maineyankee
Active Member
Exactly Tet !! Just a little blip on the radar screen ... Perhaps this will "Justify" the PoPo's actions !!
I Wonder .....
The MaineYankee
In The Maine News
- Thread starter maineyankee
- Start date
I Wonder .....
The MaineYankee
tet1953
Well-Known Member
Besides, is shooting somebody just to "wing 'em" ever part of a police officer's training? I don't know the answer, but I am guessing not. I believe that if it is necessary to shoot somebody, they are trained to kill.
Hey LEO, if you're watching, could you answer for us please?
cerberus
Well-Known Member
I was never an LEO but I did get the chance to work with them hand in hand for five years. even lifted in the gym with state troopers, game wardens, and one US martial. they aim for center mass, it makes for more consistent site picture, yes to kill.
side note; I have had dozens of run ins with the Farmington PD, noise violations(got a written "excessive Marly after hours, you wanna guess what was playing?), drunk in public (the officer drove me home with a firm scolding), driving infractions, my one possession of usable amount charge (they made me do community service), AND a citizen commendation award. they where always nice and even jovial, they understood their job, serve and protect. what the F+ck happened? they gave me(and my room mates) a WARNING for throwing beer kegs off a second story house, the cop noticed when it bounced in front of his car in the road...
it shows how the whole world seems to be digressing in its moral compass skills..
side note; I have had dozens of run ins with the Farmington PD, noise violations(got a written "excessive Marly after hours, you wanna guess what was playing?), drunk in public (the officer drove me home with a firm scolding), driving infractions, my one possession of usable amount charge (they made me do community service), AND a citizen commendation award. they where always nice and even jovial, they understood their job, serve and protect. what the F+ck happened? they gave me(and my room mates) a WARNING for throwing beer kegs off a second story house, the cop noticed when it bounced in front of his car in the road...
it shows how the whole world seems to be digressing in its moral compass skills..
maineyankee
Active Member
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE -- Three people face drug trafficking charges after police stopped a driver for going the wrong direction on a one-way street early Saturday morning and reportedly found 4 ounces of "bath salts" with a street value of $11,000.
Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said officers found 3.5 ounces of the synthetic hallucinogenic drug, $1,800 cash, small plastic bags and four locked containers during the 1 a.m. search of the Jeep Wrangler.
After police got a search warrant Monday, Massey said another half-ounce of bath salts was found in the four locked boxes, as well as $200 and other drug paraphernalia.
Waterville police Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said a single dose of bath salts is approximately 1 gram and the 4 ounces amounted to about 112 doses.
Merideth K. Finley, 27, of 132 Limerock, Rockland, was charged with trafficking in bath salts, a class C felony, which is punishable up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Paul A. Mahonen Jr., 34, of 14 Birch Lane, South Thomaston, was charged with violation of conditional release and one count of trafficking in bath salts, a class B felony, punishable up to 10 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine.
Travis L. Griffin, 26, of 456 Main St., Warren, was charged with one count of trafficking in bath salts, a class B felony.
"Bath salts are a huge concern for law enforcement," Massey said. "They cause bizarre behavior and very aggressive behavior. I'm glad we got 4 ounces off the street."
About 1 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Dan Ames stopped Finley, who was driving the wrong direction on one-way Appleton Street.
Detective Lincoln Ryder assisted Ames with a search of the vehicle, which Massey said turned up a vial of bath salts as well a
s a sex toy that had a small bag of bath salts hidden in the battery compartment.
Massey said several syringes were also found as well as the four locked boxes, three of which were metal and one plastic.
He said this was the first arrest involving bath salts since early this past summer.
"At the beginning of the summer we had three or four incidents with people on bath salts," Massey said. "We thought we might see the trend continue but as summer progressed it tapered off here."
Massey said none of the three men made their $5,000 bail and they were transferred to Kennebec County jail in Augusta.
Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE -- Three people face drug trafficking charges after police stopped a driver for going the wrong direction on a one-way street early Saturday morning and reportedly found 4 ounces of "bath salts" with a street value of $11,000.
Waterville police Chief Joseph Massey said officers found 3.5 ounces of the synthetic hallucinogenic drug, $1,800 cash, small plastic bags and four locked containers during the 1 a.m. search of the Jeep Wrangler.
After police got a search warrant Monday, Massey said another half-ounce of bath salts was found in the four locked boxes, as well as $200 and other drug paraphernalia.
Waterville police Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey said a single dose of bath salts is approximately 1 gram and the 4 ounces amounted to about 112 doses.
Merideth K. Finley, 27, of 132 Limerock, Rockland, was charged with trafficking in bath salts, a class C felony, which is punishable up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Paul A. Mahonen Jr., 34, of 14 Birch Lane, South Thomaston, was charged with violation of conditional release and one count of trafficking in bath salts, a class B felony, punishable up to 10 years in prison and up to a $20,000 fine.
Travis L. Griffin, 26, of 456 Main St., Warren, was charged with one count of trafficking in bath salts, a class B felony.
"Bath salts are a huge concern for law enforcement," Massey said. "They cause bizarre behavior and very aggressive behavior. I'm glad we got 4 ounces off the street."
About 1 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Dan Ames stopped Finley, who was driving the wrong direction on one-way Appleton Street.
Detective Lincoln Ryder assisted Ames with a search of the vehicle, which Massey said turned up a vial of bath salts as well a
s a sex toy that had a small bag of bath salts hidden in the battery compartment.
Massey said several syringes were also found as well as the four locked boxes, three of which were metal and one plastic.
He said this was the first arrest involving bath salts since early this past summer.
"At the beginning of the summer we had three or four incidents with people on bath salts," Massey said. "We thought we might see the trend continue but as summer progressed it tapered off here."
Massey said none of the three men made their $5,000 bail and they were transferred to Kennebec County jail in Augusta.
maineyankee
Active Member
Bangor Daily News
November 21, 2011
MDEA agents, Bangor police find $21,000 of drugs, baby in car
BANGOR, Maine — Local police and state drug agents recorded another big bust when a traffic stop Friday led to the discovery of $21,000 worth of illicit drugs, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency said Monday.
MDEA supervisor Brad Johnston said MDEA officals received tips that four people were smuggling and selling heroin and oxycodone from Bangor motel rooms, and drug agents subsequently contacted Bangor police to investigate.
The investigation led to the arrests of Brittany Umbro, 23, of Bangor, Dawn McCullough, 31, of Glenburn, Colby Hanlon, 26, of New Hampshire and Orbria Turner, 38, of New Jersey.
A search of their car turned up an ounce of heroin and 229 oxycodone pills, police said.
Agents said a 3-month-old baby was also in the back seat of the Lincoln Navigator when police stopped it, and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services was called in.
“We had the vehicle under surveillance; we were ready for the vehicle to be stopped,” said Johnston.
All four suspects are being held at the Penobscot County Jail and are facing charges of aggravated trafficking in heroin, a Class A felony, and trafficking in oxycodone, a Class B felony.
November 21, 2011
MDEA agents, Bangor police find $21,000 of drugs, baby in car
BANGOR, Maine — Local police and state drug agents recorded another big bust when a traffic stop Friday led to the discovery of $21,000 worth of illicit drugs, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency said Monday.
MDEA supervisor Brad Johnston said MDEA officals received tips that four people were smuggling and selling heroin and oxycodone from Bangor motel rooms, and drug agents subsequently contacted Bangor police to investigate.
The investigation led to the arrests of Brittany Umbro, 23, of Bangor, Dawn McCullough, 31, of Glenburn, Colby Hanlon, 26, of New Hampshire and Orbria Turner, 38, of New Jersey.
A search of their car turned up an ounce of heroin and 229 oxycodone pills, police said.
Agents said a 3-month-old baby was also in the back seat of the Lincoln Navigator when police stopped it, and the Maine Department of Health and Human Services was called in.
“We had the vehicle under surveillance; we were ready for the vehicle to be stopped,” said Johnston.
All four suspects are being held at the Penobscot County Jail and are facing charges of aggravated trafficking in heroin, a Class A felony, and trafficking in oxycodone, a Class B felony.
maineyankee
Active Member
I have no problem with selling, dealing, growing etc .... ( I am not on this Earth to judge anyone ) ... What I DO have a problem with ... " Leave the Kids Alone !! "
The MaineYankee
Bluejeans
Well-Known Member
Apparently, the moral here is, if you traffick in bath salts, don't drive around with the shit in your car!!! LOL
Personally, I have never been one of those who chased after "the high" and I am simply amazed at the things people will ingest for a thrill or a buzz. Just give me some good old natural weed, homegrown if possible, and leave me alone to get locked to my couch. I ain't hurtin' anybody there...not even me cuz my couch is cushy. LOL
Personally, I have never been one of those who chased after "the high" and I am simply amazed at the things people will ingest for a thrill or a buzz. Just give me some good old natural weed, homegrown if possible, and leave me alone to get locked to my couch. I ain't hurtin' anybody there...not even me cuz my couch is cushy. LOL
Maine Brookies
Active Member
This was a different situation than the bath salt bust. Same area of Maine but different people & different drugs.
MYWhat?
Active Member
Just a quick comment about the shooting of the Army Ranger. In the online paper for that town, right near the top of the article. The gentleman that worked across the street at the gas station described how the man was lying dead at the end of the walkway, on his belly facing rt 27. Um that's the opposite direction from a confrontation at the front door. Sounds to me like he was shot while fleeing.
maineyankee
Active Member
I read the very same article twice, and thought it was just me. Yes indeed it does appear that he would be fleeing if his body was in that position, no doubt about it here My. It is a very sad time that we are in I fear. The law just doesn't feel right here in Maine at the moment with all of these shootings by LEO's and Game Wardens. I can understand that they must protect themselves, but at the same time, feel out the situation (if possible). I would rather see them talk someone out of a situation, even if it last 6 hours and the MaineTactical Team is called upon to ender their service.
Happy Thanksgiving
The MaineYankee
Maine Brookies
Active Member
He had a knife, it doesn't matter whether he was charging, running away, in a wheelchair or on his knees begging for forgiveness. The police investigators (who by law have the only power of review) will find that this was a justifiable killing. There will be platitudes about the tragedy of war scars affecting our veterans and how the cop is traumatized by the events and nothing will change. Police brutality is more American than baseball, Mom's apple pie and the Fourth of July.
tet1953
Well-Known Member
I'm not so sure. Yes, that does happen but at this particular point in time idk. In light of the Occupy movements and police heavy handedness there (UC Davis for example), people will demand a fair analysis of events.
unohu69
Well-Known Member
the people will not demand anything, they havent yet. 1% control everything, 1% cares, the other 98% are sheep. they go about their daily lives, and couldnt care less. The only time they will complain is when the government does something to them. even then, complain is all they will do, they will not fight.
The government doesnt care about any one human being. they will do what they want and expect you to take em to court to fight about it. very few will even bother attempting such a thing. The US has become the very thing the founding fathers were afraid of.
Stop giving them money, see how long they last then.....
The government doesnt care about any one human being. they will do what they want and expect you to take em to court to fight about it. very few will even bother attempting such a thing. The US has become the very thing the founding fathers were afraid of.
Stop giving them money, see how long they last then.....
tet1953
Well-Known Member
Gotta admit you are pretty much right, but sometimes the family or loved ones are successful.
maineyankee
Active Member
Morning Sentinel
November 27, 2011
Depression, Soaring Oil Prices Put Lives At Risk
Craig Johnson settled into the couch, trying to catch his breath after walking across the room. The small pouch strapped under his arm dumped chemicals into his body to battle the cancer that so far has been unable to kill him, but has kept him from working for nearly four years.
Donna Johnson, 53, his wife of 19 years, sat across from her 60-year-old husband in their small, dimly lit living room, her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her.
It was a warm fall day in late October, but the Johnsons already could feel the cold closing in.
"He's been fighting. I've never seen such a fighter," Donna Johnson said, looking at Craig. "The cancer hasn't killed him yet. The cold will."
The Johnsons had been living without heat and hot water since last month when an inspection of their hot-air furnace and water heater, both of which are oil-fired, revealed a number of safety hazards. The technician who inspected the system called Augusta firefighters after noticing the hazards. The city condemned the hot water heater, which was cracked and burned a hole in the fire box; and the technician had Craig Johnson sign a waiver indicating he understood the danger of using the oil furnace.
He used the oil furnace one night, but then thought better of it. He told the technician he was too afraid to use the furnace again. "The guys said, 'You're smart,' " he recalled. "We haven't touched it since."
It will cost about $6,500 to replace the furnace, hot water heater and oil tank, and the couple also learned their tank has a small leak. Unable to come up with the money, the Johnsons have tried to keep the house warm with a kerosene heater -- a practice they fear could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning -- and they wash dishes and take sponge baths with water heated on the electric stove.
"I have to do something," Craig Johnson said. "I have to have heat for my house."
Pushed behind
The Johnsons recently have been able to correct their problem after going about a month without any heat, but their story is indicative of an ever-growing segment some call the working poor: Families that once lived comfortably in the middle class have now been pushed behind by stagnant or dwindling incomes, coupled with the soaring cost of living, including heating expenses.
The state's Center for Workforce and Research Information says roughly 33,000 Mainers lost their jobs between 2007 and 2009.
The National Bureau of Economic Research says the Great Recession began in the U.S. in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.
The recession isn't over, however, for many Mainers such as the Johnsons. According to a 2010 poverty report prepared by the Maine State Planning Office, more than one in 10 Mainers live below the poverty line and more than a quarter of all Mainers have an income that classifies them as poor or near-poor.
Median incomes, when adjusted for inflation, fell slightly from 2006 to 2008, despite the number of Mainers who hold multiple jobs, which eclipses the national average.
Meanwhile, prices for gasoline and home heating fuel have been volatile, but generally have risen dramatically, effectively inflicting pay cuts on workers.
The statewide average for gasoline crested $4 per gallon in 2008 and rose again to nearly $4 earlier this year, according to the web site MaineGasPrices.com. Prices fell recently to the $3.30 range.
Home heating oil rose from an average of nearly $2.71 cents per gallon in October 2007 to an all-time high of $3.80 in March 2008, according to the Maine Governor's Office of Energy Independence and Security. After a decline during the next year, prices started to rise again last year and this month climbed to $3.66 per gallon.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts Northeast residents will pay an average of $3.71 per gallon this year, which is up from an average of $3.38 last year.
"These households feel the pinch of rising costs for shelter, fuel, food and medical care," Maine State Housing officials wrote in the agency's poverty report.
Rising energy costs have reverberated across the economic spectrum, prolonging the recession while contributing the rising cost of nearly every commodity, including the essentials of food and housing.
"I think the recession was triggered by the rising energy costs," said John Babb, president of Manchester-based J&S Oil. "If you look at inflation and exclude energy and housing, inflation has been kept under control very well. You put them together and it becomes a very big problem. Energy makes the world go 'round."
Shrinking assistance
As people are forced to spend more while making less, they are turning to government programs to help fill the gap. Government programs, in turn, have less to give, because of the sluggish economy, which places an even greater strain on families.
Kelly LaChance, who manages the low-income home energy assistance program, known as LIHEAP, for the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, said recently that her agency already had taken 7,400 applications for assistance from residents in Kennebec, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Somerset counties. That is 2,000 more than received by the same time last year.
LaChance said she expects 16,000 applicants this year, up from 14,500 last year. The increase in assistance requests comes despite federal tightening of LIHEAP eligibility standards that eliminated about 1,900 applicants in the KVCAP area who no longer qualify.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that Maine will receive $23 million for LIHEAP funding during the 2011-12 heating season, which is less than half the $55.6 million it distributed last year.
Of that $23 million, only about $800,000 can be used for furnace repair and $1.5 million for emergency intervention where tanks are less than one-eighth full.
KVCAP gave an average individual benefit of $805 last year. Based on a cost of $3.67 per gallon -- the high mark for average prices last year -- that benefit would have purchased about 220 gallons of home heating oil.
LaChance estimated that the average benefit this year will be $307. Based on projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration of $3.71 per gallon, that benefit will purchase less than 83 gallons of oil.
Making matters worse, LaChance said, is the fact that oil prices never saw their typical summer swoon. As a result, there is a noticeable uptick in the number of residents entering the heating season with empty oil tanks, she said.
"It's going to be devastation to the community," said LaChance, who has worked at the agency for 18 years. "This is the worst I have seen it. This state is in crisis, for sure."
Local help
The gathering ranks of those unable to make ends meet are increasingly turning local communities and private agencies for heating assistance, said Rob Gordon, executive director of the United Way of Kennebec Valley.
Gordon heads up the Augusta Area Home Heating Assistance Group, a cadre of business, civic and government representatives who meet regularly to pool knowledge and resources to meet the heating needs of southern Kennebec County residents.
"We have more people who are in need than we've had in recent years," Gordon said. "We're really concerned about the diminished resource that will be available if the LIHEAP funds are not increased. We know already that people are experiencing difficulty."
The home heating assistance group will again this year offer a warming center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day in the first floor of the Masonic Building, at 44 Front St., Augusta. The center, which will be open from Jan. 2 to March 31, was opened in 2009 for the homeless and to give people a chance to turn down the heat in their homes for a few hours each day.
Even now, the group is raising money for the center.
"We're trying to get the most mileage out of the dollars that we have," Gordon said. "We're interested in facilitating help in emergency situations. We don't have a lot of money to do that."
John Paradise, spokesman for the Maine Credit Union League, said a number of credit unions across the state are trying to bridge the gap by offering no- and low-interest fuel loans. About two-thirds of Maine's credit unions will distribute about $6 million this year, he said.
Paradise said many of the families who seek help will come from the working class.
"It's not the poor that are struggling," he said. "It's scary. I don't know how it's going to get fixed."
Getting by -- for now
That fear and uncertainty have gripped Craig and Donna Johnson as they huddle inside their small home without heat or hot water.
Craig Johnson has not worked since shortly after he was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago. He collects about $1,100 a month in disability payments. Donna Johnson brings home just more than $1,800 a month from her job with the state government.
Donna Johnson's job provides health insurance for both, but there are deductibles for care and medicine, which, coupled with a recent bout of car problems, have put the couple behind on about $1,000 in medical bills.
"To some people that's nothing, but to us it's like $1 million," she said.
The Johnsons tried to get a bank loan to fix the heating systems, but they were denied because of poor credit. They then turned to their mortgage company, which also was unable to help.
"Our house payment is on time, but we have had issues with medical bills and others we've gotten behind on," Donna Johnson said.
The Johnsons said they also have looked for help from government and private agencies, including Maine State Housing, which said the couple makes too much money to qualify for assistance. City officials and counselors at 211 -- the statewide phone system for connecting human services to those in need -- suggested the Johnsons buy an electric heater.
"We have no clue what we're going to do," Donna Johnson said. "We've called all those places. If you're not poor, you're screwed."
Every string they have pulled has broken, leaving them only the hope that somehow they will find another string.
"We've always been survivors and managed to take care of ourselves, but everything happened at once," Donna Johnson said. "If Craig was working and didn't have cancer, we probably would have been able to take care of this."
An answer to their heating problems came this past week.
After living about a month without heat and hot water, the couple finally was able to find help. They bought a new hot water heater with their own money and a second heating technician fixed the oil tank leak, enabling the furnace to operate safely.
"We had two angels come and help us," Donna said, referring to the technicians. "We're all set now."
November 27, 2011
Depression, Soaring Oil Prices Put Lives At Risk
Craig Johnson settled into the couch, trying to catch his breath after walking across the room. The small pouch strapped under his arm dumped chemicals into his body to battle the cancer that so far has been unable to kill him, but has kept him from working for nearly four years.
Donna Johnson, 53, his wife of 19 years, sat across from her 60-year-old husband in their small, dimly lit living room, her eyes fixed on the floor in front of her.
It was a warm fall day in late October, but the Johnsons already could feel the cold closing in.
"He's been fighting. I've never seen such a fighter," Donna Johnson said, looking at Craig. "The cancer hasn't killed him yet. The cold will."
The Johnsons had been living without heat and hot water since last month when an inspection of their hot-air furnace and water heater, both of which are oil-fired, revealed a number of safety hazards. The technician who inspected the system called Augusta firefighters after noticing the hazards. The city condemned the hot water heater, which was cracked and burned a hole in the fire box; and the technician had Craig Johnson sign a waiver indicating he understood the danger of using the oil furnace.
He used the oil furnace one night, but then thought better of it. He told the technician he was too afraid to use the furnace again. "The guys said, 'You're smart,' " he recalled. "We haven't touched it since."
It will cost about $6,500 to replace the furnace, hot water heater and oil tank, and the couple also learned their tank has a small leak. Unable to come up with the money, the Johnsons have tried to keep the house warm with a kerosene heater -- a practice they fear could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning -- and they wash dishes and take sponge baths with water heated on the electric stove.
"I have to do something," Craig Johnson said. "I have to have heat for my house."
Pushed behind
The Johnsons recently have been able to correct their problem after going about a month without any heat, but their story is indicative of an ever-growing segment some call the working poor: Families that once lived comfortably in the middle class have now been pushed behind by stagnant or dwindling incomes, coupled with the soaring cost of living, including heating expenses.
The state's Center for Workforce and Research Information says roughly 33,000 Mainers lost their jobs between 2007 and 2009.
The National Bureau of Economic Research says the Great Recession began in the U.S. in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.
The recession isn't over, however, for many Mainers such as the Johnsons. According to a 2010 poverty report prepared by the Maine State Planning Office, more than one in 10 Mainers live below the poverty line and more than a quarter of all Mainers have an income that classifies them as poor or near-poor.
Median incomes, when adjusted for inflation, fell slightly from 2006 to 2008, despite the number of Mainers who hold multiple jobs, which eclipses the national average.
Meanwhile, prices for gasoline and home heating fuel have been volatile, but generally have risen dramatically, effectively inflicting pay cuts on workers.
The statewide average for gasoline crested $4 per gallon in 2008 and rose again to nearly $4 earlier this year, according to the web site MaineGasPrices.com. Prices fell recently to the $3.30 range.
Home heating oil rose from an average of nearly $2.71 cents per gallon in October 2007 to an all-time high of $3.80 in March 2008, according to the Maine Governor's Office of Energy Independence and Security. After a decline during the next year, prices started to rise again last year and this month climbed to $3.66 per gallon.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts Northeast residents will pay an average of $3.71 per gallon this year, which is up from an average of $3.38 last year.
"These households feel the pinch of rising costs for shelter, fuel, food and medical care," Maine State Housing officials wrote in the agency's poverty report.
Rising energy costs have reverberated across the economic spectrum, prolonging the recession while contributing the rising cost of nearly every commodity, including the essentials of food and housing.
"I think the recession was triggered by the rising energy costs," said John Babb, president of Manchester-based J&S Oil. "If you look at inflation and exclude energy and housing, inflation has been kept under control very well. You put them together and it becomes a very big problem. Energy makes the world go 'round."
Shrinking assistance
As people are forced to spend more while making less, they are turning to government programs to help fill the gap. Government programs, in turn, have less to give, because of the sluggish economy, which places an even greater strain on families.
Kelly LaChance, who manages the low-income home energy assistance program, known as LIHEAP, for the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program, said recently that her agency already had taken 7,400 applications for assistance from residents in Kennebec, Lincoln, Sagadahoc and Somerset counties. That is 2,000 more than received by the same time last year.
LaChance said she expects 16,000 applicants this year, up from 14,500 last year. The increase in assistance requests comes despite federal tightening of LIHEAP eligibility standards that eliminated about 1,900 applicants in the KVCAP area who no longer qualify.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that Maine will receive $23 million for LIHEAP funding during the 2011-12 heating season, which is less than half the $55.6 million it distributed last year.
Of that $23 million, only about $800,000 can be used for furnace repair and $1.5 million for emergency intervention where tanks are less than one-eighth full.
KVCAP gave an average individual benefit of $805 last year. Based on a cost of $3.67 per gallon -- the high mark for average prices last year -- that benefit would have purchased about 220 gallons of home heating oil.
LaChance estimated that the average benefit this year will be $307. Based on projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration of $3.71 per gallon, that benefit will purchase less than 83 gallons of oil.
Making matters worse, LaChance said, is the fact that oil prices never saw their typical summer swoon. As a result, there is a noticeable uptick in the number of residents entering the heating season with empty oil tanks, she said.
"It's going to be devastation to the community," said LaChance, who has worked at the agency for 18 years. "This is the worst I have seen it. This state is in crisis, for sure."
Local help
The gathering ranks of those unable to make ends meet are increasingly turning local communities and private agencies for heating assistance, said Rob Gordon, executive director of the United Way of Kennebec Valley.
Gordon heads up the Augusta Area Home Heating Assistance Group, a cadre of business, civic and government representatives who meet regularly to pool knowledge and resources to meet the heating needs of southern Kennebec County residents.
"We have more people who are in need than we've had in recent years," Gordon said. "We're really concerned about the diminished resource that will be available if the LIHEAP funds are not increased. We know already that people are experiencing difficulty."
The home heating assistance group will again this year offer a warming center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day in the first floor of the Masonic Building, at 44 Front St., Augusta. The center, which will be open from Jan. 2 to March 31, was opened in 2009 for the homeless and to give people a chance to turn down the heat in their homes for a few hours each day.
Even now, the group is raising money for the center.
"We're trying to get the most mileage out of the dollars that we have," Gordon said. "We're interested in facilitating help in emergency situations. We don't have a lot of money to do that."
John Paradise, spokesman for the Maine Credit Union League, said a number of credit unions across the state are trying to bridge the gap by offering no- and low-interest fuel loans. About two-thirds of Maine's credit unions will distribute about $6 million this year, he said.
Paradise said many of the families who seek help will come from the working class.
"It's not the poor that are struggling," he said. "It's scary. I don't know how it's going to get fixed."
Getting by -- for now
That fear and uncertainty have gripped Craig and Donna Johnson as they huddle inside their small home without heat or hot water.
Craig Johnson has not worked since shortly after he was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago. He collects about $1,100 a month in disability payments. Donna Johnson brings home just more than $1,800 a month from her job with the state government.
Donna Johnson's job provides health insurance for both, but there are deductibles for care and medicine, which, coupled with a recent bout of car problems, have put the couple behind on about $1,000 in medical bills.
"To some people that's nothing, but to us it's like $1 million," she said.
The Johnsons tried to get a bank loan to fix the heating systems, but they were denied because of poor credit. They then turned to their mortgage company, which also was unable to help.
"Our house payment is on time, but we have had issues with medical bills and others we've gotten behind on," Donna Johnson said.
The Johnsons said they also have looked for help from government and private agencies, including Maine State Housing, which said the couple makes too much money to qualify for assistance. City officials and counselors at 211 -- the statewide phone system for connecting human services to those in need -- suggested the Johnsons buy an electric heater.
"We have no clue what we're going to do," Donna Johnson said. "We've called all those places. If you're not poor, you're screwed."
Every string they have pulled has broken, leaving them only the hope that somehow they will find another string.
"We've always been survivors and managed to take care of ourselves, but everything happened at once," Donna Johnson said. "If Craig was working and didn't have cancer, we probably would have been able to take care of this."
An answer to their heating problems came this past week.
After living about a month without heat and hot water, the couple finally was able to find help. They bought a new hot water heater with their own money and a second heating technician fixed the oil tank leak, enabling the furnace to operate safely.
"We had two angels come and help us," Donna said, referring to the technicians. "We're all set now."
maineyankee
Active Member
I think that this is going to be a hard, tough winter for a lot of people out there, especially the elderly that are widowed and on a fixed income, and still have their own home ( like my mom ) 
Since we rent and do not see the cost per gallon of oil, I was shocked to see what the average was here in Central Maine. Damn, I can remember not too far back that it was 29.9 per gallon (Okay, so it was a lot of years ago). The bottom line is, as we dish out more money to stay warm and drive around, all of the "Oil Barons" are getting richer and richer off all of us poor folks.
As for Craig and Donna Johnson, I am glad that the two angels did get them back on track. It gives me great satisfaction to know that there are a lot of great people in this great State of Maine that step up from time to time and knock a great grand-slam out of the ballpark! When in need, we can count on our neighbors and friends to lend a hand.
God Bless, Peace and Love
The MaineYankee
Since we rent and do not see the cost per gallon of oil, I was shocked to see what the average was here in Central Maine. Damn, I can remember not too far back that it was 29.9 per gallon (Okay, so it was a lot of years ago). The bottom line is, as we dish out more money to stay warm and drive around, all of the "Oil Barons" are getting richer and richer off all of us poor folks.As for Craig and Donna Johnson, I am glad that the two angels did get them back on track. It gives me great satisfaction to know that there are a lot of great people in this great State of Maine that step up from time to time and knock a great grand-slam out of the ballpark! When in need, we can count on our neighbors and friends to lend a hand.
God Bless, Peace and Love
The MaineYankee
unohu69
Well-Known Member
The oil issues were created by the Gov... EPA. Anyone wanna look up how many oil refineries were shutdown in this country over the last 35+ yrs, oil supply isnt the problem, increased government regulations caused our manufacturing industry to drop off. hence why we no longer make shit for steel, gasoline, and other hard goods.
we have gone from a commodity producer to a service provider.
we have gone from a commodity producer to a service provider.
maineyankee
Active Member
So your answer I take it would be to take it off the "Futures Market", in which a lot of commodities are exchanged worldwide. I wonder what ramifications that would cause on the global economy, as I would believe that each country would then be in a price war of sorts. That def would cause the closing of OPEC, and would lead to Oil/Gas Wars with neighboring countries, sort of like what we have going here in the states where a dealer calls the other and asks what they are charging for gas/oil for the day. Very interesting ... Thanks as always Tet for the post
MaineYankee
tet1953
Well-Known Member
Right you are, and many services, we find, can and are being off-shored.