• A drop in housing starts was cited as the major reason behind Fraser Papers Inc.’s decision to shut down its Masardis and Ashland mills for at least two weeks.
• Pierre Patenaude was appointed president and CEO of MPG in Presque Isle.
• Ice fishing season got under way on Jan. 1, with some new rules taking effect, including changes in season length for the Fish River Lakes Management Region in northern Maine.
• Presque Isle’s Sesquicentennial Celebration got off to a bright start, with the raising of a star to mark the beginning of the new year, with a proclamation signed by City Council designating 2009 as a year-long celebration of the city’s 150th anniversary.
• Jane Towle was selected to serve the remainder of Alton Hartt’s term as president of the Presque Isle Rotary Club.
• Porter Seed Farm was one local operation directly affected by state budget shortfalls.
• SAD 1’s school reorganization alternative plan, to stand alone, was approved by Department of Education Commissioner Susan A. Gendron.
• Presque Isle City Council recognized various city employees for career milestones of five years or more, including over 40 years with the city for Larry Clark, executive director of the Industrial Council.
• Maine Public Service donated $10,000 to support the development of New England’s first wind power technology program at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle.
• Presque Isle Middle School sixth-grade student Megan Seward won the Energy Savings Tip Contest, sponsored by Efficiency Maine, with her entry, “Be a fan of windmills.”
• Several historic landmarks around Presque Isle featured signs denoting the site’s history, a collaborative sesquicentennial project between the city, Presque Isle Historical Society and Downtown Revitalization Committee.
• Officials with Fraser Papers Inc., citing the nation’s poor economy and housing market, announced mills in Ashland and Masardis would remain closed indefinitely.
• University of Maine at Presque Isle President Don Zillman joined Glenn Gabbard, associate director of the New England Resource Center for Higher Education and director of Project Compass, to announce UMPI would be receiving $750,000 from the Nellie Mae Foundation. The grant will be used to better serve the University’s Native American student population.
• School districts in the area implemented a new automated parent notification system.
• SAD 32 and Nashville Plantation braced for penalties, following SAD 1’s decision to stand alone with regard to the school reorganization plan.
• Keirah-Lynn Thompson, daughter of Nicole and Brandon Thompson, was welcomed as TAMC’s New Year’s Baby on Jan. 2.
• Record cold temperatures as low as 35 below or more caused a number of problems, including several fire alarm malfunctions in Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield.
• An early-morning fire of unknown origin Jan. 25 destroyed the Presque Isle Snowmobile Club building, located just off State Park Rd.
• United Way of Aroostook was notified that Aroostook County was awarded $61,703 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county.
• Maine potatoes were ‘served’ to the nation through two means, a film documentary by Philip Kruener called “Modern Marvels: The Potato” and a children’s book by Karen Hesse, entitled “Spuds” and featuring Beryl Kenney’s field.
• Despite a slumping market nationally, the county economy got a boost from ‘white gold,’ as snowmobilers hit the trails and spent money at local businesses.
• A benefit supper raised $2,400 for Easton fire victim Bernie Hussey.
• Voters in several communities rejected a school consolidation referendum.
• The Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library received the 2008 Library Excellence Award by the Maine State Library Association.
• Presque Isle Middle School students enjoyed a new outdoor ice rink at the school.
• The United Way of Aroostook’s Keep the County Warm Fund was $2,000 closer to reaching its goal of $30,000, thanks to three donations.
• Sixteen Aroostook Idol hopefuls readied for the central Aroostook leg of the competition.
• A transmission line project between MPS and Central Maine Power was put on hold, with alternatives being sought for ways to improve transmission of energy between northern Maine and regions to the south.
• A vehicle striking a utility pole on Route 163 in Mapleton disrupted power to homes and businesses in Mapleton and Presque Isle.
• Martin Puckett assumed the duties of town manager in Mapleton.
• Katahdin Cedar Log Homes, based in Oakfield, purchased the SWP Industries’ Ashland saw mill.
• The Aroostook Shrine Club hosted a family fun day at their Houlton Rd. facility, complete with dog sled rides, Shrine klowns and free food.
• Daniel Rooney, of Presque Isle; Nicole Ballard, or Presque Isle; and Jordan Buckley, of Westfield; moved on to the final round of Aroostook Idol.
• Fort Fairfield Chamber of Commerce recognized Citizens of the Year Rayle Answorth and Sarah Ulman.
• AMHC’s annual Andy Santerre Sno-Run, in its fifth year, set a fund-raising record of $43,500, bringing the five-year total raised to about $135,000.
• Maine game wardens warned of thin ice on area waterways.
• The Maine PUC’s decision to award a bid to New Brunswick Power Generation Corporation to provide electricity to residential and small non-residential customers threatened the existence of Boralex, a Fort Fairfiel2
d-based bio-energy producer.
• A smoking cessation project was launched on local campuses.
• Bob Crowley, a physics teacher at Gorham High School who has family ties in the Portage area, was named the winner of CBS’s “Survivor” and honored by Gov. John E. Baldacci.
• William Popov, a seventh-grader at Presque Isle Middle School, was named the 2009 PIMS Spelling Bee Champion.
• Work progressed on the Hampton Inn on Main St. in Presque Isle, with an opening date scheduled for later in the year.
• The Presque Isle Police Department responded to a couple rollovers, caused by winter storm and poor road conditions.
• Volunteers played a vital role in Can-Am Race, especially in Portage where mushers and their teams passed through on their way to the finish line.
• An entire department was laid off at BurrellesLuce, leaving about 10 employees out of work.
• UMPI, SAD 1 sign agreement allowing UMPI education students to take part in extensive internships at Pine Street Elementary School and the Presque Isle High School while providing professional development opportunities for veteran teachers there.
• SAD 1 continued to explore the possibility of powering some of its buildings with wind energy.
• The Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner honored commitment to community, presenting the Citizen of the Year Award to Steve Farnham; Business of the Year Award to Sorpresso and its owners, Jan and Roger Lucas, Clif and Judy Boudman; Economic Development Award to Glenn Capps and Tony Burgess; and Lifetime Achievement Award to Richard and Maxine Duncan.
• Student musicians took part in the District Jazz Festival, sponsored by the Northern Maine Music Educators Association.
• A Snowman Festival was held in Portage Lake, part of the community’s Centennial celebration.
• Presque Isle High School Shipmates’ Playhouse members placed first in Class A at the Regional Drama Festival and moved on to the state finals.
• The University of Maine System Task Force met with students, faculty, staff and community members at UMPI to collect data to be used to make spending recommendations to Chancellor Richard Pattenaude.
• Astronaut Pam Melroy made appearances in Presque Isle and Mars Hill, visiting with her nephew, Adam Metzler — a Mars Hill teacher — and his wife, Debbie, while here.
• The Northern Maine Regional Airport earned the Team Award in recognition of extraordinary efforts for improving airport runway safety areas by the New England Region of the Federal Aviation Administration.
• Randy Leavitt was named the Maine Potato Board’s 2008 Young Farmer of the Year.
• Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, the United Way of Aroostook’s Keep the County Warn Fund exceeded $91,000.
• Boralex signed a two-year Power Purchase Agreement for the company’s Fort Fairfield wood-residue thermal power station with New Brunswick Power Generation Corporation.
• Megan McKnight was crowned Jr. Miss Presque Isle 2009 and Taylor Hedrich was crowned Little Miss Presque Isle 2009.
• Fire destroyed Northeast Pellets LLC, on Ashland’s Reality Rd.
• NMCC students Charles Zappone, of Woodland, and the late Katherine Pictou, of Presque Isle, were among 14 students statewide named to the 2009 All-American Academic Team.
• Haley Johnston was crowned Miss Presque Isle 2009.
• Presque Isle celebrated its official 150th birthday on April 4, with a ceremony and events at Northern Maine Community College.
• Spring flooding caused the closure of the Washburn Rd. in Washburn and caused flood problems from Masardis to Fort Fairfield.
• The 11th annual Real Heroes Breakfast, sponsored by the American Red Cross – Pine Tree Chapter, WAGM-TV 8/Fox 8 and Northern Maine Community College, recognized: David Guiggey of Mars Hill, Molly White of Presque Isle, Madelyn Buzza of Mapleton, Kylie Daigle of Fort Kent/Madawaska, and Devin Cray of Presque Isle, Robert DeFarges of Madawaska/Caribou, Michael Murphy of Glenburn, Kevin Mordasky of Stafford Springs, Conn., Tom Stevens of East Holden and Donald McCubbin of Glenburn; and Joyce Findlen, Vern Ouellette and Darren Woods from the Aroostook County Emergency Management Agency.
• Governor John E. Baldacci visited with county flood victims, stopping by homes in Masardis to view the damage that occurred from rising water in the Aroostook River.
• Andrew Perkins, president of Perkins Engineering, Inc. of Orono, spoke to an audience of about 30 people at Presque Isle High School regarding SAD 1’s plan to explore wind energy.
• Senator Olympia Snowe met with small business leaders during a gathering at Maine Mutual Group in Presque Isle, discussing the challenges facing small business owners and investors.
• UMPI’s wind turbine was constructed just in time to celebrate Earth Day.
• Extensive road work got under way on a section of Route 163 in Castle Hill.
• SAD 1 expected to receive about $750,000 in stimulus funding but district officials weren’t sure how the money would be spent.
• Tax Day “tea parties” were held across the county April 15 to protest government spending.
• Fraser Papers Inc. called over 100 employees back to work at its Ashland and Masardis sawmills.
• Officials with the National Passport Center and Customs and Border Protection were on hand at the Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library to raise awareness of the changes in international travel laws scheduled to go into effect June 1, as dictated by the last phase of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.
• A number of legislative bills were being debated in Augusta — many pertaining to the Maine Potato Board — which could have an impact on area potato growers.
