Mayo Regional Hospital was recognized for meeting the Gold level in the 2017 Gold Star Standards of Excellence Program for efforts to prohibit smoke and tobacco use on campus and address client tobacco use.

The Maine Warden Service is pleased to announce the hiring of a new pilot to complement the air wing division. Pilot Christopher Hilton, 32, from Brunswick, was sworn in Oct. 5 in Augusta before warden service staff and family. Pilot Hilton will serve in the bureau’s third pilot position and began working as a game warden pilot at the start of the month.

This probably will not surprise you, but having worked as a fish biologist for around 30 years I’ve heard a lot of fish stories. Sometimes I say, “Wow, that’s unbelievable!,” when my inner monologue is really saying, “Ok, now this is just not believable … but I’ll keep smiling.”

Those elected to represent the people of Maine have a responsibility to prioritize the needs of our state. But Maine’s senators do not put Mainers first.

A huge pumpkin grown in Charleston has squashed the record for the heaviest one ever grown in Maine. But breaking the record wasn’t a slam-dunk for Elroy Morgan’s Atlantic Giant pumpkin, which topped the scales at 1,756 pounds.

The following births were recorded recently at Mayo Regional Hospital:

If any non-human deserves a Nobel Prize, it’s the common fruit fly, according to a newly minted Nobel laureate and Maine retiree who used the tiny insect to unlock the mystery of the biological clock.

I recently came across Matthew Gagnon’s Sept. 21 BDN (and Sept. 27 Piscataquis Observer) column “The future of freedom of speech.” I found it interesting that Gagnon blamed political correctness as the reason college campuses are drifting toward speech codes and regulations on speech.

Upcoming October events

The Piscataquis County Retired Educators met for the last formal meeting of the year. Sixteen members gathered recently at the Bear's Den for a silent auction, meeting and lunch.