Editor’s Note: The following is the second of two articles highlighting some of the top news stories from 2020. This article highlights events from July to December.
As the summer began to see a drop in COVID-19 cases statewide, many of the Presque Isle area’s staples reopened, including restaurants, bars and offices. Yet, the pandemic continued to rear its ugly head, with numerous festivals being canceled and face coverings being a constant in nearly all public places.
November and December saw a swift rise in cases, including outbreaks at the Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Center and two schools in Presque Isle. In a region that had once had no active COVID-19 cases, the pandemic was suddenly a present danger to an aging population with a rural hospital infrastructure.
July
The Presque Isle City Council approved the creation of Star City Wellness, a medical marijuana shop that replaced JP Market and Deli at 694 Main St. in Presque Isle. It was one of several moves the council made in 2020 to encourage investment by the burgeoning marijuana industry after approving the cultivation and sale of marijuana in January.
The leadership of the Presque Isle Loop announced that it was not able to find a transportation partner to replace the Aroostook Regional Transportation System, and thus the service would be discontinued. The service had halted rides in late March after ARTS pulled out of the project amid the COVID-19 pandemic and what ARTS said was low ridership.
Walmart in Presque Isle began to require that customers wear masks in its store. Many residents had shopped at Aroostook County’s largest store without face masks for months. The announcement came the same day that Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order requiring that businesses enforce mask-wearing in retail spaces in several of Maine’s most populous counties.
Nearly 3,500 people from the Presque Isle area participated in July elections. Residents voted for Dale Crafts to be the Republican nominee for the U.S. House and Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon to be the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, reflecting statewide trends. U.S. House candidate Eric Brakey and Gideon met with voters at the Sargent Family Community Center — Presque Isle’s lone polling location — early in the morning.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention investigated a COVID-19 outbreak at the Presque Isle Walmart that led to three employees being infected with the virus, in what was the first outbreak in the Presque Isle area. The Maine CDC conducted contact tracing but did not find any other employees who had the virus.
August
The Presque Isle City Council approved Full Bloom Cannabis, the third medical marijuana store in Presque Isle, on Aug. 5. The business took over a space formerly occupied by Cafe Demoiselle, which closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Central Aroostook Junior/Senior High School staff members Erick Martinez, left, Sadie Shaw, center, and Charity Howlett, right, prepare to greet students as they return to school in Mars Hill on Wednesday. (David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald)
Students at schools in Mars Hill and Easton became some of the first in Maine to return to school on Aug. 12, the first full school year held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A week later, officials at both schools said they were running smoothly amid new restrictions.
The town of Fort Fairfield began its ambulance service, a project about a year in the making. With 23 employees, it provides 24/7 support to the Presque Isle area’s largest town. Fort Fairfield had previously relied on Presque Isle Fire for its ambulance needs.
On Aug. 28, dozens of University of Maine at Presque Isle students moved into their dorms amid the COVID-19 pandemic. All students living on campus were tested for the virus to stop potential spread on campus. Most students took a mix of in-person and remote courses.
September
Presque Isle’s downtown virtually shut down after a domestic violence incident spurs a nine-hour standoff with police on Sept. 4. Corey Alexander allegedly showed responding officers a knife at around 1 p.m. after police said he broke into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment. Police proceeded to close off Main Street, evacuating several buildings. Alexander was taken into custody at around 9:30 p.m. after extensive negotiations with authorities and the intervention of the Maine State Police Tactical Team.
Officer outside McDonald’s in Presque Isle in a standoff situation on Friday, Sept. 4. David Marino Jr. | BDN
The Wintergreen Arts Center officially reopened at the Aroostook Centre Mall, inaugurated its new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring members of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce.
As the 2020 Presidential Election revved up, two flags endorsing President Donald Trump’s re-election bid were placed on the “Presque Isle Welcomes You” sign in the city’s southern entrance. The flags angered many of the city’s residents, especially those who were opposed to Trump, who decried the politicization of a city landmark. Presque Isle City Manager Martin Puckett said that there is no indication that the city owns the sign, which was on private property, and it therefore could not do anything about the flags.
October
Easton Town Manager Jim Gardner was tapped to take on the presidency of the Maine Municipal Association in 2021. He was primed to assist municipalities as they took on numerous challenges, including the institution of regulations to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of recreational marijuana sales in Maine.
A fire on Page Road in Fort Fairfield destroyed a shed used by the Amish community to build buggies. Nobody was injured in the fire, but several buggy parts were lost in the flames.
The Presque Isle City Council approved the 2020 Downtown Redevelopment Plan, a 30-year plan to transform the city’s downtown and make it a commercial and housing hub in the region. Crafted by various city officials, it proposes 18 projects for the downtown costing a total of $5.3 million.
Work on Mary’s Mile — a one-mile extension to the biking and walking path near Riverside Drive in Presque Isle — was nearly complete and residents began to use the route. The loop is named after its primary benefactor, Mary Smith.
After 53 years, Perham officials said they were withdrawing from the Washburn-based SAD 45 school district. They said the town was losing money by remaining in the school district, citing the high tax burden.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff held a rally in Fort Fairfield and visited a potato facility in Mars Hill, the highest ranking campaign surrogate to visit Aroostook County during the 2020 Presidential Election. Emhoff’s visit to The County was tied to its location in Maine’s toss-up 2nd Congressional District. The district ended up voting for Trump over Biden in November.
November
SAD 1 in Presque Isle reported its first case of COVID-19. Though the district did not initially identify whether the case was a staff member or student, Superintendent Ben Greenlaw later said that a student who had not been to class in several days had tested positive. The district did not halt in-person learning because of the case, citing lack of risk to students and staff.
Presque Isle voters including Kevin Sjoberg, second from right, his daughter Emily Sjoberg, third from right, and Alex Baker, far left, stand in line to vote at the Sargent Family Community Center in Presque Isle on Tuesday. (David Marino Jr. | The Star-Herald)
Turnout was huge as numerous residents in the Presque Isle area voted in elections on Nov. 3. On the ballot were candidates for president, Congress and the Maine Legislature, along with local races, such as the Presque Isle City Council. Craig Green and Kevin Freeman retained their city council seats, while Republican Maine House candidate Joseph Underwood beat Democrat Lillie Lavado to win a seat in the Maine Legislature. The Presque Isle area voted for President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins as they pursued re-election bids.
A 15-year-old Fort Fairfield Middle/High School student was charged with a felony after halting his school’s server. Superintendent Tim Doak said the student, who was not named by police or school officials, effectively disrupted the school’s network for about half an hour.
The University of Maine at Presque Isle transitioned to remote learning for the rest of the semester after three new COVID-19 cases were found in the school. They were all connected to a residence hall student who tested positive on Nov. 18.
December
Multiple COVID-19 cases were reported at the Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Center. Eventually, five residents died from an outbreak that infected more than two dozen staff members and residents.
COVID-19 outbreaks occurred at Presque Isle High School and Zippel Elementary School, eventually causing SAD 1 to go fully remote. SAD 45 in Washburn and SAD 42 in Mars Hill also switched to remote learning.
Parts of Aroostook County saw more than a foot of snow and many sections saw a severe power outage during a storm.
Employees at Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital were the first people in Aroostook County, and among the first in Maine, to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
