Peace, Love & Waffles, a new restaurant serving breakfast and lunch in the old bank building on East Main Street, was formally welcomed to the region with a Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 9.

I recently received two emails from readers looking for great places to snowshoe in Maine. They were looking for trail suggestions, and boy did I have a lot to say. Too much to say, really. So I decided to write a whole advice column on the topic.

Through his research, Piscataquis County Manager Michael Williams cannot determine if the county has ever had an official shield and if so what the image may have looked like. While Williams is continuing his efforts, county officials are considering holding a design contest -- such as for high school students and/or artists living in the region -- to create an official shield in recognition of Maine’s Bicentennial in 2020.

Good Shepherd Food Bank recently announced recipients of the annual School Pantry Capacity Building Grant program. Funded on a competitive basis to school pantry sites, the food bank’s awards range from $250 to $2,500. Among the 13 grantees across the state are the Ridge View Community School of Dexter and the SeDoMoCha School in Dover-Foxcroft.

Doug Thomas of Ripley has announced he is a Republican candidate for the Maine Senate District 4. Thomas is a successful small business owner and entrepreneur with customers across Central Maine. Thomas believes that the government of Maine needs to put the welfare of Maine people first.  There are a lot of problems around the country and around the world and it is not up to the people of Maine, with their hard-earned money, to pay for those problems through their tax dollars. We need to help our own people first.

As part of the Maine Department of Education’s ongoing efforts to highlight Maine’s outstanding teachers, nominations are now open for the 2020 County Teachers of the Year and 2021 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 at mainetoy.org/nominate through 5 p.m. on Feb. 3.

Ticks have spread throughout Maine over the past few decades, carrying with them a cocktail of crippling diseases. In response, healthcare providers, researchers, educators, non-profit organizations and the government have been working to protect people from this dangerous pest.

CourageLIVES and the Penquis Sex Trafficking Action Response Team (START) will host four free and open to the public events as part of Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month in January. All events will feature a film screenin of “Gridshock,” a documentary about human trafficking, followed by a panel discussion with local experts.

I’m not one of those guys who starts every new year with a list of resolutions that I’ll begin ignoring on Jan. 3. In general, I’m one of those guys who works more generically, and tries to screw up less than I did the year before. I keep a few goals in mind, I admit, but rarely do I resolve to achieve them. Instead, I hope to get better, then plod onward, doing the best I can.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension has named Emily Mott as the new 4-H community education assistant for Piscataquis and Penobscot counties.

Members of the Dexter Regional High School student government raised funds to purchase gas cards to benefit breast cancer patients in the area.

The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) is in the process of a website upgrade, and we need your help.

Though Peace, Love, & Waffles has been open since November, there will be a grand opening celebration from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9 with a 4 p.m. Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony. Coffee and baked goods will be offered. The event is open to the public. An RSVP is appreciated at 207-564-7533.

Northern Light Health is not paying a fee to acquire Mayo from the 13 towns that collectively own the institution -- that’s one of the arguments in a new lawsuit seeking to block the deal. But supporters of the merger have said that it will nonetheless provide something for the people who use Mayo Regional Hospital and its affiliated practices: the weight of a larger health care organization. 

Last week’s cold snap covered many lakes and ponds in ice, but with the warming temperatures this week, the Maine Warden Service is urging people to use caution before venturing out onto any ice covering Maine’s waterways.

The honorees are Hayden Jones, kindergarten; Libby Yeo, grade 1; Aurora Youngblood, grade 2; Kaylyn Ryder, grade 3; Annabelle Turgeon, grade 4; Ella Annis, elementary unified arts; Maddox Weidman, grade 5; Alexis Burdin, grade 6; Shayli Cirulli, grade 7; Lily Smith, grade 8; and Chloe Strout and Kenadie Strout, middle school unified arts.

Earlier this month the executive committee of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) announced the resignation of Executive Director Christopher Winstead, who after joining the council in 2015 has accepted the new position of director of workforce development at Eastern Maine Community College. The Piscataquis County Commissioners learned more from Winstead during a Dec. 17 meeting.

The town of Cambridge and almost three dozen residents from the other communities that collectively own Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft have filed a lawsuit trying to block its pending merger with Northern Light Health.