Editor’s Note: Starting today, the Bangor Daily News will share brief rewrites of articles published the previous week in three Aroostook County weeklies — The Aroostook Republican, which covers the Caribou area; The Houlton Pioneer Times; and The Star Herald, which covers the Presque Isle area. This new feature will appear once a week in print and online in an effort to provide BDN readers with more “News from the County.”
Eatery owners charged in animal parts trading
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Four individuals, including the owners of Chopsticks Chinese restaurant, have been charged with buying and selling wild animal parts, following a tip to the Maine Warden Service.
“The Maine Warden Service received information regarding the illegal purchase and sale of wild animal parts. Wardens investigated the complaint, corroborated the information and were successful at obtaining two search warrants,” said Lt. Tom Ward, MWS, based in Ashland.
Eric Zeng, 46, and Winnie Zeng, 44, of Presque Isle were each charged with buying and selling wild animal parts after search warrants were executed on June 30 at the restaurant and at their home, Ward said.
Ward confirmed that bear and deer meat was recovered during the investigation. Ward offered few other details, but did state that the game meat was not being used in restaurant dishes.
Also charged with the same Class D crime were PEI Kuang Chen, 42, and Weisi Dai, 30, both of Manchester, N.H.
Under state law, the sale of wild animal parts is highly restricted.
The warden service was assisted by special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department and has been in communication with the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office regarding the investigation.
The Zengs are scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 15 in Presque Isle District Court.
Reported by Kathy McCarty, The Star-Herald
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Animal shelter returns after fungal outbreak
HOULTON, Maine — After 16 weeks of quarantine because of a ringworm outbreak, the Houlton Humane Society animal shelter celebrated its grand reopening on July 17.
“We had nine cats and four dogs adopted,” said Cathy Davis, a volunteer for the shelter. “What a fantastic day.”
Ringworm is a fungal infection that can affect the hair, skin or nails of cats, dogs and humans. It is the most common contagious skin infection in cats and can be extremely difficult to diagnose in the early stages.
By the time the outbreak was discovered about four months ago, it already had spread throughout the entire building, exposing every animal. In all, 113 cats were euthanized and cremated, and the shelter has since been essentially gutted, bleached and redone from the ground up to rid the structure of fungal spores.
“Because we are a no-kill shelter, it’s been hard for people to understand why we euthanized the animals we did,” said Heather Miller, director for the Houlton Humane Society. “Unless they were here, and saw what we saw, it’s impossible to understand. … the only humane thing to do — at our vet’s recommendation — was to euthanize them.
“In order to save this building and carry on, it was something we had to do,” Miller said. “It was emotionally draining on all of us.”
The shelter has isolated a couple of rooms to examine and quarantine incoming animals to ensure sick cats and dogs won’t affect the entire building.
A plaque to commemorate the animals that perished hangs outside the wall of the Callaghan Road shelter, while a memorial garden was created in tribute.
The shelter is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For information on adopting a pet, call 532-2862.
Reported by Joseph Cyr, Houlton Pioneer Times
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SAD 25 superintendentretires after 37 years
STACYVILLE, Maine — SAD 25 Superintendent John Doe, who has retired after 37 years as an educator, said he will miss the children.
Doe’s career and positions started in Dover-Foxcroft and spanned Medway to East Millinocket before he spent the last seven years as superintendent of SAD 25, where his office was located in the elementary school.
“The kids stop and say ‘Hello’ and it’s really great to see them and have that contact with them,” Doe said on his last day.
Doe, who resides in East Millinocket, said he intends to do things around the house, go camping and just relax at first.
As of July 1, Rae Bates, Katahdin High School principal, is the interim superintendent for SAD 25. She said she has enjoyed working with Doe for the past seven years. She added that she is getting ready for an August meeting when she expects the school board to proceed with a decision on the superintendent vacancy.
Bates also said paperwork regarding the reorganization plan for SAD 25, CSD 9, Hersey and Moro Plantation to become a Regional School Unit has been sent to Augusta with a hope that it will be approved in time for voters to make a decision during the November election.
Reported by Elna Seabrooks, Houlton Pioneer Times
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Wind power pursued for SAD 1 energy needs
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — It has been six months since two meteorological or “met” towers were installed in SAD 1, and now district officials are beginning to review rough data to see how their wind power initiative is progressing.
SAD 1 is the first school system in Maine to pursue wind power as an energy source in its public schools.
Larry Fox, wind power project coordinator for SAD 1, said data still are being collected from the towers set up at Presque Isle Middle School and Mapleton Elementary School with the highest average daily wind speed recorded at both sites estimated at 20.5 mph.
“Mapleton wind speed exceeded that at the middle school on 18 of the 44 days,” he said. “The other days it was very close; many days it was almost identical.”
An engineering firm is expected to examine the data in the near future to help the district determine whether it can save any money by erecting wind turbines.
Reported by Scott Mitchell Johnson, The Star-Herald
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Easton school district extends summer break
EASTON, Maine — Easton students now have an additional week of summer vacation.
At the July 12 Easton School Board meeting, directors decided to delay the start of the 2010-11 school year by nine days due to a construction project at the elementary school taking longer than anticipated.
“To be sure that we’re going to be done, we’re going to give more time so we don’t have any stress as we come into the start of the year with everybody rushing and teachers not being able to get into their rooms.”
Students were initially scheduled to resume their studies Tuesday, Aug. 10; the first day of school will now be Wednesday, Aug. 18.
“We were originally going a week earlier than everybody else,” Keenan said, noting that the school year will now be extended a week in June to make up the difference.
Reported by Scott Mitchell Johnson, The Star-Herald
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Lightning strikes twice in Fort Fairfield fires
FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — They say that lightning never strikes the same place twice, but that adage is being tested in Fort Fairfield where two homes caught fire after being struck by lightning within a month of each other.
In Aroostook County, two house fires caused by lightning strikes within such a short amount of time of each other is an uncommon occurrence, according to Fort Fairfield and Limestone Fire Chief Paul Durepo.
Previously, “there was only one other lightning strike fire in Fort Fairfield during the 11 years I’ve been chief,” he said.
On July 13, lightning entered a home on South Caribou Road through the electrical panel box in the cellar, sending surges that set fires in a couple of places in the house, Durepo said.
Firefighters from Fort Fairfield, Limestone and Caribou spent roughly three hours putting out the fires and snuffing out embers. The house is still structurally sound but had extensive heat and smoke damage, the chief said.
On June 20, a West Road home also was struck by lightning and set ablaze during an electrical storm in Fort Fairfield, Durepo said. That home had greater damage, he added.
“Lightning-caused fires happen quite often” in other parts of the country, said Todd Lericos, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Caribou office. “It happens infrequently in Aroostook County because thunderstorms generally occur infrequently.”
Reported by Natalie Bazinet, Aroostook Republican