As 2024 draws to a close, we take a look back at the year’s top stories in Presque Isle and surrounding areas. This week we include January through June. July through December will follow in the Jan. 1 edition.
January
Police Chief Laurie Kelly retired from the Presque Isle Police Department after a 38-year career in law enforcement.
Two years after its projected opening, the new Presque Isle Veterans Outpatient Clinic was still unfinished due to supply chain and other delays.
Nearly 50 animals were seized in a week, pushing the Central Aroostook Humane Society beyond its normal capacity. In addition to eight pit bulls being rescued on Jan. 6 in Fort Fairfield, 39 cats were removed from an Easton home.
February
Deputy Police Chief Chris Hayes was promoted to police chief, officially assuming his new job title on Feb. 7. Hayes, a member of the city’s police department since 2007, served as interim chief since Laurie Kelly retired on Jan. 5.
A former airline operations leader became Presque Isle’s new city manager. Tyler Brown replaced former City Manager Martin Puckett.
The Northern Maine Fair Association closed the iconic 74-year-old wooden grandstand due to safety concerns.
The Presque Isle-based Mi’kmaq Nation planned to install Maine’s first naloxone vending machine north of Portland. The Mi’kmaq Health Department made it available free to anyone in need.
March
The Presque Isle Rehab and Nursing Center announced it would close in the summer, affecting 120 employees and 49 residents.
Bids for Essential Air Service at Presque Isle International Airport were debated by the Airport Advisory Board and Presque Isle City Council. Though the U.S. Department of Transportation would ultimately select the carrier, the advisory board preferred to stay with United while the council preferred JetBlue. Public opinion was divided.
Communities prepared for the total eclipse in April. Houlton was planning for the largest crowd as it was at the center of totality, but central Aroostook, including Presque Isle, Caribou, Limestone and Easton, expected thousands of visitors as well.
April
Masardis and Portage Lake voted against paying Ashland increased subsidies for municipal services, which led to conversations between the towns over costs of public safety, library and recreation services.
The total eclipse drew crowds all over The County on April 8. The University of Maine at Presque Isle celebrated the installation of its new 3D sun to brighten the Maine Solar System Model. Easton’s Francis Malcolm Science Center was a sweet spot for the dusky twilight of totality
Presque Isle’s new Veterans Outpatient Clinic opened with a goal to serve up to 5,500 of Aroostook County’s veterans.
The case of missing Washburn man Erik Foote was resolved when his body was found in Caribou. A former Washburn police officer was charged with allegedly falsifying records in his case. The community searched and his family shared their devastation.
May
Health instructor Kelly Morin of Fort Fairfield Middle/High School was chosen Aroostook County’s Teacher of the Year.
The Presque Isle Police Department added in-house social workers from Aroostook Mental Health Services Inc. to assist with mental-health-related calls. In the first partnership of its kind in Aroostook County, officers now have trained professionals to help steer people to crucial help.
Fort Fairfield officials announced the town would roll out a pilot program for battery recycling to help prevent increasingly frequent landfill fires caused by lithium batteries.
June
The Aroostook Agency on Aging opened its Memory Care Center, a nearly $1 million grant-funded project designed to treat people with dementia and offer respite for caregivers.
Fundraising efforts started for improvements at Peace Park, which will include a new playground and dog park.
Washburn residents voted to close the town’s police department permanently, with law enforcement coverage to be led by the Maine State Police and Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
The Torabhaig Atlantic Explorer took off from a Presque Isle field bound for Europe, a first-of-its-kind attempt by three pilots to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a hydrogen balloon. Weather conditions forced the crew to land the next day in Canada.
