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.

Dexter Regional High School did most of its damage in the top of the third, scoring five runs on the way to a 7-0 Class C North victory at neighboring Piscataquis Community High School May 15 to start the second half of the regular season for both teams. The Tigers (7-2) won for the seventh time in eight games since the 2019 opener while the host Pirates dropped to 2-7.

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.

When Dover-Foxcroft residents head to the polls on Tuesday, June 11, they will be voting on the municipal budget, several town positions as well as the RSU 68 budget. The warrants for these items were signed by the selectmen during a May 13 meeting.

For the second year in a row, aircraft will be landing at Lake Wassookeag during the first Saturday of August to benefit Make-A-Wish Maine. The Dexter Town Council learned about the 2019 “Wings on the Waterfront” event planned for Aug. 3 from organizer Jim Crane of Exeter during a May 9 council meeting.

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.

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.

The RSU 68 school approved a proposed budget for the 2019-20 academic year totaling $11,784,238 during a May 7 meeting at the Harland A. Ladd Municipal Building. This figure is up by nearly $225,000 (1.94 percent) from the current approximate $11.6 million spending plan.

The SAD 46 school board approved a proposed 2019-20 budget totaling $14,550,306 during a May 1 meeting at the Ridge View Community School. The total is down by about $25,000 from the current academic year, but the share for the four district communities is up by nearly $166,000 to a little less than $3,370,700.

Penquis Valley School students traded in their books and pencils for rakes and shovels to get out of the classroom and into the community to give back during the fourth annual Day of Service on the morning of May 2. The grade 5-12 pupils divided into more than a dozen groups to carry out service projects throughout Milo and Brownville as a thank you to those who support the school and its programs.