Mark LaFlamme

Sun Journal

Mark LaFlamme is a Sun Journal reporter and weekly columnist. He's been on the nighttime police beat since 1994, which is just grand because he doesn't like getting out of bed before noon. Mark is the author of eight published novels and rides a dual sport motorcycle everywhere he goes. Unless it's winter, in which case he just sulks a lot.

Latest

Published
April 3, 2020

My COVID-19 uniform needs a washin’

Here. Smell this hoodie. Smells OK, right? You’d consider that, if not ocean breeze clean, at least clean-adjacent? Good deal. I’ll wear it for another day. Been wearing this hoodie since a time before I even heard the term “coronavirus.” I keep MEANING to wash it, but what would I do while it’s spinning in […]
Published
April 3, 2020

Ice out of Lake Auburn

On average, it’s usually gone April 22.
Published
April 2, 2020

Looking back on ‘the new normal’

The boy’s name was Timmy, and after we filled out all the required paperwork and endured the waiting period, he was able to come visit me in the government-issue bubble that serves as my back porch. “Uncle Mark?” he asked me, his eyes alight with curiosity. “What was the world like before the coronavirus?” “Oh, […]
Published
April 1, 2020

Squirrel hunter shot in foot in Poland

POLAND — A local man was shot in the foot on Wednesday while hunting for squirrels with two other people, wildlife officials said. The Maine Warden Service was investigating the shooting, which was reported about 4 p.m. It was determined he had been shot by one of his hunting companions. The injury was not considered life-threatening. […]
Published
April 1, 2020

DHHS office in Lewiston closed a second time

One confirmed COVID-19 case and one potential case have been reported.
Published
April 1, 2020

Turner woman killed in Auburn crash

Jessica Faunce suffered multiple injuries when her car went off Route 4.
Published
March 29, 2020

The coronavirus crisis: It could be worse

Bad? Sure, it’s bad. It’s miserable, frustrating and unrelenting, this COVID business. In spite of round-the-clock, all-you-can-eat news updates on THE CRISIS, firm answers elude us. How bad will it get? How long will it continue? Will my circle of friends and family still be intact when it’s over? Is anyone I love dying even […]
Published
March 29, 2020

Living in a world without pants

I shall guard it with my life I can’t say whom and I can’t say how, but somebody somewhere procured for me a delicious chocolate cake decorated in the shape of a roll of toilet paper. It’s really quite a marvel. I’d share it with you, but I know how you people are. At the […]
Published
March 24, 2020

Another day at the office

Commuter traffic across the kitchen was terrible. There was the wife, for one thing, creeping and crawling in front of me like there was no hurry to do anything anymore. As if she owned the very linoleum on which we strode. Would it kill you to use your blinker, wife? And cats. Cats crossing everywhere, […]
Published
March 22, 2020

I swear I was only clearing my throat!

Scrub-a-dub-dub In an effort to help combat the troublesome virus, I will be washing my hands twice as often as I would in ordinary circumstances. To compensate for the time spent doing that, I shan’t wash anything else until the crisis has passed. Always happy to do my part. Capital letters are stupid anyway Well, […]

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