On Sunday morning a group of seven Penquis Valley Middle School girls and four coaches, together comprising what they believe is the only “Heart and Sole” team in Piscataquis County, will be traveling to the Pineland YMCA in New Gloucester to join their peers from across the state in taking part in the Girls on the Run--Maine 5K.

For 71 years Rowell’s Garage has been owned by three generations of the Rowell family. In mid-August the dealership was sold by third generation owner Karen Pomeroy to General Manager Scott Moulton, who has been in the position since 2010.

Over the last 16 years more than 2,500 third-grade students from across the region have been given a dictionary thanks to the Valley Grange and the organization’s Words for Thirds Dictionary Project. Dictionaries are being handed out to pupils in four area school districts and on the afternoon of Oct. 26 about 40 students in three classes at Piscataquis Community Elementary School traveled across town to the Grange Hall to receive their dictionaries.

Thanksgiving leaps to mind when we think of November. But all too often the focus is on food and stuffing ourselves, not just the turkey. Keep in mind that gratitude has a place at the table too. So be grateful for community resources like the Thompson Free Library, and, as Veterans Day approaches, for our men and women in the armed forces, past and present.

When the high school girls soccer teams from Dexter and Central met in the regular season, each game featured a combined nine goals. The Class C North semifinal had only three goals but two of the youngest players on the roster accounted for Dexter’s pair of biggest plays in the Tigers’ 2-1 victory at the Jeffrey S. Parola Memorial Soccer Field on Oct. 27.

The first goal of the season for Houlton High School junior Nolan Porter turned out to be the most important of the season for the Shiretowners as he scored the game-winner in his team’s 3-2 Class C North quarterfinal victory over the Dexter Tigers at the Jeffrey S. Parola Memorial Soccer Field on Oct. 27.

Three pairs of demo lights, of varying degrees, have been installed downtown. After the lights have been up for several weeks, the selectmen are scheduled to meet with representatives from RealTerm Inc. to discuss options moving forward during their next meeting on the evening of Monday, Nov. 13.

For more than a decade Valley Grange Bookworms have been coming to Piscataquis Community Elementary School (and previously at the former Guilford Primary School) to share their love of books with second- and third-graders as the pupils spend time reading a book of their choice to the adult visitors.

With four employees working in two rooms making for cramped quarters, staff of the district attorney’s office have been looking at possible ways to have more space at their location on the first floor of the Piscataquis County Courthouse.

A pair of goals in the opening half and a shutout effort by the defense helped the Piscataquis Community High School boys best Sumner Memorial High School of Sullivan 2-0 in a Class C North preliminary round soccer match between the eighth- and ninth-ranked teams in the region on the afternoon of Oct. 21.