It is with great pleasure that the Baxter State Park Authority announces the appointment of its new park chief ranger, Daniel Rinard. Rinard comes to the park from the Appalachian Mountain Club's Maine Woods Initiative, where he ably guided facilities management and operations at the Maine lodges since 2012, most recently as director.

A father and son from LaGrange have been accused of drug trafficking after drug agents say they seized nearly $15,000 worth of Oxycodone from their truck and home.

Autumn Finkle of Brownville, a graduate of Maine Connections Academy (MCA) the state’s first online public charter school, has graduated with a prestigious Mitchell Scholarship as well as a MELMAC scholarship. Finkle will be enrolled this fall as a freshman at Husson University in Bangor, where she plans to study nursing.

DOVER-FOXCROFT -- In conjunction with Foxcroft Academy’s Alumni Weekend and the Dover-Foxcroft Shiretown Homecoming, the 23rd annual Pony Pride 5K will be open to all and run at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3. For the fourth year in a row, the 3.1-mile event is starting and ending on the campus of Foxcroft Academy.

While the increase in broadband speeds has been dramatic and is encouraging, these numbers mask a disparity between urban and rural Americans. Nearly all Americans living in urban areas have access to the Internet at speeds that meet the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband threshold, while one in four rural Americans do not.

Upcoming events around the region.

The Center Theatre's first Summer Drama Camp in Monson came to a rousing conclusion on Saturday, July 20 during Monson Summerfest with a performance of “Bedbugs,” written by Leah Genuario. The cast of colorful kids and an audience of 70 onlookers ignored the high heat and celebrated the completion of camp.

The Big Pine Gun Club Youth Foundation sponsored its first Conservation Camp the week of June 24 at the Big Pine Gun Club in Willimantic. Fifteen campers, aged 12-17, participated in the week-long camp. Campers learned to safely handle, load, unload, and shoot rifles, shotguns, crossbows, and standard archery equipment. They also practiced survival skills in the Maine woods and reviewed basic first aid.

The Hibbard Skilled Nursing Center and Dexter Healthcare, in Cooperation with Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative, recently recognized the most recently graduated CNA class.

The Maine Appalachian Trail Club (MATC) was awarded $20,083 in grant funding by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund (MOHF) to support critical trail maintenance projects on one of the most heavily-trafficked sections of the Appalachian Trail.