Those affected by abuse and domestic violence throughout Piscataquis and Penobscot counties are able to receive a wide variety of information, support, and services from Partners for Peace. Starting next month a change in office hours for the 8 Mechanic Street location will help Partners for Peace advocates to get out and reach more people and increase the agency’s presence in the community.

Earlier this week, in what has become an annual ritual, Maine political insiders began posting links to the initial lists of legislative bills -- by title only -- that have been introduced. A quick glance turned up more than a few bills worth paying attention to among those that deal with Maine’s fish, wildlife and wild places.

Ryan Crane and Crane Brothers Farm, Inc., in Exeter produced more than 278 bushels of corn per acre from a Livermore field to top the state yield in all categories.

Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville has been appointed to serve as a member of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, the State and Local Government Committee, and the Government Oversight Committee.

As part of the Maine Department of Education’s ongoing efforts to highlight Maine’s outstanding teachers, nominations are now open for the 2019 County Teachers of the Year and 2020 Teacher of the Year. Members of the public are encouraged to nominate educators who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and nurturing the achievement of all students. Nominations can be made through the Maine Teacher of the Year website through Feb. 4.

Broadcaster Steve Martin and longtime football coaches Tim Wilson and Tom Austin are among 12 impactful people who have been selected for induction in the 2019 class of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

Debbie Young, left pictured with the Piscataquis Observer’s Keri Foster, is the winner in the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Find the Shop Local Tree Contest.

Two months ago the Dexter Town Council passed a moratorium ordinance regarding medical retail marijuana. The moratorium ordinance is in effect for 180 days through May 11, 2019 -- residents can still use medicinal and recreational marijuana within the law -- as the document covers the location, operation, permitting, approval or licensing of any medical marijuana retail stores, registered dispensaries, testing facilities, and manufacturing facilities in Dexter.

Eligible residents of the Dexter area in need of home repairs will have the opportunity to get these improvements taken care of at no cost when hundreds of volunteers come to town in late July. The Colorado-based Group Workcamps Foundation’s Group Mission Trips organization will be in Dexter from July 21-27, 2019.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. the Abbott Memorial Library hosts Andrew Bermudez, pastor of the First Free Baptist Church, who will present a program on the work camp which will be coming to Dexter in 2019.

In Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, Republican Marianne Lynch beat Democrat Joseph Belisle by a vote of 57.3 percent to 42.7 percent, according to unofficial returns. Lynch, who currently serves as deputy district attorney, was the chosen successor of longtime District Attorney R. Christopher Almy. He was first elected in 1986.

Rita C. Clukey was presented with the Boston Post Cane for being Dexter’s oldest female resident during a town council meeting on Nov. 8. Earlier in the week Clukey turned 98 as she was born on Nov. 4, 1920 in Canada.

Results from local races and referendums.

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and local police arrested a man in Dexter on Monday evening, Nov. 5 following a month-long investigation that involved purchasing drugs directly from the suspect. They seized heroin worth at least $15,000 and more than $2,600 in drug proceeds in the process.

Lilah McCormack, a sophomore at Dexter Regional High School, is an eager member of that school’s Key Club and chairs its “Thirst Project” which aims to provide clean water via a deep well to an impoverished area of Swaziland in Africa. Aino Rudloff-Eastman, a DRHS senior and Key Club veteran, recently helped McCormack present the well-drilling project to an attentive audience at Dexter Dover Area Towns in Transition’s monthly public discussion meeting at the Abbott Memorial Library.

Maine State Grange Community Service Director Christine Corliss presents Lt. Jamie Kane of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office with the Maine State Grange Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award and a check for a $100 donation to the charity of his choice. He selected the Valley Grange of Guilford as the recipient to “help with their Dictionary and Bookworm Programs.”

The district attorney’s race in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties is not as controversial as the Cumberland County contest or as expensive as the midcoast race. But both candidates -- Republican Marianne Lynch and Democrat Joseph Belisle -- have spent far more than the man they are hoping to replace spent over the past two decades in his re-election campaigns.

A Superior Court judge has put on hold the proposed merger of Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Brewer-based Northern Light Health, formerly known as Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems.