Lawmakers spent hours Friday questioning Health and Human Services acting commissioner Ricker Hamilton, who has been nominated by the governor to take over the department as commissioner.

“My commitment is to ensure the Department conducts consistent, rigorous and fair oversight, both internally and with our partners,” Hamilton said, asked about his top goals.

Committee members from both parties raised questions about the ongoing lack of communication between DHHS and the Legislature. Hamilton, whose entire career has been at DHHS, promised to do better.

The mother of a Micmac Indian football player from Lisbon High School says she will appeal the findings of the Wells-Ogunquit School Board after it concluded that no intentional acts of racism toward Native Americans took place during last week’s football game.

Amelia Tuplin says her family was subjected to taunts and whoops by players and fans as they were leaving the field of the Wells Warriors.

Maine’s unemployment rate edged down a tenth of a percent in September.

Maine’s jobless rate has now been at or under 4 percent for two straight years. That’s is the second longest such stretch in 40 years, according to the state labor department.

The September jobless figure was lower than the New England unemployment rate of 3.9 percent and the national jobless rate, which was 4.2 percent in September.

The department says there are 1,500 fewer Mainers unemployed now than a year ago.

SANFORD, Maine (AP) _ A large fire has ravaged a neighborhood in Maine, with officials saying it destroyed six buildings and sent at least four people to the hospital.

Witnesses told the state Fire Marshal’s Office they smelled smoke long before they saw flames spread to four buildings in Sanford Thursday afternoon. State Fire Marshal Joe Thomas says it’s likely the fire was caused by a discarded cigarette and the cause isn’t suspicious.

The fire was under control by 4:00 pm Thursday.

GRAY, Maine (AP) _ A Maine high school varsity football coach has been dismissed after he allegedly instructed his players to taunt an opposing player for having two mothers as parents.

The parents, Lynn and Stephanie Eckersley-Ray, of Yarmouth, say Gray-New Gloucester coach Duane Greaton told his players to taunt their son every time he was tackled during a game last Friday by saying, ``Who’s your daddy?’‘

The Eckersley-Rays say parents and players told them about the taunting order before the game began, but no taunting was overheard during the game.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Students in Maine who have been learning about marine science will conclude their project by dropping kelp-growing lines in the water at the start of the winter growing season.

The Peaks Island Elementary students have been participating in a program called KELP4KIDS.

KELP4KIDS is a 12-week curriculum for second- through fifth-graders at the island school. Kelp is grown as a crop in Maine for use in food and other products.