Towle addresses Rotary on biathlon
MARS HILL NEWS
The Mars Hill Rotary Club met Feb. 23, 2016 at the Aroostook Health Center and the special speaker was Jane Towle, a Presque Isle Rotarian who served as the event director for the recent World Cup Biathlon held at the Nordic Heritage Center.
Biathlon combines Nordic skiing and shooting and competitors ski a loop, shoot at 10 targets — five from a prone position and then five standing, then do another loop, etc. The length of the loop determines the number of times they shoot. For each missed target, they must ski a penalty loop of 150 meters, so being able to calm themselves enough to shoot accurately is very important. The prone targets are about two inches in diameter while the standing targets are around six inches. One volunteer that had a chance to try his skills at the targets said he “did quite well in the prone position,” but admitted that he “couldn’t have hit the standing target if it had been the size of a dinner plate.”
There were 220 athletes on site, with almost the same number of support staff. Twenty eight countries were represented. he competitors were all housed in the Presque Isle area, with the support, family and media finding lodging from Houlton to Fort Kent.
Biathlon is the No. 1 winter sport in Europe. The Presque Isle event was televised live throughout Europe, with over 120 million viewers expected to have watched the live broadcasts or reruns. There were 24 cameras set up around the course to catch all the action.
There were men’s and women’s races held on Thursday and Friday with relay races on Saturday. The women’s relay was originally to be held on Sunday, but with brutally cold temperatures and wind forecasted for Sunday, the women’s relay was moved to Saturday afternoon.
Towle had nothing but praise for the team of 500 volunteers that helped with the event. Work started well before the actual event, and this year’s weather didn’t help matters. They needed to truck snow in to cover the course and had to move a lot of it around by hand. She couldn’t say enough about the hardy folks that manned the many shovels to cover the courses through the woods.
The Nordic Heritage Center is the only site in the United States that has a Class A license to run World Cup events. hey can “bid” to hold another biathlon here, but it would be few years before that would happen as the bid process takes 3 to 4 years. There are only nine World Cup events held each year, mostly in Europe. With just 20 sites that are licensed for World Cup action, the competition is stiff.
The Presque Isle site has seating for around 2,500 people, but another 2,000 can watch from around the course. The competitors and their supporters were very happy with the event and being cheered on by most in the stands, no matter where they were from. The school students that attended were happy to see this competition up close and cheered for everyone. Visitors from Europe were also happy to meet county folks up close and personal while out shopping or eating.
Towle estimates that the economic boost to the region is in the millions — going down 3-4 levels. All told, the 2016 biathlon was a huge success for The County.
Library Happenings
A special birthday party celebrating Dr. Seuss will be held at the Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library this afternoon beginning at 5:30 p.m. Story time will start at 6 p.m. Plan to stop by for a fun time!
The Great Mars Hill Bank Robbery
Ron Chase, author of “The Great Mars Hill Bank Robbery” will be at the Walter T. A. Hansen Memorial Library for a presentation and book signing on Thursday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. We hope to have some books available for purchase during this event, but it may be better if you purchase one through Amazon before the event if you want it signed.
Aroostook Health Center
Upcoming events for the week of March 2-8 include: Wednesday will feature Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., iPad Fun at 9:30 a.m., and Residents Council at 2 p.m. Thursday will feature Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m., Karaoke with Larry and Larry at 1:30 p.m. and Faith Baptist at 6:30 p.m. Friday will feature at 9:30 a.m. and Dayroom Cinema with popcorn at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday will be a free day with movies, games and puzzles available in the Day Room. Sunday will have televised church available in the day room and a Full Gospel Assembly Service at 3 p.m.
Monday will feature Nail Beautiful at 10 a.m., Catholic Mass at 1:30 p.m., Devotions with Velma at 3:15 p.m. and Gospel Group at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday will feature the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m., and Card Games at 1:30 p.m.
All of these activities are subject to change. If you would like to volunteer to help with any of these activities, call Connie or Vicki at 768-4915.
Bingo
The William Cousins Post 118 of Mars Hill is hosting Bingo on Saturday evening beginning at 7 p.m. at the Post. There are cash prizes. Refreshments are available. Come on out and enjoy a fun evening with friends.
Tomi Henderson is the correspondent for Mars Hill, Blaine, Bridgewater and Westfield. She can be reached at 551-6791 or e-mail tomihen@yahoo.com.
