By Paul Bagnell, The Star-Herald Staff FORT FAIRFIELD — Locals gathered under the humid open tent for the first-ever Potato Dish in the County cooking contest at the Maine Potato Blossom Festival.

BANGOR — The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation granted $195,000 to 23 nonprofit organizations in Northern New England that are uplifting their communities.

DEXTER — The Dexter Town Council approved a $6,953,627 municipal budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year during a July 13 meeting.

FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington proudly announces its dean’s list for the spring 2023 semester.

Contributed photoDINNER AT ROUTE 7 BBQ — Rep.

Breastfeeding is more successful when moms and babies are well supported.

Grade eight, high honors – habits of work: Vera Alexander, Makenzie Curtis, Mellesse Grant, Tristan Hopkins-Watrous, Pace Jarrett, Grace Jiang, Madison LaGross, Bodhi Langlais, Baylee Packard, Daisy Perkins, Jonathan Rock, Ian Saunders, Bayleigh Wiggins; honors – habits of work: Ethan Barnett, Gavin Bavelaar, Juliet Keniston-Libby, Shelby Sinclair, Jamie Williams; high honors – academic: Vera Alexander, Pace Jarrett, Grace Jiang, Bodhi Langlais, Ian Saunders, Bayleigh Wiggins.

By Braeden Waddell, Bangor Daily News Staff After the Saturday drowning death of 46-year-old Hope man, state officials are warning swimmers to take caution in the water due to the recent rain.

By Michael Shepherd, Bangor Daily News Staff AUGUSTA — The Maine Legislature solved a thorny divide over solar policy on Thursday, when both chambers agreed to support industry-backed tweaks that aim to pare back the state’s generous incentives for smaller projects.

Every new baby in Piscataquis County will receive four packages during their first year of life — one for each three-month milestone — as part of a pilot project designed to support the health of parents and infants.

By Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News Staff The Penobscot County Commission approved a $2 an hour raise for the county’s 911 dispatchers to retain and attract new employees for the county’s long understaffed dispatch center.

By Michael Shepherd, Bangor Daily News Staff Maine lawmakers have made some big deals while winding down their work for 2023, but a standoff over the state’s generous solar incentives remains unsolved.

GUILFORD — Seventeen members of the Piscataquis Region Retired Educators Association met June 27 at the Craft Cafe in Guilford.

By Pete Warner, Bangor Daily News Staff A friend recently mentioned that he was stocking the pond at his farm in Newburgh.

By Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News Staff Despite a challenging year for banks that saw interest rates rise and distrust grow after Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, Bangor Savings Bank netted nearly $42 million in income during the past fiscal year and will debut a new location and its first-ever credit card suite later this year.

DEXTER — Dexter Age Friendly has just distributed another 30 garden beds to area seniors.

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By Lor Valigra, Bangor Daily News Staff NORWAY  — A 1-megawatt solar farm that will provide electricity to 15 local businesses opened here on June 29, a day after lawmakers debated whether to scale back the incentives that led to it.