News

FORT KENT - John Anderson, a middle school student, sent a letter to the town council that sparked an animated discussion during the most recent council meeting on Jan. 23.

FORT KENT - The University of Maine at Fort Kent will host an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Tuesday, Jan. 31 from noon to 5 p.m. in the Fox Auditorium.

The blood drive is co-sponsored by UMFK's Kappa Rho and Student Nurses' Organization. A table will be set-up for individuals to make an appointment in Cyr Hall until Friday, January 27 or you may contact the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767 to schedule an appointment.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA/Fort Kent - The University of Maine at Fort Kent women's basketball team, winners of four straight games, jumped all the way into twenty-first place in this weeks' USCAA Coaches Poll released by the national office in Newport News, Virginia.

The UMFK men's basketball team, winners of nine of their last ten games, remained in eighth place in the Men's Basketball D1 poll.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY - Hayes Gahagan, Chairman of the Aroostook County Republican Committee (ACRC), has announced that Aroostook County Republicans will be called to caucus Feb. 3 and 4. In the event of inclement weather, caucuses will be held Feb. 10 and 11. This event is for those towns that have yet to caucus.

ST. DAVID - Postal patrons in St. David may know more about the future of postal service in their town sometime during the first two weeks of March once the deadline for appeals to the proposal to close the town's post office has passed.

"The postal service is just another company in trouble," said Susan Mills, manager of post office operations for ZIP codes beginning 044, 046, and 047.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY - The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the U.S. and Canada have agreed to extend the 2006 U.S.-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) for two years. Michaud, Chairman of the House Trade Working Group, led a bipartisan letter that was sent to USTR last October calling for strong, timely, and effective enforcement mechanisms as a condition for supporting an extension of the SLA.

FORT KENT - University of Maine Board of Trustees chose the University of Maine at Fort Kent campus as one of only three campuses system-wide to host the candidates for chancellor during the position search. The other two campuses were in Orono and Portland.

FORT KENT - Budget crunches at the federal level may cripple Maine's involvement in the World Acadian Congress in 2014.

The project, which has an $11.9 million total budget, originally stipulated a $1 million contribution from the state of Maine and a $1 million contribution from the United States government, said WAC Maine International President Jason Parent.

COLD SHOT JIGSAW - Marc-Andre Bedard of Quebec discharges a cartridge and lines up for his next shot at the NorAm Biathlon Cup on Saturday. - Birden image

To solve an easier version of this puzzle, click on this LINK or the image shown here.

ST. JOHN VALLEY - The United States Biathlon Foundation has partnered with Celebrities for Charity to offer a once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl experience. Raffle tickets went on sale last week and are being offered at $2 per ticket, with a minimum of five tickets. All proceeds go to support the US Biathlon Team in their quest to win America's first Olympic Biathlon medal. The winning ticket holder will get the following:

My wife and I are taking this opportunity to thank Boonie Theriault, one of Daigle Oil's drivers, and another young man for stopping to help push us out of a snow bank after we lost control on the slippery corner on Violette Settlement Road in Fort Kent on Friday, Jan. 20. Boonie you make us all proud!

David Fernald

ST. JOHN VALLEY - With only a little less than a month remaining and some snow on the ground, anticipation is undiminished at the Madawaska Snowmobile Club and its Second Annual USCC Madawaska100 Cross-Country Snowmobile Race is on schedule for Saturday, Feb. 18.

FORT KENT, Maine - With temperature at -3 degrees Fahrenheit, which is barely 1 degree above the minimum allowable temperature for a biathlon event, 44 biathletes from across the United States and Canada competed in the first day of the Biathlon NorAm Cup No. 3 contest.

As I write this, I am looking out on a typical winter day in Fort Kent, with snow falling gently and trucks and cars making their careful way back-and-forth on Main Street.

Behind me is chaos.

Some folks have noticed that there was little new news on the Fiddlehead Focus website on Friday. There is a reason. Early Friday morning, a man broke into the offices of Fiddlehead Focus and Paper Signs Ink, stealing equipment and vandalizing the interior.

FORT KENT - At some time during the early morning hours of Friday, Jan. 20, an individual or group of individuals burglarized the lower floor of a building located at 267 West Main Street, which houses Paper Signs Ink, and is the operation center for Fiddlehead Focus.

The thieves made away with an undetermined amount of computer and electronics equipment, software, and cash from both of the businesses.