Editor’s note: The following is the second of two articles highlighting some of the top stories from 2024. This article highlights events from July to December. The first installment was published in December.
July
New federal dog importation regulations went into effect Aug. 1, making it harder to take dogs in and out of the country. The new rules require plenty of planning and possibly a trip to the veterinarian before taking your pet across an international border, including the one Maine shares with Canada. In short, all dogs entering the United States must appear healthy upon arrival; be at least six months old; be International Standards Organization-compatible microchipped; be vaccinated for rabies; and be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form online submission receipt.
Four Houlton entrepreneurs – Jerry York and Douglas Callnan along with Peter Chase, a retired contractor, and Albert Fitzpatrick – pooled their expertise and resources to develop North Meadows on eight acres off North Street. The first home of their 8-unit subdivision, 15 Lilac Lane, is completed and on the market for $549,000 with a second unit currently under construction. The North Meadows development, with homes ranging from $400,000 to over $500,000, is somewhat of an outlier for Houlton with average 2024 home sales prices at $158,300.
August
Two Houlton pastors, Melanie Burns, worship pastor and Randall Burns, lead pastor, said good-bye to their Military Street Baptist Church on the Hill after 33 years. As they packed more than three decades of work and life experiences into boxes, the couple said they look forward to their new life in Tennessee in the same town as their daughter and two hours from their son. Randall, who contracted an autoimmune disease known as combined immunodeficiency, said he didn’t think it would end because of a disease.
About 150 people gathered for the unveiling of Tekαkαpimək, the contact station that lies at the southeastern corner of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument’s 87,563 acres within the homeland of the Penobscot Nation. The station’s unveiling is the result of a deliberative and collaborative effort of the National Parks Service, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument and the Penobscot and other indigenous tribal nations to fully honor the traditions, languages, images, kinship and ancestral representations of these lands’ original stewards.
September
Forest products company Hancock Lumber acquired Aroostook County-based Tiny Homes of Maine. The two family businesses have already signed a letter of intent prior to an anticipated closing of the deal at the end of the month. The nearly 200-year-old, seventh generation family lumber company based in Casco owns 7,500 acres of timberlands and operates four sawmills and 11 lumberyards in Maine and New Hampshire. Tiny Homes of Maine got off the ground in 2016 after co-founders Corinne Watson and Tom Small spent 18 months building a tiny home as a fun project. The couple will continue to manage the daily operations of the Dyer Brook manufacturing facility after the sale is complete, according to the Hancock Lumber statement.
The Houlton Town Council passed a revised medical marijuana ordinance during a meeting at the Gentle Memorial Building on Main Street. In a 5-to-1 vote, councilors made it possible for five Houlton medical marijuana businesses to continue operating and serving patients, following a state regulation change. Councilor Eileen McLaughlin cast the dissenting vote. The changes to the existing town ordinance were in response to a Maine Office of Cannabis Policy rule change, requiring medical marijuana caregivers to provide an authorization from the town to continue serving patients.
October
An Aroostook County fire destroyed $500K worth of antique cars stored in an old potato house on Route 1 in Monticello. The two-story, 180-foot-long structure built in 1956, owned by Al Weiner, housed the antique vehicles including a Rolls Royce and a BSA motorcycle, antique radio equipment and a medical marijuana growing business.
The IHOP franchise, owned by Great American Real Food Fast in Connecticut, moved into the previous Big Stop restaurant location at the busy Irving Oil travel plaza in Houlton off Interstate 95. In a final training exercise days before the official opening, the new Houlton IHOP served more than 200 guests on Saturday and Sunday.
November
The producer of a Hasbro Studios Dungeons & Dragons television series, Portland native Ned Donovan, live-streamed Houlton’s first comic con from the sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Houlton. The first comic con, or comic book convention, north of Bangor, co-hosted by Shiretown Gaming and the Houlton Unitarian Church, opened with several gaming tournaments and wrapped-up with a focus on Star Wars, including a lightsaber battle at the Houlton Bridge followed by a group walk through downtown and the church organist playing the Imperial March on the historic pipe organ.
A nearly two-year journey toward PFAS-free water was just about completed at Mill Pond Elementary and Hodgdon Middle High School. The installation of a new $120,000 carbon filtration water treatment system, aimed at eliminating per-fluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl contaminants, better known as PFAS, from the water was wrapping up. The Hodgdon schools are among dozens around the state still dependent on bottled water as a mounting list of delays — funding, contractors, supplies — keep them from filtering out PFAS and turning taps back on.
December
The Houlton town council cut $1.8 million from the proposed 2025 town budget. In November Town Manager Jeremy Smith presented a $16,568,181 draft budget that would have raised the town mill rate nearly 5.5 mills. Several councilors expressed concern about such a dramatic increase. The new $14,749,220 proposed 2025 town budget, including $4.045 million in RSU 29 and County mandates, raises taxes by 1 mill from 19.4 mills to 20.4 mills.
An Aroostook County man was sentenced to 12 years, all but four suspended with six years probation, for manslaughter after exposing his infant son to an illegal drug which led to the child’s death. Stanley Hazell, 25, pleaded guilty on Nov. 25 to manslaughter in the 2022 death of 7-month-old Jackson Hazell.
