The Libra Foundation investment in Piscataquis County, which includes revitalizing downtown Monson and the planned construction of an ice arena on West Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, is continuing as the Portland-based organization is donating $20,000 to fund equipment to improve emergency communications for the Monson and Dover-Foxcroft fire departments.

The Butter Stick Bakery on East Main Street was formally welcomed to the area with a Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 24.

The Maine Warden Service was recently provided with a special gift, one that is at the heart of any outdoor enthusiast who loves a good Maine winter. Nine pair of genuine, Maine-made snowshoes were donated to the newest graduating class of game wardens to use in their missions that range from fish and wildlife conservation, search and rescue and public safety.

A snow storm may have moved the event back a week from the 14th day of the third month of the year to March 21, but the enthusiasm was not dampened as students and teachers at SeDoMoCha Middle School celebrated the sixth annual Pi Day with various events connecting to the dessert which is a homophone of the term for the non-terminating ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

Five students artists will each have a hand in designing a new patch for the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department, town officials announced during a March 12 selectmen’s meeting.

Penobscot County’s longtime Democratic district attorney will not run for re-election, leaving an open path for one of his colleagues to replace him. R. Christopher Almy, D-Charleston, indicated he would run for re-election when he filed signed nomination papers to the Maine secretary of state earlier this month.

Maine’s Libra Foundation, as part of its broader efforts to rekindle new activity and investment in Piscataquis County, is constructing a state-of-the-art ice arena on property adjacent to Foxcroft Academy.

On Feb. 19 a new business opened in Dover Foxcroft. When one walks into the Butter Stick Bakery, located on East Main Street in the same space previously occupied by Shiretown Pizza, they will feel like stepping back into another era and the journey is delicious.

In an effort to alleviate cramped conditions at the current facility, the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department is looking to lease space at the former Guilford Primary School -- which more recently was the home of the SAD 4 administrative office suite -- to house its patrol division

A draft of the budget for the 2018-19 academic year is nearing completion, the RSU 68 school board heard during a March 6 meeting at the SeDoMoCha School.

The Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft is involved in a variety of projects that involve fundraising, community service, and assisting children locally and worldwide, and now the group is serving as the charter organization for Boy Scout Troop 61.

On Saturday, March 3 the Ponies outlasted 48 other Maine schools to win the state robotics championship at Biddeford High School. They partnered with MDI High School and Hampden Academy to win this years; competition. The all-day event saw middle and high schools from all over the state converge on southern Maine.

Five finalists, from a pool of 50 submissions, have been selected in a contest inviting Foxcroft Academy and SeDoMoCha Middle School to design a new patch for the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department. Each of the five students gave a short presentation on their design to the selectmen during the Feb. 26 meeting.

Dover-Foxcroft Deputy Fire Chief Patrick “Rick” Pembroke, left, was presented with a plaque by Dover-Foxcroft Town Manager Jack Clukey of behalf of the community during a Feb. 26 selectmen’s meeting in recognition of Pembroke’s half century served as a firefighter.

Selectmen reviewed the the first draft of the 2018-19 municipal budget during a Feb. 12 meeting, with the amount to be raised up by $126,040 or 4.66 percent from the current figure of just under $2,718,000, which is part of the total $5,074,820 approved by residents at the town meeting referendum last June.

Last month Gov. Paul LePage’s administration unveiled a restructuring proposal to hand oversight of the state’s 15 county jails to a new state commission and potentially close five jails -- including Piscataquis County’s -- while regionalizing the system.

The Piscataquis Regional Food Center (PRFC) wishes to thank the Bangor Savings Bank Foundation for its generous support of PRFC’s warehouse renovation project. The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation recently awarded the organization a $,5000 grant

Rep. Norman Higgins, I-Dover-Foxcroft has announced that he will be an independent candidate for reelection in 2018. Higgins represents District 120 comprised of Atkinson, Brownville, Dover-Foxcroft, Medford, Milo, Lakeview Plantation and the Unorganized Township of Orneville.