Editor’s Note: The following is the first of two articles highlighting some of 2019’s most important and interesting news stories. This article highlights events from January through June.
January
Elizabeth Dickerson was hired as Limestone’s town manager on Dec. 21. After traveling more than 2,000 miles to Maine from Colorado, she officially began serving the community on Jan. 11. (Chris Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
Caribou and Limestone residents were greeted with about 10 inches of snow on New Year’s Day, with Limestone receiving 10 inches of snow and Caribou getting 8.9 inches, according to the National Weather Service in Caribou.
The excessive snow throughout the month led to the Caribou Public Works employees clocking in roughly 35 hours of overtime, ensuring that the roads are safe to travel.
Caribou City Councilors voted on Jan. 14 to pay $119.420 to local engineers at Dubois & King, LLC to assist in the reconstruction of the River Road, which was severely cracked and damaged due to excessive rain and runoff during the spring of 2018. Since then, the city has authorized temporary measures including paying rent for residents to move out of homes along the affected areas, purchasing property along the affected area and placing jersey barriers along the road to allow for one-way traffic.
A Caribou man was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for downloading and sharing child pornography. During the sentencing, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock said that 23-year-old Joshua Cote possessed 120 videos.
Elizabeth Dickerson officially began serving as Limestone’s new town manager on Jan. 11, ending a year-long search for a permanent manager. Dickerson came to Maine from Colorado, where she had lived for four years. She also has experience serving in the Maine Legislature as well as the Rockland City Council.
February
The Aroostook Republican & News won first place for general excellence at the Maine Press Association’s 1992 fall conference in Bethel. Staff members marking the occasion at the time at the Caribou office are, sitting, Kevin Sjoberg, sports editor; and, standing from left, Marlene Durepo, classified sales; Brian Blanchard, ad sales representative; Brenda Ketch, community editor; Ray Swenson, ad sales rep; Catherine Anderson, ad sales rep; and George Chappell, editor. Chappell died at age 82 on Feb. 21, 2019. (File photo 1992)
The City of Caribou officially joined the Maine Downtown Center Program, a network that helps communities revitalize their downtown area and offers access to peers across the state, as well as training from national experts in downtown development. Caribou Marketing and Events Coordinator Christina Kane-Gibson said Caribou’s new membership will open up several grant opportunities in addition to the future training.
Caribou Police Officer Erick Bechtel received statewide recognition on Feb. 8 after risking his life to save a woman from drowning. Caribou Police Chief Michael Gahagan said Bechtel responded to a walk-in complaint regarding the woman and jumped into the water while wearing all of his gear, pulling her to safety.
Maine School of Science and Mathematics student Jay Philbrick won a trip to the nation’s capital as well as a $10,000 scholarship as part of the 57th annual United States Senate Youth Program’s “Washington Week.”
Veterans gathered on Feb. 12 at the Maine Veterans Home in Caribou to honor the life of Peter Miesburger, who died at the age of 82 on Nov. 21, 2018. Miesburger, a former Air Force sergeant, was well known throughout the state for his work with veterans, and served as the commander of the Maine VFW for 10 years. He was also a founding father of the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in addition to serving several other veteran organizations throughout the state.
Teacher, author, poet and journalist George Chappell died on Feb. 21 at a residential care facility in Camden. Chappell’s work brought him throughout New England. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1968 and pursued a career in teaching before going into the field of journalism. Chappell also worked as editor of the Aroostook Republican in Caribou in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
March
The 2019 Maine Women’s Hall of Fame inducted Darylen Cote of Caribou, left, and Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Saturday, March 16, at the University of Maine at Augusta. (Courtesy of Kathryn Olmstead)
The Maine Department of Transportation issued its three-year transportation infrastructure work plan, which included more than $2.44 billion worth of construction and maintenance projects throughout the state. Of those projects, well more than half a dozen are slated for the city of Caribou.
Woodland residents on March 18 elected Will Barnum to the town’s board of selectmen for a three-year term and Robert Butler to the school board for a three-year term. On the following day, Woodland residents also approved a municipal budget of just over $1 million.
Caribou resident Darylen Cote was inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame along with Maine Gov. Janet Mills. Cote’s career includes advocating for women’s health through the American Cancer Society, working as an educational services coordinator for ACAP Family Planning and Adolescent Health, and working for the statewide Maine Family Planning Organization.
Limestone began celebrating its sesquicentennial, or 150th anniversary, with a kickoff event on March 24 in which residents descended from the town’s first inhabitants read out motions made by their ancestors during the town’s first official meeting. The town’s first official meeting was held on March 24,1869, exactly 150 years before the event.
April
City College of New York delegates braved intense wind and cold temperatures during a visit to the Caribou National Weather Service office, during which they witnessed the launch of a weather balloon. The delegates were joined by students from Caribou High School and the University of Maine at Presque Isle as they learned how weather balloons collect data from the sky.
Newly appointed Limestone Community School Superintendent William Dobbins introduced himself to town officials during an April 3 selectboard meeting in the town office. Dobbins told the board about his 25 years of experience as a superintendent, and was hired as part of the school’s move to withdraw from RSU 39.
Work on the $50 million Caribou Community School continued after pausing in late 2018. The new school is slated for completion in August 2020 and will replace Hilltop Elementary School, Teague Park Elementary School and Caribou Middle school, housing all Caribou area preK-eight students.
NASA announced that Maine astronaut Jessica Meir will embark on her first spaceflight in September. Meir, a Caribou High School graduate, was selected for the flight nearly six years after she first joined NASA.
Stephen G. Olivo, 59, of Caribou was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to register as a sex offender in the state of Maine. Judge Lance E. Walker, sitting in U.S. District court in Bangor, also sentenced Olivio to five years of supervised release.
May
Cary Medical Center recently began displaying artwork from Tim Finnemore, who worked for the hospital as a graphic designer and created the facility’s iconic “CARY” logo with a chickadee perched atop the bold letters. Here, Cary Medical Center CEO Kris Doody, left, and Finnemore’s daughter Kate stand in front of his paintings displayed in the hospital. (Chris Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
The Maine Department of Education named Caribou Middle School Teacher Kim Barnes as Aroostook County Teacher of the Year. She was among several Aroostook County teachers nominated for dedication to service, and was selected as the winner by a panel of teachers, principals and business community members.
Christopher J. Rossignol, 31, of Stockholm was indicted by an Aroostook County grand jury for domestic violence reckless conduct, domestic violence terrorizing, unlawful possession of scheduled drugs, operating a motor vehicle without a license and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.
Mark Mullen, 34, of Caribou was arrested after a monthlong search following several calls related to burglaries, according to the Caribou Police Department. Officials at the department said he allegedly broke into several businesses and storage units throughout the city, and stole various items from each place, adding that he operated vehicles he was not authorized to use.
An employee at a Caribou restaurant had an acute case of Hepatitis A while preparing food at a Caribou restaurant, according to the Maine CDC. Following the announcement, local hospitals offered vaccines and the CDC has since declared the restaurant safe.
Maine Governor Janet Mills nominated RSU 39 and Fort Fairfield Superintendent Tim Doak to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
Cary Medical Center began displaying an art exhibit featuring the work of the late Tim Finnemore, an artist who, in the early 1980s, became a graphic designer for the new Cary Medical Center facility after it moved from Lyndon Street to Van Buren Road.
June
Students sign a beam that will be used in the new Caribou Community School’s Innovation Center during a June 10 ceremony. (Chris Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
Caribou Middle School Principal Leland Caron was selected to be the principal of the Caribou Community School, a $53 million facility scheduled for completion in August 2020. Caron said the selection was humbling, and that he’s “up for the challenge.” The new school will replace three schools in Caribou and serve all area pre-K-8 students.
Future students of the Caribou Community School became a part of local history during a June 10 ceremony in which they signed a beam that will be used in the construction of the facility. RSU 39 Superintendent Tim Doak said the ceremony emphasized that the school is being “designed around the students,” and that they are the “most important aspect” of the building.
Hundreds came out for Caribou’s annual Thursdays on Sweden street festival kickoff event. The theme for the kick-off was “Vikings Night,” in honor of the Caribou Vikings school sports team, and many who attended wore maroon colors to support their local team.
The Caribou Vet Center, along with the other four in Maine, celebrated 40 years during an open house event. The open house was held exactly 40 years after the centers were established by Congress and signed into law on June 13, 1979, as an acknowledgement that many Vietnam veterans were not accessing the same number of services as Korean or World War II veterans.
Cancer survivors, caretakers, volunteers and fundraising teams raised more than $57,000 during the 2019 Aroostook Relay for Life on June 22. Proceeds from the fundraiser were donated to the American Cancer Society.
New Sweden held its annual three-day Midsommar Festival, during which numerous Swedish traditions were honored. This year’s event featured an immigrant trunk exhibition, dancing around the Midsommar pole, music, a quilt show and a Swedish meatball dinner.
