Julia Bayly
Fort Kent
SAD 27 votes to move grades to high school, but keeps pre-k at half days
FORT KENT, Maine — School officials on Tuesday backed away from a proposal to shift the schedules of some of the district’s youngest students while approving a plan to move seventh and eighth graders into the high school building. Together, the proposals would have meant nearly $200,000 in savings for ...
Commercial traffic temporarily re-routed from Madawaska border crossing due to lane repairs
MADAWASKA, Maine — U.S. Customs & Border Protection is temporarily closing the inbound commercial traffic lane at the Madawaska port of entry this weekend to repair damages caused by winter snow removal. The commercial lane, connecting Edmundston, New Brunswick, to Maine, will close at 4 p.m. Friday and reopen at ...
SAD 27 board to vote on moving Fort Kent middle school to high school
FORT KENT, Maine — SAD 27 School board members will vote Tuesday on a cost saving measure that would move grades seven and eight from the Fort Kent Elementary School building into a wing of the neighboring high school, according to Superintendent Tim Doak. That meeting is scheduled for 6 ...
Bundle up, it’s spring training time in northern Maine
FORT KENT, Maine — My, my, my, what a lovely winter we are having this spring up here in the north. Those of us who live in the upper tier of Maine have long since resigned ourselves to being sort of an afterthought for Mother Nature when it comes to ...
Allagash school brought back to life as heart of the community
ALLAGASH, Maine — To look at it now, it’s hard to imagine the Allagash community building was ever neglected or in danger of abandonment. In its heyday, what was the old school building housed close to 300 students from kindergarten to eighth grade, but today the population of the entire ...
Aroostook County man drawing attention with custom, hand-crafted drums
FRENCHVILLE, Maine — History is full of stories about those who follow the beat of a different drum. Meet Curtis Collin, a young craftsman from northern Maine who is following his own beat all the way to Nashville, and that could just be the beginning. Collin, 22, has a passion ...
Frenchville craftsman drumming up business in music world
Drummer and drum maker Curtis Collin shows of his skills and handmade drums in his Frenchville assembly shop.
Canadian officials turning away dirty trucks at the U.S.-Canada border
FORT KENT, Maine — There are any number of regulations border officials can cite to bar entry into their country. Now you can add mud to that list when it comes to entering Canada from the United States. Simply put, U.S. dirt is unwelcome across the border, no matter how ...
Woman charged in Crouseville police standoff after being released from hospital
WASHBURN, Maine — The woman who surrendered to police after last week’s standoff in Crouseville is now in custody at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland awaiting bail. Louise Rushinal, 45, was released from a Cumberland County health facility Friday and immediately charged with domestic violence assault, criminal threatening with ...
Aroostook couple announces scholarship, initiative to promote northern Maine opportunities
FORT KENT, Maine — A while back, Aroostook County natives Raynold and Sandy Gauvin read some statistics about education and opportunities in northern Maine and did not like what they saw. According to information from The Mitchell Institute, northern Maine is lagging behind the rest of the state when it ...
Presque Isle dinner, auction to benefit local youth who just had 2nd heart transplant
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Friends of Patrick Michaud, the Presque Isle High School student who underwent his second heart transplant procedure in December, are planning a dinner and silent auction this Friday to support his ongoing medical treatment and recovery. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with a spaghetti ...
Northern Maine Community College building wellness center in effort to improve community fitness
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Construction got underway this week on the new $6 million wellness and student life center at Northern Maine Community College. The planned 8,000-square-foot facility is the foundation of a campuswide commitment to student, faculty, staff and community health, according to Tim Crowley, NMCC president. ”This center ...
VIDEO
Man trapped under snowmobile for 20 hours reflects on his ordeal
FORT KENT, Maine — Paul Lessard does not consider himself a religious man, but said he did plenty of praying in the 20 hours he spent trapped under a snowmobile in the northern Maine woods earlier this week. “I said a lot of prayers and I have always believed in ...
Caribou woman charged with OUI, theft after accident in St. Agatha
ST. AGATHA, Maine — A Caribou woman is facing multiple charges after crashing her vehicle Wednesday night in St. Agatha, according to the Maine State Police. Maria McIntyre, 31, has been charged with operating under the influence and operating after suspension, according to information released Thursday by state police Sgt. ...
JULIA BAYLY
What have I seen in three decades of journalism?
FORT KENT, Maine — John Lennon definitely said it best when he observed, “Life is what happens when you are making other plans.” And wow, is it ever amazing how fast that life can happen when you are not looking. That fact smacked me in the face this week when ...
Snowmobiler survives 20 cold hours trapped under his sled
SAINT JOHN PLANTATION, Maine — A Massachusetts man was taken to a Bangor hospital Wednesday after spending more than 20 hours pinned in running water under his snowmobile. Paul Lessard, 64, of Milford, Mass., was reported missing around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday by his friend Nelson Gagnon of Wallagrass, who said ...
Early morning crash sends two Frenchville men to hospital
BRIDGEWATER, Maine — Two Frenchville men were taken to The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle with non life-threatening injuries Wednesday morning following a two-vehicle crash on Route 1. At 6:35 Wednesday morning, Yvon Dube, 50, of Frenchville was traveling south on Route 1 in a Maine Department of Transportation ...
Woman surrenders after standoff ends in Crouseville
CROUSEVILLE, Maine — A woman surrendered to state police about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday after a standoff that lasted several hours and shut down a section of Route 164 in Aroostook County, according to police. The 44-year-old woman was taken into custody by the Washburn Police Department after the standoff ended, ...
Police: Woman surrenders in Washburn standoff
WASHBURN, Maine — A woman has surrendered to state police after a standoff that lasted several hours and closed a state route in Aroostook County, police say. A stretch of close to 10 miles of Route 164 from Washburn to Presque Isle was blocked Tuesday morning as officers from several ...
POLL QUESTION
Voting is Tuesday to ensure Caribou reigns as toughest weather city in the country
FORT KENT, Maine — Caribou is the city to beat, according to The Weather Channel, sponsors of the 2013 Toughest Weather City Tournament, and Tuesday is the day fans of the northern Maine community can cast their votes for it to move on to the finals. Patterned after college basketball’s ...
LePage vetoes Medicaid expansion, says ‘Maine can do better’
Report: University of Maine System teacher-training programs rank among worst in nation
In support of Bangor library, schools budget
We don’t understand female politicians
Maine Sports Hall of Fame revokes Dana Wilson’s 2012 induction
Pellerin enthusiastic about job as new Lawrence High School boys varsity basketball coach
Rask gives Bruins 2-1 series lead
Retiring Hermon High School athletic administrator Soucy maintains love of sports
25 things to do this summer — boats, barbecue, the Bard and everything else
UMPI solar system model expanding into Canada
Saying goodbye to our Pakistani daughter