Bangor, Maine News Update: February 23, 2018

An Ellsworth teenager is charged with terrorizing for allegedly making a shooting threat against a local school. Ellsworth police were notified by the FBI after a Denmark gaming company forwarded threatening posts and the 19-year-old Michael Allen’s IP address.

A judge found Phillip Scott Fournier guilty of murder for the 1980 death of Joyce McLain, bringing closure to the girl’s family 37 years after her death. The 16-year-old Millinocket girl’s body was found behind the high school, two days after she went missing while out jogging.

A Vermont teen who had compiled a journal detailing how he planned to shoot up his former high school was caught thanks to a classmate from a Maine school for troubled teens. 18-year-old Jack Sawyer had been staying at Ironwood in Morril, Maine when he texted his plans to a resident from the school. Sawyer is now charged with attempted murder.

The Maine CDC says less people died of heroin overdoses in Maine last year, but the news is not all good. Fentanyl-related deaths rose by 27 percent, with the number attributed to cocaine and methamphetamine also seeing an increase. In all, drug-induced deaths in Maine went up 11 percent from the year before.

Another land-based salmon farm is planned for Maine, this time at the site of the former Verso paper mill in Bucksport. Whole Oceans of Yarmouth is buying the site, with a planned investment of more than 250 million dollars. In Belfast, Nordic Aquafarms has announced plans to build a similar, larger facility.