Staff Writer
September
• Caribou Police department with cooperation from the U.S. Border Patrol Air and K-9 units, located and eradicated a marijuana grow containing approximately 50 plants with an estimated street value between $40,000 to $50,000. • The Caribou High Tennis Court fund-raising committee was informed that their project would receive a grant in the amount of $50,000 from the U.S. Tennis Association.
• Pineland Farms Natural Meats (PFNM), which over the past three years has established a 2,000 head cattle operation in Fort Fairfield, has opened its new cow manure composting business at the Loring Development facility in Limestone.
• Officials with the University of Maine Presque Isle and the Caribou School Department signed an agreement that will allow Education students to participate in extensive internships at the Teague Park Elementary School while providing professional development opportunities for veteran teachers there.
• The Defense Finance and Accounting Service Limestone took great pleasure in announcing the appointment of a new permanent director, Wayne C. Ingle.
• On the seventh anniversary of September 11, 2001 the Caribou Fire Department and citizens paid their respects to those who had fallen in a ceremony held in front of the fire station on High Street.
• Congressman Mike Michaud announced that the Department of Homeland security plans to rebuild, rather than repair, the damaged Van Buren Port of entry. The current building was damaged in the May floods and serious concerns remained regarding the building’s structural integrity.
• Caribou Fire Chief Roy E. Woods announced that the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department was notified that it was the recipient of the 2008 Rural Fire Assistance Grant for the purchase of 15 new portable radios, valued over $13,000 to be used by full-time firefighter members.
• Following a two-day trial and deliberations, lasting two and a half hours, a Superior Court Jury found 25-year-old Heather Fortin of Limestone not guilty of manslaughter in the death of Teairra Leather, the 20-month-old daughter of Rena Leathers.
• Caribou Mayor Miles Williams signed a proclamation citing October 5 through 11 as Fire Prevention Week.
• Community members gathered in front of the MIA Remembrance Park at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Caribou to observe National POW/MIA Observance Day.
October
• With the first commercial wind farm in Maine located just 14 miles from its campus in Mars Hill, Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle is now poised to offer the only program in New England to train wind power technicians.
• The leaders of the citizen-initiated petition to repeal the school consolidation law announced that they have more than sufficient signatures to meet the minimum requirement of 55,087 signatures to file the petition.
• The Caribou 21st Century Learning Center After School Program was awarded a $250,000 grant from the Maine Department of Education for the 2008 – 2009 school year.
• Local police investigated a number of thefts that targeted metal and personal property.
• Over 200 people participated in the 16th annual Breast Cancer awareness Walk, which raised nearly $20,000 for a proposed new mammography suite at Cary Medical center.
• Honoring the lives of those who became victims of Domestic Violence, and remembering their names, community members gathered on High Street in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
• Republican incumbent U.S. Senator Susan Collins and Democratic challenger First District Congressman Tom Allen went head-to-head in a U.S. Senate debate that was held at the Presque Isle Middle School auditorium.
• The Caribou Fire Department was informed that it had been selected to receive the Life Safety Achievement Award for the year 2007 by the Residential Fire Safety Institute. The Caribou Fire Department qualified for this award because it recorded zero fire deaths in structures during that year.
• Rep. Peter Edgecomb, Caribou, was named a Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent business Maine Chapter for voting in strong support of small businesses in the 2007-2008 legislative sessions.
November
• The Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery Corporation raffled off a scooter to raise money for the construction of a footbridge connecting the cemetery to the POW/MIA Remembrance Park.
• Caribou voters turned out early on November 4 to cast their vote in what has become at least one of the most historical presidential elections yet. President-elect Barack Obama, the first African American to be elected President of the United States, will take office on January 20, 2009. Joe Biden will be his Vice President.
• Lisa Cantafio officially became the first female postmaster of Caribou on Nov. 6. “It’s very rewarding to be trusted with such a responsibility after putting in a lot of hard work,” Cantafio said.
• The Caribou Pet Rescue’s Board of Directors wished to inform the public of its decision to close the shelter’s doors on or before December 31. The decision was made after a special meeting held on Nov. 6.
• The Woodland Consolidated School recently received a Grand Notification Award through the U.S. Department of Education. As part of the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILSL) initiative, the Woodland School was awarded a $258,000 grant for Sept. 1, 2008 – August 31, 2009.
• The Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department announced that Santa would light their Christmas tree this holiday season.
• Loring Job Corps and Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) announced on Nov. 2 that the Advanced Career Training program, which is currently helping some Job Corps graduates achieve an associated degree through NMCC will be extended to all 122 Job Corps sites in the United States.
• The Safety Works program of the Maine Department of Labor recently recognized the city of Caribou for its efforts in providing a safe work environment. At a city council meeting, Department of Labor officials presented the City officials with a safety and Health Award for Public Employers (SHAPE) certification of achievement.
December
• On Nov. 30 the annual Christmas Lights Parade was held in Limestone. There were over 20 entries in the parade this year.
• In observance of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, members of Caribou Veterans’ organizations gathered early Sunday morning, December 7, on the Fort Bridge commemorating the 67th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
• Caribou’s 150th Celebration Committee announced that it was organized a sub-committee which will write a unique historical book, bringing together the people, foods, and the events that have shaped the community over the past 150 years.
• On Dec. 19, the Loring Development Authority of Maine (LDA) and the Limestone Water and Sewer Department (LWSD) signed an agreement to unite the two facilities.
• A public forum on the ‘Future of the Limestone community School’ was held on Dec. 16. The forum was initiated to solicit the community’s input as the Limestone School Committee continues to explore solutions to the school system’s ongoing budget problems.
• The Caribou Board of Education, during a recent regular meeting, approved to enter into a Performance contract with TRANE, for energy efficiency improvements to be completed at the Caribou High School and the Caribou Technology Center.
