Many visitors to Baxter State Park, the Golden Road, the Katahdin Woods and Waters Scenic Byway and other destinations in and near Piscataquis County will be able to learn more about the region, and use some new public restroom facilities, at a forthcoming Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) information hub at Millinocket Lake by the North Woods Trading Post and the Golden Road in T1 R9.

Two Dover-Foxcroft women who have worked to provide comforting blankets to countless children through Project Linus and helped provide a happy holidays for numerous families via the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Community Christmas Project, among other volunteer efforts for each, have been honored by the Valley Grange with the organization’s 2019 Community Citizen of the Year honor. Barbara Austin and Judy Raymond received the recognition on the evening of May 17 at the Grange Hall.

Students at Piscataquis Community Elementary School spent several months reading as many books as possible, not only for fun and to learn but for the opportunity to win a brand new bicycle and helmet. Thanks to the Masons of Abner Wade Lodge #207 in Sangerville and Mt. Kineo Lodge #109 of Guilford students could place an entry into a bicycle drawing for every title they read in the Masons’ annual Bikes for Books program.

The SAD 4 school board approved a proposed budget for the 2019-20 academic year totaling $7,174,825 during a May 14 meeting at Piscataquis Community High School. This figure is up by nearly $87,800 (1.239 percent) from the current spending plan totaling a little less than $7.1 million.

Senior Chief Mark Melia, a native of Guilford and who has served 17 years in the U.S. Navy, is a master-at-arms and is the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) Navy Element’s senior enlisted leader. As the senior enlisted leader, Melia’s job is the link between the enlisted community and the senior leaders.

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine will spend Saturday, May 25 visiting Milo and talking with constituents as he tours several venues in the area to begin the Memorial Day weekend. Local residents are encouraged to come out and meet with Golden and his staff at the American Legion in the morning and/or at Bissell Brothers Three Rivers in the afternoon.

A public hearing on bill “LD 1708” to amend the HAD 4 charter to authorize the merger between Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Northern Light Health, a statewide system comprised of hospitals across Maine, has been scheduled by the 129th Legislature’s state and local government committee for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 15 in Augusta at the Cross Building, Room 214. More information is available at http://legislature.maine.gov/committee/#Committees/SLG.

Among the projects the department is putting off are the replacement of interstate highway overpasses in Bangor and Brewer, road resurfacing in Portland and the reconstruction of about 3 miles each of major state roads in Abbot and Van Buren.

Over the years Alden Gregory’s grade 5-6 science students at Piscataquis Community Elementary School have assembled models of various ecosystems, including the Arctic. Next month Gregory will be able to experience this environment in person as he has been chosen to join an international group in the “Leadership on the Edge” ClimateForce: Arctic 2019 program to study the impact of climate change on Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago north of the Arctic Circle, and the Arctic Ocean.

Honored as the 2019 Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year is art educator Bobbi Tardif of SeDoMoCha Middle School in Dover-Foxcroft. Tardif is a resident of Corinna

While most all-terrain vehicle riders are safe and respectful while operating their ATVs, some others aren’t. On May 1, Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced that she has formed an ATV Initiatives Task Force to address the riders who operate on the wrong side of the law, trespassing, damaging private land and making landowners reassess their access policies.

Piscataquis Community High School has announced the Class of 2019 Valedictorian is Jennifer Simon and the Salutatorian is Zachary Wilson.

The Maine Senate enacted LD 555 “An Act To Reduce Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Morality by Updating Screening Coverage” after the bill received unanimous support in both the Maine Senate and House of Representatives.

Residents and/or town officials of 12 of the 13 Hospital Administrative District 4 member communities have voted in favor of the proposed merger between Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Northern Light Health, a statewide system comprised of hospitals across Maine.

Michael and Wendy have joined the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce and look forward to building strong relationships with surrounding chamber business members. The Chamber will host a member-only open house at the Guilford Bed and Breakfast on Friday, May 10 from 6-8 p.m. Guests can expect light refreshments, homemade treats and door prizes. Please call 564-7533 to RSVP.

Citizens in Guilford, Parkman, Atkinson, and Sebec all voted Monday night in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. Guilford residents voted 48-4, Parkman residents voted 14-5, Atkinson residents voted 8-0 and Sebec residents voted 29-13, all in favor of the merger at special town meetings held Monday evening.

More than halfway through the process, seven of eight HAD 4 communities have given approval to the proposed merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health, a statewide system comprised of hospitals across Maine.

Abbot resident Walter Boomsma of the Valley Grange, who also serves as communications director for the Maine State Grange, will appear on a one-hour program on Maine Public Radio Friday, May 3 starting at 1 p.m. The program is “Maine Calling” and will feature Boomsma and Past Master of the Maine State Grange Vicki Huff as studio guests discussing “The Role of the Grange in Maine.”