all new glassware.
At $1 to $1.25 a pop, he said breweries would be chal-lenged to afford it.
"The glass industry would love it, but it would be difficult for our members to take on the costs," Sullivan said.
While noting the guild nei-ther supported nor opposed the bill, Sullivan said adequate laws protecting consumers already are on the books.
"Our members certainly feel every consumer is entitled to their fair pull of beer," he said.
Maine is not the first state to propose such a bill. In 2007, Oregon beer blogger Jeff Alworth co-founded the “Honest Pint Project” in which he catalogued establishments na t ionwide tha t se rve 16-ounce pints — as well as the ones that didn't.
The list of under-pouring pubs was eventually taken down, though his efforts went as far as the Oregon state
Legislature, where he unsuc-cessfully lobbied for the state to pass a 16-ounce standard.
In 2013, the Michigan Legislature made headlines when a similar measure was introduced. Records do not indicate whether the bill passed.
Greg Dugal, president of t he Ma ine Res t au ran t Association, opposed what he described as a redundant mea-sure that would burden already overworked state liquor agents with the task of interpreting the law.
Rep. Robert Saucier, R-Presque Isle, said the pour line was an efficient means for the industry to self-regu-late.
Sullivan said he'd never seen advertising laws abused and that the popularity of craft beer gave operators little incentive to save money by shortchanging pours.
Chad Lothian, who writes the beer blog If My Coaster Could Talk for the Bangor Daily News, said he's never personally experienced a fake pint glass, and said most bars serving craft beer do so in glasses provided by breweries.
"I don't see breweries sup-plying an undersized pint," Lothian said. "They wouldn't benefit from the bar selling less beer."
Rumford man sentenced for not taking medicationBy Christopher Crosby
PARIS — A Rumford man who shot a man a t a Richmond gas station in 2000 has pleaded guilty to violating conditions of his release for failing to take court-ordered medication.
A n O x f o r d C o u n t y S u p e r i o r C o u r t j u d g e revoked 60 days of Stanley Janiszcak's probation Friday morning after he admitted to allegations that he had stopped taking some of his prescription anti-psychotic medications and mood stabi-lizers, a condition of his pro-bation release from a Maine correctional facility.
He was credited for time served.
Last May, Janiszcak was referred to Oxford County Probation and Parole Officer
Michael Downs by the Norway Police Department after receiving information from police in Auburn that Janiszcak had stopped taking some of his medications, according to court docu-ments.
In a May 27 affidavit filed with the court, Downs said Janiszcak's therapist reported he had stopped taking his medications and was hearing voices talking to him, plan-ning a "mass murder" and "suicide by cop."
Downs also included affi-davits from witnesses alleg-ing that Janiszcak threatened and harassed them, though he was not charged.
Fol lowing his arrest , Janiszcak was ordered to undergo a 90-day observa-tion at Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta. Court
documents did not indicate the results of that evaluation.
According to a police affi-davit, Janiszcak confronted a man at a gas station in January 2000 and fired sev-eral shots from a handgun, striking him in the leg and possibly the head. The man's girlfriend attempted to inter-vene, striking Janiszcak with a tire iron, which he used to beat the victim. The injured man eventually escaped and pleaded for help f rom bystanders inside the gas sta-tion.
Janiszcak, who had lost his gun at this point, was subdued and arrested by Richmond Police.
Janiszcak told police he tried to kill the man because he was dating his ex-girl-friend, according to the affi-davit.
He was charged with attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault, aggravated assault and violating a protec-tive order from harassment. He pleaded guilty to the charg-es in November 2000.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison with all but 13 years suspended, and given six years of probation. Court documents indicate that he served slightly less than 10 years. He has no pre-vious violations.
The case was continued in Oxford County, where Janiszcak lives, over objec-tions from his defense attor-ney that proceedings should be moved to Sagadahoc County Superior Court, where the probation terms originated.