Misery level minimal as another storm passes by

The southwest sky off Prospect Hill in Lebanon around sunset on Thursday. (Harrison Thorp photo)

Except for one accident at the intersection of Old Dover Road and Lowell Street in Rochester that resulted in only minor injuries, a second major storm in 10 days passed through the area with minimal impact and misery.

“It’s nice, people are learning how to drive in the snow and learning to stay off the roads,” said a Sanford police dispatcher this morning. He said only a couple of slideoffs without injury had been reported overnight.

In Rochester’s only significant accident during the storm, a Rochester pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in the area of Old Dover Road and Lowell Street around 11 p.m.

A preliminary investigation by police revealed that James Joyce, 28, of 42 East Pasture Road in Berwick, Maine, was driving a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora when his vehicle veered to the left side of the roadway crossing the other lane of travel and striking John Hughes, 47, of 48 Gooseberry Circle in Rochester, who was walking on the opposite side of the roadway.

Scene of the accident at the corner of Lowell Street and Old Dover Road. (Rochester Police photo)

Police say the vehicle then struck a telephone pole located at the intersection of Old Dover Road and Lowell Street.

Hughes was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.

The vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage and was towed from the scene.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.      

The Rochester Police are asking anyone who may have information that could assist with this investigation to call Officer Justin Livingstone at the Rochester Police Department at 330-7128.

Meanwhile, no power outages were reported throughout Rochester, Sanford, Lebanon or Milton.

Central Maine Power said the only disruptions in York County were in Old Orchard Beach where a couple of hundred households were without power due to downed lines and trees.

CMP spokesman Gail Rice said aggressive tree trimming and line inspections statewide were paying off.

“Our system is tougher than it used to be,” Rice said this morning. “The distribution lines are more clear of tree growth.”

Rice said CMP had 90 line crews and 66 contract crews ready and able to be dispatched at 6 a.m. but few were needed. Statewide, only a little more than 500 households lost power and most of those will see it restored shortly.

Rochester Police dispatch reported no calls for power outages, while Milton Fire said they were aware of no overnight incidents and Milton Police said the same.

At the height of the storm around sunset on Thursday, folks in Rochester, Milton and Lebanon reported a yellow hue seen in the air, which Nikki Becker of the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, said could have been particulants reflecting the sun's setting rays through thick clouds, or off the snow, itself.

Many remarked of the phenomenon to The Lebanon Voice.

In all, the storm dumped about 8.3 inches on the area, with lots of drifting, Becker added.

Becker said the storm will taper off this morning and then we’ll see a break before another weaker storm on Saturday. She said that storm will produce 2-4 inches and go from late morning on Saturday through early Sunday.

Becker said there is some light at the end of the tunnel, however, including temperatures rising into the 30s on Tuesday, the upper 30s on Wednesday and the 40s on Thursday and Friday.

She also noted that the storm that hit on Thursday did not have the sustained 35 mph winds and whiteout conditions necessary to be termed a blizzard, but it was definitely a nor’easter.