Community January 2006

WALDO COUNTY (Jan 2): The first tick of the clock in 2006 brought a change in ownership at Belfast's flagship industry. The $35 billion purchase of MBNA by Bank of America was fraught with uncertainty, as the bank had promised 6,000 job cuts nationwide as a result of the merger. By the end of February it was known that Belfast's 1,750 jobs would be spared; by the end of the year, the number of local employees was rising.

The sunny economic news contrasted with the weather, which emphasized rain from spring to fall and was warm as well. An intrepid group of golfers played at Northport every month of the year, an unprecedented extension of the season. The glimpses of sun set a tone for other bellwether events, including a BridgeWalk at the new Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory in Prospect on a glorious fall day.

All was not bright, though, in SAD 34, where a budget deficit that was first spotted in mid-2005 was not completely resolved at the end of the following year. Increasingly agitated voters turned down three bailout plans and the first 2006-07 budget proposal before a budget for the 2007 school year was finally approved, and that wasn't all. A district board member, Kenneth Joondeph, was arrested in March and charged with sex crimes. Long-time teacher Jeff Olson was sentenced to four months in jail after he was found stealing money from the teachers association he served as treasurer. Seven of the eight Belfast board members resigned. And Superintendent M. Robbins Young III was a no-show for nearly six months on a medical leave involving post-traumatic stress disorder from his service in Vietnam.

The Belfast Area High School field hockey team claimed its third-straight state championship after its third-straight unbeaten season, a bright spot for the district.

A lengthy, cantankerous process for settling the future of Sears Island appeared on course for some kind of agreement at year's end.

The University of Maine's Hutchinson Center in Belfast was donated to the university by Bank of America, ending speculation that it might move south.

Windmills turned in the minds of Freedom residents, where a small wind farm proposal occupied town officials and residents.

Ocean State Job Lot and Aubuchon Hardware came to Belfast but didn't provide enough new shopping opportunities for those who craved a big-box store.

Here's how it all unfolded.:

Three local women were in the news early in the year, with varying results. Barbara Rado Mosseau was named the new superintendent in SAD 3, replacing her mentor, Dan Lee. The Monroe woman had high hopes for success, especially as the state had just approved a $40 million school to replace the aging Mount View complex. But less than a year later she stepped down, effective in June 2007.

kids like Kaleb Benjamin took advantage. He's riding his sled at the Northport Golf Club.

Barbara Merrill of Appleton was just a year into her first term in the Maine House when she unenrolled as a Democrat in a protest of Gov. John Baldacci's fiscal policies. Or was that the reason? The new independent began building a foundation for a run for governor herself, which ended in November with just shy of 20 percent of the vote.

Poet Elizabeth Garber, whose verse has been read on National Public Radio by Garrison Keillor, was named Belfast's poet laureate during the New Year’s by the Bay festivities. Garber replaced Bob Ryan. She spent a whirlwind year bringing her own poems and those of others writing in Maine to readers of the county's newspapers.

The New Year's baby at Waldo County General Hospital was a day late. Cameron Douglas Hardy was born Jan. 2, making the wait worth it.

Infantile behavior kept the Friends of Fort Knox at loggerheads through the early months of 2006, with both sides over the top in their comments about the other.

Long-time BAHS teacher Jeff Olson was arrested for stealing $142,000 from the Belfast Teachers Association over many years.

Jim Robbins of Searsmont and Don Hoenig of Belfast talked with Fidel Castro during a trip to Havana to promote Maine agricultural products. Nobody was talking with SAD 34 Superintendent Bob Young — except his lawyer, perhaps — after he went on extended sick leave while the district's finances slowly unraveled. Liberty residents did a lot of talking to federal officials, most negative toward expansion of the Maritimes & Northeast natural gas pipeline that bisects the town.

Tom Bamford of Northport discovered a skeleton in the county's closet — its namesake, Samuel Waldo. Bamford wrote four columns for the Citizen detailing Waldo's life as a slave trader in the 18th century and calling for a new name for the area. How about Prospect County, or Freedom County? he asked.

Dr. Mitchell Thomashow was introduced as the new president of Unity College, and a man of many talents he has proven to be, from basketball player to musician to salesman.

Several Searsport churches were defaced with graffiti that proclaimed, among other things, "God is Dead."

A new Belfast TV channel that broadcast events and festivals and shows from outside the city was announced. Thankfully, it didn't have to show the doings of the Friends of Fort Knox, or the True Friends, which held separate annual meetings this month.

Ocean State Job Lot said it would open its first Maine store in Belfast, inaugurating "adventure shopping" in the city. Next door, Hannaford began expanding, and Aubuchon Hardware said it would purchase the former Ace Hardware on Northport Avenue. Waldo County General Hospital expended as well, meeting a $1 million challenge grant from the sister of financier Warren Buffet and building a new surgical area.

Sean and Kristie Anderson of Liberty set off a massive manhunt after their two toddler children were left in woods in Palermo overnight. The kids were treated for minor hypothermia, but the Andersons were arrested on numerous charges, including drug use, burglaries and endangering the welfare of their children.

A bomb threat led to the evacuation of Searsport District Middle School — no bomb was found.

And Sheriff Scott Story asked the county commissioners to purchase a new modular building so his department could move out of its 19th century home.

The city negotiated a lease agreement with Wayfarer Marine of Camden to store boats along the waterfront. The company planned to buy one of the Wakeag Landing buildings and turn it into a repair facility.

The simmering controversy in SAD 34 reached a new level when board member Chris Dunn moved to dismiss Young. It took months of negotiating before Young stepped down following a brief return to the district. In SAD 3, Sandra St. Clair wanted Walker School Principal Carol McGovern removed after she canceled a fund-raising fishing derby. McGovern escaped unhooked.

A violent windstorm ripped plywood and 2-by-4s from the Footbridge, which was being rebuilt. The contractor said he'd never seen such wind in 30 years of building bridges. Snow fell, too, and kids of all ages flocked to the first-hole hill at Northport Golf Club to try out their sleds and snowboards. But the golfers soon returned.