The search for the next principal of the Penquis Valley School is now underway, with interviews scheduled for later in the month, the school board learned during a May 2 meeting.

On Thursday, May 17 there will be two assemblies held in SAD 41 schools to honor 34 students who will be awarded $100 scholarships from the Maine College Circle’s College Aspirations Scholarship program.

On Thursday, May 10 residents of the SAD 41 towns of Atkinson, Brownville, LaGrange and Milo will head to their respective polls to vote on an approximate $2.3 million heating system upgrade and energy efficiency project at the Penquis Valley School.

Mayo Regional Hospital has selected Cerner, a global leader in health care technology, to implement a new integrated electronic health record (HER) and revenue cycle solutions across it acute and ambulatory facilities. This agreement provides the hospital with sophisticated health care technology that will support Mayo doctors, nurses and staff as they work to streamline operations and improve patient care.

To advance compromise on a critical issue of the legislative session, House Independents have proposed a tax conformity package combining the most practical, workable elements of each party’s proposed solution, with a view to a tax code that will provide stability and predictability for businesses and increase tax returns for low income Mainers.

The Greater Milo/Brownville Area and Points North Visitor Center was officially gifted to the Milo/Brownville Three Rivers Kiwanis on April 9. A grand opening for the Greater Milo/Brownville and Points North Visitor Center will be held at Kiwanis Headquarters on the Gerrish Road from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday, May 18. The event is open to the public and will be followed by refreshments and a tour of the center.

Several years ago many Maine municipalities made a choice for waste disposal, with most opting to either remain with the Penobscot Energy Recovery Company (PERC) or go with the forthcoming Fiberight facility in Hampden. For the county facilities in Lily Bay and Orneville townships, county officials voted to continue the relationship with PERC.

The town of Atkinson, nestled between Dover-Foxcroft and Milo, is one step closer to deorganizing, now that Gov. Paul LePage has signed a bill to authorize the effort. Gov. LePage signed LD 1484 on April 12, which represents the state’s approval of the deauthorization of the Piscataquis County town. The final step will be a townwide referendum in November.

Earlier this year the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) was awarded a $10.8 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to replace three structurally deficient bridges in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties. Among the trio of projects is the Pleasant River Bridge in Milo and future improvements to the span on outer Pleasant Street were the subject of a preliminary public hearing held by the MDOT on April 11 at the town hall.

Maine’s newest state troopers received their badges April 13 in ceremonies at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Among the five new state troopers is David Olmstead.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine announced that Maine Superior Court Justice Lance Walker, a native of Piscataquis County, has been nominated by President Donald Trump to the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine.

A project to make the Penquis Valley School complex more energy-efficient will be heading to the voters of Atkinson, Brownville, LaGrange and Milo on Thursday, May 10. Eight days prior the public is invited to learn more at an information meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2 in the Penquis Valley cafeteria. Both events were set by the SAD 41 school board during an April 4 meeting.

A look at the past four decades serving the region and a look to the future of helping the community were both features of the 40th anniversary celebration for Mayo Regional Hospital on the afternoon of Monday, April 9 in the Resource Center.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine announced the awarding of $10,836,220 in federal funds to replace the three bridges in what she called “the Penquis Region Rural Bridges Project” and on the morning of April 5 she had the opportunity to tour the Pleasant River Bridge on outer Pleasant Street with MDOT Commissioner David Bernhardt.

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.

Somewhere, tucked away in the southeast corner of Piscataquis County and nestled into the town of Milo, is Derby. Prior to the early 1900s, Derby was known as Milo Junction, because it was a junction point for the Bangor and Aroostook trains.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chairman of the transportation appropriations subcommittee, announced that the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) will receive $10,836,220 to replace three bridges in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties that are either structurally deficient, in a fracture-critical state, or both. Among the three is the Pleasant River Bridge in Milo on outer Pleasant Street.

“The list was published late yesterday, there were three finalists and we were the third-ranked finalist,” SAD 46/AOS 94 Superintendent Kevin Jordan said on Feb. 15.