The National Weather Service (NWS) has downgraded the forecast for Lincoln County regarding a storm expected to visit the area beginning late Tues. afternoon and evening. A Winter Storm Watch issued Mon. was downgraded on Tues. morning to a Winter Weather Advisory, and forecast snowfall totals slid drastically from 4 to 8 inches down to 1 to 3 inches, according to the NWS. Areas south of Lincoln County are still under a Winter Storm Watch.

Lynne Williams knows she is fighting an uphill battle to be elected governor, but she thinks maybe, just maybe, this year, the Green Party candidate will have a chance.

The Board of Directors of Damariscotta Bank & Trust Co. (DB&T) announces the appointment of Scott Conant to the office of president and CEO.

The Wiscasset Community Center is seeking volunteers to assist with their efforts to provide a shelter for those affected by the recent power outages, according to the Lincoln County Emergency Management Agency. For information on how you can help, call 882-8230. The Wiscasset Community Center is located at 242 Gardiner Rd. (Rt. 27) in Wiscasset.

Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Bracket was honored with a Legislative Sentiment read into the record by the Clerk of the House of Representatives Tuesday.

A 63-year-old man escaped injury Saturday morning when he inadvertently drove his car into an ice pressure ridge on Damariscotta Lake, causing the ice to collapse under the car in 40 feet of water, according to the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W).

The Somerville Fire Department joined with the Washington Fire Department for an annual cold-water training day on Feb. 6 at the Washington fire station.

Damariscotta Police Department reports the following activity:

Arrests and summonsesDec. 1, 2009, Gabriel V. Shadis, 38, of Damariscotta was arrested for operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor.

Dec. 29, 2009, Lawrence E. Taylor, 64, of Rockland was summonsed for failing to wear a seatbelt.

Light rain began falling on Monday morning, but that was just a mild preview for a storm expected to pummel Lincoln County with high winds and heavy rainfall beginning mid-afternoon and running into the evening, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). This same storm has already left a path of watery devastation as it chugged across the country. Lincoln County will only have to endure 5 to 6 hours of weather as the storm front passes, but it is forecast to bring winds gusting to 60 mph and rainfall coming in wind-driven sheets.

Alna selectmen said at their Jan. 18 meeting they want R. Hopkins Concrete to return $10,000 paid in Aug. 2009 for work on the town’s sand and salt shed. In other business, the board also discussed the RSU 12 budget meeting on Saturday, where several people from town voted down budget articles.

Divers with the Maine Warden Service this afternoon recovered the body of a Waldoboro snowmobiler from Damariscotta Lake who was reported missing this morning.

Westport Island selectmen will not convene on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, for their regularly scheduled board meeting, but will instead be down on the shore to oversee the Ferry Landing project.

Wiscasset Town Manager Arthur Faucher was absent from the regular Board of Selectmen meeting Tuesday night when selectmen approved the nomination of a deputy town manager and briefly discussed advertising to hire a new town manager.

In other court news: