Self-described “backyard beekeepers” Dick and Jean Vose, of Nobleboro, were given the Maine State Beekeepers Association’s Beekeeper of the Year award at the association’s annual meeting Oct. 18.

The Damariscotta Police Department reports the following activity:

ArrestsNichole L. Brackett, 29, Newcastle, burglary of a motor vehicle, Sept. 26.

The Gut in South Bristol will be subject to periodic closures to marine traffic in the coming months as Cianbro Corporation works to replace the swing bridge spanning the channel, according to the Department of Transportation.

Zachary T. Miller, 23, of Waldoboro, untagged lobster traps, $550 fine.

Governor Paul LePage has ordered state of Maine and U.S. flags on all public buildings and grounds to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in honor of Millicent M. MacFarland.

Lincoln County candidates debated topics from domestic violence to spending priorities during The Lincoln County News Meet the Candidates forum at Lincoln Academy’s Parker B. Poe Theater in Newcastle Monday, Sept. 29.

Maine Republicans should raise a bloody Mary to Paul Coulombe for the tens of thousands of dollars he has given their party and candidates – dollars he made selling his vodka brands to a national corporation.

A Waldoboro man who pleaded guilty to unlawful trafficking in schedule W drugs (oxycodone) in April was sentenced Sept. 25 to five years in prison with all but 18 months suspended.

The Damariscotta convenience store Hilltop Stop has completed extensive renovations and opened a new dining room with seating for 23.

Before there was Donald Sussman, there was Margot Milliken.

Sussman has contributed $2,971,741 dollars altogether to liberal causes and candidates this election cycle, including giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to PACs that support abortion rights and women’s issues.

A new undertaking in Dresden called The Freedom Center is designed to provide support, build strength and hope, and help people who are struggling to become independent, according to Jan Burns, the center’s executive director.

Wiscasset Police Chief Troy Cline reports the following arrests, summonses and accidents:

ArrestsAnthony Baker, 23, Union, theft by unauthorized use of property, speeding (30+ over the speed limit), eluding an officer and driving to endanger, Sept. 21.

The 2014 Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta drew banner crowds this year on Columbus Day weekend. Local police estimated the crowd at the Pumpkin Parade on Saturday alone as greater than 8,000 spectators.

A Waldoboro man is being held in lieu of $15,000 cash bail after he was arrested Oct. 2 on charges of gross sexual assault, attempted gross sexual assault, and burglary – all class B felonies.