With the calendar year nearing an end, RSU 68 officials have started preparations for developing the 2019-20 budget. During a Dec. 4 school board meeting Superintendent Stacy Shorey said the directors have now all received a budget meeting calendar.

A week after the public hearing for the pair of spending plans, the Piscataquis County Commissioners approved a $4,535,958 Piscataquis County budget for the 2019 calendar year along with an Unorganized Territory (UT) budget of $1,756,657 for the 2019-20 fiscal year during the Dec. 4 meeting.

Earlier in the month, on the day we all went to the polls, Mississipians held a special election for the seat left vacated by the resignation of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. Four candidates ran for the seat, each running on a nonpartisan ticket line, with two main competitors -- Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy -- taking up the lion's share of votes. The other two were minor candidates with no realistic chance of winning.

A proposed $4,535,958 Piscataquis County budget for the 2019 calendar year, along with an Unorganized Territory (UT) budget of $1,756,657 for the 2019-20 fiscal year, was presented at a public hearing on Nov. 26 as part of the process by county officials for developing the pair of spending plans.

Several weeks after being elected as the new district attorney for Piscataquis and Penobscot counties -- Prosecutorial District 5 -- current Deputy District Attorney Marianne Lynch, R-Bangor met with the Piscataquis County Commissioners during their Nov. 20 meeting.

For nearly three and a half decades individuals and families have been served free of charge by Pine Tree Hospice during the time of dying and bereavement. The organization’s volunteers exemplify caring, grace, and compassion, as stated on the cover of the 2018 annual report, among many other qualities one thinks of following the phrase “hospice is ....” All involved with and contributing to Pine Tree Hospice were honored during the annual meeting Nov. 15 at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church.

The Wells High School offense decided to run the football nearly all night -- the team threw just twice with one of these plays being a halfback pass -- and the strategy paid off as the Warriors defeated Foxcroft Academy 55-20 in the 2018 Class D championship on the turf at Alfond Stadium at the University of Maine on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 17.

Observer photo/Stuart HedstromCOLOR RUN FOR BRAYSON — A group of 57 runners/walkers, 20 Foxcroft Academy football players and five coaches volunteering, six Foxcroft Academy cheerleader volunteers, and 12 SeDoMoCha School staff members helping — for 100 total — braved the cold on the morning of Sunday, Nov.

The numerous efforts to save the late 19th century-era Central Hall and transform the building on East Main Street into a community space -- now known as The Commons at Central Hall -- for the future have been recognized by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR).

Last spring a referendum on an approximate $2.3 million funding package for a heating system upgrade, converting from steam to hot water, and energy efficiency project at the Penquis Valley School was voted down via a count of 166 to 111 across the four SAD 41 communities. The combined tally between Brownville, LaGrange, and Milo was 106 yes votes to 42 no votes, while in Atkinson the question was voted down 114 to 5 to result in the 166-111 overall tally. In the months since district officials have been discussing what to do next, and during a Nov. 7 meeting the possibility of a referendum without Atkinson was brought up.