The County

4 days ago | thecounty.me | Paula Brewer

A new type of food festival will offer fare from local eateries and benefit Aroostook County cancer patients at the same time. Cary Medical Center’s Pink Aroostook, which supports breast cancer patients with education and financial assistance, plans its inaugural Pink Plate Food Festival this Sunday, June 29, in Caribou. A cancer diagnosis signals expense, travel and a lot of uncertainty, Pink Aroostook Program Director Hana Boucher said.

1 week ago | thecounty.me | Cameron Levasseur

Presque Isle city councilors moved Tuesday to schedule a third public hearing in their effort to revise council voting procedure. The council is working to amend an ordinance that outlines its procedures, to eliminate discrepancies in voting requirements between the ordinance and the Presque Isle city charter. Both the charter and council rules require a two-thirds majority to pass the city budget and appoint, terminate or suspend those in positions appointed by the council, such as city manager.

1 week ago | thecounty.me | Cameron Levasseur

Fort Fairfield town councilors voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve a $4.29 million budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, a roughly $260,000 increase from the previous year. This would translate to a $56,363 increase in property taxes, or 1.3 percent, Town Manager Aaron Huotari said. But the town has yet to finalize costs for worker’s compensation, casualty and liability insurance, where a projected reduced total would ease the taxpayer burden.

1 week ago | thecounty.me | Paula Brewer

Leaders honor Spirit of America Award winnersAroostook needs a new jail and it could carry a price tag of more than $90 million, County commissioners learned Wednesday. During the commissioners’ meeting at the Caribou courthouse, a South Carolina-based criminal justice consulting firm called Justice Planners made a presentation that offered some initial projections. County leaders have debated the need for a new jail for some time.

1 week ago | thecounty.me | Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — For the second time in a month, immigration detainees were flown out of the Presque Isle International Airport on Wednesday morning, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A CBP spokesman confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the flight had taken off from the Presque Isle airport. Because of the high number of people the agency has detained in Maine, it had to transfer some of them to other states, he said.