In the spring a near $11.6 million RSU 68 budget was approved across the four district towns with the respective annual meeting and referendum. After the two votes district officials noticed a clerical error in one article from the district budget meeting that needed to be corrected -- the near $11.6 million total was not affected nor were the assessments for Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec. During a special town meeting on Aug 27 prior to a select meeting, the clerical error was fixed.

Three girls will reign as Miss Maple in three respective age groups for the next year after being crowned during the fourth annual Miss Maple Pageant on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 25 at the 131st Piscataquis Valley Fair.

The executive committee of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) is seeking nominations for the annual Warren "Pete" Myrick Community Service Award, to be presented at the annual meeting of PCEDC in December. Meeting date and location will be disclosed soon.

Pleasant Meadows Estates is sporting a brand new flagpole at Dover-Foxcroft assisted living facility. Rep Paul Stearns, R-Guilford presented Administrator Kellie Brazier with a flag that was flown above the Maine State Capitol in honor of the residents and staff.

On Thursday morning, Aug. 2 an unexpected visitor arrived at The Covered Bridge Motel which is located at 382 Water Street across from the famous Low’s Covered Bridge which spans the Piscataquis River. Linda Moon, the owner, was informed that the visitor was a health inspector. So Linda proceeded to take the inspector wherever she wanted to go.

Dispatchers with the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office are currently using an antiquated radio system, with components dating to the 1980s. Dispatch Sgt. Gary Grant has been working for several years to upgrade the telecommunications division of the department through grants and other funding sources, but in order to complete the project more money is needed. The specifics are to be determined, but the Piscataquis County Commissioners passed a motion to proceed with an upgrade during an Aug. 21 meeting.

Joan Shapleigh and her horse Donatello rode into history when the pair took part in a dressage show at Infinity Farm on Aug. 19. Shapleigh, 81 of Dover-Foxcroft, and Donatello, 21, have a combined age of over 100 and this statistic enabled them to join the Dressage Foundation’s Century Club once Shapleigh rode the horse for a dressage test and had the performance scored by a judge.

A legislative watchdog found “no evidence” that Gov. Paul LePage’s administration diverted public timber from Maine millowners because they criticized the governor, though there was “very little documentation” to back that finding.

In May and June a near $11.6 million RSU 68 was approved across the four district towns with the respective annual meeting and referendum. After the two votes, district officials noticed a clerical error in one article from the district budget meeting and this mistake will now need to be corrected.

Three prestigious awards were announced at Foxcroft Academy’s 2018 Alumni Banquet, the Dr. Mary Chandler Lowell Award, the Tillson D. Thomas Award and the James S. Holmes Award. This year’s respective recipients are Linda Clark Howard ’63, Gene Philpot and Dr. Albert S. Buck.

A Marine from Dover-Foxcroft who perished in the crash of a Marine HMH Squadron 463 helicopter in Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1971 was honored with the presentation of the Purple Heart on the afternoon of Aug. 15 at the Dover-Foxcroft American Legion. Thanks to the efforts of his fellow Marines, the award was bestowed 47 years later upon U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Gregory A. Sloat -- who was 21 at the time of the crash -- with the Purple Heart presented to his mother Clarice Sloat Call.

Following a decade of work to preserve and rebuild the more than 135-year-old Central Hall on East Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, the newly christened The Commons at Central Hall was formally opened to the public in mid-May. The building is the site of an event center on the upper level and a senior commons/gathering space on the first floor with an adult day service center planned for the future at the back end of the first floor.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is part of the effort with its American chestnut germplasm conservation orchard at the Law Farm on the Lee Cemetery Road. A sign informing visitors of the orchard, with over 100 seedlings, was installed during the late afternoon on Aug. 2.

The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC), in partnership with Helping Hands with Heart (HHH), has received a $10,000 grant from a component fund of the Maine Community Foundation to investigate shared concerns about workforce development, youth aspirations, local youth and the barriers to successful employment in the towns served by five area school districts.

Each year, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) honors an educator working in the county with the Outstanding Conservation Educator of the Year award. The awarded educator’s dedication to fostering students’ learning and understanding of natural resource ecology and related curriculum is why they were selected. This year, the PCSWCD staff and board of supervisors will present Alexandra Conover Bennett, Maine guide and professor at the College of the Atlantic.

On Saturday, Aug. 4 at approximately 12:45 p.m. Maine Warden Service divers being pulled underwater with planing boards located the body of Robert Hammond, 66, of Hanson, Mass.

The Academy of General Dentistry, a professional association of more than 40,000 general dentists who are dedicated to professional excellence through the pursuit of continuing education, is pleased to announce that Daniel L. Steinke, DDS, MAGD of Steinke & Caruso Dental Care in Dover-Foxcroft has earned the 2018 Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition for his commitment to lifelong learning, volunteering his services to communities in need, mentoring associates and new dentists and participating in organized dentistry. This is the second time Dr. Steinke has received this prestigious award.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Gregory A. Sloat of Dover-Foxcroft, who perished in the crash of an HMH 463 helicopter in Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1971, will be awarded the Purple Heart, thanks to the diligence of his fellow Marines.