Bangor, Maine News Update: October 2, 2017

A body found near a lake outside Springfield Saturday is believed to be an elderly, retired priest who has been missing since July. The Warden Service says a man clearing trails near a lake discovered Pastor Clement Thibodeau’s car just off a logging road and his body was found nearby. An autopsy will determine cause of death but wardens say foul play is not suspected.

A pair of cows caused a pair of accidents this week in Auburn. Police say a driver ran into a black Angus cow that was in the road and, as a second motorist was calling 911 to report the accident as they passed it, they collided with a second cow. Neither driver was seriously injured, but both cows had to be euthanized.

Maine’s Department of Education says it's working to expand access to career and technical education to middle-school students in the state. 11other states also offer opportunities like Maine’s new state law that allows but does not require schools to offer such opportunities for sixth through eighth graders this school year.

Portland’s new professional hockey franchise has a name! It will be known as the Maine Mariners, the same name a Portland team had from 1977 to 1992 in the American Hockey League. The choice that lost the bid for a new name was the Maine Wild Blueberries.

Linus was nowhere in sight but the great pumpkin has been crowned at the Damariscotta Pumpkin Fest. The giant pumpkin weighed in at seventeen-hundred-fifty-six pounds, squashing the old record by about 30 pounds. The pumpkin will be a featured part of next weekend’s Pumpkinfest events.