Burning phosphorus pieces close beach

PLYMOUTH
A section of beach in Plymouth will be shut down until Sunday after a person was injured by a burning military flare yesterday. The beach was shut down about 12:30 p.m. when a person, who fire officials would not identify, arrived at a police facility seeking medical treatment after walking on the beach just off of Center Hill Road, said Battalion Chief Donald Brown. When fire officials and police arrived, they discovered puffs of smoke coming up from the beach, said Brown. The smoke was from remnants of a military flare that had washed up on the beach last week. State Police detonated the flare after it was found, but apparently did not recover all the pieces after the explosion, Brown said. When the phosphorus pieces dried out, they started to combust yesterday. State Police collected more pieces and searched the area yesterday for more pieces. Officials were expected to search the beach again today, Brown said.

GREENFIELD

A Greenfield man was convicted yesterday of murdering a pregnant 21-year-old gas station clerk after she refused to go along with his plan to steal the cash register. Dennis Bateman, a 41-year-old unemployed handyman, killed Brandy Waryasz on April 16, 2005. Waryasz was seven months pregnant. She and her fiance, Bryan Hall, planned to name the baby Dane Anthony Hall. Bateman was sentenced to consecutive life sentences for killing Waryasz and her baby. (AP)

AUGUSTA, Maine

A bill to establish a specialty license plate to show support for US troops and raise money for their families has won final legislative passage and has been sent to Governor John Baldacci, who plans to sign it. The House and Senate gave their final approval to the bill Thursday. Plates showing a yellow ribbon and the words "We Support Our Troops" in place of the "Vacationland" slogan would be available for purchase as soon as Nov. 1. (AP)

CONCORD, N.H.

The state said air pollution was expected to reach unhealthy levels yesterday and recommended that people with heart disease and breathing problems limit their time outdoors. It also recommended limiting outdoor exercise. The biggest problem is particle pollution from Midwestern power plants and from forest fires in the Southeast, the state said. The National Weather Service said particulate matter has built up after several days of no rain. (AP)

HAMPTON, N.H.

Police in the state's busiest beach town are investigating whether the four police horses they use for summer patrols were abused and said it is unlikely they can be used. A routine veterinary checkup last week found that the horses, which are boarded off-season on a family farm at the Tide-Water Campground, were severely underweight, Police Chief Jamie Sullivan said. A preliminary investigation found the horses had worms and probably were not fed properly, he said. (AP)

BARNSTABLE

The state is looking at various sites off the coast of Cape Cod to build a wind energy plant beyond the privately financed project proposed for Nantucket Sound, Governor Deval Patrick said. The aim to is to make Massachusetts a world leader in renewable energy technology, Patrick told The Cape Cod Times Thursday. "It's not just the wind farms," he said. "It's the companies that build the turbines and consult on the conservation strategies and install the solar panels. It's the whole integrated industry, which I think can have a place in Massachusetts if we steward it." (AP)

POLAND, Maine

Police have concluded that alcohol was the primary cause of a Christmas Eve crash that killed six young people on an icy, two-lane highway. An accident report released Thursday said Michael Cournoyer's blood-alcohol content level was 0.14 percent when his vehicle veered into the path of an oncoming car. Cournoyer, of Auburn, died along with his three passengers, Matthew Manley, 18, and Jacob Roy, 20, both of Lewiston, and Robert Bruce, 19, of Auburn. Steven Walton, 27, and Laura Caron, were killed when their car was struck. (AP)