What is it that makes a good beer?

For some, alcohol content is king. Nothing like a bitter, 7 percent alcohol by volume India Pale Ale (IPA) to wash the day away.

For others, it’s about the flavor. The way a dark lager or stout warms you on the coldest winter evenings, or a citrusy nice belgian or saison refreshes on a hot summer day.

For fifth-year bio-engineering student Wilson Adams, it isn’t any one particular beer. It’s the ability to create a beer of his own.

Adams is one of a growing number of people who are home brewing, creating one-of-a-kind recipes from their very own home and enjoying them with friends and family or even selling them to microbreweries and stores.

According to the American Homebrewers Association, there are currently 1.2 million Americans who homebrew, two-thirds of which picked up the hobby in 2005 or later. As further evidence of the explosion of home brewing culture, Amazon.com now features a separate home brewing tab for brewing equipment.

For Adams, who is also the captain of the University of Maine men’s track and field team, the rationale behind getting started in home brewing was simple.

“I turned 21,” Adams joked. “I just got really into it really quickly. By the time I got into this food science class, I already knew it. I already understood it from all the chemistry books and stuff.”

During the summer of 2012, Adams lived in Portland with a friend while working for IDEXX Corporation. To celebrate being of age, Adams did what many new 21-year-olds do and hit the Old Port, more specifically the Novare Res Bier Cafe, which features over 300 beers from microbreweries around the world. The sheer volume of beers inspired Adams to delve into the culture of brewing.

“This whole new world sort of appeared to me. I wanted to know everything about it right then and there, but I knew it’s like with anything science related, you’ve gotta dive into it a while.” Adams said.

Through his studies in bio-engineering, Adams already had a strong sense for the chemistry involved and started making his own beer with a one gallon kit and kitchen supplies at a cost of $40. Although it is more common for people to start with a five-gallon kit, Adams says that either way the cost isn’t bad.

“It’s not too expensive for something you can keep continuously doing,” Adams said.

According to Adams, there are ultimately four ingredients in beer: grain, water, hops and yeast, and every part has an important role to play in the flavor. With over 200 varieties of hops on the American market and an equally vast variety of grains, the possibilities are endless, something that Adams believes is the main appeal for home brewers.

“That’s the fun part about it. I go out and try all these beers and say ‘I like that, but I don’t like this about it.’ You can kind of decipher it. There are people that brew all over the world all the time and you can go through and figure out the recipes and pick out what you want. There’s lots of leeway to it,” Adams said.

Even with the proper knowledge, there is still a large element of trial and error involved in finding the proper recipes and techniques. After purchasing the grains and hops from local retailers such as the Natural Living Center or Center St. Brewing in Bangor, Adams mashes the hops and grains and brews the beer, placing it into a fermenter after upward of five hours of work.

The fermentation process takes an additional two or three weeks, with an additional two weeks of maturation required if the beer is being bottled, rather than keg beer, which is finished after the initial fermentation. In that timespan, a lot can go wrong. Contamination and unclean equipment can have major effects on the flavor of the finished batch, as Adams found out when he attempted to make a jalapeno saison.

“I love saisons, great summer beer. Really dry and clean,” Adams said. “When I went to go make it I guess I put one too many jalapenos in there and after we bottled it and everything it looked fine; it smelled fine; it tasted like [body odor].

“Any minute contamination can throw the beer off completely,” Adams said.

Adams is currently focused on attaining a Ph.D. in bio-medical engineering and has applied to go to grad school at UMaine. Although he will keep brewing beer as a hobby, he hasn’t ruled out brewing as a possible career path.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently,” Adams said. “Graduate students tend to not make a lot of money and when it comes to living expenses and everything, I’ve seen a lot of people selling crafts and stuff on Amazon and I’ve thought, why not just make beer and sell it to co-workers and classmates.

“Everyone’s trying to make money, they’re trying to produce beer and people like Budweiser and Coors have a very different quality, and that’s what they’re accustomed to drinking. Now people just want better quality, they want something that’s different and that’s where these craft breweries come in making these beers that individuals like. There’s an artisanship to it,” Adams said.

For students interested in getting a start in home brewing, FSN 121, a food science course taught by Jason Bolton, delves into the chemistry behind brewing and has helped Adams refine his craft by going into the finer details involved.

Plans for future changes to the function of UMaine Student Government, along with several proposals for the upcoming semester were on the agenda along with the conclusion of the election of new senators to committee positions at the Dec. 2 meeting of UMSG Inc.’s General Student Senate.

Vice President’s report

In his report, Vice President Trey Stewart gave an update on the new senate districting program, which will see senators assigned to represent certain sects or ‘districts’ of the on-campus student population and air any concerns they may have.

According to Stewart, the basic program has been completed and is set to be implemented next semester with a training program for senators so that they can learn their responsibilities before it is enacted.

The vote on whether or not to disable funding to student political groups was also postponed until the Dec. 9 meeting due to a lack of feedback from senators.

Updated Laundry funds policy

After President Justin Conant’s original proposal to change the Laundry funds policy was found to be out of order, Conant returned with an updated iteration with the help of Sen. Bradley Gannon from Policy and Procedure.

“We took everything iterated to us and made a new resolution,” Conant said. “I did the baseline and Bradley did updates.”

The proposal would give first-year students options for $75 and $0 in addition to the $25 and $50 options that are already available. The intention is for students who may live in the vicinity of the university to choose the $0 option while out-of-state students choose the maximum, with the unused funds being distributed according to need.

After airing the new proposal to the senate, Sen. Matthew Beauregard came up with the suggestion of adding a $15 option to the $0, $25, $50 and $75 options in the original proposal. This would give another option that is still lower than the $25 minimum currently offered while still giving students some sort of aid.

The amendment found favor among the senate and was passed.

The proposal was passed and will now be sent to the University administration as a recommended change to make. If enacted, the proposal would take effect at the start of the 2015-16 school year.

Turf Field feasibility study gets go ahead

The senate unanimously passed the proposal for a feasibility study that would determine the possibility of a new turf field for intramural sports teams.

Dodge Tucker, president of the Intramural Sports Council, along with Conant presented on the idea, which was originally brought forward by Conant a month beforehand.

“We have a Top 10 Rec. Center. Every other university has an outdoor facility to match that,” Tucker said.

According to Tucker, 20 percent of the student body participates in intramural sports programs. With a field dedicated to intramurals, teams would not have to vacate the field to make way for teams in the university athletic department and would have their own place to practice.

The current estimated cost of the field is about $3 million, a number which, according to Tucker, would be verified or adjusted based on the findings of the study.

Policy revision for interactions between Executive Budgetary Committee and Student Entertainment

An policy revision was proposed by the Gannon, head of the Policy and Procedures Committee to increase the amount of communication between Student Entertainment and the Executive Budgetary Committee (EBC) in order to keep the EBC better informed of contract negotiations between Student Entertainment and potential artists.

“We’d like to specifically know about when money is going to change hands,” Gannon said.

The primary concern was that verbal contracts made between Student Entertainment executives and artists for shows were leading to actual contracts without the EBC knowing. To amend this, Sen. Gannon proposed that the revision read that the vice president of student entertainment report to EBC when Student Entertainment offers or plans to offer payment to any kind of artist.

The amendment passed unanimously.

“This is long overdue. Some communication will help so this is great,” Sen. Caroline Harvey said.

Nominations and elections

Many incumbent senators ran unopposed for their committee seats and ultimately retained them.

Harvey came out on top in a three way race for chair of the Services Committee, retaining her seat against Sens. Beauregard and Lawrence.

“I’ve been on senate since my first semester. I really enjoy being the chair of the Services Committee, it’s really cool to get things changed,” Harvey said.

Sen. Shaun McDonnell was nominated and elected to become the first official Old Town City Council Liaison for GSS.

UMSG’s VP of Student Entertainment steps down, several new clubs receive recognition and funds are allocated for club conference trips at the Oct. 21 meeting of UMSG’s General Student Senate.

Clubs receive preliminary, final recognition

The Common Sense Action Club, a bi-partisan student group that would work to organize balanced political discourse through events on campus, was granted preliminary recognition. The group is based on a similar group that started two years ago and is now a national group.

Club President James Dumas was on hand to talk about the group.

“Gay marriage isn’t something that is as important to our generation anymore, but the economy is and jobs are, and student debt is. Those are the things that we advocate more for.”

The Badminton and Table Tennis Club was also granted preliminary recognition after reporting their success at a tournament held in Bar Harbor.

The National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) was granted final recognition. President Ogechi Ogoke was on hand to talk about the group.

“Although it says ‘society of black engineers,’ a couple of our members are not black, so we’re open to a whole range of engineers,” Ogoke said. “We just really want to see active membership.”

President’s Report

President Justin Conant announced Sen. Andrew Bracy as Senator of the month for October.

“You don’t know a boundary until you push it,” Conant said.

Conant also announced a proposal being formed for a turf field in Lengyel Hall to dedicate to the university for its 150 year anniversary. Preliminary figures suggest that the field could cost around half of $1 million.

Conant also announced Connor Scott as the GSS Representative to the University of Maine System board of trustees.

VPSE stepping down

UMSG Vice President for Student Entertainment Patrick Fortier-Brown announced that he would be stepping down from his position and is looking for a replacement.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing that I will not be returning in the spring. As a result, I will be sending out an application for a VPSE for the remainder of the semester.”

Fortier-Brown also announced a promotional partnership between Student Entertainment and the New York Times. If students subscribe to the New York Times through a special link on the Student Entertainment website, free concert tickets will be made available for upcoming shows.

“It’s a double win because you get to read some of the best literature in the world on a normal basis for 99 cents for four weeks and at the same time you get a free concert ticket.” Fortier-Brown said.

Financial Affairs fund student groups

A number of student groups received funding from the Vice President for Financial Affairs Sen. Hoang Anh Le.

The Men’s Ultimate Frisbee team received $350 for their upcoming 11/1 tournament.

Active minds received $250 for their Post Secret U event.

The Scuba Club received $562 for their Dive in Acadia this past weekend.

Lambda Chi Alpha received $540 for their Bumpkin Bust.

SHAC received $224 for their Honors Event.

Another $200 went to the Standing Committee on Political Activism and $300 went to the International Students Association for their annual Culturefest.

Funds allocated to student groups for national conferences

The Wildlife Society and Engineers Without Borders were each granted money for their upcoming respective national conferences. Each of the groups had originally requested $1,200 for their respective trips, but were ultimately given less.

Engineers Without Borders was granted $750 for their trip while The Wildlife Society was granted $1,000 for their trip.

The potential looming moratorium on student homes was the hot button topic at last Monday’s Orono Town Council meeting, where the subject was opened for public input. Students and town residents gathered to make their thoughts known to the council, which will take all of the comments back in the hopes that it can better inform their work as they struggle with whether or not to implement such measures.

The town brought the option of a moratorium to the table early in September to address concerns that the number of family homes in Orono is getting too low because they are being bought and converted into homes for students. If a moratorium were to be implemented, the conversion of homes on the market into student homes would cease for six to 12 months while the council figures out how to set about changing the land use ordinance to accommodate both parties.

This is nothing new, according to Town Planner Evan Richert. Over the last 10 years has seen a precipitous drop in the number of single family-occupied homes in the town, resulting in a decrease of property values.

“The town is pretty consistently trying to find the right balance between having students be part of our neighborhoods, part of our town as the lifeblood of this community, and making sure that property values and the numbers of homes with families is stable,” Richert said.

“Don’t ban them from neighborhoods, they’re welcome in neighborhoods, they just can’t dominate neighborhoods,” Richert said.

After Richert’s opening address, the subject was opened up for public comment. Each side of the debate was supported by an equal number of people, with families tending to be for the moratorium while students and multi-property owners were against the moratorium.

“I don’t have anything against students, I was a student myself. I believe almost anyone in this room has been a student and I know if there had been an ordinance against student housing when I was in graduate school I would have been homeless. But we want to preserve the family nature of our neighborhood,” said University of Maine Associate Professor of Accounting Steven Colburn. “We like that family feeling.”

Colburn, who has lived with his family on Mainwood Avenue for the last 13 years was one of many families who noticed the drop in family residences and wants the balance to swing back the other way. Several townspeople also expressed concern about some of the behaviour of students who move into these homes and don’t maintain them.

Undergraduate and graduate students at the University were on hand to give their thoughts, something that has been missing in past meetings.

“Since we closed on that house in the spring of my freshman year, I have learned a lot about how to manage a household, about how to take care of a household and it has been nothing but a phenomenal experience for me,” said Jay Knowlton, a fourth-year undergraduate student. “I would hate for that to be inhibited for anyone else in the future.”

In the summer before his sophomore year, Knowlton was looking for a housing option off campus and, after realizing that he would not like The Grove or other similar complexes, he settled on a house that he purchased with the help of his father.

Charles Rodda is a doctoral student and serves as the Graduate Student Senate’s representative to the University of Maine System board of trustees. Having lived in Orono since 2005, Rodda offered his opinion on the moratorium.

“I very much discourage you putting a moratorium in place that might affect those few students that really do need to make a change in their housing situation over the next few months,” Rodda said. “There’s not an emergency you need to prevent right now.”

Rodda also pointed out that with the lack of student housing on campus, a moratorium would only make things more difficult for students.

Property owners, such as Joanne McKinnon, who rents out homes to both students and families, feels that it is unfair to discriminate against students and that the problem should be solved through other means.

“If you want to affect who buys a house when they turn over, I think you need something more effective than this rule,” McKinnon said.

The council will take what they have heard and continue to deliberate the moratorium.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who is currently campaigning for reelection, visited the University of Maine last Monday afternoon last week to speak about the difficulties Maine’s college graduates face in finding careers and what he intends to do to rectify the problem.

On the front steps of Fogler Library, LePage presented his plans for two programs that he hopes will encourage Maine college students to pursue jobs relevant to Maine’s economy, as well as to seek jobs within the state after graduation. His visit to the university marked the formal kick-off of the Youth for LePage Coalition.

Until the election on Nov. 4, LePage will be visiting various educational institutions around the state where youth members involved in political programs are prevalent. These programs will partner with LePage in setting up the coalition campaign events to raise awareness.

“[Students’] biggest concern is finding jobs after [they] graduate,” University of Maine Student Republicans member Lee Jackson said during his introduction of LePage. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and his name is Paul LePage.”

According to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national youth unemployment rate is 14 percent, double the national average for the previous generations.

“Like many of you, I struggle to be financially stable. The idea of the American dream, owning our own home or even finding a job after graduation seems nothing more than a fairy tale our parents used to tell us,” Jackson said.

After speaking about some of LePage’s accomplishments over the course of his governorship, such as the creation of 22,000 private sector jobs over the last four years and a 5 percent unemployment rate, LePage took the podium.

“The State of Maine is on the move,” LePage said, referring to the Maine’s ranking as 5th in the nation for growing wages and 4th in percent of working population.

The governor went on to cite high energy costs, high taxes and a low number of jobs available for graduates as the three primary problems he is trying to address.

To address the the last of these issues, LePage proposed two programs: a scholarship program for students pursuing a degree related to the STEM fields  — science, technology, engineering, math — and a tax break for state employers who hire and pay the loans for Maine graduates.

LePage has been in talks with a number of tech companies to figure out a scholarship program for STEM students.

“We’re trying to get companies involved to buy scholarships. They’ll give scholarships out for certain degree paths with certain conditions and protocols and let the students who meet those protocols grant scholarships on an annual basis,” LePage said. “If you push kids, they’ll respond and perform.”

LePage hopes that this private sector scholarship program would encourage more up and coming college students to pursue degrees more relevant to the needs of Maine’s economy.

“Unfortunately, many degrees are degrees that we can’t use here in Maine. A masters in Sports Management is not nearly as good as a masters in IT in the state of Maine,” LePage said. “We have very few facilities looking for sports management masters, but we have many careers in the medical profession, the biotech profession, research [and] development.”

The second of LePage’s proposals is a tax incentive program for businesses who hire recent college graduates. In order to apply for the tax break, a business would need to hire a student and pay that student’s college loans, taking the burden off of the graduate so that they can become financially stable. In theory, the tax break would recoup the cost to the business for paying off the loans.

“Not only are we not providing adequate jobs for kids coming out of college, we’re taxing them right from the start,” LePage said. “There are opportunities, but the problem is many of our graduates come out of school and they have to find an apartment, they have to pay student loans, they have to pay a car loan.”

According to LePage, both parties would benefit from this sort of agreement as the employer would be able to hire a “fresh young mind” for three to five years while the graduate would be able to stay in the state while they find their footing.

Although both of these programs are in their infancy, LePage hopes to implement the tax break program by January 2015.

“The only way I think you could get both parties to conform to this is if I change my name,” LePage joked.

Oct. 5

1:05 a.m. – Snitches get stitches

University of Maine Police Department (UMPD) officers responded to a Resident Assistant’s complaint of offensive writing in Cumberland Hall. When the officers reported to the scene they found the phrase “Snitches get stitches, let that sink in” written on the door of one of the dorm rooms. While officers can’t say if the two incidents were related, there was an alcohol violation reported the night before somewhere around that room.

11:11 p.m. – Hermon hoodlums

A stationary UMPD officer on patrol pulled over a pickup truck on Rangeley Road after squealing tires were heard and the vehicle was seen almost causing an accident while passing the officer at a high rate of speed. When the officer approached the driver, Brandon Shaw, 20, a non-student from Hermon, was found to have slurred speech and glossy eyes. At this point Shaw was issued a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer test, which determined that he had a blood alcohol content of .15.

Shaw had one passenger, also a 20-year-old male, and a bicycle in his truck. Upon further investigation UMPD determined that Shaw has caused $100 in turf damage after driving across a campus lawn. Shaw was charged with operating under the influence as well as criminal mischief and was transferred to Penobscot County Jail. Shaw was subsequently charged with theft after it was discovered that the bicycle in his truck had been reported stolen the next morning.

Oct. 8

10:48 p.m. – Boisterous brews

UMPD officers on foot patrol in York Hall were approached by an RA concerning the noise level coming from a room on the first floor. When the officers knocked on the door they made contact with the two room residents who admitted to consuming four beers. The three other room occupants claimed to have just arrived and had not been drinking. The room residents were referred to Student Conduct with no charges. One 18-year-old male student was referred to Student Conduct for underage drinking.

Oct. 9

11:16 p.m. – Close, but no card

UMPD officers responded to a strong odor of marijuana coming from a room on the first floor of Oxford Hall. Upon entering the room, officers made contact with Garrett Cullen, 23, a male non-student from Millinocket. Cullen handed over a small bag of marijuana and was also found in possession of a small pipe. While Cullen told the officers he was looking into obtaining a medical marijuana card, he didn’t quite have one yet. Cullen was summonsed to the Bangor District Court for possession of a usable amount of marijuana.

Oct. 10

12:21 a.m. – Pair of pot perpetrators

Upon receiving a complaint of a marijuana odor from Knox Hall, UMPD officers responded to a first floor dorm room where they found room resident Christopher Hunter, 18, with five other guests. When officers entered the room they could detect a strong odor of marijuana and found a towel on the floor next to the door, though no marijuana was found. The officers found beer in the fridge and that one guest, Aidan Willis, 19, was hiding a beer can behind his leg. The four other room occupants were sent on their way while Willis and Hunter were referred to judicial affairs and summonsed for possession of alcohol.

Oct. 11

11:24 p.m. – Drinking in the dorm room? No way!

After a RA report of underage drinking on the first floor of Patch Hall, UMPD approached the room which was quiet upon time of arrival. The 21-year-old female room resident opened the door and was cooperative with the officers. The other female guests were all 18, though they too remained cooperative and only received referrals for alcohol possession.

Oct. 13

10:32 p.m. – Phantom fighter

UMPD officers received a call regarding a reported assault at the Theta Chi house on College Avenue. The victim, a 23-year-old Theta Chi brother, claimed to be concentrating on a homework assignment when he was unexpectedly struck in the back of the head. The brother admitted to having headphones in and not hearing or seeing anyone enter or exit the room. There are no witnesses to the alleged assault and UMPD has no suspects.

University of Maine officials announced Thursday that they must cut next year’s $242 million budget by $7 million, but will not eliminate any academic programs and will try to avoid layoffs in a bid to have the smallest possible impact on the student body.

“We really do want to minimize the impact on academic and student services,” Orono President Susan Hunter told nearly 200 people gathered in Minsky Recital Hall on the Orono campus.

Almost half of the cuts, $3.2 million, will come from academic affairs, which include all the academic programming, officials said. Other major cuts will include $900,000 in administration and finance and $440,000 from the president’s office.

The announcement comes in the wake of a plan proposed by University of Southern Maine President David Flanagan to eliminate 50 faculty positions and close two academic programs to shave $6 million off that school’s budget gap of $16 million for the next fiscal year. The remaining $10 million will come from administration and staff cuts, to be announced by mid-November, and a plan to reorganize academic programming, to be announced by the end of the year.

Last Monday, during a campaign visit to the University of Maine, Gov. Paul LePage commented on the financial woes of the University.

“The University is going under tough times. Unfreezing the tuition is not an option,” LePage said. “I think it’s more than just asking for money; the University of Maine system has to have a plan.”

LePage added that the jury is still out on the changes that the UMS has been trying to implement, but he believes that the idea of specialized campuses is one that could benefit the system as a whole.

“Instead of teaching the same programs at each campus, they should specialize more,” LePage said.

Hunter touched on this as one of the ways that the university is trying to diversify and that in addition to the proposed cuts, the Orono campus will also make investments in certain areas identified as, “centers of excellence,” such as engineering, marine science and climate change.

Department heads will submit budgets that reflect the proposed cuts by Oct. 22, officials said.

The campus will also know on Oct. 20 how many faculty plan to retire. According to Vice President for Administration and Finance Ryan Low.

Maine Republican governor Paul LePage, who is currently campaigning for reelection, visited the University of Maine on Monday afternoon to speak about the difficulties Maine’s college graduates face in finding careers and what he intends to do to rectify the problem.

On the front steps of Fogler Library, LePage presented his plans for two programs that he hopes will encourage Maine college students to pursue jobs relevant to Maine’s economy, as well as to seek jobs within the state after graduation. His visit to the university is one many that LePage has planned as he seeks to bring awareness to the steps he is trying to make ahead of and after the November elections.

“[Students’] biggest concern is finding jobs after we graduate,” University of Maine Student Republicans member Lee Jackson said during his introduction of LePage. “There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and his name is Paul LePage.”

After speaking about some of LePage’s accomplishments over the course of his governorship, such as the creation of 20,000 private sector jobs over the last four years, LePage took the podium.

“The State of Maine is on the move.” LePage said, referring to the Maine’s ranking as 5th in the nation for growing wages and 4th in percent of working population.

The governor went on to cite high energy costs, high taxes and a low number of jobs available for graduates as the three primary problems he is trying to address.

To address the the last of these, LePage proposed two programs: a scholarship program for students pursuing a degree in a STEM-related field (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), and a tax break for state employers who hire and pay the loans for Maine graduates.

“A master’s [degree] in Sports Management is not nearly as important as a master’s in IT in Maine,” LePage said. “Not only are we not providing adequate jobs for kids coming out of college, but we’re taxing them.”

Although both of these programs are in their infancy, LePage hopes to implement the tax break program by Jan. 2015.

9/25

6:23 p.m. – So hot right now, wire

A first-year student called the police after finding significant damage to the center console of their green Chevrolet Lumina. Police speculate that the assailants were trying to hotwire the car, which was left unlocked in the Hilltop Lot since Sept. 21, and left after failing to fully disassemble the console. The damage is estimated to be worth $40.

9/27

6:14 a.m. – Conroy, poor boy, too young to enjoy

An officer on early morning routine patrol in York Hall found a male student by the name of Raymond Conroy sleeping on one of the couches in the second floor lobby. The officer attempted to wake up the 18-year-old, but the student was unresponsive. At this point, the officer noticed a bottle of vodka next to the student and deduced that he had been drinking. The officer called UVAC to have him transported to a hospital. Once UVAC arrived, Conroy awoke and refused to be transported. Conroy was then issued a summons for illegal possession of liquor by a minor.

10:09 p.m. – Out cold after cold ones

A Resident Assistant in Somerset Hall called university police with some concern after witnessing two students physically dragging a third student up the stairs from the second floor to the fourth floor. Police arrived at the room where the students were holed up and started the process of interrogation. Although it was obvious that Brandon Braley, 19, and Wayne Gayle, 19, and their too-hammered-to-walk friend had been drinking, none of them were quick to admit it. Gayle eventually threw Braley under the bus, saying that Braley bought the alcohol and got the third person drunk. Braley took responsibility for the alcohol and was given a summons for furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol. Gayle was also given a summons for illegal possession of liquor by a minor.

9/28

10:15 p.m. – Poultry pair

Officers responded to a civilian call reporting animals in the botanical gardens. Responding officers found two chickens who had gotten into the gardens. The officers realized it would be ridiculous if they were to attempt to catch the chickens, and called animal control to remove them. The chickens have since been removed from the premises.

1:41 a.m. – That smell

An RA in Knox Hall called UMaine’s finest after noticing a strong odor of marijuana on the first floor. An officer arrived a short while later and was able to narrow down the source of the smell to the room of Christian Powell, 18. The officer knocked on the door and confronted Powell about the smell. Powell admitted to smoking in the room and complied with the officer’s demands. The officer confiscated a small amount of marijuana, a bong, pipe and a bottle of champagne. Powell was given a summons for possession of a usable amount of marijuana as well as a referral to Judicial Affairs.

9/29

9:22 p.m. – See above

An RA in Somerset Hall called UMaine’s finest after noticing a strong odor of marijuana on the third floor. An officer arrived a short while later and was able to narrow down the source of the smell to the room of Benjamin Tremblay, 18. The officer knocked on the door and confronted Powell about the smell. Powell admitted to smoking in the room and complied with the officer’s demands. The officer confiscated a small amount of marijuana, rolling papers and a grinder. No champagne this time. Tremblay was issued a summons for possession of a usable amount of marijuana.

The town of Orono, in partnership with Old Town and the University of Maine, is aiming to install fiber-optic infrastructure into what is known as the “tech park” district on Godfrey Drive. It is estimated that the pilot project could cost the town $25,000 to $30,000 and could potentially attract a host of businesses to the area.

With fiber-optic infrastructure, businesses in the area would be able to utilize 1 GB-per-second internet, which is roughly a hundred times faster than the fastest broadband currently offered in the state.

“We tried to be the first on the map [with fiber-optics], but there were too many obstacles. Now we have the opportunity to do something,” said Orono Town Manager Sophie Wilson at last Monday’s Economic Development Committee meeting, where the opportunity was presented.

In early 2012, the town was in talks with Old Town and Maine broadband service provider GWI about connecting the towns and the University of Maine to the Three Ring Binder, an 1,100-mile long highway of fiber optic infrastructure that passes underneath Bennoch Road. In order to take advantage of the opportunity, the towns planned on coming together in a collaborative called Old Town-Orono Fiber (OTO Fiber) and applied for grant funding to go through with the project.

Although they weren’t able to receive the necessary funds in 2012, the town is in a better position this time around.

Assistant Town Manager Belle Ryder announced on Monday that the town is to receive a $125,000 grant from ConnectME Authority, a government agency focused on developing better internet connectivity in the state’s lower population areas. However, the grant was made under the condition that the town would also receive a matching grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission.

With the grant money, the town hopes to follow through with a pilot project in the tech park, where Eastern Maine Health and other businesses have expressed interest in moving to the area on the basis of gigabit internet being available. Currently, there are no fiber-optic connections in any of the buildings in the district.

Although OTO Fiber won’t receive the whole grant at this point, Wilson and Ryder are optimistic about the project and believe that the potential of gigabit Internet will draw interest from Old Town, as well as businesses, to contribute to the project.

Eastern Maine Health has already signed a 5-year lease for one of the vacant buildings on Godfrey Dr. while another is expressing interest based on the success of the pilot project. According to Town Planner Evan Richert, this could potentially bring 150 new jobs to the area.

“It’s going to fill two buildings that have been vacant for two to three [or more] years and which have had quite a drag on the impression of our vitality [as a town],” Richert said.

“It’s also dragging the valuation down at the tech park, part of that $4 million loss in value [reported for fiscal year ‘14] was directly related to lack of rented space out there,” Wilson said.

By partnering with Maine Fiber Co., the hope is that OTO Fiber can lease fibers to various businesses who would then pay for a third party internet provider like GWI to provide gigabit internet, allowing the town to control the resource.

The project would involve constructing fiber lines that branch out from the portion of the Three Ring Binder underneath Bennoch Road and extend along the curb on Godfrey Drive. Businesses would then have to pay for additional lines to be connected from their buildings to the curbside fiber line.

“The intent is for us to provide an infrastructure, like a road or a waterline,” Ryder said.

“Controlling those fibers gives us the ability to provide a service or deliver a service with some negotiating power,” Richert said.

Orono and Old Town have also sought input from Networkmaine, the University of Maine System’s office on high-speed Internet connectivity, on the incorporation of gigabit Internet through fiber optic infrastructure. Because of the university’s presence in the community, Ryder hopes that the university will come to the table and be a part of the multi-town effort to bring gigabit internet to the area.

“We’re in hopes that when we form OTO Fiber, [the university] will be a party in that agreement,” Ryder said. “It’s in all our best interest.”