As Maine cleans up from another early winter storm, the Department of Transportation is trying to scrape up more than snow. For years, the department has struggled to find enough workers who are willing to toil through long days and nights clearing snow from the state’s public roads. Now the labor shortage appears to be […]
shortage
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Firewood suppliers struggle to keep up with Mainers’ burning demand
FARMINGDALE — The falling temperatures mean many Mainers are scrambling to get vital resources to heat their homes, and firewood suppliers are scrambling to meet that demand. Wait times and prices for fire-ready wood are climbing. “We just can’t make (firewood) fast enough,” Andy Allen, of Farmingdale’s A.W. Allen Firewood, said Thursday. “We can buy […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine firewood suppliers, citing weather, can't meet demand
FARMINGDALE (AP) — Firewood suppliers across Maine say they can’t keep up with the demand for dry wood that people use to heat their homes. Andy Allen of A.W. Allen Firewood of Farmingdale says the average wait time for delivery of his kiln-dried wood in the winter is about two weeks. This year it’s seven […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Labor shortage forces Maine to pay private Ohio firm to fill snowplow jobs
The state is paying private contractors to drive plow trucks and work on road crews in an effort to overcome a chronic shortage of full-time transportation workers in southern Maine. Roughly 24 contractors are expected to work for Maine Department of Transportation road crews in Freeport, Alfred and Yarmouth through October 2018. The department has […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Many Maine school districts struggling to find school bus drivers
In this Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017 photo students head for their buses at York Middle School in York, Maine. A shortage of school bus drivers in some communities in New England and across the country is causing headaches for school districts this fall. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) YORK (AP) — A shortage of school bus […]
Posted inMaine
Maine still working out lifeguard shortage
SACO (AP) — As summer approaches, officials in Maine are looking for a way to deal with a shortage of lifeguards. WGME-TV reported (http://bit.ly/2rmQXQ4) the state is short about 15 guards. The state says most of the openings are in Cumberland County at Crescent Beach and Sebago. The amusement park Splashtown plans to hire international […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
RSU 9 short of bus drivers
FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 has a shortage of bus drivers, but it is not the only school district needing help. The problem is statewide, David Leavitt, director of support services, said. “We are three drivers short. We have been since the start of school,” he said. Two of those are regular to-and-from school […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
Ammo shortage, regulation rumors fly at Bangor Gun Show
BANGOR — Ammunition and gun experts at the 36th annual Bangor Gun Show said there are a lot of rumors floating around about why there is an ammunition shortage, but they say it simply comes down to supply and demand. “People are concerned they won’t be able to get it, that our Second Amendment is […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Red Cross asks for blood donors
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The American Red Cross has put out an emergency request for platelet and blood donors of all blood types to deal with a shortfall. Michael Kempesty, CEO for the Northern New England Blood Services Region, said the organization is counting on volunteers. “Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. […]