When the Countryside Meat Market closed its doors last spring, the Dover-Foxcroft community lost a long-time source for meat and friendly local service. The owners had retired and the store was up for sale. But now Heartstone Farm is planning to reopen the market on Saturdays starting Oct. 19. The farm raises 100 percent grass fed beef on 500 acres in Charleston. The farm and has been renting the meat market for storage and distribution since June.

SeDoMoCha Elementary students celebrated autumn by filling a “Storybook Pumpkin Patch” in the school library through a contest featuring pumpkins decorated to resemble a character from the pupils’ favorite books.

The Maine Legislature may be out of session at the moment but like many of his colleagues, Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville is busy with important work that will help guide the next Legislative session when it begins in January. Sen. Davis has been appointed to the Working Group on Energy of the Maine Climate Change Council

A potential move of the patrol and investigation divisions of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office from the former primary school building in Guilford across town to the C.H. Lightbody Medical Center on Park Street could be up in the air as the Piscataquis County Commissioners opted to table a decision on signing a lease with the town of Guilford during an Oct. 1 meeting. The commissioners were a bit unsure of signing a 3-year contract with another site in Guilford having recently come to their attention.

It's been a year since the names of nine hospitals stretching from Presque Isle to Portland changed to reflect the new identity of their parent group, Northern Light Health.

Let’s Go! in partnership with Mayo Regional Hospital is honoring 14 sites in greater Piscataquis County for their positive impact on children’s health. These schools, school cafeterias, out-of-school programs and child care programs, in addition to several of health care practices, have adopted healthy eating and active living practices, influencing the choices children make.

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.

Now located in The Mill complex, for the last decade Dental Hygiene Associates of Maine, LLC has been providing the community with affordable, quality preventative dental care for all ages in a non-traditional setting. The "spa-like" dental oasis is intended to ease dental anxiety through a relaxing, cozy office.

Since opening more than a year ago, Head to Tails Family Pet Store proprietor Liz Martin has worked to provide local pet owners with all their needed supplies, saving them a trip out of town, and potential pet owners with additions to their homes. Fish, reptiles, small mammals and birds are available and with all the necessary educational information to ensure everyone is happy after leaving the store.

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.

With new legislation providing opportunities for municipal solar initiatives, such as federal tax credits and rebates, the Dover-Foxcroft selectmen approved the issuing of a request for qualifications for consulting services for such a project. During a Sept. 23 meeting the board opted to work with ReVision Energy to develop a solar plan.

Former Dover-Foxcroft Police Department Sgt. Todd Lyford, who now is chief deputy with the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office, has been awarded the Carnegie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission in recognition of a July 2018 incident in which he risked his life to an extraordinary degree to save the life of another.

The concerns for downtown Dover-Foxcroft vary, those raised included tractor trailer trucks turning on the narrow streets, where pedestrians can safely cross and deteriorating asphalt and cement on the road and sidewalks, and while there may be no immediate fixes, town and state officials hope to develop some short-term and long-term solutions. An early step in the process was taken with a Dover-Foxcroft Urban Area Transportation Study public meeting on Sept. 19 at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building.

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.”

Theresa Mudgett, career pathways manager in Dover-Foxcroft, has retired after 31 years of providing Workforce Development services. Mudgett began her career in Workforce Development in 1988 with TDC, and was hired by EMDC in 2009. Her work fostering partnerships with other service providers and working one-on-one with individuals has been a valuable asset to job seekers, employers and EMDC.