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Sunrise Herald is the early morning news update feature at
pressherald.com. It is updated at 6, 7, 8 and 9 on weekdays.
Welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman, the place to go to get the news from overnight and onward...
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM BEIJING:
Love the platform diving competition. I admire those athletes: Have you ever jumped off one of those platform boards? We had one in the city where I grew up and I tell you, it's just plain terrifying. I couldn't even imagine actually trying to make it look good. Speaking of looking good, check out the pictures taken by our sports reporter Mike Lowe of the Forbidden City. He brings us a report from there, and more Olympic goodies, on our Olympic coverage page.
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IN THE WEATHER:
If yesterday made you think of fall, today will remind you that it is still summer. A sunny warm day on the horizon, with much less wind than yesterday. Temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s.
From Bill in Rockland:
Fifty-three somewhat breezy degrees here at 5:40 this morning. A few high wispy clouds are departing and again there's a hint of the next season approaching. From Shawn in Yarmouth: This morning it is 50 degrees and crisp. The sky is clear blue, no wind, no humidity and no rain!! Sounds like today is going to be beautiful! Wish I was going to be outside enjoying the sunshine.
ON THE ROAD:
• Repair and cleaning of catch basins from Mill Street to the Route 196 on-ramp. This will require a lane closure.
• Repair of deteriorated joints in the underlying concrete road from the Route 196 on-ramp to Cooks Corner. This will also require a lane closure. Expect delays.
• TRAFFIC WILL BE REDUCED TO ONE LANE ON I-295 SOUTHBOUND in the Brunswick-Topsham area so crews can put finishing touches on the new surface. The work starts at 9 a.m. and will take traffic down to one southbound lane. Both lanes should be open for travel by the end of today.
ON THE OCEAN:
• OTHERWISE: The high pressure anchored over the Gulf of Maine will make for a gentle, beautiful day on Casco Bay, with westerly and southwesterly winds blowing 5 to 10 knots. Seas gently swell at 1 to 2 feet.
High tide in Portland: 2:49 p.m. Low tides: 8:35 a.m. and then again at 9:05 p.m.
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THE NEWEST NEWS:
FORT KENT (AP) -- Taking its cue from cargo carrier UPS, a northern Maine school system is urging its bus drivers to modify their routes by making fewer left turns, a change designed to promote efficiency and save gasoline.
Directors of School Administrative District 27 in the Fort Kent area said the voluntary measure took effect with the start of the school year earlier this month.
In a letter to district residents, Superintendent Patrick O'Neill said UPS saved millions of dollars in one year by changing driving patterns to minimize left turns and reduce the amount of time spent idling in traffic waiting to turn.
O'Neill said the district's board is looking to cut costs wherever they can without hurting education.
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BUXTON -- Police have not released the name of the person who died in a one-car accident on Turkey Lane Road shortly before 2 a.m.
The road was closed until around 7:30 a.m. as police worked the scene and crews repaired a utility pole damaged in the crash. A Buxton police dispatcher said almost everyone in the area has had their power restored.
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BANGOR (AP) -- Police officials in the Bangor area are calling for an expansion of the state's pre-kindergarten programs as a way to cut back on high school dropout rates and crime.
Bangor Police Chief Ron Gastia, Veazie Police Chief Mark Leonard and Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross released a report Wednesday showing that high-quality pre-kindergarten is one of the best deterrents against rising dropout rates. They called on the state Legislature and Congress to support pre-kindergarten programs.
The officials said expansion of early childhood education and care programs leads to higher graduation rates, college enrollment and income levels, as well as lower crime rates.
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MARSHFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- One of two girls who accused a Maine carnival worker of rape has recanted her story, according to the Plymouth District Attorney's Office.
A Plymouth District Court judge, however, yesterday rejected a prosecutors' recommendation that 18-year-old Jeffrey Witham of Oxford be released pending a pre-trial hearing next month.
Witham remains held on $150,000 bail set earlier in the week. He's charged with raping two girls -- ages 13 and 14 -- whom he met while working at the Marshfield Fair. The alleged attacks occurred at the home of one of the victims.
Plymouth District Attorney spokeswoman Bridget Norton Middleton says one girl indicated that she and Witham had consensual sex. Middleton says because the girl is under 16, it would still be considered child rape even if not by force.
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SANFORD -- A well-known market in Springvale caught fire last night, but is still standing.
Lt. Eric Neuber of the Sanford Fire Department said the fire at the Mill Street Market on Mill Street was knocked down within about 30 minutes.
When firefighters arrived shortly after 10:15 p.m., they found heavy smoke coming from the building. No one was injured and the cause is not yet known.
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