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LIMESTONE- It has been nearly two years since the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) secured a 6,000 square-foot classroom in its academic building for a student engineering space; but since the Makerspace’s completion in the spring of 2013, the classroom has been utilized regularly for robotics, art and astronomy classes, as well as the VEX Robotics team.

MAINE - The Department of Labor is reminding people who are currently filing for unemployment benefits in Maine to be prepared for the changes coming to the system during the first week in February.

Monday, Jan. 26, 2015 – Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015

AROOSTOOK COUNTY - The following is an ongoing list of obituaries submitted to the Fiddlehead Focus during the month of January, 2015. The staff at Fiddlehead Focus send their deepest condolences to family and friends of the deceased.

For detailed obituaries, please refer to the obituary section of the Fiddlehead Focus by clicking on "Obits" on the homepage menu bar.

FORT KENT - When Patty Michaud of Fort Kent woke up one morning last September and realized she had lost a Mother's ring passed down to her from her late grandmother, she was heartbroken.

FORT KENT - The following are the high school alpine race results from Lonesome Pine Trails in Fort Kent on Wednesday, January 28, 2015:

EAGLE LAKE - Wallace H. Desjardins 71, died Tuesday, January 27, 2015 in Portland due to complications from heart surgery. He was born on April 4, 1943 in Wallagrass, son of the late Thomas and Georgianna (Bouchard) Desjardins.

MAINE - Senate President Michael Thibodeau (R-Waldo) has appointed Senator Peter Edgecomb (R-Aroostook) to serve as a member of the Maine Board of Agriculture.

FRENCHVILLE – Students at Dr. Levesque Elementary School (DLES) are participating in a fundraiser to purchase farm animals for a needy family in Sudan, Africa.

FORT KENT - Norman “Kutch” Boucher, 80, entered his eternal rest peacefully on January 26, 2015 at his home surrounded by loved ones. Norman was born in Fort Kent, Maine on September 26, 1934, the son of Albert and Melvina (Dejardins) Boucher.

CARLINGFORD, New Brunswick- On January 26, officers of the RCMP charged a 23-year-old Grand Falls man with impaired driving and firearms related offenses stemming from a traffic stop on Route 190 in Carlingford, New Brunswick, which is five miles east of Fort Fairfield, Maine.

FORT KENT – University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) students took some time out of their busy study schedules Tuesday, Jan. 20, to participate in a recruitment event held by the Kappa Rho chapter of the nationally affiliated Kappa Delta Phi sorority, during which the prospective sisters wrote letters of support and encouragement to soldiers stationed overseas.

FORT KENT – The University of Maine at Fort Kent’s Alumni Association will host its fourth annual talent show fundraiser Saturday, February 7, at 7 p.m. in the UMFK Fox Auditorium; and the line-up is showing that the Valley has a number of local voices and entertainers.

MAINE – Rep. Roland “Danny” Martin, D-Sinclair, is introducing legislation to encourage registered snowmobilers from Canada to sled in Maine.

FORT KENT –Shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27, Officer Michael DeLena of the Fort Kent Police Department responded to a call of a possible intoxicated patron at a local convenience store.

FORT KENT - The Fort Kent Knights of Columbus have announced the winner of their ongoing lotto fundraiser for the week of Jan. 26, 2015.

FORT KENT – University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) students Leslie Winslow and Alex Bailey, who are taking Fiddlehead Focus Publisher Andrew Birden's E-journalism course, were barely into their first class session on Thursday, Jan. 15, when a police scanner at the Fiddlehead Focus offices abruptly sent out a signal announcing a fire in progress.

AUGUSTA - With a severe winter storm bearing down on Maine, Governor Paul R. LePage has declared a State of Emergency and announced that all State offices will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015.

ST. JOHN VALLEY –The National Weather Service out of Caribou, Maine, is predicting up to 10 inches of snow for a storm moving into northern Maine Tuesday and Wednesday.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY- TAMC welcomed the following Special Deliveries born at A.R. Gould Memorial Hospital in Presque Isle during the month of December 2014:

MAINE – The University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees unanimously approved a coal divesture policy at a January 26, 2015 meeting, directing separate equity and fixed income account investment managers to divest from direct investments in coal mining companies and negatively screen for coal when making future investments.

ST. JOHN VALLEY– A record number of registered fishers participated in the 10th annual Long Lake Ice Fishing Derby during the weekend of Jan. 24 and 25.

MAINE - Throughout the weekend, Emera Maine’s Storm Response Team monitored weather forecasts and held conference calls in preparation for the snowstorm expected to hit Maine late Monday night and lasting into Tuesday and possibly Wednesday.

FORT KENT- Boys and girls classic ski teams from Aroostook County high schools competed in a 6K classic ski meet on Friday, January 23, in Fort Kent. The Caribou teams took first place, the Fort Kent teams came in second, and the Presque Isle teams landed in close third places. The following are the full race results:

BOYS:

FORT FAIRFIELD - On Jan. 26 through Jan. 30, the U.S. Border Patrol and law enforcement agencies in Maine will be conducting training exercises on Active Shooter Response at the Fort Fairfield Border Patrol Station in Fort Fairfield.

EAGLE LAKE - Anny Malo, of Quebec, was the fastest racer in the Mad Bomber 30 on January 24, 2015.

EAGLE LAKE - With a light snow falling and the baying barking and yipping cries of close to 200 athletic sled dogs, the 2015 Irving Woodlands 100 and Mad Bomber 30 race launched the competitive season in Northern Maine.

FORT KENT – While the rest of Maine's public universities may be facing declining enrollment, new numbers which the University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) released Tuesday, January 20, show the small campus continuing to grow at an expanding rate.

ACADIA OF THE LANDS AND FORESTS – As part of the follow-up activities of the economic component of the Congrès mondial acadien 2014, a first mobilization forum on Experiential Tourism was held Saturday, Jan. 17, in Edmundston.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King have introduced legislation – the Veterans Access to Community Care Act of 2015 – that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use its existing authority to offer community care to veterans who live more than 40 miles driving distance from the nearest VA medical facility that provides the type of care they need.

FORT KENT - On Friday, Jan. 16, officers with the Fort Kent Police Department (FKPD) participated in an educational session presented by Hope and Justice Project staff to train law enforcement professionals in the proper use of the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment Tool (ODARA).

FORT KENT – CollegeChoice.net, a college ranking service, recently released their list for the Most Affordable Online Colleges for Bachelor’s Degrees, and the University of Maine at Fort Kent is in the top 50 nationally.

CROSS LAKE - Jesse and Jessica Jalbert of Cross Lake are pleased to announce the birth of their son Tanner Michael Jalbert. Tanner was born January 21, 2015 at the Northern Maine Medical Center.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY – Northern Maine Community College (NMCC) has earned a state award for its record of safety as well as its policies, procedures and training dealing with safety issues.

MAINE - According to a press release Friday, Jan. 23, by the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, Republican Gov. Paul LePage wants to get rid of the secretary of state position and replace it with a lieutenant governor.

FORT KENT – Brien and Melinda Boucher of Fort Kent recently celebrated their one year anniversary as owners of North Ridge Services D/B/A Lew Rioux Co.; and the young couple say the event is especially meaningful to them because at one point their plans to become business owners almost fell through due to a lack of funding.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY - In 2014, cashiers all over Aroostook asked customers to "Add it Up" by rounding up their purchase to the nearest dollar and then donating the difference to Aroostook Aspirations Initiative (AAI) to assist more young people in Aroostook County get a college degree.

FORT KENT - According to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, commercial growers who only use general (over-the-counter) pesticides on their crops must have an Agricultural Basic Pesticide Applicator License by April 1, 2015.

AROOSTOOK COUNTY - Wednesday, January 14 might have been just another day for most; but for Juanita Rideout of Mars Hill and the staff of TAMC’s Mars Hill Health Center, it was a milestone day because Rideout turned 100 years old.

MAINE - Snowmobilers will have the opportunity to enjoy the trails in the neighboring states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont for free during an annual three-day event which will take place January 30 - February 1, 2015, that allows all legally registered Maine snowmobiles to be operated in New Hampshire and Vermont without being registered in those states.