Bangor, Maine News Update: September 16, 2020

The Maine CDC reports 15 new cases of COVID-19, 43 more people who have recovered, and another death in Somerset County of a person diagnosed with the virus. Dr. Nirav Shah says the Maine CDC is concerned about the months ahead, as the weather gets colder and people are spending more time inside. He says residents need to keep safety in mind when social distancing becomes more challenging.

An 84-year-old Spruce Head man is facing a charge of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon after allegedly showing a gun to a couple in a grocery store. Rockland police say George Kibitz approached a couple in a store, who were not wearing face coverings, showed them the gun, and allegedly told them that maybe he would start shooting people without masks.

The RSU 9 School Board in Farmington voted this week against participating in competitive sports this fall. School officials made the decision based on their concern for the athletes' safety and a lack of bus drivers to shuttle students to the games. The high school now plans to develop an intramural program.

A lawyer for the man convicted of murder in the shooting death of Somerset County Sheriff's Corporal Eugene Cole appeared before Maine's highest court on Tuesday, arguing that his client's confession should not have been allowed because he says John Williams was sleep-deprived, in drug withdrawal, and afraid when he admitted to shooting Cole. There's no timeline on when the court's decision will be handed down.

Bargain hunters will want to stop by Beal College in Bangor this Saturday for the annual yard sale to benefit the Bangor Kiwanis Club. Organizers say there will be a variety of items up for sale, including plenty of furniture, from 9 to 2. Money raised by the sale will benefit community projects.

A new children's book that addresses the pandemic was written by a Castine woman and has been published by Penobscot Bay Press. Johanna Sweet said she wrote the story, ''Corona Island,' to help her four grandchildren make sense of a confusing situation.