When passion of a livelihood is merged with classroom curriculum and shared with students through life experiences, you have an amazing educator on your hands. The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is pleased to announce the 2019 Outstanding Conservation Educator of the Year, Rob Weber of Foxcroft Academy.

On May 5 Dexter Hannaford organized a clean-up day around town with help from Dexter Recreation Department and Dexter Fire Department. Immediately after the cleanup, Hannaford put on a BBQ at the fire department for those who helped.

Upcoming events around the region.

Family heirlooms can be something as simple, and important, as Grandma’s yellow pie plate. Family members have memories of special occasions, and these occasions are often marked by important belongings. Who gets these family heirlooms? Jane Conroy will be addressing this topic at the next Pine Tree Hospice Lunch & Learn on Tuesday, May 21.

The ice was declared to be “out” at 9:48 a.m. on Friday, May 3. The winner of this year’s contest is Larry Miller of Howell, New Jersey. His was the closest guess with a time of 10:04 a.m.

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.

Foxcroft Academy will hold the 2019 commencement exercises on Sunday, June 9 at 1:30 p.m. A baccalaureate ceremony will be held before graduation at noon. Both ceremonies are planned to be outside on the East Lawn of Foxcroft Academy, with the gymnasium ready in case of inclement weather.

Students and staff of Piscataquis Community Elementary School recently announced several public events of interest to families and the community.

Piscataquis Community High School has announced the Class of 2019 Valedictorian is Jennifer Simon and the Salutatorian is Zachary Wilson.

The Maine Senate enacted LD 555 “An Act To Reduce Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Morality by Updating Screening Coverage” after the bill received unanimous support in both the Maine Senate and House of Representatives.

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.

The Moosehead Cottage Resort, which sits on 15 private acres about three miles south of downtown Greenville, is now under new management.

On May 1 a special assembly was held at Foxcroft Academy to announce the Class of 2019’s outstanding scholars at the annual Rose Award ceremony. This year, the recipients are Aida Abdykashova, Brigid Casey, Yeojeong “Liz” Choi, Lauren Cooper, Nicolas Daneman, Abigail Henderson, Keying “Chloe” Huang (Salutatorian), Spencer Ireland (Valedictorian), Rylie Kleikamp, Yifan “Frances” Li, Gavyn Moreshead, Mariah Poulin, Cailin Seavey, Dustin Simmon, Matthew Spooner and Hannah Sprecher.

Two sessions of “Nuts and Bolts of Caregiving “will be given on Tuesday, May 14 in the old Mayo Hospital building in Dover-Foxcroft. The sessions are taught by the EMCC student nurses Ashley Vincent and Jennifer Cary, and Beth Weatherbee, R.N., B.S.N, M.Ed through the Mayo Regional Hospital Cohort. The sessions are limited to 10 people each and will be held from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1-3:30 p.m.

On Tuesday, April 23, the Secretary of State for Maine, Matthew Dunlap, paid a visit to the Dexter Regional High School’s Current Events class to answer student questions about how the state secures our elections.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)/Miosac Club met at Thayer Parkway April 16 for a spring tea. President Suzanne Raymond called the meeting to order. Vicki Moschella led the Club Collect, Americans Creed and Pledge of Allegiance. She then introduced Pam Pultz who spoke about "senior dogs." Pultz has these pets and she says the dogs are very good to have for companionship and exercise.

Residents and/or town officials of 12 of the 13 Hospital Administrative District 4 member communities have voted in favor of the proposed merger between Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Northern Light Health, a statewide system comprised of hospitals across Maine.

The Rose and Samuel Rudman Library Trust of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded grants totaling $22,363 to 30 libraries across the state. The grants, which range from $300 to $1,000, support programs and activities that creatively and practically integrate with a library’s collection.