CARIBOU, Maine — As people hold Independence Day celebrations throughout the week, the Caribou Police Department will be utilizing grant money from two different sources to run additional patrols on both roads and ATV trails.
Police Chief Michael Gahagan said the department received about $8,000 from the Maine Warden Service, which the two departments will share during the summer. Caribou officers will use a portion of the funding to patrol local ATV trails during the Fourth of July week.
Gahagan said the funding comes from a gas tax on ATVs, and that his department will utilize three side by side ATVs.
“They have lights and go out on the trails,” he said. “It allows us to meet the public in a different avenue,” adding that his department patrols from Stockholm to Mars Hill.
The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety also awarded the police department a $10,277 grant for summer use. Like the Maine Warden Service grant, the department will use a portion of the funds for the July Fourth week.
“We’ll have multiple details out there looking for specific things,” he said, adding that officers will be looking for drivers operating under the influence, distracted drivers and speeders.
Gahagan said he will be using the grant money to concentrate on “holidays and special times of the year,” like the upcoming Caribou Marathon and BikeMaine, when some 450 bicyclists are expected to ride through parts of Aroostook. The police chief added that he is working with officials from the U.S. Border Patrol to obtain a countywide grant for BikeMaine.
“Our main concern this weekend is for everyone to be safe,” he said. “People have to come through us for firework permits, so when we get a call from someone who claims to hear gunshots, we can look in our records and see if someone has a firework permit in that area.”
