Duxbury officer hit, hurt directing traffic

A part-time Duxbury police officer was in critical condition last night at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, a day after he was struck by a sedan while directing Marshfield Fair traffic near the corner of Main and South River streets in Marshfield,police said. Mel Dyer was assisting pedestrians coming from the fair and directing vehicles entering Main Street from various parking lots when he was hit about 10 p.m. Saturday, police said. The officer was left unconscious and was attended to by members of the Marshfield Fire Department before being taken to the hospital. Charges are pending against the driver of the car that, police said.

A Medford teenager, speaking on his cellphone, tripped and fell against a moving Green Line trolley early yesterday. Jae Woo Paeng, 19, received a cut to the head after he tripped over a curb and fell against a moving car of the B Branch on Commonwealth Avenue near the Harvard Street stop shortly after midnight. He was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital. Officials say his injuries were not life-threatening. roundings.

School officials say applications to Maine's universities and community colleges have increased this year because of greater marketing efforts and a flagging economy. Spokesman John Diamond said seven universities and 10 regional outreach centers in the University of Maine system have received 4.5 percent more applications for 2008-09 than last year. Helen Pelletier, spokeswoman for the Maine Community College system, said seven colleges and nine off-campus centers have received 8 percent more applications than last year. Diamond attributed this year's application increase, in part, to the university system's television advertisements and outreach programs. He also said that many students are finding it more economical to pursue a four-year degree in Maine. (AP)

High gas prices are driving more and more Vermonters to choose trains for their long-distance travel. Two Amtrak lines that serve the state reported boosts in ridership last month, paralleling recent overall gains by the railroad, which had 14 percent more riders last month than in the same month of 2007. Amtrak officials reported Thursday that 2.75 million people took Amtrak trains in July, the most ever in its 37-year history. Still, Burlington International Airport says its business has remained brisk, despite the rail resurgence. Burlington International reported a record month, with 17 percent more travelers than in July 2007. (AP)

State Police say the body of a missing canoeist has been pulled from Lake Champlain. He was identified as Bryan Kapschull, 30, of Grand Isle. The canoe overturned just after midnight yesterday about 150 yards off Grand Isle. The canoe's other occupant, identified as Gian Luca Fremiotti, 27, of Pennsylvania, swam to shore and summoned help, said Lieutenant Robert Evans. Neither was wearing a life jacket. (AP)

Police have identified a man who died after falling into the water at Milt's Marina in as Jerald St. Laurent, of Westborough, Mass. Police yesterday said the 45-year-old St. Laurent was trying to step from a pier onto the swim deck of a boat when he fell early Saturday. The Providence Journal reported that a friend was unable to pull him out and called 911 shortly after 1 a.m. Police say St. Laurent and his friend had been eating and drinking at a nearby tavern when they decided to walk to the marina and look for the boat of a mutual friend. Police said the boat that St. Laurent was trying to board did not belong to his friend. (AP)

State Police say the body of a missing canoeist has been pulled from Lake Champlain. He was identified as Bryan Kapschull, 30, of Grand Isle. The canoe he was in overturned just after midnight yesterday about 150 yards off Grand Isle. The canoe's other occupant, identified as Gian Luca Fremiotti, 27, of Pennsylvania, swam to shore and summoned help, according to Lieutenant Robert Evans. Neither was wearing a life jacket. (AP)

Hundreds of dead fish were found in East Providence near Bullocks Cove by a team sampling the water in upper Narragansett Bay. The dead menhaden apparently succumbed to a series of bad conditions, including low oxygen levels, high temperatures, and weak tides. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Management said no one had reported the fish kill, and it was unclear whether it was related to a nearby sewage overflow a week earlier. (AP)

Hundreds of state workers in Rhode Island are opting to retire early rather than pay higher healthcare costs. The departures come after the state's General Assembly passed a new law requiring state employees to pay more for their medical coverage when they retire, starting in October. The Providence Journal reported that about 550 state employees applied for retirement benefits in the first half of the year. That is more than double the 215 workers who applied during the same time period last year. (AP)