Stories by Staff Aroostook Republican

11 years ago

Caribou, Presque Isle businesses touted by SBA as role models

By Joshua Archer
Staff Writer

    CARIBOU, Maine — Members of the U.S. Small Business Administration came to The County last week to honor local businesses as well as to hear from local business leaders.
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced C.B. Smith, CEO of Virtual Managed Solutions, LLC in Caribou received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2015 Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year Award for Maine. VMS was nominated by Mary Dahlgren of Northern Maine Development Commission.

11 years ago

Federally funded program to bolster students’ education

    CARIBOU, Maine — Not only has the RSU 39’s ideas for implementing federal education funds been approved, Caribou’s model is being held up as an example for other districts.
Superintendent of RSU 39 Susan White recently informed the school board, “It’s the first one that was approved in this region and it’s been used as an exemplar actually as they start to work through and approve other plans like that,” she described. “They were impressed with our creativity and our choice to have someone head this up with the idea that we get it up and running in a very strong, rounded fashion.”

11 years ago

City certifies secessioinists’ petition

    CARIBOU, Maine — Citing high taxes as an impetus to turn Caribou into two separate municipalities, members of the Caribou Secession Committee are one step closer toward making the town of Lyndon their new home.

11 years ago

EMA grant assists police departments with back-up computer storage

CARIBOU, Maine — Aroostook County EMA just received $50,000 in supplemental funding from Homeland Security and 90 percent is already spent.
“With this supplemental funding came a string attached, they wanted us to turn it around quickly,” Director of Aroostook County EMA Darren Woods said.
Parts of Maine received Homeland Security funding and didn’t use all of it so the state picked it up and redistributed it. Woods wrote a needs request with the help of Aroostook’s police chiefs association and other county agencies.
It only took a few days for almost all of the money to be spent and Woods said that’s because The County has a dire need for equipment.
Items purchased with the supplemental funding will benefit all community police departments and the sheriff’s department.
“Our last grant round we started assisting our law enforcement agencies with the purchasing of body cameras,” Woods said. “I foresaw next they were going to need storage for all the data, and rather than spending thousands on servers and computers I approached them with the idea of purchasing removable hard drives.”
Woods purchased several 5,000 gigabyte removable hard drives for each department in The County.

11 years ago

Caribou’s marketing director ready to promote her hometown

CARIBOU, Maine — The city of Caribou is gaining a new employee whose job will be to beef up marketing and event efforts.
Caribou native, Lydia Kieffer, only has a few more weeks left of hospitality school before she begins her new job as marketing and event director for the city.
“There are so many things I’m excited about,” Kieffer said. “It’s marketing and events, two things I’m passionate about.”
Kieffer’s main focus is to put an emphasis on growing the community and making it a fun place to work, live and play.
“I’m looking forward to continuing Thursdays on Sweden Street, developing that further, and creating new events to celebrate the community and attract tourists,” Kieffer said.
Kieffer has a folder packed with ideas she’s been sharing with her team members at the public library, the Caribou Wellness Center, and City Manager Austin Bleess.
“We have a number of events that we do in town that we want to expand upon and she’ll be tasked with that as well,” Bleess said. “Tourism’s a large part of the economy in Maine and we’re hoping we’ll be able to get a bigger slice of the tourism pie.”

11 years ago

1915: New styes in at Smiley & Brown’s Dry Goods

100 Years Ago-April 1, 1915
“Hoodoo Money” — No one seems unwilling to accept a 25-cent piece, even though there are on each coin the following hoodoo combinations: Thirteen letters in the scroll head in the eagle’s beak; 13 feathers in each wing; 13 tail feathers; 13 upright bars in the shield; 13 arrowheads; 13 leaves on the branch; 13 letters in the words ‘quarter dollar’; 13 stars grouped on each side. However, we are willing to chance it and will accept six and send the Republican a whole year!
Easter finery — Mrs. Olive Fair advertised, “Attend the Easter opening of Spring Millinery.” Ray Brown’s on Sweden Street said, “The very latest thing in waists is the high neck. We are showing some attractive models.” “Come in and see the dainty things we have to fix up your spring clothes,” announced Smiley & Brown’s Dry Goods. O.T. Pierson & Co. promoted “new styles for spring and summer 1915 in suits, scarfs, hats — every essential of a well-dressed man’s wardrobe.”

11 years ago

PET

Contributed photo by Robyn Smith    Josie is a very light colored calico 8-month-old spayed female living at the Halfway Home Pet Rescue Adoption Center. She came in as a feral to tame and be allowed for adoption. Though the patience and loving care of HHPR volunteers, Josie has now made up her mind that most humans […]

11 years ago

Eloise A. (Larsson) Anderson

Anderson, Eloise A. (Larsson), 99, March 27, 2015.  A memorial service will be held June 19, 2015, in New Sweden.  Arrangements by Lancaster Morgan Funeral Home, Caribou.

11 years ago

Keith John Gagnon

Gagnon, Keith J., 50, March 22, 2015.  Arrangements by Mockler Funeral Home, Caribou.