Infant mortality measures the rate of infants born alive who die for any reason during the first year of life. In the 1990s, Maine’s infant mortality rate was the best in the nation. Since then, it has skyrocketed, led by a dramatic increase in the rate of infant mortality in rural Maine — and Aroostook County is driving the trend.
President Donald Trump has claimed that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed and that the Republicans will come up with a better plan.
There was a time when the first sign of spring was a robin winging its way from tree to tree in your backyard. Or perhaps it was a flower pushing its way through the crackling ice, or the first sign of spring was someone snowblowing their driveway wearing cargo shorts and a raincoat.
If you live near a river, you’re always on alert at this time of the year. And this year is particularly concerning, since we entered the final week of March with a good 10 inches of water sitting on the ground, in the form of a still-deep snowpack. And knowing it’ll all be gone in a month certainly warrants concern.
The recent warm weather gives us hope that spring is on its way, but it also creates a problem for some of our roads. Water from the melting snow can get trapped in the upper level of the roadway gravel base and be unable to drain out due to the frozen ground underneath.
I recently wrote a column about two of the non-population federal censuses, agricultural and manufacturing, and promised I would write about other special censuses of value to genealogists.
If you have taken a drive just about anywhere in Aroostook County, chances are you have seen them. These are the gaping holes in asphalt or dirt that seem poised to swallow your car in its entirety should you be brave enough to drive over them.
As a lifelong resident of Houlton, I know the back roads like the back of my hand. I know people in my community.
