The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) is in the process of a website upgrade, and we need your help.

Kenneth Hatchette’s first attempt at a novel loosely based on his memories (and those of his friends) of Brownville Junction can be enjoyed in his new book “The Great Chase” available on Amazon.com.

Though Peace, Love, & Waffles has been open since November, there will be a grand opening celebration from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9 with a 4 p.m. Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony. Coffee and baked goods will be offered. The event is open to the public. An RSVP is appreciated at 207-564-7533.

Northern Light Health is not paying a fee to acquire Mayo from the 13 towns that collectively own the institution -- that’s one of the arguments in a new lawsuit seeking to block the deal. But supporters of the merger have said that it will nonetheless provide something for the people who use Mayo Regional Hospital and its affiliated practices: the weight of a larger health care organization. 

Last week’s cold snap covered many lakes and ponds in ice, but with the warming temperatures this week, the Maine Warden Service is urging people to use caution before venturing out onto any ice covering Maine’s waterways.

Rep. Paul Stearns, R-Guilford, left, and Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville presented the Greenville Fire Department with a Legislative Sentiment for voluntary undertaking a rigorous safety program.

Early on the morning of Dec. 21, Dexter Regional High School student government and Key Club members, along with several Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis members, gathered at P&L Country Market to assemble and wrap 55 Christmas food boxes to be given to area families.

The honorees are Hayden Jones, kindergarten; Libby Yeo, grade 1; Aurora Youngblood, grade 2; Kaylyn Ryder, grade 3; Annabelle Turgeon, grade 4; Ella Annis, elementary unified arts; Maddox Weidman, grade 5; Alexis Burdin, grade 6; Shayli Cirulli, grade 7; Lily Smith, grade 8; and Chloe Strout and Kenadie Strout, middle school unified arts.

Earlier this month the executive committee of the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) announced the resignation of Executive Director Christopher Winstead, who after joining the council in 2015 has accepted the new position of director of workforce development at Eastern Maine Community College. The Piscataquis County Commissioners learned more from Winstead during a Dec. 17 meeting.

The town of Cambridge and almost three dozen residents from the other communities that collectively own Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft have filed a lawsuit trying to block its pending merger with Northern Light Health.

Ann Mailloux, right of Dover-Foxcroft pictured with Piscataqius Observer Customer Service Represenative Jeannette Hughes, is the winner of the 2019 Find the Shop Local Tree Contest.

With 37 people in attendance at Dexter Age-Friendly’s December Tea Talks, Wanita Grant answered the most Christmas trivia questions correctly to win a seasonal fresh-flower arrangement contributed by the Spring Street Greenhouse. Gratitude is extended by everyone on the Dexter Age-Friendly Committee to Susan LaFerriere and her team for the monthly floral donation.

He will retire Dec. 31 after 38 years on the bench, the last six as chief judge of the Superior Court. Cole became a District Court judge in 1981. He was elevated to the state’s trial court five years later, which makes him the longest serving Superior Court justice still on the bench and the second longest-serving judge in Maine after Supreme Judicial Court Justice Donald Alexander.

Maine Senate Republicans have given their full support to Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville for reelection.

Visitors and local residents using their smartphones, tablets and other devices to access the internet in downtown Greenville and beyond have received an early holiday gift -- free Wi-Fi service. The gift is courtesy of Bill Varney, a well-known Maine businessman who branched out from car sales and insurance to fiber-optic and broadband information delivery a decade ago. Varney

Louise and Stephen Rhoda have watched a number of riveting things happen outside their back door, which faces the Piscataquis River in Milo: deer trying to cross the ice, flooding and, over the last three years, baby eagles. But on Tuesday morning, Dec. 17 they woke to something they had never seen before: a spinning disc of ice that nearly spanned the entire width of the river.

Nine pupils in grades 5-8 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are December Students of the Month. The month’s honorees were presented with certificates in front of their peers and teachers during an assembly in the cafeteria to start the day on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

On Nov. 19 the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) program board voted unanimously to allocate $105,000 to the Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation’s (MLREDC) project to acquire the last remaining greenspace in downtown Greenville to conserve it as a permanent public park with direct access to Moosehead Lake for everyone to enjoy. The LMF’s commitment brings the MLREDC’s fundraising campaign to $216,000 on the way toward its goal of $250,000 to purchase the 3 Lakeview Street property and develop the site and the docking system plus an additional $40,000 goal to establish a reserve fund for annual maintenance.