• Democrats in state Senate District 35 would have two candidates from which to choose during the primary election on June 10. Troy Jackson from Allagash and Gary Pelletier of Cross Lake were running in a heated race for the Democratic position. The winner of the primary would face Daniel Deveau of Cyr Plantation.
• Five members of the Caribou High School Class of 1933 met for their 75th class reunion. The five classmates are the only known surviving members of the 83 graduates who were still in this area. Classmates attending the milestone reunion were: Kitty (Armstrong) Braeuninger, Anna (Spooner) Roberts, Audrey (Bishop) Thibodeau, Bill Bishop and Bill McConnell.
• Included within the town of Limestone’s annual meeting was a warrant regarding the Robert A. Frost Memorial Library Expansion Project., requesting authority for the Limestone Selectmen to release the dedicated reserve account in the amount of $175,000 and to seek a bond in the amount not to exceed $300,000 for the construction of the planned expansion.
• A New York man, Dwight Fowler II, 38, was placed in custody following his arrest in connection with incidents in Presque Isle and Connor. Fowler was charged with elevated aggravated assault stemming from an incident occurring in Connor. The victim of the incident, underwent surgery at Cary Medical Center. Other charges included operating without a license, unlawfully trafficking in scheduled drugs, failure to register a vehicle and failure to give correct name, address or date of birth.
• An Ashland woman, Lauren N. Burke, 42, was ordered to serve three years in jail for the death of her fiancé.
• Community representatives attempting to form a consolidation unit for eight central Aroostook County school systems, discussed the merits of two possible structures.
• Former Caribou High School Vikings, SSgt. Stephanie Macek and MSGT Scott Pelletier found themselves stationed at the same medical facility in Iraq. The two worked at the 332 Air Expeditionary Wing , the busiest trauma facility in that country.
• Chelsea Labreck was named Caswell’s 2008 Jr. Miss and Olivia Rose Ellis walked away with the title of Caswell’s Little Miss.
• Kevin Simmons, owner of the Caribou and Presque Isle Inns and Convention Centers, held the American Cancer Survivor banner along with his mother, Jean, as they participated in the American Cancer Society’s Life Survivor’s lap.
• Limestone Community School held its 100th graduation ceremony.
• Five years after being injured by lighting, Steven Crowley walked to the Caribou High School stage to accept his high school diploma.
• Officials at the Loring Job Corps Center in Limestone announced the contractor operating the center would change in the coming year. LJCC director James Gagnon stated the Training and Development Corp. had not made the “zone of competition”. TDC had operated the Job Corps center since its inception over a decade ago.
• A public hearing was scheduled by the Caribou City Council regarding a proposal to increase all-terrain vehicle access on two public ways so recreational motorists could have access to gas and food outlets.
• Caribou City councilors voted to keep the property tax
August
• A Presque Isle attorney was nominated to serve on the Loring Development Authority of Maine, which is responsible for the reuse of the former Air Force base in Limestone. Francis “Frank” Bemis, of Bemis and Rossignol LLC, was nominated by Gov. John E. Baldacci.
• The new Potato Blossom Queen, Molly Bouchard of Caribou, relinquished her Miss Caribou title to Sheri Zbylut, the first runner up in the local pageant earlier this year.
• One by one, more than 60 American flags were dropped in a flaming barrel to be destroyed by fire as members of the Henry B. Pratt Jr. Post 15 of the American Legion and others watched.
• The sign for the future Caribou Children’s Discovery Museum was put in place.
• The City’s municipal airport was a hub of activity this fall with the receipt of a federal grand that would fund the building of a new taxiway, according to an announcement that had been made earlier in August. The city received an Airport Improvement Program grant of $227,973 from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud in a statement. City Manager Steve Buck said the reconstruction project brings the airport into compliance with new standards.
• For the second consecutive year, children of all ages participated in a window-painting contest aimed at drawing interest in the upcoming Crown of Maine Balloon Festival. “I would say we had at least 40 people paint windows, “ said Karrie Brawn, contest organizer. “There were some kids who came in on Friday who wouldn’t be here this weekend who painted a couple of windows early for businesses that conveniently weren’t going to be open Saturday, so it worked well all the way around.”
• Council members approved notes from past meetings, and proposed amendments to charters, concerning the definitions of two specific kinds of council meetings, the workshop meeting and council committee meetings. They also voted to discuss certain matters at a latter date, after m ore information was made available.
• The Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry along with local businesses, community residents and kids, kids and more kids, proved that even with the parade gods frowning part of the day on Friday, nothing was going to prevent the annual Caribou Cares About Kids Festival from being anything but a huge success.
• Educators, superintendents, principals and members of the public gathered in the Limestone Community School’s cafeteria on August 14 to discuss the proposed plan of consolidation for local schools.
• The University of Maine at Presque Isle unveiled a strategic plan designed to bring campus and community closer together, with students benefiting from the process.
• Goughan’s Strawberry farm, located on the Fort Fairfield Road in Caribou, created their six acre design and maze. This was the fourth year of the maze, which attracts about 500 people each weekend, and approximately 2,500 people while it’s open.
