Bangor, Maine News Update: June 26, 2019

No one was hurt when fire consumed a barn on the Corinna Center Road in Corinna early Tuesday morning. Fire officials say there were no animals in the barn, and so the loss was limited to the building,  farm equipment, and some hay. Investigators will now work to determine what sparked the blaze.

It’s an especially bad year for Mainers who are dealing with a species of moth that causes an itchy rash in humans. The browntail moth can also cause widespread tree defoliation. Anyone with questions about the moths and how to get rid of them should call 211 for more information.

The Bangor City Council has opened a discussion about homelessness in the city. Housing is a big challenge for a community that is considered a service center, where people come to be close to available resources and often experience homelessness. Another issue councilors expect to confront in the future is dealing with asylum seekers.

Eastern Maine Community College is answering the call for more medical assistants in the greater Bangor area by offering a one-year course for free to 40 students. The program would include tuition, fees, textbooks, and scrubs. Find more information on how to enroll in the program on the EMCC website.

A 13-year-old Michigan boy, who's visiting State Police in every state arrived in Maine this week and was greeted with a special license plate and a picture with a police K-9. Brett Holbrook has difficulty speaking, and has found a special interest in state police agencies. He's visiting all the New England states on this leg of his journey and will stop by to see the FBI in Washington.