Editor’s Note: The following is the first of a two-part series that looks back on some of the more memorable news stories of 2010. This article covers January to May, while the second installment, to appear in next week’s paper, will feature June through December.
Compiled by Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
January
• The United Way of Aroostook, in an effort to open competition to contestants from both sides of the border, changed the name and guidelines for its annual musical fund-raiser, changing the name from Aroostook Idol to Northern Star and expanding the event to accept contestants from the Canadian counties of Madawaska, Victoria and Carleton.
• The Maine Forest Service asked for the public’s help in reducing firewood and timber thefts which have been increasing in number over the past year.
• Jeffrey and Jolene Blake, of Mapleton, were the proud parents of a New Year’s baby. Jared Matthew David was born Jan. 1 at 12:45 p.m. at The Aroostook Medical Center’s Gould Memorial Hospital.
• Presque Isle City Council approved the 2010 municipal budget for just over $6 million.
• City Manager Tom Stevens attended his last City Council session, where he was honored for 17 years of service to the city of Presque Isle.
• Paul Elish, a junior at PIHS, was selected to participate in the 48th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) in Washington, D.C.
• SAD 1 employees had to look for alternative daycare provides for the 2010-11 school year as officials announced plans to suspend operation of the SAD 1 Childcare Center, forcing the elimination of four positions. A deficit in the school system’s budget necessitated spending cuts.
• SAD 1 officials looked for creative cost-saving measures due to an anticipated shortfall of $500,000 to $700,000 in the district’s budget.
• Presque Isle City Council began the new year by making its annual appointments, from department heads to city solicitor. Ed Nickerson was re-elected Council chairman. Jennifer Trombley was re-elected deputy chairperson.
• Presque Isle city employees were honored for 440 years’ of service to the community. Honorees included: 30 years — Sharon Barclay and Naldo Gagnon; 25 years — Dana Fowler, Jim Kaiser, Frederick Parsons, Donald Saucier and Cecile Wood; 20 years — Debra Brewer, William Campbell, Russell Clark, Michealla Cote and Robert Jackson; 15 years — Jerry McAvaddy, Joey Seeley, Brian McQuarrie and Wayne Selfridge; 10 years Vincent Baldwin, Sandra Bonville, Freeman Howe, Bev Labbe and Bonnie Smith; and five years — Lona LaFrancis, B.J. Estey, Jocelyn Marquis and William King.
• Easton resident, 2nd Lt. Michael T. Osgood, received his silver pilot wings after graduating from the Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training program at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Okla. His brother, Capt. Matthew T. Osgood, a C-17 pilot and aircraft commander at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., piloted a C-17 for an airdrop that delivered much-needed relief supplies to the victims of a Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti.
• Unseasonably warm temperatures caused problems for travellers, as warm days — daytime temperatures reached the 40s — and wet conditions led to slushy trails and wet roadways. Subsequent icing found police responding to a number of weather-related accidents.
• The Central Aroostook High School cheerleaders celebrated winning the Eastern Class D championship at the Bangor Auditorium, beating nine other squads for the title.
February
• Jim Bennett was named Presque Isle’s new city manager. Most recently, he had served as city manager of Lewiston.
• SAD 1’s wind power project progressed, with meteorological towers placed in Presque Isle and Mapleton to record data.
• The Presque Isle City Council accepted a bid from Lionel Theriault, Inc., of Presque Isle, for a rubber-tracked tractor and plow for just over $311,651, to be used at the Northern Maine Regional Airport.
• Rep. Patricia Sutherland (D-Chapman) sought to align academic calendars. SAD 1 looked at the school calendar to help close the financial gap, with one idea being to put all students on the same academic year. This would help streamline services and reduce duplication of programs.
• Area Scouts converged on Aroostook State Park to take part in Winterama 2010, kicking off a year of celebrating Boy Scouts of America’s 100th anniversary.
• Fort Fairfield Elementary School students collected Coins for Haiti, with proceeds going toward the Haiti relief effort.
• Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railroad’s request for approval to abandon about 240 miles of rail between Madawaska and Millinocket had politicians, local business and community leaders concerned over the future of rail service in Aroostook County. Sen. Susan Collins sought input on rail’s importance.
• Northern Star (formerly Aroostook Idol) finalists were chosen in one of three regional contests, with Jordan Buckley, of Westfield, among the finalists.
• NMCC mourned the passing of Harold Mailman, former director (the title given to the president at that time) of the facility when it was known as Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute.
• Dr. Eva Shay, of Presque Isle, volunteered her services, traveling to Haiti for a one-month stay to help earthquake victims.
March
• John Graves, of Presque Isle, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for 2010 at the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner.
• Superintendent Gehrig Johnson presented several recommendations to the SAD 1 board, including eliminating several positions — both part- and full-time — to help absorb the $701,000 decrease in state aid the district will face in 2010-11.
• Julie M. Carr (aka Julie M. Bragdon-Carr), 31, of Mars Hill, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography during a federal court session in Bangor Feb. 24.
• Presque Isle City Council approved $150,000 in matching grant funds for a 2010 Community Development Block Grant being sought to continue improvements to the downtown.
• Athletes and fans were in town to participate in the 2010 USSA Cross Country Junior Olympics, hosted by the Nordic Heritage Sport Club in Presque Isle.
• Speaking to members of the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club, Presque Isle Rotary Club, Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development and Momentum Aroostook, Sen. Susan Collins outlined what she thought were the most important health care goals, explaining what needed to be done to see those goals achieved.
• City Council Chair Ed Nickerson died following a long battle with cancer.
• SAD 20 Superintendent Marc Gendron announced U.S. News & World Report identified Fort Fairfield Middle-High School as one of the most outstanding schools in the country.
• In a move that could improve the odds that a transmission line linking Aroostook County with southern Maine and points south, Maine & Maritimes Corporation — parent company of Maine Public Service Co. — announced its intention to merge with BHE Holdings, Inc. of Bangor, a subsidiary of Halifax-based Emera Inc. BHE Holdings is the parent company of Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.
• SAD 1 Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the 2010-11 school calendar, which leaves the three-week potato harvest recess intact for high schoolers. Teachers voted to ‘hold the line’ on wages during financial crisis.
• Portage Lake Town Manager Rita Sinclair retired after more than a decade of service to the community.
• Presque Isle City Council appointed Emily Smith to fill the vacant seat on City Council.
• Kim Smith was selected as 2010’s Citizen of the Year at the Presque Isle Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner.
• Gregg Garrison, of Blaine, was named the 2009 Maine Potato Board’s Young Farmer of the Year.
• Budgets were down slightly from last year for the towns of Mapleton (proposed for 2010, $894,484), Chapman (2010, $293,335) and Castle Hill (2010, $235,347), with Town Manager Martin Puckett crediting town officials with keeping spending down, and a reduction in fuel and insurance expenses. Mapleton-area voters opposed cuts to the recreation budget.
• Lawmakers discussed proposed rail bond packages in Augusta, hoping to find a solution, in light of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic’s request to abandon nearly 240 miles of rail between Madawaska and Millinocket. About 22 businesses and 1,700 jobs could be affected in Aroostook, if the line were discontinued.
• A mild winter eased the pinch for many municipalities, with Presque Isle Public Works Director Gerry James and Mapleton Town Manager Martin Puckett noting warmer temperatures and less now meant less salt, sand and overtime was necessary to maintain roads, helping keep budget costs down.
• Kori Kinney was named Miss Presque Isle 2010.
• Wade set its muncipal budget at $148,115.67.
April
• Ashland set its municipal budget at $1,240,046, down more than $50,000 from 2009; councilors approved discontinuing a portion of the Realty Rd. to allow Boralex the option to run power lines from the power plant to other businesses in the industrial park.
• Taylor Skidgel was named Little Miss Presque Isle 2010.
• Jacqueline “Jackie” Lambert was named Junior Miss Presque Isle 2010.
• Fort Fairfield’s 2010 queens included Pre-Teen winner Gracie Lynn Griffeth and Little Miss winner Mariah Mink.
• The Washburn Fire Department took ownership of a new 2010 fire truck.
• Elizabeth Collins was named Little Miss Mapleton 2010. Elena Ford was named Junior Miss Mapleton 2010; Michaela Powers was named Mapleton’s first Teen Miss Mapleton; and Whitney LaPointe was named Miss Mapleton 2010.
• The title of Miss Greater Mars Hill 2010 went to Brittni Mosher and Gracie Giberson was named Little Miss Mars Hill 2010.
• Selectmen decided to fully fund tri-community rec programs for the towns of Chapman, Castle Hill and Mapleton. Residents had opposed the initial plan to cut many of the programs in an effort to reduce the 2010 budget.
• The city of Presque Isle was presented the SHAPE (Safety and Health Award for Public Employees) award for municipal employees having an outstanding safety record.
• Virginia Pinkham, formerly of Ashland, was remembered for her dedication to others, through her many philanthropic contributions over the years.
• The Washburn Memorial Library reopened with limited hours, but town officials remained mum on the reason for its closing earlier in the spring, saying only that the matter was being handled in executive session. Sheriff Jim Madore said the case was under investigation and that the Attorney General’s Office was involved.
• SAD 20 Superintendent Marc Gendron and Town Manager Dan Foster considered bringing police to school to education students in various aspects, including seatbelt safety and forensic investigation demonstrations.
• Washburn officials set the town budget at just over $1.2 million.
• Five new queens were named in Easton: Little Miss Easton Alyssa Tilley; Miss Pre-Teen Easton Breann Clayton; Jr. Miss Easton Stephanie Hammond; Miss Teen Easton Acacia Kimball; and Miss Easton Brooke-Ann Hammond.
May
• Federal, state and local officials praised state and Montreal, Maine and Atlantic officials for agreeing to enter into mediation in regard to MMA’s request to abandon a section of track between Millinocket and Madawaska.
• New queens in the Mars Hill area included: 2010 Miss Teen Mars Hill Whitney Klein, 2010 Junior Miss Mars Hill Brooke Cyr and 2010 Miss Pre-Teen Mars Hill Kelsey Dominique.
• New royalty in Presque Isle included: Miss Teen Presque Isle 2010 Hanna Patterson and Miss Pre-Teen Presque Isle 2010 Madison Bearden.
• SAD 1 adopted a budget of $22,373,819, with the proposed funding package set to go to the voters in two separate votes.
• Presque Isle City Council set moratoriums on the development of residential units on the first floor of properties along a section of Main Street and the creation of any type of marijuana dispensary within the community for a period of 180 days so that city officials would have more time to determine the pros and cons of such development.
• Fort Fairfield welcomed three new queens: Junior Miss Fort Fairfield 2010 Janae Elyse Libby, Miss Fort Fairfield 2010 Kelsie Wilson and Teen Miss Fort Fairfield 2010 Aleesha Campbell.
• Mars Hill’s new queens included: Little Miss Mars Hill Gracie Giberson and Miss Greater Mars Hill 2010 Brittni Mosher.
• Community cleanup allowed Presque Isle Middle School students an opportunity to give back.
• Bridgewater welcomed new royalty: Junior Miss Bridgewater 2010 Gwendolyn Parsons, Little Miss Bridgewater 2010 Breann Bradbury and Miss Bridgewater 2010 Lauren Antworth.
• Members of Mobilize Maine’s Renewable Energy Cluster Team met to discuss and consider adoption of proposed visions and goals, as well as identify niche markets — with ‘green’ energy sources (i.e. wind energy and biomass) being touted as the way to grow jobs in Maine and particularly Aroostook County.
• The Maine Community College System announced the seven community colleges in the state would freeze tuition for the 2010-11 academic year.
• Washburn Town Council voted to dismiss Librarian Kathy Corey, noting various personnel issues led to the decision.
• SAD 1 officials announced English and math instruction time would be increased at PIMS.
• Voters approved SAD 1’s $22.3 million budget.
