Thank you James Libby

For admitting there is a problem and how it should of been handled a long time ago.

Lincoln Town Councilors Rod Carr and Dawson : " found there is little they can do " and that " cleaning up the parking lot would merely mean pushing the criminal activity elsewhere"......

OMG .... is this a town surrendering or what? Do you not hear the words " criminal activity" in your statements ... CRIMINAL!!!! This pathetic attitude is what is bringing the drug and alcohol cultures into the hearts of our towns... opening the doors for harder drugs, gangs and violence. What ever happened to protecting the public at large? What ever happened to residents having aright to peace and quite , noice ordinances ? What ever happened to crushing illegal drug related activities?

Sure these individuals will have to go elsewhere , let them find a pit in the middle of nowhere away for civilization...Let them hurt if they must each other not innocent people...let them pay out to get to and fro , let them deal with the climate and the insects...Get their own lighting etc. Let them wonder how or if they can make it home after partaking in their " CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES" Since when do we bend to the will of " CRIMINAL ACTIVITY" ????

Do you whole heartedly believe the accounting of this situation by a thiefves a professed thieves? Maybe the only reason a person is admitting to theft is to draw away from their actual part in the horrific tradegy that has taken place.

I agree with ex-town councilor James Libby... " police should enforce the law regardless of convenience or circumstances "....Lincoln needs to get a backbone and the police force needs to put their big boy/girl pants on and do their elected duty. If not you leave the residents there no choice...it's them or the punks and that is a recipe for more tradegy. example : " People have bought guns ( to protect themselves ) since this has happened...I don't think we can turn a blind eye to the situation. " Councilor, Thora House.

What a disgrace over half of these comments from this town meeting are to the Isdell Family and the senseless loss of the life of their loved one. I apologize for the ignorance of this situation as MANY. MANY MAINE RESIDENTS DISAGREE and feel that major accountability is warranted. These parking lot varities are not yester years teens and their activities are not either, thus the words " CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES".

Maybe just maybe the town needs a wake up call as a party to a wrongful death lawsuit ; negligence in taking action to rid their town of known CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.........which has now sadly brought us to a funeral for Brian Steven Isdell.......Is this the attitude Lincoln wants people to precieve????.

I hope Lincoln parking lot is full this WEDNESDAY< @ 2 p.m. ( the time Brian Isdell) is lying in his casket in Tennessee while his loved one's mourn, I hope those there are taking back the space and holding signs protesting the LINCOLN TOWN COUNCILORS WHO WANT TO SETTLE FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN THE MIDST OF THEIR TOWN'S MAIN STREET < ACTIVITY THAT HAS BROUGH DEATH TO THE DOOR.

Lincoln residents and travelers get our your cameras, phones, and video cameras and be ready to record the CRIMINALS of Main Streets parling lot and the CRIMINAL ACTIVITY of the future if Lincoln tolerates them... then call Nic Sambides and others and put them all on public display as Lincoln needs to spend some $$$$ and get their survellience cameras recording and their officers with back-up and some new town councilors to replace those who are willing to tolerate this ignorance of society!!!

My apolozies to the Isdells...you deserve better.

Why Carr would have to spend money that he would like to direct towards his buddies. A politician for life and worthless to boot.

those kids can wave goodbye to their life

LOCK THEM UP NOW

infoman: a couple of weeks back you commented that you might like to sell your house in Mlkt. If the price was right, I might be interested but I'm curious as to whether or not there is much noise generated from the local foundry just down the street? And is there one or two rental incomes that are part of your ownership there. Thanks.

It amazes me that people keep blaming the police department. What about the parents of these children? I have 3 teenagers and I know where they are at night.

When you are done cleaning out the parking lot, can you work on the beach? With the exception of when the lifeguards are on duty (they do a wonderful job creating a safe and fun place for area youth) that place is full of the same kind of nonsense. Sad truth is it isn't a matter of the "parking lot" as much as it is certain people. They will just go somewhere else. You need to work on the people rather than the places.

I am with you, all the way on this one..... cocochanel. I wish more parents were more like us. Keep up the good work with your children it will pay in the long run.

18 and 19 year olds are not children. They are legally adults. They can be wherever they want to be whenever they want to be.

I wonder why my comments keep being hidden lately..... Do not forget to go back and read them people as some unsavory individulas may be to fault for them being hidden.

I for one will never beleive that Mr. Isdell asked these socalled adults for any marijuana! After being a long haul trucker for over 20 years I know and I am sure Mr. Isdell was well aware of there are "many" random drug checks for truckers. I am pretty sure that any driver with any common sense , which I assume Mr. Isdell had, would not be trying to score any kind of drugs from a bunch of punks hanging out in a parking lot at 3 in the morning! Be real folks. Don't let these lying , stealing , no good peices of crap think they can lie their way out of "another" crime they have committed.

No matter what! It's always somebody elses fault! One officer cannot be everywhere all the time. "God like abilities" must be in their job description!

18 and 19 year old teens should be able to act like adults. Hanging out in parking lots causing trouble isn't at all acting responsible. what's the matter with friends getting together at one of their homes---or won't the parents allow it ?

These young men were to blame for this whole incident. They stole this mans cigarettes and cell phone and I think the story of him wanting to buy marijuana from them is a lie. ? When he confronted them about his belongings they stole they hit him which enraged him more. Regardless if he had a health problem I feel the situation brought on the heart atack.

If these were my children acting this way I would be so ashamed of their actions. I hope they get punished for what they've done.

The small towns need to do something about stopping these unruly groups hanging out all night. Curfews, vagrancy laws, holding parents accountable might work. Video cameras aren't much good when they aren't operational.

Mainefriend, One officer definitely can't cover the whole town of Lincoln. I grew up there and it's at least 14 miles from one end of town to the other. If an officer is answering a call in South Lincoln, there's no way possible one officer can be in town, out on the Transalpine Rd, or in North Lincoln at the same time. It takes time to get from one part of town to another and the hoodlums know it and have always taken advantage of it.

cocochanel, you asked about the parents....unfortunately they are/were an earlier generation who behaved in a similar way. Each generation seems to be passing down the bad behavior to the next. These two boys are at least 3rd generation problem makers

Where's Marshall Matt Dillon when you need him?

I don't think the Lincoln PD is to blame for any part of this specific tragedy. An officer arrived at the scene within 7 minutes of the truck pulling in that parking lot. They followed protocol by inviting the State Police to investigate the incident as a possible homicide and it generally appears overall that they've done an excellent job.

That said, I personally feel that the Police dept. has done a very poor job of contolling that parking lot and the town beach. This had been going on for many, many years. There seems to have always been an underlying sentiment on the part of the police dept. and the city councilors that it was better to have all of the "problem" teenagers and young adults gather there in the middle of town where they could keep an eye on them. This case proves that that was NOT a smart policy. I find it incredulous that members of the council are still trying to sell that policy: "A retired state police officer, Councilor Rod Carr said the council has discussed the drug and loitering problems many times and found there was little they could do. Carr and Dawson said that “cleaning up” the parking lot would merely mean pushing the criminal activity elsewhere." Duh, that's right councilmen, use existing curfew, loitering, and trespassing laws to push them out of there. And then when they congregate somewhere else, push them out of there too. Pretty soon they'll tire of being hassled and stay home or leave town. Either way the Town Of Lincoln wins. I'd suggest that Lincoln's citizens remember the above statement and vote these two clowns out of office as soon as possible. In fact, how about a petition to have them resign their positions? They are and have been part of the problem, as exhibited here by their defeatist attitude towards this problem. Throw 'em out!

There's one more component of change that needs to happen here. The good citizens of Lincoln need to use Mr. Isdell's tragic death as a rallying point and decide that they're going to take action. Be vocal and let the town officials know that "business as usual" is no longer acceptable in these matters.

Please show up at that parking lot at 2:00 tomorrow for the brief memorial service to honor Mr. Isdell's life and to show his family that Lincoln cares and that the good, hard working, responsible citizens of the town are there to prove it. Let's also use the opportunity tomorrow to tell every reporter, Town Councilor, Town Manager, Police dept. and anyone else who will listen that as citizens of Lincoln you're telling them that the "buck stops here". That you've decide to take your town back. That you will no longer acccept the policies of the past and that you want your town cleaned up. See you there at 2:00

"An autopsy conducted Friday showed that Isdell died of natural causes brought on by heart disease."

This guy wasn't beaten to death, stabbed or gunned down.......he died from a heart attack brought on by heart disease. This could have happened at the local drug store, supermarket, or in an empty parking lot.

Andrew ~ The punks shouldn't have harassed, stolen from him and beat on him and they wouldn't be in this situation ... who cares about which came first the chicken or the egg, it's all part of why this man died whether they were aware of his pre-existing condition or not WHO CARES.

Andrew-This guy wasn't beaten to death, stabbed or gunned down.......he died from a heart attack brought on by heart disease. This could have happened at the local drug store, supermarket, or in an empty parking lot.

Yes, Andrew maybe it could have, but it didn't. It was most likely brought on because the poor guy was being robbed. Has anyone thought maybe, the guy had turned in the parking lot and these two MAY have jumped into his truck to rob him? Just a thought...

On 8/25/09 at 9:15 AM, Andrew wrote: An autopsy conducted Friday showed that Isdell died of natural causes brought on by heart disease."

This guy wasn't beaten to death, stabbed or gunned down.......he died from a heart attack brought on by heart disease. This could have happened at the local drug store, supermarket, or in an empty parking lot.

See if I understand you Andrew - It's 3:00 a.m. and you've had a very long day at work. You're 57 years old, maybe not in the best of shape, and have heart disease (which you probably aren't aware of). You pull into a public parking lot in a small town of 5,200 people and end up being confronted by a couple of wanna be thugs that steal a carton of cigarettes from inside your truck, and when you get out of the truck to confront them, you get punched, they steal your Blackberry, taunt you ..... etc. You honestly don't see where the stress of that confrontation, robbery and assualt might have been a direct cause of his cardiac arrest? Many people have heart disease and some live with it for decades. If you'd read ALL the comments on the various reports on this incident, you'd know that most people on here believe that had this incident not happened, that it's highly likely that Mr. Isdell would have delivered his load to the Lincoln tissue mill at 7:00 a.m. and been back home in Tennessee a couple days later. Most on here seem to believe that these two young men should be charged with theft, assault amd possibly manslaughter (depraved indifference). But, and it's a big but, the manslaughter charge, at least as far as I'm concerned, would only apply if it's proven that they fled the scene after he was on the ground with the cardiac arrest.

why in hell would the trucker be looking to buy pot they do drug test on the truckers so i think that is just a cover up for the boys to help them get out of trouble they should see some jail time and a nice fine for stealing the truckers cigarettes they said they did it and his phone i ain't a police officers but that is wrong but then again anyone would make better cops in lincoln then what we have. to me the cops are scare of the teens that hang out there just like in Howland you have people speed up and down river road it is suppose to be 25 but park by the old ring street school road you would be suprise how many would be stop.but then again we had a state trooper doing about 70 one night on the road going to the apts. well he must of been going to fast cuz he went right by and turn around 1/2 mile later and flew down the road there is no need of that they is alot of little kids on this road..so i think lincoln needs to step up as howland does and clean the trash off the streets...that man would of been alive today if someone call the cops when they heard the fighting going on and if there was more on patrol so sad i feel for the family and i hope the family pushes it to.and what mother in her right mine would allow her daughters b/f to come over at 3 in the morning to brag what they have done there all guilty. put me on a jury cuz i strongly agree you take a life then you have yours taken cuz them boys took his life and i ain't alone when i say that.

you must of not read what his niece said he was hit in the head also and yes they said he died from natural causes but the stress the boys put him under didn't help.

I love how people blame the police. Mabey if the town would let the police chief do his job he would still be there. Ask the other Former chief who told the town why he quit, he will tell you that the town wouldnt let him do his job. Dont blame the POLICE for doing what they can blame the TOWN for not allowing them to do their job.

Okay, I've sat back and read all the comments with sadness for the Isdell family. The fact is, these two (or possibly more) young men did play a signifigant part in causing this man a tremendous amount of stress, which in turn probably caused a fatal heart attack. As the mother of a young man that age, who used to hang in the parking lot by the way, this ENRAGES me! I have called the cops on several different occasions when I lived close by the beach and intown area. Some how these thugs have a way of getting away with vandalism, drug dealing, and once, I even witness someone hit a bike rider with a car! To my knowledge there was an arrest in that situation, but they come few and far between. I thank god my son has moved and hopefully I will never have to be in a situation like this. But to all of you young men and women who may be reading this and still choose to "hang out" with this crowd. If you are there, you are guilty too. Come forward and tell the truth. This man wasnt buying pot! Thats a blatant lie! Just a perfect way to hopefully get out of this horrific crime. I hope that these two will be made an example of. Lets take back our town.

"A retired state police officer, Councilor Rod Carr said the council has discussed the drug- and loitering problems many times and found there was little they could do. Carr and Dawson said that “cleaning up” the parking lot would merely mean pushing the criminal activity elsewhere."

Sounds like law enforcement is making money by looking the other way during the drug deals. A good argument for just sacking the whole police department.

People should be required to have a license to make babies. And the gradual disintegration of the Maine economy probably doesn't help much, either.

First of all, I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to Mr. Isdell's family. I lost my husband and my kids their Dad, suddenly too, so I can feel your pain. I would like to thank his family members who posted here and helped us see the man he was.

1.) Police Officer Patty McLaughlin found Isdell collapsed in the lot about seven minutes after the truck pulled in. IF Officer McLaughlin found Mr. Isdell within seven minutes of the truck pulling in, allowing three to four minutes for the confrontation, then she found him after he was down only 3 to 4 minutes after he collapsed. That could mean Mr. Isdell may not have survived even a witnessed collapse. It is possible that being in the same sitting position for long hours allowed a clot to form in his legs and that traveled once he stood up. With existing disease, this could have caused a fatal event.

I would not doubt that the adrenaline rush and trying to fight and//or chase those boys could have contributed to his dying THEN, AT THAT TIME. At a time his heart was beating faster, it needed more oxygen and was getting less. I have no idea how large an area of damage the ME found, but if it was significant, then it took a while for that much heart muscle to die, so there does exist the possibility that Mr. Isdell was not feeling well and may have asked the boys to hook him up with some pot, even if that was something he would not normally do. To those who feel they may be having symptoms of a cardiac event, don't try to guess what it might be. Go to the nearest ER and be worked up. I heart attack in my early forties and I have no existing disease. I tried to put it off as indigestion, stress etc. Finally the pain got so bad, I went to the ER, but not all people have that kind of pain as a symptom.

2. ". . .that councilors voted in November 2007 to support the downtown video cameras to help prevent crime, but technical problems have delayed the program." What kind of technical problem takes 2 years to solve? A professional security company probably could have solved that problem in less than a day. Why spend all that money and then forget about it when there is a glitch? If I were buying security cameras, the first question would be, how do I store images? Need a computer, then buy one and hook it up. That excuse is about as lame as it gets.

3.) ". . .The cameras function but lack connections to computers at the Town Office where their images would be recorded. " Are these images recorded anywhere? How do we know the time frame?

There will be a toxicology test as a routine part of the autopsy. So that will or will not play out the boy's' story of his using marijuana.

I know a couple of long distance truckers who use an upper to keep them awake on the road, and then need something to sleep. I would like to say I do not know Mr. Isdell so I am not making any assumptions about him,.

I know I am going to take heat from some truckers because I know there are so many out that who are professional and wouldn't do that. For the couple of guys I know, you don't even want to know what they do! I drove from Boston to Maine every weekend for six months and for the most part truckers were least scary and most helpful during my long commutes. But like any business, there are bad apples there too.

I don't live near Lincoln, but I really hope the whole town turns out tomorrow in Mr Isdell's memory. To his family, know that a lot of good thought are being sent your way from Maine.

It is sad about this trucker, if the altercation led to his death, may those involved see the court system. As for the trucker, you have to wonder if he smoked and drove......don't believe this was his first pit stop in the parking lot?

I'd like to know if his toxicology report found THC in his system (maybe not if he was out, ha ha). I think it's just a way to make him look bad so the adults (Pete and Osnoe) don't look quite so bad. I think it's really low to accuse someone (Isdell) when he obviously cannot defend himself.....anymore.

Not odd at all - it is "just my opinon" that with a tragic story like this "opinions" shouldn't come in to play when they are hurting people. It has nothing to do with not liking opinions, it's respect pure and simple for the family of the deceased. My my where have our manners gone in Maine.

no but knowing someone that was beaten with a baseball bat from these same kids it doesn't matter whether he died of natural causes or not, these kids need to be stopped and for what ever reason were not!! They are getting what they deserve,

NO LOITERING SIGNS FROM 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Fines increasing wiith each offense. Noise ordinance enforced as well.

Well Lincoln....how do you explain your town councilors accepting " CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR" ???/

I hear that several residents saw the fight and are willing to testify when charges are brought.... wrongful death suit if the Da drops the ball.

2 p.m. tomorrow ...fill the lot with CARING PEOPLE , who RESPECT HUMAN LIFE ....Bet Nic Sambides will be there to cover the event.

Remember ...if a person dies of suffication and no one is there who will tell you held a pillow over their face then you'd be innocent too right?

Just because the autopsy said heart attack does not mean that the heart attack wasn't brought on by the provocation of the parking lot thugs , especially the one who admits punching him.... Look forward to a law suit with several parties being sued.....People have been videoing these " individuals " in the parking lot this week and last night 11 p.m. they were being babysitted by a State Cop... Our tax dollars at work

First off I am so very sorry for your loss,we had a memorial and we didnt forget Brian, some one we didnt know and will never have an oppertunity to never get to know.Just a man trying to earn a living for his family.A Respectful man , A hard worker,A man who gave up time from his family to earn money.Some oneour kids should grow up to be. Be honest people how many of us live our lives like that' how many are willing to give up so much for the people we love,take a moment and think.Brian "Stevie" Isdell a hero in his families eyes,should be in ours too .A man that never hurt anyone here but gave his life for his family , a life that didnt begin yesterday but a long time ago, so if its not too much trouble take a moment to think of what he gave up ,and think of how we should be.

Stinger if you are looking to buy a place in Mlkt to get out of Lincoln I can tell you save your money. I just left Mikt. and moved to East. If you think the PD can't handle it in Lincoln. Then you sure as heck don't want to move to Mlkt. You see it's hard to run a police dept from Dunkin Donuts. We have officers who take statements from juveniles in cases go home and blab every word of that statement to their child. Who goes to the school and has a field day splattering it all over the school. We have officers with so many restraining orders against them that they can't do their jobs. Because they can't pull over a car for speeding because one of the people with restraining orders against him might be in the car! Oh yes and don't forget the infamous - only got a slap on the behind for tazing a fellow officer just for the heck of it! Then there's the council that can't see past the end of their own agenda's to do anything worthwhile for the town.

It sounds like from this article these punks have figured out twisting the truth a bit more gives them the altitude to get off. Theft and aggravated assault, two of Maine's common charges will be applied here, as disorderly conduct can not be applied due to a person being dead. I believe as others here have posted no long haul trucker is going to stop and play with the punks in Lincoln, Maine trying to score weed. With the stops and target these truckers face by law enforcement it is not reasonable to believe this man driving a company truck from Tennessee would do as these two culprits have fabricated. So instead of justifying these smart ones by excusing they had no hand in the man having heart disease it would be wise to take them into an interrogation room separately and get the real story. I believe it goes something like this...the trucker was sitting in his rig resting...they drove up giving him a ration of **** and raising hell around his rig...he hopped out of the cab with a cell phone in his hand (probably was talking to his wife back home)...then good boy, so and so, got in his face and punched him and took his cell or blackberry after he probably threatened to call the police...he keeled over and collapsed as his heart gave out (in a previous report BDN a neighbor heard an argument over a blackberry and then crying about the time of the incident), they both hoped in the car and then got to work on their story. Heart attack or condition, these criminals brought it on themselves, and a homicide charge is answer, but here in Maine they probably will be charged with excessive noise.

sounds to me that if this man was looking for weed{which i think is a line of bull too} he was in the right place...this parking lot needs to be cleaned up....inforce a damn curfew,,is that so hard..if these kids were kicked out of there early..i strongly believe this man may still be alive today.He wouldnt have been robbed,thats for sure ..

Not doing too much cleaning of the parking lot punks. I went by last evening and they are still there.

I think I would rather have these kids that are messed up on drugs parked in the parking lot than out driving intoxicated on the roads, these kids are punks no doubt, but alot of that comes from apathetic and bad parenting. babies are so cute, but they grow up I don't think some people know that they need to continually parent, not just pop em out. terrible parenting,lack of self respect, idle hands and empty pockets are never a good combination.

Ok as someone who has grown up in this town all her life and someone who is still considered "young" in most eyes, I have a few comments to make on this. I completely understand it is easy to blame the parents of these individuals, and so should the parents share a small portion of blame yes, but you are an adult and are compeletly capable of deciding your own path. Yes your background will influence who you are but only you decides your path and only you make the choices you make. When I was younger then 18 I used to hang out in the parking lot too, but the most i ever did was smoke a cigerette when I probably shouldn't have been, I never did drugs never drank in the parking lot it was simply a place people could go and hang out, and sorry but that has changed and I think that everyone is right, don't make it easy for them to do the things their doing. What happened to Lincoln had a curfew anyways? Part of me says that the real issues are that too many people think "if you don't look then you don't know its there" and that is a problem.

Sure heart attack, I have an Uncle that is probably one of the greatest men I ever knew that if 2 young adults where to start beating on him the same fate would happen to him as well right now, but give it 20 years ago and they'd be lucky to still be walking from it? So what would have happened to the trucker if he hadn't had a heart attack? and he would have done something to those boys defending himself? He would have gone to jail right, since everyone LOVES to place blame immediatly on the truck driver when something happens.

I am now almost 26 years old, someday I want to have children, and I am here to say if I EVER catch my kids in the parking lot I am going to do the same thing my mother did to me, march my butt right down there and tell them to get their A$$ in the car, and give them the same speech my mother gave me the whole way home! Find something else constructive for these kids in Lincoln, and maybe things will look up but if not they will just continue to get worse over time.

My thoughts go out to his family, I am sure he was a hardworking man as most of the men in my life have or do work in the woods business I understand, and I am sooo sorry for the hand that was delt to your family. My prayers.

Duh People! Why do you think Chief Flagg Left???? Town officials, and administrators do not want to acknowledge any problems in Lincoln! It is like living in Oz, where the sun shines everyday, and good guys never lose! Dawson has become the YES MAN that the administration wants him to be, and rewarded by holding 2 Lincoln jobs, and is the Chief in Howland, and collecting some State Police retirement I would guess. That is a + and + and + and + if you look at that, so crime does pay if you work for Lincoln. Any formal comment from the Town Manager, NOPE! On vacation that week, couldn't be bothered!!!!! They want you to pay your taxes and think you live in a great place... perfection exists in the town administration, believe nothing less.... After all, AHO taught them all how to be perfect! Town councilors are a joke and told only what the administrator wants them to know!

Weren't they going to decide this week what and if any charges were going to take place? Hmmmmm, looking like they aren't doing much about it. Whats new though...not much here in Maine I guess. What a shame. Get off your butts and do something for this mans memory.

Maybe it's time for a neighborhood watch program. take turns sitting in the lot and make calls when required.

Lincoln is much less safe now? It was safer with cocaine and marijuana dealers running downtown at night? No relation to councilor House.

Who's is the blame or to who take the blame the VIDEO CAMERA OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT ? AS IF THE KIDS ARE NOT CHARGE, THEN COULD THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TAKE THE BLAME AS VIDEO JUSTICE SPEAK OF THE INCIDENT ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Huh?

It is much less safe now... heroin and coke dealers all over. People feeling as though they should arm themselves due to break ins and physical altercations prior to a man dying on Main St. 1 block from the town office and 2.5 blocks from the police station... I think that is what was meant by that. The video cameras are not running because either the administration did not ask for, or the council did not approve the funds for it. Or the administration put it on a back burner because they did not see the value in them..... read about it in the weekly news though. I am sure there are weekly updates there.