Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I I N O. X X V I I I N OV E M B E R 2 7 , 2 0 1 7 14 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Grants to fund training for Aroostook officials e Northern Maine Development Commission received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will provide training and technical assistance on development and infrastructure to officials in dozens of Aroostook County municipalities. e grant provides half of the $200,000 cost of the program, which includes seminars for town administra- tors, city managers, select boards and other municipal officials and staff in Aroostook County. e seminars will focus on building the local capacity to carry out proj- ects like housing rehabilitation, community and economic devel- opment, and public infrastruc- ture development, according to a news release from the USDA. e NMDC is providing the other half of the financing for the program, according to the USDA. No deal for state's largest sugar maple plantation e Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry didn't make the cut in its bid to acquire a $1.2 million conserva- tion easement through its Land for Maine's Future program in order to protect the Big Six sugar maple plan- tation in Somerset County. Maine Public reported the 23,600-acre proj- ect, known as Big Six, was compet- ing with two dozen other funding requests and scored last. e push to approve the Big Six project focused on the timberland's maple syrup pro- duction, said to account for roughly 20% of the state's total output. But the operation is done exclusively by Canadian producers and accessing the timberland is done through private logging roads. "I can imagine how this would play to people looking at this from the outside. 'You paid $1.25 million for a piece for property you can't even get to?' It doesn't make sense to me," LMF board member Fred Bucklin told Maine Public. In May, the Bangor Daily News reported that Big Six owner Paul Fortin had plans to cut down the sugarbush for timber if it didn't receive a conserva- tion easement. Fortin bought Big Six in late 2012. Arrest made in arson at former Lincoln mill Investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection assessed the former Lincoln Paper and Tissue Mill after two mill build- ings were destroyed by a fire Nov. 15. e Bangor Daily News reported that environmental concerns include possible contamination from dioxin and polychlorinated biphenyls left over from the pulp and papermaking processes, as well as asbestos used as a fire insulant inside the mill build- ings. A former mill worker, David Parsons, 59, of Lincoln, was charged with three counts of arson on Nov. 16. e fire destroyed a scale shed and a 300-foot warehouse at the shuttered mill, the newspaper reported. Lincoln Pulp and Paper, which manufac- tured commodity and specialty tissue products, suffered a boiler explo- sion in November 2013 and closed in 2015, idling 130 workers. e BDN reported that Lincoln officials voted earlier this year to seek Superfund designation for the mill site's cleanup, which is estimated to be in the range of $20 million. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N The Scratchpad Accelerator, a Bangor-based seed accelerator that helps startups grow, announced that True North Beauty, Herbal Revolution, Parkupine and Sofia Fima were selected to participate in a female- focused accelerator, the first of its kind in Maine. Accepted companies will receive up to $1 million in perks and benefits through the Global Accelerator Network. The United Farmer Veterans of Maine in Bangor said it reached an agree- ment with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to promote and market Maine veteran grown agricultural products under a "MaineGrown by Vets" label signifying a veteran produced product off a veteran owned farm in Maine. MEMBER FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER Growing a business? TALK TO A NEIGHBOR. 1-800-447-4559 | bathsavings.com You had the vision to build something meaningful in the community. We have the experience to help it grow. Custom lending solutions are here for you — and so are we. Let's talk. Mara Pennell Vice President, Commercial Lending N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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