July
• In an effort to make the rules more “user friendly” for the small town, the Limestone Board of Selectpeople decided to revamp the town’s bylaws, adopted back in 1994.
• Caribou Fire Chief Roy Woods announced that the Caribou Emergency Management Agency would be testing the City Alert and Warning System on July 14 at 2 p.m.
• U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe announced that the Farm Services Agency (FSA) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had agreed to their request to approve economic assistance to Maine farmers. USDA-FSA informed the senators that it had approved a $400,000 grant through its Emergency Conservation Program to assist an estimated 50 farmers who had suffered crop damage during the recent storms.
• Eldora Curran Nedeau, 96, of Woodland was presented with the Boston Cane Award by Linda Norsworthy, president of the Woodland Historical Society.
• Performers from all around the County gathered in New Sweden to participate in the 2011 annual Arootsakoostik Music Festival held in Thomas Park.
• Nearly 50 area youths and their parents took part in an anti-bullying, suicide prevention, motivational conference held at Spruce Haven.
• On July 18, Maine State Trooper Shawn Whalen responded to a report of a burglary at the Stockholm American Legion Post 136.
• Victoria Ann Leavitt, the daughter of Jill and Wade Leavitt of Connor, was named first runner-up in the Little Miss Maine Potato Blossom Pageant.
• Miss Caribou Elizabeth Keaton, the daughter of Susan and Mike Keaton of Caribou, was named first runner-up in the 2011 Miss Maine Potato Blossom Pageant.
• Kelsie Marie Washington, Junior Miss Caribou was named second runner-up in the Junior Miss Potato Blossom 2011 Pageant.
• Over 10,000 Maine Public Service customers lost power due to a powerful storm that downed trees left and right on July 22 and just over 9,500 customers lost power onJuly 23, after a second weather event blew through the County, darkening skies from the Allagash to Houlton with a micro burst of winds that reached 70 to 90 miles an hour and higher.
August
• The Caribou Public Library received countless Happy 100th Birthday cards and messages from former residents, authors and libraries from across the country.
• Official with the Davis Long Term Plan Group, owners of the Limestone Manor began tentative plans to break ground on a new facility in September and Limestone Selectpeople were working closely with the Limestone Water and Sewer employees to make certain everything would go smoothly.
• A new law passed by state legislatures would allow for Aroostook’s Registries of Deeds to increase the price on copies of some documents, but the County Commissioners elected to keep the prices at their standard levels during a July 20 meeting in Fort Kent.
• Following a month of planning it appeared that country music greats Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Canadian band Neon Highway were committed to appear for the “Feed the County” benefit concert to be held at Spud Speedway on Aug. 20.
• At a regular RSU 39 Board of Education meeting members discussed at some length the need (and amount) to increase the cost of school lunches. The RSU 39 panel voted in favor of a 15-cent increase with members Lynn McNeal and John Sjostedt voting against the increase.
• In Van Buren, Rep, Bernard Ayotte (R-Caswell) asked and an estimated 25 community leaders answered that they want more information on all aspects of the proposed St. John Valley Regional Planning Commission. the function of the proposed bill was to form an entity championing the St. John Valley and its unique attributes for economic development opportunities.
• With expectations for an upcoming meeting to discuss various ways area municipalities can collaborate to save limited taxpayer dollars, Caribou City Manager Steven Buck stated, “I am really looking forward to the joint municipal meeting scheduled for Sept.1. I’m not exactly sure what the outcome will be, but a large number of elected officials are looking for cost effective solutions to problems that communities are dealing with everywhere.”
• Officials were advising Caribou residents to be aware of the latest phone scam to hit the city; representatives of the “All American Sports Company,” had been attempting to sell advertisements for Caribou High School’s upcoming fall sports schedule — but the company was in no way affiliated with the high school.
• The Central Heating Plant at the former Long Air Force Base was scheduled to come down, even though the structure defied the attempts by implosion experts using 290 pounds of dynamite. Hundred of spectators gathered at the former base to watch the iconic Central Heating Plant meet its end on Aug. 6. Approximately 1,200 feet from the facility, explosives thundered, dust and debris billowed out from behind caving walls and the iconic smokestacks seemed to fall in slow motion but the enthusiastic cheers were quieted once the dust dissipated and onlookers realized the building was mostly still standing nearly fully erect with two of the five smokestacks upright..
• The Caribou City Council considered a review of design and cost estimates pertaining to new Welcome to Caribou signs.
• An estimated 4,600 concertgoers turned out for the Feed the County Concert.
• Ladd Sharp, 90, a resident at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Caribou, was able, through the “Live Your Dreams Program” of the Maine Health Association, enjoying a scenic flight over the area, piloted by David Fernald Jr., of Aviation Unlimited. In keeping with Ladd’s past, he sat right in the pilot’s seat.
• A detective with the Limestone Police Department was able to solve a case within hours of it being reported regarding the theft of approximately $30,000 worth of equipment from one of the Aroostook Band of Micmac’s building at the Loring Commerce Centre. Through cooperation with local businesses Limestone Detective John Deveau was able to identify the stolen items and arrest Charles McDarby, 21, of Limestone.
• The Caribou shelter that helps lost, stray and abandoned cats find new homes was notified by city officials that Halfway Home Pet Rescue volunteers could no longer operate the haven for homeless felines at 11 Pioneer Avenue in Caribou.
• Hurricane Irene spared most of Aroostook County with Van Buren recording the highest Irene-related wind speed of 53 miles per hour.
• The original entrance at the Caribou Middle School (former Caribou High School established in 1926) on the west side of the building on Glenn Street was once again the school’s main entrance, after being closed off since the mid-1970s.
• Don Fendler, whose true-life experience is the story behind the book, “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” made a guest appearance at the Caribou Public Library in conjunction of the facility’s 100th birthday celebration.
September
• Officials cited the Greater Limestone Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility as being “one of the most affordable and advanced wastewater facilities in the country.” The roughly $21 million project brought together federal, state and local partners to regionalize two aging rural wastewater treatment facilities in Limestone and the former base into one state-of-the-art complex.
• An estimated 100 law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency personnel from around the county, the state and New Brunswick were in attendance at the Blue Mass held for the first time at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Caribou on Sept. 10.
• According to officials at the National Weather Service office in Caribou, said that the torrential and continuous rainfall made the summer of 2011 the wettest on record.
• High water levels of the Little Madawaska River hindered two pipeline construction projects, both literally a stone’s throw from completion. Tri-Community Landfill was 175 feet from completing a 2.3-mile pipeline project that would connect the landfill to the Caribou Utilities District where the landfill’s leachate would be treated. But due to the extreme amount of rainfall during the summer months efforts to build a cofferdam across the Little Madawaska River to lay two six-inch pipes under the riverbed were delayed.
• Caribou Police Chief Michael Gahagan was named the 47th president of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association at the group’s annual meeting held at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. Chief Gahagan’s appointment marked the first time a police chief from Caribou has served in this position.
• Caribou High School English Teacher Alana Margison was named 2012 Maine Teacher of the Year during a surprise assembly held at CHS.
• A letter sent in early August affording Limestone students the opportunity to attend schools in Caribou caused Limestone community officials to discuss the possibility of leaving RSU 39 to enter into an Alternative Organizational Structure (AOS) similar to the one implemented by the Fort Fairfield Schools. Some Limestone parents elected to have their children further their education in Caribou during the year while others in town expressed their displeasure in “losing” Limestone’s students to Caribou.
• Two individuals were caught red-handed stealing gasoline from the Limestone Country Club’s golf carts.
• “GreenMe,” a multi-faceted project with one of its main goals being the transition of 9,000 regional residential units and 20 commercial facilities to primary or supplemental wood biomass fuel with four years, was allocated $1,928,225, as announced by leading Obama Administration officials.
• According to Aroostook County Administrator Douglas Beaulieu the county’s jail budget ended the year with revenues and expenditures dead on, with a zero fund balance when the fiscal year ended on June 30.
• The Caribou City Council considered a proposal by Steve Buck, city manager, regarding a regional zoning board of appeals.
October
• The Limestone Police Department was allocated $181,380 through the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services hiring program.
• Caribou Police Officer Kevin St. Peter, Rachel Meyer, communications and marketing specialist with the Better Business Bureau; and Kathy Mazzuchelli, superintendent of the Caribou Parks and Recreation Department presented a free of cost informational seminar “Keeping Kids Safe Online.”
• The Maine School of Science and Mathematics made national news for being ranked the 14th best math and science high school in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
• Theft of copper and other metals seemed to know no boundaries in Aroostook County, as residential and commercial properties in both populated and more isolated areas were afflicted with this type of crime. Over a six-week period, thieves looking to obtain scrap metal extensively damaged five buildings on the former base. According to Facilities Manager of the Loring Commerce Centre Neil Haines, thieves targeted copper pipes, copper ground rods and heavy copper grounding wire.
• The Caribou Planning Board considered a moratorium on broadcast tower installations. The concern stemmed from a pending application for a cell phone tower to be installed off Paris Snow Drive near the Hilltop Elementary School.
• Rachel Ranne Sheehan, of Woodland, celebrated her 104th birthday on Oct. 13.
• Caribou Mayor Kenneth Murchison accepted a crisp $1 bill from Carroll St. Peter, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Park Association, sealing the deal between the VMPA and the city, regarding the group’s purchase of what has long been known as Monument Park on South Main Street.
• Limestone Town Manager Donna Bernier informed the board of Selectpeople that payment owed to the town for services provided during the implosion activities at the former air base were behind schedule.
• Dead River Company sold its Food Trend convenience stores in Aroostook County and across the state to Circle K.
• Maine Secretary of State Charles Summers was a guest speaker at the Caribou Rotary Club.
• Members of the Northern Maine Development Commission’s Executive Board of Directors unanimously gave the go-ahead to NMDC employees to apply for a HUD Community Challenge Grant in the amount of $662,756.
• Officials with the Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge reminded the public that the refuge’s lands were closed to hunting, as the site was currently undergoing an aggressive restoration program to create wildlife habitat.
November
• Members of RSU 39 Board of Education were presented highlights of a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Program, created through a collaborative effort with staff members from Teague Park and Hilltop Elementary Schools.
• Winners in their respective age groups of the annual Kounty Kids Got Talent competition, sponsored by the Caribou Children’s Discovery Museum were Karina Patterson and Kelsey Kiehn (age 11 to 17 category) and Hannah Boone (age 10 and under).
• Twenty-six Caribou High School students were inducted in the school’s National Honor Society during the Nov. 3 Night of Induction held at the Caribou Performing Arts Center. 2011 marked the 85th year of continuous service of the National Honor Society as an integral part of Caribou High School.
• Groundbreaking for the new Limestone Manor facility were put on hold until spring due to seasonal transportation constraints.
• Veterans Day services were held at the Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery and at the Caribou Veterans Memorial in front of the fire department.
• Members of the Caribou City Council heard concerns from residents regarding known health issues caused by telecommunication towers. The council adopted a communications tower moratorium.
• Caribou voters elected Gary Aiken, Mary Kate Barbosa, Bryan Thompson and Philip McDonough to the Caribou City Council.
• Dale Gordon and Mary Bragdon White were elected to seats on the RSU 39 Board of Education and Kevin Barnes was voted to fill a seat on the Jefferson Cary Hospital Fund Board.
• The University of Maine at Presque Isle and the Caribou Regional Technology Center signed an articulation agreement that will allow Aroostook County students to earn college credit for the high school level criminal justice classes they take at CRTC.
• The Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nylander Museum were filled with visitors and guests during a Nov. 9 Open Houses, hosted by Jennie Coon, chamber director and Jeannie McGowen, museum director.
• During a Nov. 2 meeting of the Aroostook County Commissioners, Peter Davis of Davis CPA presented a summary of the audits done for Aroostook County and the Unorganized Territories, informing the commissioners that no abnormal findings were issued on any of the audits.
• RSU 39 administrators, staff and community officials attended a Biomass Open House at the Caribou High School.
• The Caribou Regional Technology Center and Husson University worked together to develop an articulation agreement between their respective criminal justice programs, which offers students six college credits for their criminal justice program enrollment at Husson University, if they achieve a “B” or higher grade in the criminal justice program at the Caribou Regional Technology Center.
December
• An area resident offered a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals responsible for the theft of valuables from an Elmwood Avenue residence.
• Collaboration between the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce, the Caribou Wellness and Recreation Center, Sleeper’s Shopping Center and a score of caring volunteers, made it possible for 1,000 people including more than 250 children to enjoy holiday happenings at the rec.
• Don Collins was presented with the Caribou Rotary Club’s Service Above Self Award by Doug Hunter, Rotary Club president.
