Bangor, Maine News Update: November 21, 2018

A former University of Maine baseball player is now accused of raping six women in Delaware. 22-year-old Clay Conaway of Georgetown attended the University of Delaware after leaving U-Maine in 2016. His coaches and teammates say they had no knowledge of any misconduct on Conaway’s part.

The struggling Bangor Mall has lost another business, as the Sears Auto Center is set to close its doors this afternoon. Store Manager Mark Daigle told WABI-TV that employees were told last week that the garage would be closing. There was good news for the mall this week, however, when it was announced that JC Penney has renewed its lease for multiple years.

Health officials are urging residents of the U.S. and Canada to stop eating romaine lettuce, because of a new e-coli outbreak. So far, 32 people in 11 U.S. states and 18 people in Ontario and Quebec have been sickened by the romaine. They say just washing the lettuce isn’t enough to clear the bacteria and that people should just avoid it until the contamination can be contained.

A retired home economics teacher who died in May put a stipulation in her will that gave 700 thousand dollars to the University of Maine in Farmington, to establish a scholarship fund in her name. T. Margaret Brown of Westbrook never married and had no children after graduating from UMF in 1955. It’s the second largest gift in the history of the school.

There’s a new house in Bangor that’s helping men who have dealt with substance use disorder a safe space. The Fresh Start Sober Living Men’s House is on Ohio Street and will house seven men seeking a better life. Organizers say they hope to open many more similar residences in the future.