A look back at business news in Caribou for the second half of 2014 saw even more anniversary celebrations and another slate of local businesses that were recognized for various awards and honors throughout the months of July-December.
July
• G-Force Laser Tag was recognized as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Micro-Enterprise of the Year. G-Force Laser Tag is owned by Brian and Kimberly Plavnick of Caribou.
• Cary Medical Center held their 31st annual “Cary Classic” benefit golf tournament directed by the Jefferson Cary Foundation. Over the history of the 31-year tournament, more than a quarter of a million dollars has been raised to benefit the Women’s Imaging Center at Cary, which features advanced technology for diagnostic mammography in a ‘spa’ like environment. The tournament was held on July 12 and 13 at the Caribou County Club and featured some $8,000 in prizes.
• Ann King RN, CCEMPT, CIC was named Caregiver of the Year at Cary Medical Center and was also nominated for the Maine Hospital Association’s annual statewide Caregiver of the Year award.
• Local financial investment adviser Betty Buzzell, was recognized for her personal service at Edward Jones investment firm by earning the “TNT” client Development Award. Out of 12,000 financial advisers nationally, only 662 were recognized for receiving the award.
• The Visiting Nurses of Aroostook celebrated their 45th anniversary of home service to Aroostook County residents.
• The Caribou VFW and Ladies Auxiliary were recognized during the State of Maine Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention held in Bangor. Among other recognitions, the Caribou VFW post received an award for being the top community service post in the state of Maine and an award for creating the top newsletter in the state. The Caribou VFW also placed third for its POW/MIA projects.
August
• Officials with Maines’s Own Organic Milk (MOO) announced they would be shutting down, which resulted in Aroostook County family farms like Chase’s Organic Dairy Farm owned and operated by Vaugh and Laura Chase of Mapleton, and H.B. Farms, owned by Tom Drew of Woodland, would have to take their business elsewhere. Both farms ended up joining the CROPP cooperative, based in Wisconsin, and are now selling milk to Organic Valley.
• Caribou’s annual Caribou Cares About Kids weekend was a rousing success, as the Caribou Chamber of Commerce kicked off the weekend with their annual Tie-Dye Extravaganza at the Caribou Wellness Center. Over 500 kids enjoyed making fancy T-shirts, creative artistic foam boards, making bracelets and necklaces, playing Twister, bouncing in the Mickey Bounce House, playing Jenga and dancing and playing with the ever-entertaining Tim the Tuneman.
• Local band Turning Point reunited after three years of being separated. The band came together in August for a weekend concert at the Caribou VFW. Members of Turning Point are Eric Gustin, vocalist; Donnie Hewitt, bass; Greg Pelletier, drummer; Alex Scott, rhythm and lead guitar; and Steve Quist, lead and rhythm guitar.
• Caribou City Manager Austin Bleess was appointed to two different committees in the summer of 2014, affording him the opportunity to make sure that Caribou and Aroostook County have representation statewide and on an international level. Bleess was voted onto the executive board of the Maine Town, City and County Management Association at their annual conference, and earlier in the summer, he earned a spot on the International City/County Management Association.
September
• The corn maze at Goughan’s Farm in Caribou was themed “Amazingly Grateful” and was designed after the iconic image of five soldiers raising the flag on Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi during World War II. The maze also featured representation of a purple heart award and a large “Thank You.” Mark Goughan, or “Farmer Mark” as he is known to those close to him, has been designing and shaping the maze for each of its 10 years of existence.
• Loring Development Authority celebrated their 20-year anniversary in September, marking more than 20 years since the former Loring Air Force Base closed and made way for the LDA to begin its economic development in the Limestone area.
• Spud Speedway, the local race track, held its final event on Sept. 13, as the owner, Troy Haney, decided to end his tenure as manager of the track. The 2014 Fall Brawl event marked the conclusion of the track’s five-year stint under Haney’s leadership.
• Northern Maine Development Commission accepted a $1.9 million Job Driven National Emergency Grant, during a Sept. 11 regular meeting. The grant was broken up into two parts, Local Area 1, which includes Aroostook and Washington counties, received $943,436, while Local Area 2, which consists of Penobscot, Piscataquis and Hancock counties, received $943,435, resulting in a total of $1,886,871.
• Loring Development Authority completed one of their most recent solar energy projects titled, “Loring Solar II,” which is a solar-powered generation system that is said to produce enough electricity to power 50 average-sized Maine homes.
October
• Cary Medical Center celebrated their 90th anniversary with a celebration and awards banquet at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center on Sept. 24. Some 150 people filed into the Inn’s banquet hall for the celebration, which saw hospital staff, board members, physicians, volunteers, auxiliary and community members all honored.
• Hannaford Supermarkets reached an agreement with Paradis Shop ‘n Save to purchase the supermarkets the company operates in Houlton, Caribou and Calais. The Houlton and Caribou locations will become Hannaford Supermarkets, both with full-service pharmacies.
• The Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge held their weapons storage tours during October, which they fittingly dubbed, “From Bombs to Biodiversity.” The weekend storage facility tour at the former Loring Air Force Base was organized by the Friends of the Aroostook Wildlife Refuge, and are held in conjunction with National Wildlife Refuge Week.
• Cary Medical Center’s Siruno Stroke Prevention Program hosted best-selling author Dr. Joel Fuhrman as part of the hospital’s annual program. Fuhrman is also a nutritional researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional methods. He decided to return to Caribou for a three-part lecture series that included his presentation of ‘The End of Diabetes’ which is the title of his recent book and New York Times Best Seller, at the Siruno Stroke Prevention Program, a lecture at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and at the Cary medical staff luncheon.
• HISCO Carpet Barn came under new ownership, as Crystal Fulton spent the last six months remodeling and preparing to reopen the business located at 799 Main St. According to Fulton, since the Carpet Barn’s prior owner Fred Lozoway has stepped down, the business was completely redone, and is in fact, a brand new store.
• The Limestone Country Club also came under new management as former owner Craig Phair decided to step down and allow Dean Kimball to take over operations for the upcoming 2015 year.
• Cary Medical Center hosted their first-ever Think Pink Luncheon, in honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. With the help of Pink Aroostook and the Caribou Business and Professional Women, the luncheon was hosted at Cary’s Chan Center. The highlights of the luncheon were the two guest speakers, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor Nancy Greene and Carol Matyka, MA, who is the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s field director for Massachusetts.
November
• Van Buren became the most recent Aroostook County community to be designated “Certified Business-friendly” by Gov. Paul LePage and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
• Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC) celebrated their 50th anniversary with their 2014 Service Awards on Nov. 7. AMHC employees, board members and members of the community gathered in the banquet room of the Caribou Inn and Convention Center for a night of honoring those who have dedicated five or more years to the agency.
• OpportunitiesAroostook.com was created and is now up and running for public use. The APP-sponsored website is a free job/resume posting website with a unique social media component to encourage people to explore career opportunities in Aroostook County.
• The Caribou Water Company celebrated their 125-year anniversary, having served the area since 1889. The Caribou Utilities District has served its customers within the city of Caribou, and also celebrates the 109th year of operation of the sewer company.
• Caribou’s Progressive Realty celebrated their 25th anniversary with an open house on Nov. 20. Owner Cathy Duffy-Cullins spent the afternoon welcoming a number of guests to the real estate broker’s office on Bennett Drive, where the Progressive team has been putting people into their dream homes for a quarter of a century.
• Cary Medical Center CEO Kris Doody was recognized after being approved for Fellow recertification by the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), an international professional society of more than 40,000 health care executives who lead hospitals, health care systems and other health care organizations. Doody was first certified as a Fellow in 2002.
December
• U.S. Cellular built a new cell tower in Caribou, as they continued to invest in their network in the area. The site increased U.S. Cellular’s network capacity in Caribou, Woodland, Washburn, Presque Isle, Limestone and Fort Fairfield, and is one of more than 380 sites U.S. Cellular has built across the state.
• Hannaford Supermarkets hosted their grand opening festivities at their Caribou location on Dec. 13. The grand opening was in order to celebrate the inclusion of the former Paradis Shop ‘n Save store into the Hannaford family. At least 250 people turned out for the grand opening event, where one of the features was manager Dana Corbin presenting a $2,000 check to the Catholic Charities Food Bank Manager Fred Shieber.
• The annual Caribou Hometown Christmas shopping event was held and more than a dozen local businesses stocked their shelves with holiday cheer for the yearly celebration.
• The Caribou Housing Agency received a grant in the amount of $48,323, which was announced by Sen. Susan Collins, the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, as well as Sen. Angus King. The grant will go toward CHA’s Family Self-Sufficiency coordinator position, which is held by Sue Ouellette.
• Caribou’s Pink Aroostook Director Bethany Zell, was named northern Maine field coordinator of the National Breast Cancer Coalition, and beginning in January, will assume the presidency of the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition. Zell has been program director for the local Pink Aroostook project since its beginning in 2011.
