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
July 15, 2019

PHOTO: New Lewiston school superintendent gets to work

Todd Finn attended his first official School Committee meeting Monday night.
Published
July 14, 2019

Mark LaFlamme: The skunk, the pothole and the voluntary wedgie

They say there was a secret chord On Nichols Street in Lewiston, near the Sabattus Street end, is a funky pothole in the shape of a guitar. If you hit it at appreciable speed, the tragic clank of your shocks blowing apart sounds a bit like the opening of Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced.” Ask […]
Published
July 12, 2019

Three buildings burn in Wales

WALES – Firefighters from Wales and Sabattus saved a home Thursday afternoon when three outbuildings caught fire at 237 Oak Hill Road. Wales fire officials said crews aggressively attacked the flames to keep them from the mobile home nearby. No one was hurt and other than melted siding, the home was spared. Fire officials said […]
Published
July 12, 2019

Flying high: Mrs. Maine headed to national competition

AUGUSTA — Sabattus native Allison Tribou was never much for the hustle and bustle of travel. She had never been on an airplane. She didn’t care for hotels, and running all over the place just seemed like an overwhelming prospect. Look at her now. Tribou, 33, was named Mrs. Maine America in May, and in […]
Published
July 11, 2019

Stephen King, the mystery woman and the unlocked window: Methodist Church burglarized in Durham

DURHAM — In the Durham Historical Society archives is an old newspaper photo of author Stephen King giving a sermon at the Methodist Church not far from his childhood home. In that photo, several items can be seen. Among them: a flag, a cross and a memorial plaque hanging on a wall. All of those […]
Published
July 10, 2019

Bridgton: Car dealer, wife hurt in home invasion

Bridgton police responded to a 911 call from the home just after 8 a.m., investigators said, and arrested 37-year-old Michael Holden who lived a mile away.
Published
July 9, 2019

Street Talk: Runaways and missing persons

All over the land, people are running away. Many of the missing are teens and preteens. They pack their bags and slip off in the night to protest abuse or what they deem injustice in their home lives. Or perhaps they have fallen in love and the lure of young romance on the road is […]
Published
July 7, 2019

Mark LaFlamme: Onion rings, tutus and togas

Bird brained While I was riding my motorcycle up Walnut Street in Lewiston the other day, a pigeon swooped right down at me totally unprovoked. For a horrifying second or two, there were flapping pigeon wings and two beady little eyes right in my face. I wasn’t injured in the attack but the pigeon said […]
Published
July 7, 2019

What’s the deal with Avon Skin So Soft?

If you’re like us, you’ve been hearing the same claims for decades: Why waste your money on bug repellents with harsh chemicals when you can simply pickup some Avon Skin So Soft and shoo away all pests while keeping your skin moist and sweet smelling? For years, there have been folks who swear by this […]
Published
July 7, 2019

What’s the deal with DEET?

The chemical DEET was developed for the U.S. Army in 1946 to provide protection for soldiers engaged in jungle warfare. Now the most common ingredient in commercial insect repellents, DEET has been used by the general public since 1957. That’s pretty amazing considering the fact that scientists don’t know exactly why the stuff sends insects […]

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