The SAD 41 school board learned more about PVAEC programs during a presentation by PVAEC Director Thelma Regan during a Dec. 11 meeting at the Penquis Valley School. Next month the directors are set to vote on continuing district membership in the cooperative for another year.

A $4.8 million-plus Piscataquis County budget for 2020, along with a $1,804,670 Unorganized Territory budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, were both formally approved and signed by the county commissioners during a Dec. 10 meeting.

The executive committee of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) is saddened to announce the resignation of Executive Director Christopher Winstead. On Dec. 4 Winstead notified the board of the PCEDC that he has accepted a position with Eastern Maine Community College. Winstead joined PCEDC in 2015, and served as executive director.

Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville has announced his bid for reelection in Senate District 4.

For more than six months, the Maine Department of Transportation’s director of freight knew that a large portion of train track that runs through Maine was going to change hands. Recently news broke that one of the largest rail operators in North America would buy the 481 miles of track in Maine and Quebec run by Bangor-based Central Maine and Quebec Railway. The sale to Calgary, Alberta-based Canadian Pacific Railway is expected to close by the end of the year.

Piscataquis County sets aside a day or two in early December to celebrate the wonder of Christmas and the magic of the holiday season. This year Dover-Foxcroft, Greenville (on Saturday, Nov. 30) Guilford, Milo, Monson, Sebec and Dexter are participating.

A proposed $4.8 million-plus Piscataquis County budget for 2020, along with a $1,804,670 Unorganized Territory budget for the 2020-21 fiscal year, was presented at a public hearing on Nov. 25 as part of the process by county officials for developing the pair of spending plans.

For three and a half decades Pine Tree Hospice has served individuals and families, free of charge, during the time of dying and bereavement. The organization’s volunteers assist through all life changes -- as stated with the theme “Seasons of Change” on the cover of the 2019 annual report -- and those involved with and contributing to Pine Tree Hospice were honored during the annual meeting Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church.

A railway company that owns tracks stretching through much of Canada and parts of the northern U.S. will buy Bangor-based Central Maine and Quebec Railway by the end of the year, adding 481 miles of track in Quebec and Maine to its network. Canadian Pacific Railway, based in Calgary, Alberta, will buy Central Maine and Quebec Railway from its parent company, New York-based Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC.

A number of area residents were recognized at the county-wide Spirit of American Awards ceremony Nov. 15 at the Valley Grange in Guilford.

State regulators have given preliminary support to a proposed merger of Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft with Northern Light Health, the statewide health care system that includes Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The school district’s near $745,000 share of a $2.4 million funding package to upgrade the heating system at the Penquis Valley School will be $200,000 less than anticipated thanks to a grant from the East Millinocket-based Gloria C. MacKenzie Foundation, which through its mission and vision hopes to improve economic growth and enhance the quality of life for the people of Maine.

Citing what they feel is a non-proportional expense and lack of benefits, the Piscataquis County Commissioners are considering ending membership in the Maine County Commissioners Association. The commissioners discussed the possibility during a Nov. 5 meeting and plan to attend a meeting with officials from other Maine counties also pondering an exit to learn more.

Anyone who suspects someone they know may be a victim of elder abuse or would like to know more about the topic and how to help is invited to a free elder abuse awareness and response workshop from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, Nov. 15 at The Commons at Central Hall, 152 East Main Street.

Piscataquis County winners of the 2019 Spirit of America Foundation Tribute for outstanding community service will be honored at a ceremony on Friday, Nov. 15 starting at 7 p.m. at the Valley Grange Hall (172 Guilford Center Road). The event is open to the public.

The Penquis Valley High School Key Club is working to change this situation for a village in the Kingdom of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland a landlocked country in southern Africa, through the Thirst Project. The Thirst Project is a national nonprofit organization bringing safe drinking water to communities around the world where it is not immediately available.

After several decades owner Bill Graves of B & W Glass of Brownville (the business is named for Graves and his wife Wendy) has retired and turned his business over to Josh Guffey.

With the state’s firearms hunting season for deer looming, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s deer specialist says he expects plenty of hunters to fill their tags this year after a banner year in 2018.