12 December 2012 Edition - Fiddlehead Focus

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Page 4 Fiddlehead Focus, December 12, 2012 Local communities decide how to apply grant funds By Jenna Beaulieu ST. JOHN VALLEY - Three local communities have decided how to apply $250,000 in Northern Border Regional Commission approved funds. NBRC approved the towns of Frenchville, St. Agatha, and Madawaska to share the funds to expand economic development and tourism opportunities in their respective communities. On Oct. 1, the NBRC announced the approval. Since that date, public officials and Economic and Community Development staff have worked together to choose where to distribute the funds. According to St. Agatha town manager Christy Sirois, St. Agatha’s portion will fund improvements to the Main St. boat landing. “We’re installing a second boat launch,” said Sirois. Also, the town will add additional parking spots to the parking lot. Sirois said the town Speed and road conditions factors in two rollovers By Julie Daigle FORT KENT – Two unrelated vehicular rollovers within three days in the Fort Kent area caused the total loss of one vehicle and over $6,000 worth of damage to another vehicle. The first accident occurred at approximately 4 p.m. on Nov. 29 on North Perley Brook when Michael Marquis of Fort Kent rolled his 1994 Ford down a 400 -foot embankment, coming to rest upside-down, said Fort Kent Police Chief Kenneth Michaud, the investigating officer. Marquis, 22, was driving too fast on the dirt road near the Frenchville town line when he lost control of his vehicle, ending up on the left side of the road before his vehicle rolled down the embankment. The accident caused no reported injuries, said Michaud. Marquis was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident. Twin's Service Station towed the totaled vehicle from the sce- hopes to have the project completed by this coming summer. Madawaska will use their funds to improve their boat landing on the St. John River and will make upgrades to the area, according to town manager Christina Therrien. “We’re looking at putting in water, sewer and concrete pads for campsites,” said Therrien. “I hope it’ll happen in the spring.” According to Suzie Paradis of the Madawaska Office of Community/Economic Development, the town of Frenchville plans to use their portion of the designated funds to support their historical sites. Regarding the project, Paradis said, “It consists of refurbishing the existing historical caboose, replacement of windows, painting, new stairs/deck platform, and also moving it and placing it on a slab foundation.” According to Paradis, the town also plans to move and place on a slab foundation a water tank that is named on the National Historic Preservation listing and is one of ne of the accident. The second accident, on Dec. 2 and also at approximately 4 p.m. in the afternoon, occurred on Violette Settlement road. Stacy Martin of Fort Kent, 36, was eastbound down a hill on a curve when slippery conditions caused her to lose control of her vehicle, said Michaud. The 2003 Chevy Suburban spun around, traveling backward for an unreported distance until it skidded into a culvert, causing the vehicle to rollover. Martin was traveling with her 15 -year-old daughter, who complained of pain approximately two hours after the accident. A private vehicle brought her to Northern Maine Medical Center. Michaud said the accident caused approximately $6,000 worth of damage to the vehicle; Twin's also towed this vehicle from the scene. Officer Tony Enerva was the investigating officer. the only three water tanks left on the east coast that is located near a running railbed. In addition to moving it, the town plans to repaint the tank. The town may also construct a cold storage building to store historic artifacts, said Paradis. According to NBRC, these efforts will contribute to the tourism opportunities in the area prior to the 2014 World Acadian Congress, which Congress coordinators predict will bring over 50,000 people to the St. John Valley. Your news, fast and free at FiddleheadFocus.com HISTORICAL SITES - Frenchville will use their portion of grant monies from the NBRC to move the above water tank onto a slab, as well as refurbishing an historical caboose. - Jenna Beaulieu image
FAQs from page 1 Q. How and when do I sign up for local home delivery? A. In January we will print a subscription form for local delivery in the paper. We are not taking orders for local home delivery yet, but it will happen soon. The price will be $52 for local home delivery for 52 weeks. Q. Why is the mail subscription $100 per year, but local home delivery is only $52 per year? A. We offer a service to mail the Fiddlehead Focus to people outside of the St. John Valley that uses the U.S. Postal Service. In order for people to receive their paper in a timely fashion, we are sending it out as First Class mail, and the postage costs at least $1.30 per paper. The local home delivery service will be for people in this region, and will be available sometime in January. Q. Why don’t you sell the paper for 50 cents, and let your readers decide whether they want to contribute to a charity? A. At 75 cents, the price for a printed copy of Fiddlehead Focus is a great value, and supporting our local folks is something we have wanted to do since the beginning of Fiddlehead Focus in 2010. Moving to a paid paper gave us the opportunity to achieve that goal. The owners of local businesses in the St. John Valley know that they are always contributing to a variety of charities and causes, and the money for those contributions eventually traces back to the money their customers spend on the products and services a business offers. We just decided to make our contributions this way. If anyone has questions as we move into this next chapter for Fiddlehead Focus, please let us know by emailing me at andrewb@fiddleheadfocus.com, posting the question through our Facebook page or calling us at 316 -2243. Races from page 1 include waiving the late fee this year; ensuring that prizes are primarily in cash; or finding sponsors for stage prizes, in which the fastest dog team in a leg of the race, from Eagle Lake to Moose Point, for example, is eligible for further prizes. He said the Mad Bomber is back as the 30-mile race sponsor, and this year, that purse has increased to $2,500. Irving Woodlands returns as the 100-mile race sponsor, with a $5,000 purse. They have been the sponsor for that race over the last eight years of the event's history, said Kaleta. He also thanked Fiddlehead Focus and the Credit Union of ME for being “lead dog sponsors.” In Fiddlehead Focus' case, he was referring to the paper's inkind donations, in terms of coverage and race publicity. With the races this year almost a week later than in some years, and with the snow falling on Dec. 10, Kaleta was optimistic about training and race conditions for the upcoming event. Page 5 Fiddlehead Focus, December 12, 2012 Quebec City perfect backdrop for FIS Cross-Country World Cup races By Julie Daigle QUEBEC/ St. John Valley – This past weekend, from Friday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 9, Quebec City hosted the FIS Cross-Country World Cup races. Over 20 spectators from Fort Kent, Presque Isle and other northern Maine towns made the three to four and a half hour roundtrip north to experience the uncommon thrill of watching the best cross-country skiers in the world compete just a few feet from an enthusiastic, cheering crowd. 10th Mountain even had the opportunity to get onto the race course. A security official asked Sherry Dubis, president of the Fort Kent 10th Mountain Ski Club, if Kikkan Randall, U.S. cross-country team member and winner of the skate sprint races on Saturday, could hold the 10th Mountain American flag aloft while she took her victory lap. Randall and Jesse Diggins also took gold on Friday in the women's team sprint in an unprecedented U.S. showing. Saturday's races started off gray but snow-free, with green grass edging the sidewalks of Quebec City outside of Vieux Quebec, the old city. Race organizers had trucked in snow to create the racecourse just as Can-Am International Sled Dog Race organizers turn Main Street in Fort Kent into a dogsled track every year. They laid the course within touching distance of the wall that separates the old city from the newer part, adding the ancient stone monument to the background behind brightly-clad, Lycra-suited racers. By the middle of the ski race, snow was falling in fat snowflakes on racers and spectators alike, turning Quebec into a snow globe of racing adrenaline. According to CBC Sports, nearly 10,000 people poured into the city to line the looped race course and cheer on the racers. Spectator Carl Theriault of Fort Kent said, “This was probably the largest North American World Cup audience I've seen outside of the Olympics.” In the festive atmosphere, dotted with young women in blue Santa suits handing out bells, leashed dogs of every shape and size, outdoor braziers of open-air flame surrounded by yellow Adirondack chairs, and vendors displaying everything ski-related, from exercise machines to smoked meat, spectators blended with booted pre-race or post-race athletes. Both groups used the same pathways to move around the race course, enhancing the sensation of everyone having front-row seats at this international event. George Dumond of Fort Kent described the atmosphere as “NASCAR on skis,” with skilled sports commentators and a varied musical selection contributing to the fast-paced, high-energy atmosphere. Kelly Martin of Fort Kent pointed to the added excitement of an obstacle in the middle of the course, an 18-inch jump. “The race was being called there,” she said. Those who pulled ahead at that point generally won and those who fell behind, lost. Both the American men and women's cross-country athletes made it into the finals on Saturday, but it was Kikkan Randall who stole the show, at least for the American spectators, with her wins on both Friday and Saturday. “It was pretty special,” said Martin about the event. Right, Kikkan Randall takes a victory lap with an American flag from 10th Mountain. Image courtesy of Fasterskier.com Bruce Labbe of the Eagle Lake Public Works Department has been hard at work building an announcer's platform/stage for the event's use. Kaleta said it's a twostory structure that will complement the new bleachers for spectators, another first for the event. The start remains at last year's location on Convent Road, known locally as “Dump road,” said Kaleta. “We're pretty excited,” said Kaleta. “We learned a lot last year.”
Page 1 and 2: 267 W. Main St. Fort Kent, ME 04743
Page 3: Three vehicles sustain damage after
Page 7 and 8: SAD 24 considers hopping on the bio
Page 9 and 10: Dan the Tire Man comes to Madawaska
Page 11 and 12: Heavy: Dear Santa By Monica Petteng
Page 13 and 14: Our readers speak Last week, Fiddle
Page 15 and 16: www.paradisshopnsave.com Nutritious

12 December 2012 Edition - Fiddlehead Focus

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