JULY
• Republican legislators from Aroostook County said they stood solidly behind Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in her quest to have potatoes included in the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.
• The Library Expansion groundwork, laid in 1989 for the Robert A. Frost Memorial Library in Limestone finally came to pass during a June 28 addition dedication ceremony.
• Local, state and federal officials, as well as business leaders, shippers and rail personnel attended aon July 7, meeting at the Presque Isle District Court to discuss the future of rail service between Madawaska and Millinocket.
• Representatives of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development gathered to break ground for The County Market which would be home to an indoor farmers market and nursery, located just off U.S. Route 1 on the Caribou/Presque Isle Road.
• Caribou’s 2010 Little Miss Caribou, Amber Moir was crowned the 2010 Little Miss Maine Potato Queen during the annual pageant held in Fort Fairfield.
• The Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board of Directors voted to separate the marketing and promotion responsibilities from the agency’s economic development and loan portfolio management functions.
• Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shineski announced that the state of Maine will receive a grant totaling $336,294 for assistance in the cost for the multi-purpose room addition at the state veterans’ home in Caribou.
• The Caribou Rotary Club presented Sam Collins and Scott Willey, with the Paul Harris Fellowship Award, the highest Rotary honor bestowed upon a club member.
• The 2008 murder of Woodland resident Darrel F. Smith, remained unsolved and his widow, Barbara reminded area residents the Darrel F. Smith Public Reward was created in hopes of bringing forth information regarding her husband’s death.
• Rail discussions continued between the state and Montreal, Maine & Atlantic, as officials tried to reach an agreement best suited for all involved with the most recent discussions involving the proposed sale of the tracks to the state and the state’s Offer of Financial Assistance.
AUGUST
• Amanda Brooker, a Limestone native, returned to the area, accepting the position of Limestone’s director of parks and recreation.
• Members of the Loring Ramprats met for a reunion at the Loring Military Heritage Center located on the former Air Force Base.
• An estimated 2,000 people were in attendance for the second annual Land Speed Racing event held by the Loring Timing Association at the former Loring Air Force Base runway.
• Tess Collins, 23-year-old vocalist performed at the Caribou Performing Arts Center sponsored by the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Aroostook Teen Leadership Camp Program. Collins, the daughter of Sam and Lise Collins of Caribou, had just finished a six-month tour of Hong Kong, performing at one of the most exclusive jazz venues in Asia.
• More than 500 music-lovers were in attendance at the Aug. 7 Arootsakoostik Music Festival held in New Sweden.
• Officials of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone announced that Dr. Michael Sonntag, will serve as acting executive director during the 2010-11 school year.
• Due to the declining ration between assessed value and what properties are selling for and the length of time since some of the city of caribou has been reviewed, the board of assessors have requested the city proceed to a citywide revaluation. Members of the Caribou City Council voted to go ahead with this update.
• Two public hearings took place in Limestone on August 18, with the first to focus on questions, comments and concerns regarding the town’s possible purchase of land for the new estimated $5.2 million boarding home that may be erected behind the health center and the historical society. The second public hearing would address the proposed winter closure of the Bourgoine Road.
• Due to staffing changes and complications due to space constraints, officials with the Solid Rock Academy in Caribou decided not to re-open the faith-based school.
• Finn Bondeson of New Sweden and Lydia Kieffer of Caribou, both Caribou High School students took part in a 10-week Rotary Youth Exchange Program earlier in the summer spending five weeks in their hometown with an out-of-country guest and five weeks as a guest in another country.
SEPTEMBER
• Caribou Boy Scout Troop 184 helped to celebrate the 100th anniversary of BSA when they traveled by bus to the National Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia.
• Members of the Caribou City Council and the Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed to move forward to establish the specifics regarding the removal of economic development from the list of Chamber duties.
• Limestone Town Manager Donna Bernier informed selectpeople and others in attendance at an Aug. 18 meeting that the Davis Long Term Care Group have postponed construction of the proposed new Limestone Manor facility until spring of 2011.
• A dedication ceremony was held at the Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery in Caribou in recognition of the completion of the last of the 216 columbarium niches at the site.
• On Sept. 1, the LORAN Station Caribou, established on Nov. 22, 1974, was officially decommissioned.
• Limestone selectpeople approved the mil rate remain at 22 during a Sept. 1 meeting but Donna Bernier, town manager advised the public to be aware that their taxes will increase even though the mil level was not increased due to the Homestead Exemption decreasing from $13,000 to $10,000.
• Lt. J. Darrell Ouellette of Stockholm, the State Police’s highest-ranking officer in Aroostook County retired after 33 years of service.
• At a Sept. 13 meeting, members of the Caribou City Council considered the presentation of a citizen petition expressing property maintenance concerns on Crosby Avenue. The petition, dated Aug. 30, was signed by 22 concerned neighborhood property owners.
• Members of the former Maine National Guard 152nd Field Artillery Battalion, gathered for their second reunion, hosted by the 152nd FA Association.
• The St. John Valley Cultural Byway — known as La Route Culturelle de la Vallee St.-Jean was formally dedicated during a small ceremony at the historic Acadian Village in Van Buren.
• Gov. John Baldacci was the keynote speaker at the 2010 POW/MIA Day ceremony at the Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery.
OCTOBER
• Officers of the Caribou Police Department arrested two individuals involved with the theft of three 400-pound spools of commercial wire from R.L. Todd’s warehouse.
• The 18th annual Walk or Ride for Care, organized by the Cary Medical Center Auxiliary raised a total of $15,106.89 for the Breast Cancer Foundation.
• The Limestone Police Department put into use a vehicle designated as a mobile crime scene unit.
• According to Tim Hobbs, director of development/grower relations for the Maine Potato board, as of Oct. 7, approximately 60 percent of the annual potato crop has been harvested.
• Following the announcement that the federal government had awarded more than $10.5 million to MDOT through the second round of grants from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, Gov. Baldacci announced that an agreement between the state and Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway had been reached for the purchase of 233 miles of track between Madawaska and Millinocket.
• Caribou municipal and other state officials joined Gov. John Baldacci and David Cole, Maine Commissioner of Transportation, in an inside (due to heavy rain) ground-breaking ceremony celebrating the beginning of work on the Caribou Connector.
• The Caribou City Council, following a public hearing, voted to adopt the proposed sixth draft of the city’s ordinance to regulate the placement and permitting of Registered Marijuana Dispensaries and Cultivation Facilities.
• James Cerrato, David A. Martin, Kenneth G. Murchison, Jr., and Douglas Morrell would vie for the two available city council seats in November’s election.
NOVEMBER
• Voter approval during a special Limestone town meeting on Oct. 20, granted the selectpeople authority to proceed with the Davis Long term Care Group land purchase and appropriate the necessary funding to do so.
• Aroostook County has an unprecedented opportunity to shine on the world stage in February 2011 when the region will host the entire 2011 North American Biathlon World Cup tour.
• The Caribou High School National Honor Society held its 84th consecutive Pin and Oath Ceremony.
• Governor-elect Paul LePage of Waterville narrowly defeated Independent challenger Eliot R. Cutler of Cape Elizabeth during the Nov. 2 election.
• Municipal races decided in Caribou on Nov. 2 included Kenneth Murchison and David Martin continuing their service on the Caribou City Council.
• Six individuals from Caribou from a field of 13 were elected to make up the Caribou Charter Commission. Those elected included: Scott Walker, James Savage, Ronald Willey, Sandra Huck, Roy Alden and Bryan Thompson.
• Following the Nov. 9 meeting with steering committee officials, regarding the requested presentation of the reorganization efforts of the Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry, two things were clear: members expected to be informed of reorganizational efforts in the continuing process and the Chamber would no longer be handling economic development once the new organization is established no later than Jan. 1, 2011.
• The Maine Military Authority made two Humvee donations to the Down East Emergency Medicine Institute by completely rebuilding two formerly unusable 1984 units owned by DEEMI.
• The Caribou City Council voted to enter into an agreement with the Caribou Utilities District regarding the recovery of water and sewer liens as part of the sale or collections of taxes on tax acquired properties.
DECEMBER
• Tim Sample performed onstage to a full house at the Caribou Performing Arts Center. The evening event, “A Night to Remember,” was sponsored, in part, by the Cary Medical Center with all proceeds designated to the Cary Alzheimer’s Program.
• Former Caribou resident David Knorr was named senior legislative aide for the House Republican Office in the Statehouse.
• This year’s Pearl Harbor Memorial Ceremony held on the Fort Fairfield Bridge in Caribou was dedicated to the city’s last survivor of Pearl Harbor, Warren Bouchard, who passed away on Dec. 4. It was Bouchard who initiated the Remembrance Ceremony held each year to recognize those who were killed or wounded in the Pearl harbor attack 69 years ago.
• More than 70 students from the Loring Job Corp Center in Limestone graduated from the facility on Dec. 3.
• John R. “Jack” Faulkner, a “hands-on” manager for Northeast Publishing Co. for more than 30 years died at his Houlton home on Dec. 6.
• The annual Wreaths Across America Ceremony was observed at the Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery in Caribou.
• Temperatures brought in record-breaking warmth to the County and beyond with both Caribou and Bangor topping the charts with a high of 57 degrees.
