All seven items passed as written during the 2018 annual town meeting on the morning of April 28 in the gymnasium at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building. The articles making up the 2018-19 municipal budget will now go to a referendum vote on Tuesday, June 12.

“We have before us the moratorium again and the need for a public hearing,” Select Vice Chair Cindy Freeman Cyr said during a April 23 selectmen’s meeting. The board then signed the notice to hold a public hearing on an extension, which would run for another 180 days from May 26 to Nov. 21, at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 14.

Several years ago many Maine municipalities made a choice for waste disposal, with most opting to either remain with the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC) or go with the forthcoming Fiberight facility in Hampden. For the county facilities in Lily Bay and Orneville townships, county officials voted to continue the relationship with PERC.

In an effort to help town businesses and bring in more visitors, the Dexter Town Council is considering a proposed ordinance that would open seven town streets to ATVs. The amendment to the motor vehicle and traffic regulations was discussed during an April 19 meeting and was moved to a public hearing for the next meeting on Thursday, May 17.

The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) recently awarded a $4,226,000 challenge grant from the Maine Technology Asset Fund 2.0 program to the Pleasant River Lumber Company. The $4.2 million will be used toward a $12 million expansion at Pleasant River Lumber’s mill on the Milo Road and a larger $20 million initiative between the Dover-Foxcroft location and the company’s Moose River Mill in Jackman.

For the third year in a row the Abbot-based JD Foundation invites the community to honor those who have died by suicide and support survivors and families impacted at the organization’s Walk/Run to Wake the Silence. The five kilometer event will start at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, with registration beforehand, at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA on Park Street.

The selectmen signed a seven-article warrant for the annual town meeting taking place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 28 in the gymnasium at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building, during an April 9 meeting.

Earlier this year the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) was awarded a $10.8 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to replace three structurally deficient bridges in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. Among the trio of projects is the Pleasant River Bridge in Milo and future improvements to the span on outer Pleasant Street were the subject of a preliminary public hearing held by the MDOT on April 11 at the town hall.

A 2018-19 academic year budget totaling $7,087,042, which includes a local assessment of just over $4,180,000, was approved by the SAD 4 school board during an April 10 meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School. The directors also set the district budget meeting for 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 3 at PCES.

For a decade the Valley Grange of Guilford has sponsored advertisements in the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Newspapers in Education supplement, which features business advertisement content created and drawn by school children from across the area. The advertisements for the Valley Grange have been drawn by students at the former Guilford Primary School and currently at Piscataquis Community Elementary School as again this year PCES third- and fourth-graders put their talents to work.