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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, the place to go to get the news from overnight and onward...
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IN THE WEATHER:
A day quite like yesterday except better. The wind tapers off, leaving us with a warm (by Maine in December standards) and sunny day. Temperatures could breach the 50 mark in some places. Let the "Get-the-lights-up-before-it's-cold-again" race begin.
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ON THE ROAD:
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ON THE OCEAN:
Winds blowing 5 to 10 knots with seas 2 to 4 feet, subsiding to around 2 feet this afternoon. Tonight, southwest winds 5 to10 knots, increasing to 10 to 20 knots after midnight.
High tide in Portland 2:24 p.m. Low tides 8:12 a.m. and then again at 8:48 p.m.
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THE NEWEST NEWS:
BRUNSWICK (AP) -- The commander of a P-3 Orion squadron at Brunswick Naval Air Station is being relieved of his command.
A statement says the Navy has lost confidence in Cmdr. Llewellyn Lewis, commanding officer of Special Projects Squadron 1 at Brunswick Naval Air Station.
The Navy says additional corrective action is expected upon completion of an investigation into the crash of his Brunswick P-3 Orion in Afghanistan.
The Navy previously acknowledged the crash landing in October at Bagram Airfield, north of Kabul, but offered few details. The crew survived but one crew member suffered a broken ankle. The plane caught fire and suffered serious fire damage.
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MIAMI (AP) - A former Maine man arrested in Florida on charges of threatening President-elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush is negotiating a possible plea deal.
The lawyer for 23-year-old Raymond Geisel says he's talking with federal prosecutors about a plea based on past mental problems. A federal judge scheduled a hearing Wednesday on the case. Geisel told investigators he was treated for psychiatric issues.
Geisel was arrested in August on charges of threatening to assassinate Obama and Bush. Authorities found he possessed a handgun, knives, machete, ammunition, body armor and other military-style gear.
Geisel, who's originally from Hampden, Maine, moved to South Florida earlier this year. He faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted of threatening Obama.
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The U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol are searching for a man who went missing Tuesday evening while digging for periwinkles near Eastport.
The Coast Guard says two men walked out to a sandbar in the Lubec Narrows before getting separated while digging for the edible snails. One of them went for assistance when he heard the other calling for help.
The Coast Guard learned of the incident at about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday and dispatched patrol boats from Eastport and a Falcon jet from Cape Cod.
A helicopter was on the scene Friday morning and deputies were searching the shore. The missing man is identified as 30-year-old Christopher Ferguson. (AP)
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LEBANON -- The Lebanon Rescue Department is trying to help a family whose 15-month-old child died Friday at their Lebanon home.
The death of Ty Gilpatrick was tragic to many people in the Lebanon community. Spokesman Steve McCausland said the boy was found Friday morning on a couch where he had been sleeping. An autopsy was inconclusive and additional study is needed to determine the cause of death.
He said the incident is not considered suspicious. State police investigate every death involving a child under the age of three.
Meanwhile, Lebanon Rescue Chief Samantha Cole said the toddler's mother, Kristen Desmarais, and his grandfather, Stephen Kelly, with whom the baby lived, are devastated, as is the father of the boy, who lived nearby.
The family, Cole said, does not have the money to have a full funeral and cremation.
"They had just enough money to provide Ty with a warm and loving home and to raise a great child who will be missed by his many relatives who loved little 'Ty Ty,'" she said.
The Lebanon Rescue Department has set up a fund to help the family pay for the funeral expenses.
"We just want to help the family be able to remember Ty and all the brightness he brought to the family. I have met with the entire family. His parents are exceptional people who would do anything in the world for their child," Cole said. "We feel it is our duty to help them in any way we can."
Checks can be made out to: Lebanon Rescue Corporation and mailed to:
Ty Gilpatrick Fund
323 Depot Road
Lebanon, ME 04027
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WATERVILLE -- Voters on Jan. 13 will decide whether Waterville public schools should share resources with Winslow and Vassalboro schools.
City councilors on Tuesday took two final votes to set the special referendum, to be held 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the American Legion hall on College Avenue.
As part of their vote Jan. 13, Waterville residents will determine if city schools will become part of an Alternative Organizational Structure, or AOS, with the other two school systems.
Information provided by the Morning Sentinel
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FROM OUR NEWS PARTNERS:
• In the Lewiston Sun Journal today, Auburn officials will discuss the need for a crowd control ordinance after a Black Friday incident at Wal-Mart. That story can be read by clicking this link.
THE GOOD NEWS:
On Sunday, the transportation of thousands of wreaths made at Worcester Wreath Co. begins in Harrington with stops in many locations in Maine and other states along the route to Arlington National Cemetery.
Worcester Wreath Co. donated more than 17,000 wreaths for the remembrances, 10,000 of which will be placed on graves in Arlington National Cemetery Dec. 13.
The 10,000 wreaths designated for Arlington will be transported on a 750-mile journey from Harrington after a sendoff ceremony on Dec. 7.
Along the way, thousands of people line the anticipated route in a display of support. Six to seven hundred motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard Riders will provide an escort.
Learn more about the parade route for Wreaths Across America by clicking this link.
2008 MAINE ITINERARY
Dec. 7
10:30 a.m.: Escort departs Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington with stops scheduled for Bangor, Augusta, Lewiston and Portland.
Dec. 8
7 a.m.: Wreath escort departs Best Western Hotel, Route 1, South Portland, with stops scheduled for Scarborough Veterans Home, Old Orchard Beach, Wells and Kittery Trading Post before heading to New Hampshire and other states.
Copyright 2008 Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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