Doors to the Piscataquis County Ice Arena on West Main Street were formally opened with a ribbon cutting on Monday, Sept. 30. The $5.5 million project, funded by the Libra Foundation and being managed day-to-day by Foxcroft Academy, had some distinguished guests including Gov. Janet Mills and Hockey Hall of Fame member Ray Bourque who played for the Boston Bruins for more than two decades.

The Piscataquis Observer will be published on Friday each week beginning with the issue of Oct. 11. The change will allow us to provide you with more timely coverage of events occurring early to mid-week.

In 1820 Maine became the 23rd state, separating from Massachusetts, and the Grand Lodge of Masons in Maine was established. The first Governor of the State of Maine, William King, was also the first Grand Master of Masons in Maine. In recognition and celebration of these historic events Chris Russell, District Deputy Grand Master of Maine’s 5th Masonic District, has organized a celebration for Saturday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Piscataquis Valley Fairgrounds.

Partners for Peace, the domestic violence resource center serving Piscataquis and Penobscot counties, will be observing Domestic Violence Awareness Month with a local End Domestic Violence Days event from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 3 at Stutzman’s Farm Stand and Bakery in Sangerville.

The parent company of the Bangor Daily News is the new owner of the Penobscot Times, a small weekly newspaper that covers Old Town, Orono and surrounding towns.

Elaine’s Bakery is well known in Piscataquis County, not simply because their finger-licking products can be found in convenience stores, cafes and markets across the state of Maine but because of the bakery’s owner Elaine Poulin. Most would say of Elaine, “to know her is to love her.”

Ever want to spend a day in the field with a state fish expert? One lucky winner and a friend will win just such an opportunity in the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s third “Keeper of the Maine Outdoors Experience” contest.

ixteen years ago, the last time a governor-initiated group attempted to better understand a growing ATV community in the state, the machines that riders were taking into the woods were small, light and mobile. That’s not the case anymore. And that’s why an ATV task force formed by Maine Gov. Janet Mills is tackling a new slate of ATV issues related to bigger, wider and heavier machines that have simply outgrown the existing ATV trail system.

Today, let’s take a deep breath, appreciate what we have, and reflect on how quickly everything could change. Perhaps we go out in the morning, walk into our back field for a bit of exercise, or to cut some wood, or to dig around for some gemstones that we know are waiting in that sandy pile of soil. And perhaps we never come back.

During a Sept. 4 school board meeting in the library Director of Building and Grounds Donnie Richards said the majority of three dozen heaters arrived earlier in the day. “The piping’s going well, most of the middle school classrooms are done and they’re working through the night,” he said about the contractors.

The American Legion 14th District -- Piscataquis County - will hold its first meeting of 2019-20 on Saturday, Sept. 14. It will be hosted by Conner-Trafton Post 119 at the Masonic Lodge, 34 Hudson Avenue.

Residents of the region looking to improve their lives through various academic and career programs can do so through the Piscataquis Valley Adult Education Cooperative, while also having the opportunity to take college courses through Eastern Maine Community College and the University of Maine-Augusta in the same building as the PVAEC main office at the Penquis Higher Education Center on Mayo Street.

Last week the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s advisory council approved a rule that sounds ominous, but will actually change very little for the state’s anglers. Simply stated, in the state’s north zone, the general fishing law will ban the use of live fish as bait.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine announced that the State of Maine, Penquis and Through These Doors received a total of $1,993,850 to help stop domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and protect victims.

Help, hope, and giving to our communities -- that is what Pine Tree Hospice volunteers do. We offer non-medical support to individuals and families in Piscataquis, Penobscot and Somerset counties who are dealing with progressive, life-limiting illnesses and/or grief.

The BJHS Alumni Association awarded 13 scholarships at the recent annual reunion to grandchildren and great-grandchildren of members of the Alumni Association or deceased members of the association.

The Piscataquis County Commissioners authorized district attorney’s office staff to purchase a replacement vehicle for Investigator Scott Arno to use, during an Aug. 20 meeting.

With students’ summer vacation nearing an end in several weeks, work continues on an upgrade to the heating system at the Penquis Valley School as well as an elevator installation for the building.