Stories by Jen Lynds

8 years ago

Commissioners renew jail contract

HOULTON, Maine — Aroostook County commissioners opted to retain the services of the health care provider for the Aroostook County Jail last week and also made some staffing decisions for the sheriff’s department during a meeting in Houlton.

Aroostook County Sheriff Darrell Crandall said that Katahdin Valley Health Center in Houlton has consistently done an excellent job providing on-site medical services for inmates at the Aroostook County Jail, and they were up for a two-year extension of their contract during the meeting that was held on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016.

8 years ago

Parents and youth connect in gardens

HOULTON, Maine — Three years ago, Emily McDonald of Houlton was in the midst of homeschooling her eldest daughter, Sarah, and looking for a way to teach science lessons about nutrient levels in soil without making them too boring or overwhelming.

“I decided that the best thing to do would be to dig a small garden,” she explained. “And I am talking really small. It literally was the size of a mud puddle. I just went out and got a package of carrots and planted those.”

8 years ago

County OKs contract for jail health care

County OKs contract for jail health care

HOULTON, Maine — Aroostook County commissioners opted to retain the services of the health care provider for the Aroostook County Jail last week and also made some staffing decisions for the sheriff’s department during a meeting in Houlton.

8 years ago

Parents, youth, connect through gardening

Parents, youth, connect through gardening

HOULTON, Maine — Three years ago, Emily McDonald of Houlton was in the midst of homeschooling her eldest daughter, Sarah, and looking for a way to teach science lessons about nutrient levels in soil without making them too boring or overwhelming.

8 years ago

Commissioners renew jail contract

New contract with KVHC promises excellent medical resources

     HOULTON, Maine — Aroostook County commissioners opted to retain the services of the health care provider for the Aroostook County Jail last week and also made some staffing decisions for the sheriff’s department during a meeting in Houlton.

8 years ago

Parks turning the big 100

Despite its birthday, some residents have never visited ‘Acadia’

     HOULTON, Maine — Jessica Smallwood still remembers the day in sixth grade when her Houlton class was scheduled to take a trip to Bar Harbor, a journey which was to include a stop in Acadia National Park.

8 years ago

Acadia’s 100th a great time to visit

HOULTON, Maine — Jessica Smallwood still remembers the day in sixth grade when her Houlton class was scheduled to take a trip to Bar Harbor, a journey which was to include a stop in Acadia National Park.

“I was really excited to go because we had been studying national parks in history class for about a month, and naturally Acadia was one we largely focused on,” the 39-year-old recalled Friday. “I had never been there, so I was so excited to go.”

That excitement ended two days before the trip, when she came down with stomach pains that turned into appendicitis.

“So I ended up missing the whole trip, and despite living right in Maine, I have never been to Acadia National Park,” she said.

8 years ago

Quilt guild members talk history, benefits of hobby

HOULTON, Maine — Prior to 1993, Kim Hazlett of New Limerick had never thought of giving quilting a shot.

She was diagnosed with cancer that year, however, and she needed something to keep her mind occupied.

“I had always sewed and had made my children’s clothing, and after I got the diagnosis, I really needed something to busy my mind besides just thoughts of cancer and when the next appointment would be,” she recalled during a recent interview. “So I decided quilting would be it.”

8 years ago

Construction begins on spec building

HOULTON, Maine — Construction has begun on on a new 6,000 square foot speculative building on a lot at the industrial park at the airport, Houlton’s town manager said Thursday.

Town Manager Butch Asselin also said that there is “active interest” from a company interested in purchasing the building, which was being constructed in an effort to create new jobs.

Peter Chase and his company, Building’s Etcetera, are constructing the shell of a building on 1 acre of land that has already been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration.

8 years ago

County weighs in on Pokemon Go craze

     HOULTON, Maine — Tina Haggerty of Houlton has always encouraged her son, Trevor, 14, to spend more time outside during the summer.