Good morning and welcome to the Sunrise Herald with Giselle Goodman. This is the first place you should go to know about:

THE WEATHER

At 9 a.m., it was 19 degrees in downtown Portland.

The weather is one of our big news items this morning. All things considered, we got off easy.

Places like Connecticut got more than a foot of snow. But up Maine, we were spared the wrath. Our snow totals were under 6 inches, Saco taking the top prize at 5 inches.

But blue sky is showing, plows and salt trucks are out in full force, keeping the roads as clear as possible. Even the Maine Turnpike has been returned to its normal operating speed of 65 miles per hour.

Now, the bad news. A really big storm is on the way for Sunday, a whopper predicted with heavy snowfall. There is already a winter weather warning out for all counties in Maine EXCEPT Cumberland and York, because those areas may get mixed precipitation.

Whatever way you look at it, though, we're in for a classic Nor'easter come Sunday. So, don't throw your back out shoveling this mess today. There's more a-coming, a-yah.

• SCHOOL CLOSINGS, DELAYS AND PARKING BANS

Most schools at 7 a.m. were reporting delays rather than closures. Locally, they include:

• Berwick Academy: Friday morning, 1-hour delay
• Camden Hills Regional High School: Friday morning, 1-hour delay
• Collaborative School in New Gloucester: Friday morning, 1-hour delay
• SAD 15 - Gray New Gloucester: Friday morning, 1-hour delay
• SAD 28 - Camden-Rockport: Friday morning, 1-hour delay
• SAD 36 - Livermore-Livermore Falls: Friday morning, 1-hour delay
• SAD 40 - Waldoboro Area: Friday morning, 2-hour delay
• Windham Christian Academy: Friday morning, 1-hour delay

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THE NEWS FROM:

• NEWS UPDATE: WESTBROOK — A person smoking while on an oxygen tank sparked the fire at Riverview Terrace this morning that caused the evacuation of the facility, Westbrook fire officials report.

The 2:09 a.m. fire forced 59 residents from the elderly housing community. Everyone was evacuated and brought by school bus to Larrabee Village, another housing complex nearby.

Six people, however, were transported to the hospital, mostly for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Fire investigators are currently evaluating the building to determine who might be able to return to their homes today.

The fire marshal's office and police investigators also have been dispatched to the scene to determine if any criminal charges should be filed in connection with the cause of the fire.

• BOWDOIN — A fire in Bowdoin this morning caused damage to two buildings on the rural John Tarr Road.

The call came in just after 7 a.m. The report called for mutual aid with tankers, as there are no hydrants out there.

Two buildings were damaged in the fire, but there were no injuries to report as of 9 a.m.

• WARREN — Two men are under arrest after a month-long investigation into cocaine trafficking and distribution in Knox County.

Anthony Kaler, 34, of South Thomaston, and Jeffrey Goss, 39, of Warren, are facing the charges. Police stopped their 1998 Dodge pickup on Route 1 in Warren about 4:30 p.m. yesterday as they returned from Massachusetts, where the cocaine allegedly was picked up.

After a search of the vehicle, a state police canine detected cocaine hidden in the vehicle’s four-wheel-drive shifter, police report. That cocaine weighed one-quarter pound and had a street value of $11,500. The cocaine was destined for distribution in Knox County, police say. Agents also seized $1,900 in cash.

Both men were taken to the Knox County Jail. Kaler is charged with aggravated trafficking in cocaine, and both men are charged with importation of illegal drugs.

• BRENTWOOD, N.H. — The man serving time in Maine's state prison, who as a teen-ager shot and killed Pamela Smart's husband 17 years ago, wants his prison term reduced.

William Flynn (now 33) was 16 and having an affair with Smart when he shot and killed her husband in Derry in May 1990. Flynn is serving a 28-year-to-life sentence for the crime in Warren's state prison. He is not eligible for parole until June 2018.

Earlier this year, Flynn wrote to a New Hampshire judge asking for a reduction in that punishment. The hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 25 in Rockingham Superior Court.

Members of Gregg Smart's family say they plan to attend the hearing to argue against any sentence reduction.

Pamela Smart, also sent to prison for her role in the killing, is serving a life sentence at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York State.

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