An Eastport man was arrested on September 17 in connection with the September 10 death of 75-year-old Maurice Allen Harris, also of Eastport. Hazen McDugald, 39, was arrested by the Maine State Police on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of violating his bail conditions. Because of the ongoing investigation of Harris' death, other charges could result.
     McDugald had been arrested the morning after Harris' death for violating probation and then was released from the Washington County Jail on Wednesday, September 16, the day before his arrest on the aggravated assault charges.
     Eastport Police Chief Frances LaCoute says her department received a call from an employee at the Sunrise Opportunities group home, located at the bottom of Clark St., at 10:19 p.m. on September 10. "The person was outside having a smoke and heard someone yelling for help across the street at Allen Harris' home. It was a man's voice, and two people could be seen in the home."
     When Officer David Claroni arrived at Harris' home, LaCoute says he met Hazen McDugald "on the side of the house and asked why he was there and told him to stay there. The door to the house was locked, and Officer Claroni returned to talk to the subject, and [McDugald] was gone."
     LaCoute reports Pleasant Point Police Officer Shawn Hastings came to assist, but the men still couldn't get in. There was some hollering with no response from Harris or anyone in the house. A ladder was procured, so the officers could have a better view inside. "One of them saw something on the floor - enough to cause them to break in the front door. They found Mr. Harris and called the ambulance. After not finding a pulse, he was pronounced dead by someone on the ambulance crew. Because it was a suspicious death, we called the State Police and taped off the whole area."
     McDugald had gone to jail following his conviction of a July 7 domestic assault that had occurred on Prime Street, but he was out on bail. His failure to follow Officer Claroni's order to remain at the scene resulted in a violation of his bail conditions, so he was arrested on that charge at 6:09 a.m. on September 11.
     He is being held at the Washington County Jail with bail set at $25,000 cash or $250,000 double surety.
Friends remember Allen Harris
     Greg Biss of Eastport had known fellow North Ender Allen Harris for 40 years and says of his deceased friend, "It's safe to say Allen was a loner, but he had many long lasting friendships with people, including me."
     Biss reflects, "I have such a kaleidoscope of memories of Allen. I met him a day or two after I bought my house in Eastport in 1974. He helped me reroof my house and helped move my first piano into the house. He was very fond of [wife] Barbara and all of my kids."
     Harris teamed with Richard Klyver to form Peregrine Associates, and they created beautiful pewter sculptures of local fish and fowl. Biss says the dulcimers made by his friend are also works of art. "Allen would painstakingly work on those instruments for months. People would pull their hair out waiting for him to finish."
     Biss adds, "In recent weeks Allen had been struggling a bit healthwise and was short of breath. It worried him, but not enough to go to the doctor. It also didn't keep him from going out on his walks because he wanted to keep Eastport clean and beautiful. For many years, Allen picked up stray trash during his walks, and people would stop and thank him."
     Paul McClanahan of Bath had known Harris even longer than Biss. "We worked together 45 years ago in New York City with Emergency Special Services, an emergency assistance unit," he recalls. "We both worked the night shift and had to handle people in emergency situations."
     In 1969, McClanahan purchased a place in Eastport and told Harris enough good things about the city to entice the New York City resident to visit. "Allen found he liked it, moved to Eastport and became an entrepreneur," sums up McClanahan of Harris' life in rural Maine. "He was a very sharp guy."
     McClanahan's wife Peesh, who had been married to Ken Haferman when she first met Harris, chuckles when she recalls one holiday. "Allen always spent Thanksgiving with us, but one year he thought he had brought cider as a gift, but one of my daughters discovered it was actually apple cider vinegar."
     She continues, "He loved kids and animals. He was well loved, and very generous. All four of the Haferman children really cared about him."
     Michael and Mya Speer of Eastport were also longtime friends with Harris. "We met him when we moved here in the 1970s and liked him," recalls Michael. "He was a very, very nice guy. He would drop by once a week, while walking or driving, and stay for an hour."
     Speer points out that Harris' passion and hard work helped keep the Pittston Company from building an oil refinery in Eastport.
     Pamela Wood of Salt magazine, describing the anti-Pittston victory in 1980 in the Eastport For Pride book, wrote, "Allen Harris is on his feet, his head jutting forward. 'I'd like to present this petition on behalf of 720 residents of Eastport, the great majority of which are registered voters, the balance of which are 18 and over and eligible to vote in this city.'
     "'We the undersigned residents of the City of Eastport,' he reads, 'want the Eastport airport to remain in the possession of the City of Eastport and not to be sold unless the sale is authorized by the voters of the City of Eastport.'... The applause is prolonged and vigorous."
     Michael Speer said, many years later, Harris told him that he still had the signatures in his house. "I encouraged him to give the petition to the historical society, but I guess he never did."