A look back at the top news stories of 2019
January
Penobscot communities saw a rocky start to the new year, beginning with the closure of the popular local restaurant and bar, the Roost. By late January, the spot was sold to Irene and Kostas Bazmpas, owners of the Orono House of Pizza. The new owners reinvented the space into the “Slice Bar,” a late-night pizza joint which ultimately closed and is now expected to become a second location for Yamas Bar and Grill.
At the end of the month, the University of Maine and Old Town communities mourned the loss of 24-year-old Dylan Cooper, a junior at the university, who died after he was struck by a truck with a plow attached to the front on Stillwater Avenue. Cooper was declared dead at the scene.
February
The Old Town girls basketball team overcame inexperience and powered through the season to compete in the Class B North tournament, the first time since 2014. The team had lost six players since the previous year due to graduations and injuries, said head coach Heather Richards.
March
Maine’s High Court sided with a Greenbush man who was awarded $2 million in a medical malpractice appeal. In 2013, Robbie Nason fractured a bone in his wrist after a kayak fell on him while working at Old Town Canoe. Nason was referred to treatment at Eastern Maine Medical Center where his surgeon, Dr. Timothy Pruchnic, implanted a compression screw in Nason’s wrist to help the bone heal. After several months, the surgeon realized Nason’s wrist was not healing properly and was protruding from the bone into his cartilage. Nason underwent two more surgeries by another provider, who ultimately removed three bones in his wrist.
Sandra Caron, a University of Maine professor, was named the 2019 Distinguished Maine Professor by the university’s alumni association. Caron, who teaches family relations and human sexuality, has worked at the flagship school since 1988 and has taught more than 25,000 students through the years.
An Orono man passionate for medieval history who makes his own chainmail armor hopes to one day open up his own shop.
April
The Tim Hortons on Stillwater Avenue abruptly closed early in the month, leaving just 11 locations around the state, primarily in Aroostook and Penobscot counties.
May
Emma Hargreaves, 18, a senior at Old Town High School, was named a 2019 Presidential Scholar. Hargreaves is one of two Maine students selected to receive the prestigious scholarship, along with another 161 students across the nation. She planned to attend Bowdoin College to study government and English after graduating from the school.
June
The town of Orono renamed a bridge near downtown after a hometown soldier who was killed in Afghanistan almost 10 years ago. This March, Governor Janet Mills signed legislation to re-establish the bridge in Brandon M. Silk’s honor. In late June, Silk’s family and friends gathered in town for the dedication ceremony.
Mark and Lynn Silk walk with their granddaughter Elena Silk, 4, across the Brandon M Silk Memorial Bridge after unveiling the new sign in June 2019. (Linda Coan O’Kresik | BDN)
The town also voted in favor of borrowing $16.8 million to cover repair costs of local school buildings. At Asa Adams Elementary, some of the expected renovations include a 460-seat auditorium, a track and new classrooms. Orono High School will also get a few new classrooms and a cafeteria and kitchen remodel.
July
A roof fire broke out at a boiler building of the newly purchased Old Town paper mill in mid-July. The equipment was spared from the fire but the roof needed to be replaced due to damage, according to the Deputy Fire Chief Chris Baker.
Authorities said the human skeletal remains found outside of a Greenfield home were likely from a man who lived there. After finding the remains, Stephen McCausland, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety said that police identified the man as 60-year-old Joseph O’Clair. They added that there was no indication of foul play involved in the case.
August
An Orono history teacher was recognized by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History as she’s been named the 2019 Maine History Teacher of the Year for her creative uses of technology integration in the classroom.
After a nearly four-year hiatus, a Chinese company has brought life back to the paper mill in Old Town. ND Paper, a subsidiary of the Nine Dragons Paper Ltd. purchased the mill in October 2018, with plans to reopen. More than 1,000 people, some of whom were former millworkers, applied for the 130 vacant positions at the company.
September
At least 11 people were displaced after a fire tore through several of the downtown buildings in Old Town at the end of September. Investigators said the fire was accidental undetermined.
Plans to replace the Stillwater Bridge and improve the area’s traffic corridor could take up to three years or more, costing an estimated $12.7 million, the Department of Transportation said in September. In a public meeting, some residents were skeptical of the lengthy project but DOT officials maintained that they believed it would improve traffic on the Stillwater Road.
The Penobscot Federal Credit Union announced plans to merge with The County Federal Credit Union to improve benefits to each of the companies, according to a September article in The Penobscot Times. The official merger is tentatively planned to be complete by April 2020.
Bangor Publishing Co. has acquired the Penobscot Times, a weekly newspaper based in Old Town, from Sun Media Group. (Matthew Stone | BDN)
At the end of the month, the Bangor Daily News announced that its parent company, Bangor Publishing acquired the Penobscot Times, recently owned by Sun Media Group. “With the Penobscot Times and the Bangor Daily News sharing the same geography, it makes perfect sense for them to be part of the same family of publications,” said
Jody Jalbert, general manager of Sun Media Group.
An Ellsworth woman who was a wanted fugitive was arrested in Milford during a traffic stop on Route 2. Stacy Clark, 30, was initially pulled over for having an expired registration when police discovered she had an outstanding warrant from Pennsylvania for her arrest. Clark apparently failed to appear in court in June for charges of homicide by a vehicle after a passenger in her car died when she crashed into a utility pole. Clark was reportedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
Maine State Police investigators returned to Greenbush to continue searching for a man who disappeared two and a half years ago. Guy Carmel, 66, of Greenbush was reported missing in September 2017, more than six months after he was last reported seen. Authorities previously said that Carmel’s disappearance seemed “suspicious,” but didn’t disclose what prompted authorities to head back to the town.
October
After a fire decimated several buildings downtown in September, Old Town offered the affected owners a chance for a fresh start through a land swap agreement. For the last five years, the town has tried to fill up a vacant 6-acre plot of land left behind by Old Town Canoe. “We have a significant task helping businesses rebuild, and we have some vacant land up here,” said EJ Roach, economic development director. “So we’ve talked about a land swap — giving landowners who own property down in this block an opportunity to redevelop a piece of land of greater size up on the Old Town Canoe site.”
A Casella worker died after he was struck by a garbage truck in Milford on Oct. 22. Ryan Leeman, 39, of Bangor was on Oak Street around 2:15 p.m. when he was killed. No other information about the details were available at the time.
November
Demolition began on three buildings that were destroyed by the downtown fire in Old Town. The buildings — 272, 274 and 276 Main St. — all built in the late 1800s, were damaged beyond repair in September. “Now it’s gone, and all the history with it,” City Council President Stan Peterson said to City Manager Bill Mayo as both men watched the first building being torn down. “What a shame.”
Old Town native Ryan Bjorn, field superintendent at Gillette Stadium, and his dog Boyd. (Courtesy of the New England Patriots/Eric J. Adler)
An Old Town native who landed a special gig as a field superintendent at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, reflected on growing up in his hometown. “It’s a testament to growing up in Old Town,” said 34-year-old Ryan Bjorn. “A lot of people might have negative connotations about the place, but to be educated in that system and grow up there was a great opportunity for me.”
An Old Town woman was crowned Miss Maine this month. Julia Van Steenberghe, 21, is a Presidential Scholar at the University of Maine where she double majors in Elementary Education and Child Development and Family Relationships. Steenberghe will represent Maine at the national pageant which will be aired on Fox television in 2020.
The Orono High School girls track team won its third consecutive state title after a victory in the Class C race in Cumberland on Nov. 2, maintaining its cross country dynasty.
The Maine Department of Marine Resources reported that nearly 1,200 Atlantic Salmon returned to Penobscot this year. The organization counted a total of 1,196 salmon between the Milford and Orono fish lifts– the largest number counted in eight years.
Three Old Town High School players and one Orono High School player have been named to the 2019 All-State field hockey teams, the Maine Field Hockey Association announced on Nov. 19. To be considered for an All-State designation, athletes must meet four criteria: Perform consistently at a high skill level; possess leadership on and off the field; exhibit excellent sportsmanship and; be dedicated to the game of field hockey.
Maddy Arsenault of Old Town High School stick handles during a Class B North quarterfinal field hockey game against Gardiner on Oct. 22 in Old Town. Gardiner won 2-1. (Courtesy of Matthew Schilmoeller)
Old Town players Madelyn Arsenault, Teaghan Blackie and Jemyni True were named to the Class B All-Star Team. From Orono, player Krista Bass was selected to the Class C All-State team. Additionally, Old Town players Sydney Sheehan, Brooke Sossong and Abigail McKinley each earned All-Academic honors. In Orono, Bass and Katherine Buetens both earned All-Academic recognition, as well. The All-State selections will be recognized at the annual awards banquet at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Augusta Civic Center.
December 2019
A fourth-grader from Bradley won a state competition with his massive 22-pound cabbage. Back in June, 10-year-old Kellan Plourde planted a tiny cabbage seed as part of the National Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program. As part of his winnings, Plourde received a $1,000 scholarship, which his father said will go toward his son’s education.
The city of Old Town unanimously voted to approve an ordinance that will prohibit registered sex offenders who have been convicted of felony-level sex crimes from living within 750 feet of areas that children frequent, such as parks, playgrounds and schools. Offenders who resided in Old Town prior to the ordinance passing will not be forced to move, according to state law.
The Old Town Police Department became the first law enforcement agency in Maine to receive state accreditation. The Maine Law Enforcement Agency reviewed Old Town’s qualifications, finding that they either met or exceeded their 162 standards for best practices. “The Old Town PD stands out as a model of excellence in law enforcement,” MLEAP Director Liz Allen said in a Dec. 12 press release. “This agency has earned the highest recognition of law enforcement professional excellence in Maine, and they are the very first to do so. That is really something to be proud of; they should be commended by their community, their peers and all of Maine.”