Starting in the 2020-21 school year, students from around the region will have the opportunity to take part in an early childhood education satellite program through the Tri-County Technical Center to be housed at Nokomis Regional High School in Newport. The SAD 46 school board authorized the program during an Aug. 21 meeting in the Ridge View Community School cafeteria.

Jim and Brenda Crane present a check for just over $10,000 to Events Manager Samantha Elliott of Make-A-Wish Maine. Funds were raised from the second annual Wings for Wishes on the Waterfront

Friday, Aug. 9 marked the opening of Gathering 4 Main Street, a community center in Dexter. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was followed by a lovely reception which included inspirational piano music and oral presentations. The community center, provided by the Dexter Seventh Day Adventist Church, will be a place for people in the area to meet for coffee or tea and/or a healthy vegetarian or vegan light lunch by mid-September.

One year after announcing new President & CEO Lee Umphrey, EMDC (Eastern Maine Development Corporation) continues to evolve with a brand refresh and new website at https://www.emdc.org/.

A busy summer for the town of Dexter will continue into the fall, councilors learned from Town Manager Tramps King during an Aug. 8 meeting. “I would like to thank everyone for the great welcome we gave the Workcamp,” King said.

A journey three decades ago brought 9-year-old Truc Huynh and his family from Vietnam to Portland. Now Huynh is repaying all those who helped his family by “Trucking Across Maine” 600 miles via bicycle from Madawaska to Kittery over six days to raise money for five organizations.

The Maine Red Hot Festival will be back in downtown Dexter on Saturday, Aug. 10 as the fourth annual event will feature activities with free admission from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. -- rain or shine.

Kyle Ahern, 14, from Dexter, enjoys a thrilling ride on the Scrambler as his brother Brady Adams, 10, takes cover until the ride is over at the 2019 Bangor State Fair on Aug. 1.

The Office of the Secretary of the Maine State Senate has released its records for the first session of the 129th Maine Legislature and Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville has been recognized for having a voting record of 100 percent.

For the second year in a row, aircraft will be landing at Lake Wassookeag during the first Saturday of August to benefit Make-A-Wish Maine. The 2019 “Wings for Wishes on the Waterfront” event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3 by Lake Wassookeag. Planes will start arriving at 9:30 a.m., landing in a nearby field and taxiing the short distance to the waterfront, and the public beach will open at 10 a.m. Entry is free and donations for Make-A-Wish Maine are encouraged as pilots will meet with the public.

Four hundred volunteers from around the country spent nearly a week in Dexter from July 22-26 working to fix 60 homes at no cost for residents who otherwise could not afford to have the needed repairs taken care of. The improvements were made through the Fort Collins, Colorado-based Group Workcamps Foundation’s Group Mission Trips organization, a non-profit, interdenominational Christian volunteer home-repair group.

Two of the nation’s top credit rating agencies have expressed growing confidence that Northern Light Health will be able to pay back $391 million in outstanding debts, a change that could help the hospital system borrow money more cheaply in the future.

Maine DEP has announced funds for 29 projects across the state, including these local sites. Charleston: Bacon Road, $95,000, and Garland Road, $80,000. Cambridge: Bailey Road and Bridge Road, each $65,000. Dexter: Mill Street, $95,000.

In other business, the Dexter town council took no action on the recommendations of the cannabis task force. Councilors will continue to look at the possibility of allowing for commercial marijuana operations in town.

Around 400 teenagers and adults will arrive in Dexter on Sunday, July 21 to work on and improve the homes of elderly, disabled and other area residents. The volunteers will work on various projects from July 22-26.

Voters whose disabilities prevent them from signing petitions for citizen initiatives could have alternative ways to express their support under a proposed constitutional amendment. Maine voters will consider such a constitutional amendment Nov. 5.

Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC), the largest federally qualified health center in Maine, in partnership with the University of Maine School of Nursing, Harrington Family Health Center in Harrington, and Hometown Health Center in Newport and Dexter, has received a four-year grant award to support a nurse practitioner residency program. The $1.7 million grant comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and is one of a handful of this kind in the country.

The funding allocation includes a loan and grant for the Dexter Utility District, which has been awarded a $1,950,000 loan and a $1,095,000 grant to upgrade four sewer pump stations and make improvements to the wastewater treatment facility. The system currently serves approximately 831 households and 104 businesses and public facilities in Dexter.