November 2019

UMPI community members celebrated World Kindness Day on Nov. 13 in a unique way this year. A whole crowd gathered together in the South Hall Faculty Lounge in their cardigans to mark the day and to celebrate the late Mr. Rogers and the kindness he spread.

UMPI students and faculty helped in making an important discovery recently in Upper Brighton, New Brunswick–they used ground penetrating radar technology to find the potential unmarked graves of nine orphaned black children.

The story, covered by reporters on both sides of the border, began when Joe Gee, vice president of the New Brunswick Black History Society, heard about the unmarked graves. According to informal accounts, a group of black children were sent from St. John to the area. They were supposed to work on a farm, but died shortly after arriving because of illness.

With help from UMPI’s Dr. Lea Allen, Dr. Chunzeng Wang, and David Putnam, as well as students Matthew Payan and Zackery Brooks, they were able to bring the GPR equipment on site and detect the potential locations of the unmarked graves.

Those involved hope to put a plaque at the site to showcase the history there.

Come see the UMPI/Community Band perform its winter concert on Monday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Auditorium in Wieden Hall. The UMPI/Community Band is a unique ensemble with members ranging from local high school students, adults from all over Aroostook County, and even professional musicians. To match the variety in the ensemble, the UMPI/Community Band will perform many different types and styles of music. The band performs modern works, classic band literature, marches, popular music, and Christmas music. This event will have something for everyone and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jon Simonoff at jonrsimonoff@gmail.com

John Beauregard, owner and general manager of Beauregard Equipment, Inc., was a guest on campus in early November and spoke with UMPI Ag students in AGR 250 – Food and Agribusiness Management. Beauregard shared with students about operating a family-owned and operated construction, municipal, forestry, and agricultural equipment dealership in the Northeast, and their recent expansion into the northern Maine market with the purchase of Crown Equipment, Inc. of Caribou

Want another great reason to read through the image newsletter? Well, somewhere in this issue of the image is our very own owl emoji. Here’s the challenge: just find it (don’t tell anyone else its’ hiding place!), let our office know, and you could be eligible for a $5 gift certificate to UMPI Starbucks! A winner will be randomly drawn from all of the people who find the emoji on Friday, Dec. 6. You can win one time per semester. Congratulations to our October winner Barbara Lambert!

To let us know you’ve found it, either click on the emoji and fill out the very short form, or email Gayla Shaw with the location at gshaw@maine.edu. Happy searching!

The Centennial Garden is in transition as work is done to clean out intrusive weeds. Before the snow fell, a group of workers–including students, Ag professor Jim Dwyer, and Randy Martin, the Director of the Central Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District–removed flowers, flagstone pavers, and soil using the Ag program’s new John Deere tractor. The work had the added benefit of providing students with an OSHA training. Over the winter, they will heal the perennials using compost made near the greenhouse. Once spring returns, they will replant the perennials and install new loam, weed fabric, and mulch to reduce weeds as much as possible.

Thank you to UMPI’s Foundation for provided the funds to support this work!