2008 news in review — July through December

July

    A local fisherman calmly trolling in his motorboat on a sunny weekend morning at Nickerson Lake suddenly found himself caught in a nearly half hour battle with a mammoth of a fish. Wayne McGary snagged a trout and when it was accurately and thoroughly measured it totaled 36 inches long, 20.5 inches around the stomach, and weighed an astounding 20 pounds.
     Town councilors voted unanimously to maintain the current 18.25 mil rate for the 2008 tax year. Councilors opted to transfer $300,000 from the town’s Undesignated Fund to help preserve the current rate.
Dawn Degenhardt, the wife of longtime Rotarian Ed Degenhardt, spoke at the club’s July 14 weekly meeting, highlighting the work of the foundation she started with family and friends several years ago. The Degenhardt Foundation has its roots in the adoption of children. To date, Dawn and her staff have placed more than 4,000 children across the globe. In recent years, the foundation has expanded how it approaches its mission of improving life for children and families worldwide. Dawn has been working with her adopted daughter Joy My Lien Degenhardt on humanitarian aid projects in Joy’s home country of Vietnam. Today, Joy lives in Vietnam; and by teaming with other groups, she and the Degenhardt Foundation have established libraries, built hospitals, and created Pediatric HIV units across her native land.
The popular Hairworks Studio on Court Street has changed hands after 27 years of ownership with Rod and Candy Herring. Long-time employee and hairstylist, Wanita Rush and her husband Steve bought the hair salon, which includes Miss Whimsey’s Gift Shop.
Houlton inducted its first new postmaster since the late 1980’s with Fred Workman’s installation ceremony on Wednesday, July 23.

A capital campaign for Houlton Regional Hospital enabled the purchase of a state-of-the-art nuclear medicine imaging camera. Now the hospital is embarking on Phase 2 of the campaign to fund the expansion and enhancement of the medical imaging department. The National Starch and Chemical Foundation recently donated $1,600 to support this effort.
For just over three decades students in the construction trade programs at Northern Maine Community College have built a home each year that is contracted by, and sold to, an Aroostook County family; and for just as many years, the homes have been delivered by Crawford Homes of Houlton.
James Tash of Hodgdon was promoted to Command Sergeant Major of the 133d Engineer Battalion, Maine Army National Guard.         The 53rd annual Peanut Carnival was held and Brandon Dunn and Amelia Hanning, from the 7-8 year-old age division were crowned King and Queen.
Many county residents face heat or eat crisis. Even though fuel prices may be stabilizing, they are still flying high in record territory. Some analysts say, watch out, it’s not over. Fuel costs coupled with the severe cold of a northern Maine winter, could add up to a formula for disaster, especially since many senior citizens have to manage without personal savings or government-funded, low-income fuel assistance.
SAD 29 officially hired former SAD 70 administrator, David Minzy.
McGill’s Community Band played their final summer concert as a farewell to longtime member, Oscar Grant, who recently passed away. Oscar had been a member since the organization of the band in 1985.
Eleven Bowdoin College students spent two and a half days learning about Aroostook County and the farming way of life at the Ag Museum in Littleton.
The North Country Cruisers held their annual Classic Car and Truck Show at the Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum in Littleton. This was their largest gathering with 185 participants.
Staff at the Cary Library held a well-attended open house Aug. 26 for the community to celebrate completion of recent renovations to its Children’s Library. Library Director Linda Faucher introduced Charlie Starkey, whose family has supported the Children’s Library since its original renovation in the early 1990s.

Despite the cool and wet summer, reconstruction efforts on Bangor Street in Houlton are proceeding on schedule. The two-year project called for the coordination of efforts between the Houlton Water Company and Ed Pelletier & Sons Co., the Madawaska-based construction company who won the reconstruction bid.
As of the end of August the Houlton Water Company’s part of the effort is 90 percent completed, with 6,500 linear feet of water line replaced, new fire hydrants installed, the replacement of existing sewer lines, the addition of 1,600 feet of new sewer lines, and a new pumping station.
An investigation that started earlier this year has led to the arrest of 30 suspects in southern and central Aroostook in a wide-sweeping prescription drug crackdown.
Officials with Aroostook Mental Health Center have announced that Dr. Kevin Maguire has joined their practice and will offer office hours in Houlton.
Houlton Children’s Star Bright Theatre hosted a reception at the Vault Restaurant on Sept. 22 to welcome four new members to the board and give special recognition to Ann Barnes for her many years of dedication and hard work on behalf of the group. Barnes was presented with her own director’s chair, complete with her name printed on the back and the Houlton Children’s Star Bright Theatre logo on the front.
The Budweiser Clydesdales from the Anheuser-Bush East Coast Hitch of Merrimack, N.H. made an overnight stay in Houlton on their return from a 12-day trip through New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Five horses were unloaded at the Maine State Police Barracks and stayed at Mike Carpenter’s barn on the North Road in Houlton. The other five horses were housed with Sue Waite-York on the B Road.
The town broke ground on the new Community Park log building donated by Ward Cedar Log Homes. The 30-foot by 60-foot building will be used to replace the current park maintenance shop and to provide much need handicapped accessible bathrooms for park users. Many area businesses and construction firms are donating materials and services at cost or in some cases free of charge.

An historic moment occurred when Chief Patrol Agent Joseph Mellia swore in the first interns ever inducted into the United States Border Patrol in Maine. Six young men took the oath in a private ceremony at the Houlton Sector building.
Nearly 70 people gathered to recognize POW/MIA Day despite rain and wind as remnants of a weakened Hurricane Kyle hurtled up the Eastern Seaboard toward Canada. The United Vets Motorcycle Club of Houlton sponsored the time for reflection and remembrance as the Maine State Select Honor Guard and the Honors Team of the American Legion Post 47 Auxiliary stood guard.
A grant of $1.7 million has been awarded to the Maliseet tribe in Houlton, by the U.S. Department of Education. This grant provides funding for the Maliseets, MicMacs, Passamaquoddy tribes of Princeton and Perry and the Penobscot tribe. Maine was one of two selected in the United States. The resources will provide vocational rehabilitation services for American Indians with disabilities. It is a five-year grant.
Former German POW Heinz Feld, who was held during World War II at Camp Houlton.  He and his companion Neva Fergason, visited Houlton and the Southern Aroostook Historical Museum and curator Katherine “Kay” Bell.
The Sherman Fire Department applied for and received a grant from the Aroostook County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation for the purchase of much-needed portable radios. In addition to the monies provided by the Aroostook County Fund, supplemental funds were donated by the Gauvin Lighthouse Fund, in partnership with Advantage Payroll Services, to enable the firefighters to purchase more radios.
Members of the community’s board of selectmen recently honored Jennifer Gogan for 15 years of service to the town of Littleton.
The tree-planting project that evolved because of Houlton’s Bicentennial celebration in 2007 continues with the planting of seven more trees around St, Mary’s of the Visitation Church in town.
Houlton’s own Pioneer Times staff earned state accolades Oct. 11, receiving the General Excellence Award for a paper in Maine with a circulation under 5,000. The Maine Press Association’s 2008 Better Newspaper Contest included a period of time from April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008. Staff at the Pioneer during that time included Gloria Austin, Sarah Bethiaume, Jennifer Ruth, Dave Bates, Dave Russell and Wanda MacIlroy.
Concerns surrounding the upcoming referendum on school consolidation and placement of political signs were a major focus of the October 14 meeting of the Houlton Town Council.
There’s something to be said for tradition. While most farmers have gone the way of the mechanical harvester to get their crops in, there are still a couple of growers in the area who still dig them out. Theron “Kimmy” London, of Stacyville, is one of them.
More than 1,000 pounds of high quality marijuana worth about $2.5 million almost made it into the United States inside a commercial tractor-trailer truck. But, an alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer suspected something was wrong. Houlton Area Port Director Christopher J. Sullivan confirmed that the alleged smuggler is a 35-year-old Canadian citizen who did not resist arrest after attempting to enter the United States.
Learning continues on the Bird Farm at HHS. The community pitched in to make the new outdoor classroom state’s envy. This new outdoor classroom, donated by Ward Log Homes will not only provide students with a stimulating setting, but also a place to write, paint, record data and be sheltered in case of inclement weather.

The local American Legion, Chester L. Briggs Post 47 under the leadership of Commander Calvin Mooers is taking an active role for local veterans and their families. The membership has risen to 220 veterans along with 110 women in the auxiliary. There is an additional group of 90 men enrolled in the Sons of the American Legion.
The school reorganization plan, one of the biggest ballot issues facing Maine voters went over like a lead balloon in Houlton and much of Aroostook County, for that matter. Rural Maine sent Augusta’s heralded school consolidation down to defeat with a three to one booming thud.
Slower growth and higher fuel costs are among the financial issues driving spending adjustments in the 2009 Houlton budget, explained Town Manager Douglas Hazlett during the November council meeting.
The Houlton Police Department confirms they have identified some persons of interest in the break-in and robbery of Andy’s IGA. According to the police, the thieves cut their way into the overhead loading dock door with an acetylene torch, went into the store, then cut through the safe door stealing several thousand dollars, cigarettes and the store’s video system.
State officials met with the Danforth Water District trustees to discuss a half million dollars in improvements the utility will make to its aging infrastructure, some of which, is more than a century old.
Aroostook County residents not only got to meet Jerry Mathers, of the popular TV show “Leave it to Beaver”, they also were educated on a prescription drug program.
Budget issues dominated discussions over spending up to $6,000 for an energy audit of municipal properties. The Houlton Town Council weighed issues of cash outlay for Honeywell International’s engineering fees related to the audit and debt service to pay for improvements based on the audit’s recommendations. The $6,000 fee would be waived if the town proceeds with Honeywell’s energy-saving recommendations.
A new town ordinance may have resolved the issue of placement of political campaign signs. Hazlett said, in light of a recent challenge, the town became aware the town’s zoning ordinance was in conflict with the state statute and now has to allow placement of political signs in public areas. The council voted unanimously to pass the new ordinance allowing placement of political campaign signs in public areas.
Students John Massey and Aaron Henn and Ed Tech 3 Michael LaReaux each earned winner’s certificates by unleashing their creativity through the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge — a literary crusade that encourages aspiring novelists to write a 50,000-word novel in just one month. Massey, Henn and LaReaux accepted NaNoWriMo certificates that document their arduous writing tasks. Fourteen other students and three other teachers earned writer’s certificates for their individual goals of novels containing fewer words.
Through the efforts of students involved in the Carleton Project, and various individuals from the Houlton Higher Education Center, the first three chairs for the Houlton Community Arts Center have been purchased in memory of Lewis Wirta.
At a time when many non-profits are struggling to survive, Empowering Life, a Houlton faith-based counseling and training center, turned a corner in the opposite direction and made a donation to Houlton. Dale Flewelling presented a check to Walter Goodrich, chairman pro tem, on behalf of the organization located on Military Street “in lieu of taxes to contribute to the tax base of the community”.

With an overwhelming defeat of his opponent at the polls in November, Rep. Henry Joy of Crystal, must be doing something right. That’s what the Maine Economic Research Institute (MERI) thought too, when they presented him with a Certificate of Economic Excellence for outstanding performance and lasting contribution to Maine’s Economic Future.
The Houlton United Methodist Church is announcing the appointment of David Socoby of Houlton as director of children, youth and family ministries.
You could call it ‘Extreme Makeover’ on a smaller scale. Five ambitious women were tired of seeing homes in Danforth that were beautiful in their day becoming victims of neglect. Sue Shain, Cindy Lee, Kristin Wittine, Lorraine Springer and Julie Grass friends for several years formed a partnership and purchased a home in disrepair to refurbish and sell. The first of many they hope.
Houlton’s Shiretown Baptist Church held a mortgage burning Dec. 14 to celebrate being entirely debt free. Less than two years ago, the church purchased the former Clyde Hiltz mobile home and acre of property adjacent to the high school. The note is now paid in full.
The SAD 29 school district received a $28,000 grant to provide healthy snacks for students at Southside and the junior high. This grant is provided by the USDA and administered by the Department of Education.
Louisiana Pacific is temporarily laying off local workers and shutting down the mill for three weeks to help cope with the current weak housing market that has strained all sectors of the American economy.
In a 4-1 vote, the Houlton Town Council agreed to maintain 3,300 feet of gravel roads in the new Country Fields Subdivision off the Calais Road. This includes plowing, periodic grading and putting down liquid calcium for dust control with no commitment to pave or do other maintenance.