No one was hurt when fire broke out at an Ellsworth apartment building just after 8:30 last night. The Christian Ridge Road had to be shut down as crews worked to extinguish the fire, which was challenging due to the layout of the building and limited access to the second floor. The State Fire Marshal’s office will now work to determine what sparked the blaze.

The ranked choice ballot counting is continuing despite a lawsuit asking that it be halted, filed by Representative Bruce Poliquin. The incumbent is in a tight race with Democratic state Representative Jared Golden, who has a chance to win the seat based on second-choice ballots. Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said in a statement that the ranked choice tallying will continue until a court order has been issued.

Unless he finds a buyer quick, Van Raymond will shut the doors on his sporting goods store in Brewer next month. Van started the business at Bangor High School in 1983, and has grown it into a local institution over 35 years, but says now he’s ready to retire. He’s hoping someone will buy the business and keep it open, but Van says December 29th the doors are closing, whether there’s a new owner or not.

The Ellsworth Police Department is sporting hairy faces this month, in an effort to raise money for the Beth Wright Cancer Center. Police officers have agreed not to shave their faces all month, and encourage residents to support their efforts by dropping off donations at City Hall.

Our sister station’s morning team is once again living in the Brewer Hannaford parking lot, collecting turkeys that will be distributed to area food pantries. Donations, whether in the form of birds or cash, can be dropped off at the white tent through Thursday afternoon. Their goal this year is to gather 2018 turkeys in three days.

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