On May 1 a special assembly was held at Foxcroft Academy to announce the Class of 2018’s outstanding scholars at the annual Rose Award ceremony. This year the recipients are Jinlin “Wayne” Chen, Jenna Clukey (the Class of 2018 valedictorian), Emily Curtis, Maya Hagelin, Charlotte Jolin, Gabrielle Jolin, Shu “Will” Lin, Griffin Loomis, Virginia Macomber, Avery Nelson (the salutatorian), Jacob Olson, Esau Olson, and Joshua Reed.

Piscataquis County Democrats and guests gathered on April 29 for the annual spring Brunch at American Legion Post 29. Over 100 people enjoyed a delicious brunch prepared by David Ziemer, Sue Mackey Andrews and numerous volunteers while listening to candidates for governor, the Second Congressional District and local candidates for the Maine House and Senate.

Fourteen members of the Abbott Memorial Library’s Book Club met on April 25 to celebrate the club’s 10th anniversary. An anniversary dinner was served featuring foods of the 1950s, members had just completed reading David Halberstam’s ”The Fifties.”

The Center Theatre for the Performing Arts announced that it will be hosting the first annual Central Maine Talent Search. The event, which will offer cash and other prizes totaling close to $2,000, will consist of three preliminary events in June, July and August and a grand finale in September. Entrants must be at least 10 years old, can perform any entertaining talent either by themselves or with two other people, and cannot have been paid more than $500 to perform their talent in the past year.

Foxcroft Academy is pleased to announce the honor parts for this year’s graduating class, the 195th class in school history. The Valedictorian is Jenna Clukey and the Salutatorian is Avery Nelson.

Maine Woods Forever is pleased to announced that the Greenville-based Natural Resource Education Center (NREC) Maine Woods Explorers program is one of three recipients of the 2018 Teddy Roosevelt Maine Conservation Award – a youth-oriented award created to recognize young people and youth groups whose efforts are in the spirit of Roosevelt’s conservation ethic and achievements. The award recognizes what Maine’s youth are doing to appreciate and conserve their forest heritage. It also encourages them to become future conservation leaders.

Upcoming events around the region.

Saying goodbye is never easy. Endings tend to elicit a whole range of emotions. Whether it’s the last chapter of a book or the final episode of a television show, letting go of familiar characters takes a bit of time and adjustment. The month of May brings change and continuity to Dover-Foxcroft’s Thompson Free Library.

Join us for a morning bird walk on Saturday, May 12 as we explore springtime birds at the Law Farm. The Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) will be hosting birding expert Bob Duchesne for a walk, starting at 8 a.m., to view year-round birds in Maine and also some returning springtime birds.

The Dexter Public Health Association, a non-profit committed to providing in-home, free nursing services regardless of income status, has been selected as a beneficiary of the Hannaford Helps Reusable Bag Program for the month of May.

The Harold J. Crosby Community Band will be presenting its Carnival of Melody concert on at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 6 at the Dexter Town Hall. This annual event is a culmination of practices that began in January.

If you’re out and about in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties this spring, there’s a chance that someone may try to give you a tomato seedling. And if you take it home, congratulations! You’ve just become part of the One Tomato project.

When Debbie Knapp, owner and operator of Little People’s Nursery School and Daycare was looking for ways to make the healthy choice the easy choice, she asked Let’s Go 5210 Piscataquis Coordinator Shannon Fowles how to get her hands on enough water bottles for each of her preschool students and daycare attendees.

The following were selected as Students of the Quarter, for the third quarter, at the Ridge View Community School in Dexter for demonstrating academic excellence and positive attitude

At its annual meeting on April 24 the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis elected its slate of officers for 2018-19. They are President Jack Clukey; President Elect Joe Siccardi; Immediate Past President Marilyn Hartford; Secretary Rita Page; and Treasurer Barbara Moore.

The Center Theatre announced that thanks to a sponsorship by Dave's World and U.S. Cellular all kids 10 and under can attend for free at the opening night of Disney's “Lion King Jr.” at the Center Theatre at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 4.

The Guilford Memorial Library recently received a $550 grant from the Rose and Samuel Rudmin Library Trust Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. Grant money will be used to bring new adult non-fiction titles to the patrons of the Guilford Memorial Library, the town and the surrounding communities.

Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition (DDATT) is sponsoring a free workshop on Saturday morning May 5 at the Abbott Memorial Library. Patti Dowse will share her extensive knowledge of how to get the most out of the amazing little package of technology that more and more of us carry in our pockets.