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By Portland Press Herald Staff Report November 28, 2007 09:30 AM

Good morning and welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman. This is the first place you should go to know about:

Sunrise Herald is the early morning news update feature of pressherald.com. It is updated at 6, 7, 8 and 9 on weekdays.

THE WEATHER AND OTHER STUFF
At 9 a.m., it was 34 degrees in downtown Portland. Today gets off to a chilly start and generally stays in the 30s through most of the day. Chilly yes, but also sunny, with a few overcast clouds.

FOR MARINERS:

A small craft warning is still in effect for Casco Bay until noon today. Northwest wind blowing gusts of 25 knots but diminishing to 10 knots by the afternoon.

High tide in Portland at 1:32 p.m. Low tide at 7:16 a.m. and 8:02 p.m.

FOR TRAVELERS:

• Tumbleweeds are one thing. But, tumble-Christmas trees? If you see one rolling by around the West Gardiner toll plaza, be not alarmed. A number of the jolly evergreens were stripped from their truck as they went under the overpass early this morning and came to rest all over the turnpike. No one was injured...except for the trees, of course. Now you know what's going on around the toll plaza.

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THE NEWS FROM:

• WATERVILLE — A known sex offender who skipped town in Rhode Island is behind bars at the Kennebec County Jail after Waterville police located and arrested him.

Olin Stevens, 36, will be arraigned today on two charges of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual conduct.

A convicted sex offender, Stevens was living in Rhode Island but never told the authorities there when he left and relocated to Maine. When he arrived in Waterville, he failed to alert authorities that he was in town. In both states, sex offenders are required to register with the state. Failure to do so is criminal.

Therefore, when he arrived in Maine a few months ago, he came as a fugitive. Waterville police last week were notified by Rhode Island authorities that they believed Stevens was in the the area. He was picked up by Waterville police on Nov. 16 and charged with being a fugitive from justice.

While in jail, the Waterville team learned that Stevens had victimized two young children, both under the age of 14 and known to him, while he had been in Maine.

His arrest list grew longer on Nov. 20, when charges of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact were added.

Waterville Police Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said he expects Stevens will not be extradited to Rhode Island. Rather he will stay here and face the new charges of sexual misconduct.

• BANGOR — A man from Waterville will spend the next 14 years in prison for having cocaine he intended to distribute, firearms he intended to use in trafficking the drugs, and possession of a pipe bomb.

Roy Garland, 21, was sentenced yesterday in a United States Federal Court for the crimes, to which he pleaded guilty on May 25, 2006.

When police in January of that year caught Garland, they found he had guns in his vehicle, 465 grams of cocaine, MDMA tablets and the components for making pipe bombs.

He is now off the streets and behind bars.

• BOWDOIN — State police responded to a minor motorcycle accident last night, where the driver lost control of his bike and went off the road.

The accident, on I-295 in the southbound lane, injured the driver (his name was not available this morning) with possible head trauma. He was transported to a local hospital.

The accident occurred around 10 p.m.

• FARMINGTON — Chester Greenwood is a Mainer who invented something famous. Can you guess what it is:
A) lobster cracker
B) Q-tip
c) earmuffs

If you said C, earmuffs, give yourself an extra cookie today!

Greenwood did indeed invent the earmuff in 1873 out of fur, cloth and wire as way to keep his sensitive ears warm. And his native town of Farmington is celebrating with a parade, chili contest and a gingerbread house contest at Chester Greenwood Day, held on the first Saturday in December.

Bring the kids. Bring the whole family. And of course, make sure they all wear earmuffs.
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COMING UP...

• ON CBS @ 4 P.M. — Cathi Lee, the Waterville woman who lost more than 300 pounds, will be one of the featured guests on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” which starts at 4 p.m. on CBS affiliates (WABI-TV in Waterville; WGME in Portland.)

The show is not live. It was taped earlier in the month when Lee traveled to Chicago for the performance.

• IN LEWISTON @ 6 p.m. — The "Twin Cities Holiday Celebration's Parade of Lights" begins, after being postponed a couple of days due to bad weather.

The parade itself leaves Courthouse Plaza in Lewiston at 6 p.m., crosses Longley Bridge, then ends at Festival Plaza in Auburn. Santa will be there offering free photos. There will be music and the lighting of the Christmas tree and Menorah. Other activities:
4:00 - 4:30 p.m. - Portland Ballet Nutcracker Show & Tell at the Lewiston Public Library, 200 Lisbon Street (3rd floor)
5:00 - 7:30 p.m. - Games, crafts and model train show at Auburn Hall, 60 Court Street (2nd floor)
5:00 - 7:30 p.m. - Hayrides at Festival Plaza.