The Commons at Central Hall board of directors and members of committees held the annual meeting at the camp of Cherie Stitham White on June 29. Tara Smith is the chief executive officer and she reported progress made this past year in the completion of all but the back area of the building. This past year has been successful with its offerings of activities, events and programs.

Sergeant Spencer’s Lunch Wagon will be easy to spot as folks drive pass the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce they will notice a fenced-off area for customers and a picnic table for seating. The menu and prices are posted on the outside of the colorful wagon, boasting a wider-than-you’d-expect variety of foods at very affordable prices.

Drivers in Maine are colliding with the state’s largest land mammal a lot less often than they used to, and a number of factors play into that, according to two state biologists.

Earlier this year spring runoff caused nearly $23,000 in damage to an approximate 1,000-foot stretch of the Mountain Road in Blanchard Township. Closing this section of the narrow, steep, dead end travelway to winter maintenance could prevent such occurrences and save money but with one year-round resident and other property owners using the road, the Piscataquis County Commissioners will have a decision to make.

Fire marshals arrested a Milo man Monday, July 1 and charged him with arson after he threw his wife’s belongings on the front lawn, poured gas on the items and set them on fire.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is now able to offer additional parking for and access to the Law Farm thanks to a generous land donation from Pleasant River Lumber. The donation includes six acres of land that abuts the Law Farm and on that half dozen acres, there is a cleared parking area, fruit trees, perennials and much more.

Joe Siccardi, a recent mid-Maine transplant, has completed his third book “My Name is Sam…. and Heaven is Still Shining Through.”

The Sebec Village Associates will have a day of events on the Fourth of July next week, with proceeds benefiting the Reading Room. The day on Thursday, July 4 starts with a breakfast at the Sebec Village Community Christian Church at 7:30 a.m.

On Friday, June 28 Gov. Janet Mills signed into law legislation that will allow Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft to move forward in merging with the statewide health care organization, Northern Light Health.

The Sebec Village Associates will be operating the community library at the Reading Room, 665 Sebec Village Road, again this summer. There are no fees to borrow books and media from the library which boasts an extensive collection of fiction and nonfiction.

Bangor Savings Bank had a big year in 2018, bringing in record-breaking earnings, acquiring a New Hampshire bank and completing the construction of a new campus on the Bangor waterfront, where about 400 people now work. Bangor Savings Bank has area branches in Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft and Greenville.

It was a sweet day in Maine as 7,500 people attended the 10th anniversary edition of the annual Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on Saturday, June 22. Those passing through the entrance gates celebrated the taste of tens of thousands of whoopie pies, enjoyed other food, games, live music and hundreds of artists, crafters and vendors.

The Piscataquis County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded $30,949 in grants to six nonprofits.

A week after a $11,784,238 RSU 68 budget for the 2019-20 academic year was approved by a combined count of 249-50 across the four district communities, the school board set the assessments for Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft and Monson and Sebec during a June 18 meeting at the SeDoMoCha School.

This summer’s work on stretches of 10 town roads as part of the 10-year paving plan will be done by Hopkins Landscaping & Paving of Hermon as the selectmen approved the company’s low bid of $387,940 during a June 17 meeting.

Next month a new county manager will start work as the Piscataquis County Commissioners appointed Michael L. Williams of Greenbush to the position during a June 18 meeting. Williams will start work on Monday, July 8, succeeding the retiring Tom Lizotte.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The 10th anniversary Maine Whoopie Pie Festival will take place on Saturday, June 22 from 10 a.

Marilyn Blais is the grand prize winner in the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Find the Whoopie Pie Contest. Blais was chosen from a pool of 10 weekly winners in which entrants successfully located a whoopie pie hidden in one of that week’s advertisements. Blais won a basket of goodies including Maine Whoopie Pie Festival and Piscataquis Observer prizes.