11 years ago
Saucier, Gilman J.
Saucier, Gilman J., 68, March 21, 2015. There will be a private family time of remembrance at a later date.
Stories by Staff Aroostook Republican
11 years ago
Theriault, Wayne E
Theriault, Wayne E., 68, March 25, 2015. Spring interment with military honors to be held in St. Louis Catholic Cemetery, Limestone. Arrangements by Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home, Fort Fairfield.
11 years ago
Sheriff’s call-in program helps keep residents secure
Some fields in Aroostook County are so large and have so few trees that the wind whips the snow across the roads and into the paths of vehicles. So, in addition to plowing, residents dig and push the snow beyond the initial snowbank, in a path parallel to the road. The depressions catch the ground blizzards, protecting motorists.
It’s one simple way of adapting to harshness.
Such depressions pockmarked a field near Susan McPherson’s home in Westfield recently. The 67-year-old is one of the original participants in a 1-year-old endeavor by the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office to ensure residents are safe and well.
The Friendly Caller Program builds on what neighbors have done for ages: checked in on those who are older, not as mobile or who just appreciate the human connection.
With this program, The County has joined other places across Maine that are creating their own catch points for residents being swept along by time and circumstance.
Seven days a week, between 6 and 10 a.m., McPherson calls the county communications center to let one of the dispatchers know she’s all right. She knows their names and usually chats for a couple minutes. If she doesn’t call in the set time period, a dispatcher will call her.
She has never had an emergency, but if a dispatcher couldn’t reach her, a police officer would be sent to see if she was OK.
“There aren’t too many things in this world that give you that feeling of being protected,” she said.
Check-in programs are billed as a way to improve people’s safety. But what they offer is more than the availability of physical assistance. They present the option for people to connect with another human being. That’s why the best check-in programs have a live person at the other end of the line, rather than a voice recording.
“The piece that’s so critical about the programs is that it addresses this issue of isolation. It makes a human connection,” said Jess Maurer, executive director of the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging. “Someone knows they exist in the world and cares about them. And there is real value to that interaction at a human level.”
In addition, the programs essentially cost nothing. No new staff are needed, as dispatchers are already available and answering calls, and police are already on the clock. In an emergency, police likely would be responding anyway — though possibly too late to help.
Yet there aren’t many programs like this in Maine — about 30 out of more than 130 law enforcement agencies, Maurer said — and they are woefully underused. Aroostook’s Friendly Caller Program, for example, has only four participants.
11 years ago
Video recounts Valley Acadian hardships
A new, hour-long DVD “Acadians of The St John Valley” that tells the history of Acadians in northern Maine, has just been released after two years in production.
Crown of Maine Productions, based at Madawaska Lake, filmed from one end of The Valley to the other, interviewing dozens of local residents – from farmers to academics and from teachers to mill workers to discover their roots.
This fascinating story took the film crew, Brenda and Alan Jepson, along with Acadian scholar, Don Cyr, to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to capture the beginning of the saga.
It also involved the acting debut of Patricia Theriault Ezzy, of Van Buren, who donned period clothing to play the role of Marguerite Blanche Thibodeau, “Tante Blanche,” a heroine who helped to save The Valley during an extended blizzard in 1797.
Shot in March of 2013 after a late snowstorm, Ezzy pulled a heavy sled through 14 inches of fresh snow. Then, just weeks after appearing in this scene, Ezzy discovered that she is an actual relative of the real life heroine.
11 years ago
All-Aroostook athletes honored
The Aroostook League has developed an awards program for their member schools to honor athletes as “All-Aroostook” for their accomplishments during their sport seasons.
In team sports such as soccer, basketball, baseball, softball and tennis, players are selected by the coaches while in individual sports like cross country, golf, alpine and Nordic skiing, cheering, swimming, wrestling and track and field, players are selected by criteria established by the Aroostook League.
Athletes were awarded All-Aroostook certificates by their coaches at their winter sports award assemblies.
The winter’s list of honorees is as follows:
11 years ago
Winter athletes recognized at CHS
CARIBOU, Maine — Student-athletes from Caribou High School were recently recognized for their accomplishments this past winter. The following is a recap of the various awards presented March 3.
Letter sweaters, awarded to athletes with six varsity letters — three letters in one sport and three in others — or a total of seven varsity letters, were presented to Eileen Patton, Morgan Outing, Lauren Chapman and Bria Judd.
Most Valuable Players — Nordic ski, Riley McDuffie and Sarah Doak; alpine ski, Scott Bray and Maria Espinosa; boys’ varsity basketball, Dayne Savage; boys’ JV basketball, Zachary Wright; girls’ varsity basketball, Judd; girls’ junior varsity basketball, Ashley Matlock; varsity swimming, Austin Scott and Courtney Cote; and wrestling, Dustin DeMerchant.
Varsity cheering (coach Brandi Makepeace-Cote) — letters, Julia Harris, Heather Lamothe, Kirsten Haney, Johnna Grant, Mickayla Ellis, Margeaux Beaulieu, Paige O’Bar, Adessa Judd, Kara Madore, Crysta Whitmore, Rachel Davis, Adrienna Damboise and Sheridan Blackstone; plaques, Mallory Patterson, Hannah McDonald and Emma Theriault; trophies, Irene Thibodeau and Hilary Jalbert; and jackets, Mariella Marte and Karina Patterson.
11 years ago
John Albert to run race track in 2015
CARIBOU, Maine — There will be racing at Caribou’s Spud Speedway this season thanks to Limestone’s John Albert.
The 74-year-old Albert, who is still driving race cars at Spud Speedway, has agreed to lease the track from owner Troy Haney.
The lease is for one year with a renewal clause.
Albert and Haney wouldn’t disclose the financial arrangement but Albert termed it “very reasonable” and said Haney was “very easy to work with.”
The paperwork is expected to be completed within a week.
Haney, who bought the track in 2009, said he didn’t intend to open the track for racing this season other than for go-karts because he didn’t have the time to run it and it was losing money.
“Last year was my best season and I lost $26,000,” he said.
Haney has two jobs and one includes extensive travel.
“I travel all over the country and the time constraints made it too difficult to continue running the track at the level I had the past couple of years,” said Haney, who is the regional director of sales for Quebec-based Berger Peat Moss.
11 years ago
Banquet held for scholar-athletes
CARIBOU, Maine — The Aroostook League held its annual Scholar/Athlete Banquet March 16 at the Caribou Vocational/Technical Center.
The meal was served by the students in the center’s culinary arts program and Bill Ashby, the men’s soccer coach at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, gave an outstanding talk to the students and it was well received.
Sue Parent, athletic director at Van Buren High School, was recognized for her 18 years as the Van Buren athletic director. She will be retiring in June.
All student-athletes were presented a certificate from the Aroostook League for their accomplishments on the athletic fields and in the classroom.
In January 2016, the Aroostook League will be awarding $400 scholarships to 10 students upon successful completion of their first semester of college next fall. The scholarships were awarded by a blind draw.
11 years ago
Two more queens crowned
By Joshua ArcherStaff Writer CARIBOU — Girls vied for the title of 2015 Little Miss and Miss Caribou on Saturday at the Caribou Performing Arts Center.
11 years ago
Companion program turns 40
ORONO, Maine — The Senior Companion Program is celebrating 40 years of connecting volunteers age 55 and older with community service efforts.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension became the program’s sponsor in 1981 and last year, approximately 120 senior companions assisted more than 425 homebound clients in 11 counties in the state. In Aroostook County, 11 SCP volunteers worked regularly with 52 clients, offering friendship as well as assistance with daily tasks.
