Topping the news in 2012
Compiled by Kathy McCarty and Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writers
Area entities entertain alternative energy options
Alternative energy was a common theme in 2012 as the high price of fuel caused many businesses and organizations to look at affordable heating means.
A new $1 million boiler — the first of its kind in the Maine Community College System — was commissioned Sept. 19 at Northern Maine Community College.
The biomass boiler will provide heat to the two largest buildings on campus — the Christie Complex and the Mailman Trades Building — and the boiler capacity will replace nearly 70 percent of the campus’ fuel oil consumption with renewable energy. By utilizing local wood pellets, NMCC expects to save approximately 40,000 gallons in fuel oil, or upwards of $80,000 depending on the market.
The new 900-kilowatt unit replaced a more than 30-year-old boiler in the Mailman Trades Building, which houses classroom and lab space for many of the college’s trade and technology programs. A pellet silo (fuel storage) has been installed on a concrete pad just outside the boiler room. The silo holds 50 tons of pellets. The project connects the trades building with underground piping to the Christie Complex, NMCC’s largest building, where most of the classrooms and campus offices are located.
Northeast Pellets of Ashland will supply the pellets.
The boiler, which went online full-time in November, is guaranteed for 10 years, but the life expectancy of the equipment is 20-25 years.
The project was made possible, in part, through a $500,000 federal grant administered by the Maine Forest Service.
SAD 20 in Fort Fairfield held an open house Nov. 14 to showcase the district’s new $1,796,142 wood chip fired boiler.
The central wood biomass heating plant — combined with several energy conservation measures in both the middle/high and elementary schools, which include new domestic hot water heating systems and Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on pumps — are projected to save $117,415 in energy costs in the first year of operation based on predicted and historical energy costs.
“It was a lot of work, but it was worth it,” said Superintendent Marc Gendron. “The project is done, and I’m thrilled with the way it’s working. Both the elementary and middle/high schools will be completely heated with the boiler, and we still have 10,000 gallons of oil in the ground that we won’t have to burn for four or five years, but will be a good reserve for us in case the price goes up.”
SAD 20 had previously been spending between $135,000 and $150,000 annually for oil. Gendron said the district had expected to save $100,923 a year by converting to wood chips, but due to a deal on the chips, he anticipates an annual savings of $117,400.
The wood chips are being purchased from Columbia Forest Products in Presque Isle.
The biomass boiler project was awarded a competitive ARRA grant for $500,000 through the Maine Forestry Service/Department of Conservation. The facility is located directly behind the middle/senior high school on the opposite side of the gymnasium.
The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle became the first in the state, and what is believed by officials to be the first in the nation, to break ground on a project that will allow for a conversion to heat with compressed natural gas (CNG).
CNG is a form of natural gas that is stored under high pressure. Hospital officials said it is one of the cleanest and safest fuels available.
At a ground-breaking ceremony Oct. 25, TAMC leaders said that once the conversion is complete early this spring, the health care organization will save an estimated $400,000 to $500,000 in annual heating costs at its largest facility, the A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital.
The first phase of the project is under way with earth-moving equipment now on site at the far south end of the hospital property in an area that until recently was used as a parking lot. Soderberg Construction of Caribou is preparing the site for a decompression station where, once up and running, tube trailers filled with CNG will be connected.
The decompression station will lower the pressure and transfer the gas into an underground pipeline, which will run along the eastern boundary of the hospital property and cross a parking lot to connect with and feed the existing boiler plant. The existing burners on TAMC’s boilers can burn CNG with only minor modification, and will also be able to burn No. 2 heating oil as a back-up fuel.
Total start-up costs for the CNG conversion project will be around $300,000, so TAMC officials expect a return on investment in less than one year.
Voters opt to dissolve AOS 99
Voters in Blaine, Bridgewater, Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill overwhelmingly decided March 19 to dissolve AOS 99 (Mid-County School District) and revert back to their previous structures which included the Bridgewater School Department, SAD 20 (Fort Fairfield) and SAD 42 (Mars Hill/Blaine).
Residents were asked, “Shall the Dissolution Plan for AOS 99 Mid-County School System, as approved by the school boards of SAD 20, SAD 42, the Bridgewater School Department and the State of Maine Commissioner of Education, be approved; and shall AOS 99 Mid-County School System be dissolved as of June 30, 2012 in accordance with the terms of that Plan?”
In Blaine, results were 14 “yes” to 0 “no’s,” Bridgewater — 40 “yes” to 11 “no,” Mars Hill — 172 “yes” to 18 “no,” and Fort Fairfield, 37 “yes” to 0 “no’s.”
“Thirty-seven to zero is almost statistically impossible. You could have almost any question on the ballot, and somebody would vote the other way,” said then-AOS 99 Superintendent Marc Gendron. “Over 90 percent of those who voted were in favor of dissolving the AOS.
“The referendum results just backed up the unanimous votes by the school boards that indicated that people seem to be better off going back to the way we were,” he said, noting that the number of people voting in Mars Hill and Bridgewater were higher because they had other items on the ballot. “The AOS would have been dissolved if only one of the four towns voted to approve the dissolution; we had all four towns approve the plan. We all think that’s best for the kids, and this vote just confirms that.”
AOS 99 was established July 1, 2009 to provide system, transportation and special education administration, as well as the implementation of business functions including accounting, reporting, payroll, financial management, purchasing, insurance and auditing. Local officials also say the AOS was formed, in large part, to avoid state-imposed penalties on districts that didn’t regionalize. However, in the last session, the Legislature passed a law that removed those penalties as of July 1.
“We saved over $350,000 in penalties, we’re going back to greater local control, and I believe it’s what’s truly best for the kids,” Gendron said.
Roger Shaw was rehired as superintendent of SAD 42, while Gendron resumed his duties as SAD 20 superintendent.
The AOS was officially dissolved June 30.
TAMC celebrates 100th anniversary
Maine Gov. Paul LePage proclaimed Saturday, June 9, 2012 as TAMC Day in Maine to recognize the first century of service by The Aroostook Medical Center to the state — particularly northern Maine — and to kick off the health care provider’s next 100 years.
A June 9 event kicked off on the steps of the Presque Isle City Hall — the former site of Presque Isle General Hospital (a forerunner of TAMC’s A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital) — with the reading of the official proclamation.
From there, a giant parade featuring 50 entries worked its way through town and ended at the hospital. Following the parade, guests could participate in a community picnic featuring a free barbecue, children’s games and amusements, horse-drawn wagon rides, and entertainment. TAMC employees served 1,500 meals which included 1,300 hot dogs, 1,000 pieces of chicken, 1,100 hamburgers, 180 pounds of potato salad and 150 pounds of macaroni salad.
TAMC Day was the first of many hospital celebrations held throughout the year.
Officials from TAMC, Cavendish Produce and Northeast Packaging Co. came together June 25 to officially dedicate the TAMC Centennial Potato Plot on a 2-acre section of potato field on U.S. Route 1 between Presque Isle and Caribou. The project was announced in a roadside field near the landmark PT Barn approximately 3 miles north of Presque Isle.
The two acres of russet potatoes for the TAMC Centennial Potato Plot, which were planted around May 20, were donated by Cavendish Produce. TAMC employees and their family members harvested the field by hand in October to celebrate another county tradition — harvest.
A special contest to design a commemorative 5-pound bag was won by Robb Johnston of Presque Isle.
The potatoes were sent in the special commemorative bags to statewide elected officials and other dignitaries. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) even delivered a bag to the White House.
Aroostook County’s only locally owned and operated dairy producer — Houlton Farms Dairy — created a special dessert to mark TAMC’s centennial that was sold in August.
TAMiC (Truly Aroostook Made ice Cream) featured one scoop each of Houlton Farms Dairy’s signature strawberry, vanilla and blueberry ice creams served in either a waffle cone or dish. The treat was garnished with equally patriotic red, white and blue sprinkles and strawberry sauce to provide a brilliant splash of red.
A portion of the proceeds went toward the purchase of a Giraffe Warmer that will assist in providing care to premature babies at TAMC.
TAMC President and Chief Executive Officer Sylvia Getman called the centennial “a most significant milestone not only for us as an organization, but for the entire Aroostook County community.”
“We are so pleased at the great support we consistently receive from throughout the area, and are most grateful for the high level of support that is being extended to us at the local, regional and statewide level as we partner with so many entities to celebrate a century of what started as Presque Isle’s first public hospital and has since grown to become the region’s most comprehensive provider of health care services and northern Maine’s largest employer,” she said.
Traffic recommendations raise public concern
PRESQUE ISLE — The flow of downtown traffic was the focus of several meetings throughout the year, as city officials, local business owners and residents expressed their views on various options being considered to alleviate congestion in the heart of town.
In January, city officials met with members of the Downtown Revitalization Committee to brainstorm ideas that could address one of the major concerns — pedestrian safety. The DRC later came up with a couple of options, including extending Academy Street through to Riverside Drive; and extend Riverside Drive, somehow working along the railroad track, cutting back to U.S. Route 1 (Main Street) in the area of the outdoor pool. The Planning Board also recommended making Main Street three lanes between Blake and Cedar Streets.
DRC Vice Chair Cathy Beaulieu indicated these were the ideas the DRC chose to model but not necessarily by choice, since they were instructed by city officials to choose options. The options were subsequently presented to EatonPeabody/Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers who created models depicting how traffic would be affected, if the option(s) were implemented.
By June, consultants from the engineering firm were in the city for a special meeting to discuss their traffic study.
John Melrose, marketing director and senior consultant with Eaton Peabody, said the purpose of the study was to improve the pedestrian experience, enhance the value of existing businesses and attractions, alter land-use patterns to attract and support new investment and accommodate the location of a new community center.
Melrose reviewed the three alternatives, explaining how each would affect traffic and pedestrian safety. He indicated extending Academy Street to Riverside would result in re-routing Chapman to connect to Riverside also and making it no longer a through street and the light would no longer be needed at the Catholic Church, with the area between the church and Eagle Hill Stamp & Coin possibly being used for a pedestrian park.
Thomas Gorrill, president of Gorrill-Palmer, discussed how extending Academy Street and creating at hree-lane Main Street would affect traffic flow.
Downtown business owners, DRC members and the public took part in the meetings, with several noting much depends on if/when the bypass is constructed. The main concern for many remains truck traffic, which would be greatly reduced once a bypass around the city is in place.
MDEA busts yield evidence of meth labs
The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency kicked off 2012 in Presque Isle with the state’s first arrests for production of methamphetamine.
Following tips, agents searched an apartment on Main Street on Dec. 29, 2011, finding evidence of the drug’s production. The residents were not home at the time of the bust. By mid-January, three men were charged with manufacturing the drug: Ray Varney, of Houlton; Ronald Lewis, of Littleton; and Leland Alger, of Presque Isle.
On Feb. 1, DEA agents concluded an investigation in Easton that led to three more individuals being arrested and charged with the manufacturing and/or sale of meth. Agents were able to set up a deal to purchase the drug, which led to the arrest of Lucy Allen and Curtis Barnes of Easton. Agents then went to Allen’s home on Bear Trap Road where evidence consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine was located. Brian Holmes, who lived at the residence with Allen, was also charged with trafficking in meth.
On Feb. 13, evidence of meth was also located at a Sunset Loop residence, following the report of a fire. Brandon Hafford and Amber Getchell — both residents of 45 Sunset Loop — as well as Daniel Miller of Limestone were arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine.
On April 18, agents were in Presque Isle for yet another bust — this time at an apartment at 23 Blake Street — this following a fire that seriously injured tenant Michael Carpine. Carpine was later charged with aggravated trafficking in meth.
The MDEA was in Easton again on Aug.29, following a tip that the resident of 529 Houlton Road was making meth. Agents responded to the mobile home and located the man, identified as Brian White, in his 1999 Ford. White was charged and his vehicle seized.
In November, White was again charged and the same vehicle seized, with agents finding evidence in the Ford of meth manufacturing.
Anyone with information on any criminal activity is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-638-TIPS.
