January and February Students of the Month at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford.

Premium Choice Broadband is nearing the final stages of its latest project to bring high-speed fiber internet connections to rural Maine. The company has invested $2 million in private funds and installed over 40 miles of fiber-optic cable connecting Dover-Foxcroft and downtown Monson with what is the fastest internet connection in the state.

SeDoMoCha Builders Club Adviser Heather Whitten presents a $750 check to Foxcroft Academy Key Club President Kelli Black for the club’s Thirst Project fundraising to benefit the non-profit organization with an aim to bring safe drinking water to communities around the world where it is not immediately available.

Citizens of the 13 Hospital Administration District 4 member communities should have a voice in determining the fate of the potential merger between the district’s Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and the statewide Northern Light Health system, Sebec residents indicated with their vote at a special town meeting during the evening of March 21 at the Harland A. Ladd Municipal Building.

A Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to halt the ongoing merger between Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft with Northern Light Health, the statewide health care organization that includes Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The Foxcroft Academy Marching Band’s most recent fundraiser for a return trip to Disney World involved selling Krispy Kreme donuts to the community. On March 22 Foxcroft Academy/SeDoMoCha School Resource Officer Pete Dennis volunteered his time to help deliver the donuts around town, joking that what is funner than a cop delivering donuts.

Dexter Regional High School’s Seeds Of Peace students led a dialogue session on Tuesday, March 19. Student leaders from clubs and organizations at the high school were invited to address issues and begin to discuss solutions.

A 23-year-old LaGrange man who stole two separate vehicles last spring -- a Dexter police cruiser and a Toyota Celica belonging to a veteran of the Iraq War -- and led authorities on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed the Celica will serve five years of a 10-year sentence.

Next month a half dozen Penquis Valley High School students will be immersed in a different culture and environment, switching from pine tree forests to rainforests, as they spend April vacation in Central America on their “Exploring Costa Rica’s Natural Wonders” trip with Spanish teacher Michele Cabral through EF Education Tours.

The board of directors at Northern Light Health unanimously voted March 20 to merge with Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, which would make the small Piscataquis County hospital the health care system’s 10th.

The Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is moving ahead with the plans to construct a new agency storage garage for vehicles and equipment on the county’s East Main Street campus.

More than 20 students in the younger grades at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are now HEROs for their outstanding conduct during the month of February. The HERO honorees were recognized with the presentation of certificates during an elementary-wide morning meeting on Wednesday, March 20.

A pair of Dover-Foxcroft residents are busy collecting $12 sponsorships to fill bags for Easter to give to pediatric patients at the four psychiatric facilities across the state. The gifts brighten the days for the youngsters and let them know people outside the hospital are thinking of them. The $12 contributions purchases a decorated bag from Thirty-One Gifts -- a national direct sales company -- and Independent Director Theresa Makowski uses all her commission to purchase goodies to fill the bags. Last year about 60 bags were donated and this year the goal is 100.

A Portland couple remained Monday night, March 18 at the Penobscot County Jail unable to post bail in connection with an alleged robbery and assault the week before that left a Dexter woman with a broken jaw.

Penquis President and CEO Kara Hay was recognized by the National NeighborWorks Association (NNA) at the annual NeighborWorks Executive Directors Symposium in Washington D.C. Hay was one of three leaders nationwide acknowledged at the NNA’s 15th annual Excellence Awards, which honors outstanding practitioners in the field of housing and community development.

Rural Maine could be making $5.6 billion in rural tourist dollars by 2030, if visitor experiences across its interior "woods region" are improved. That's according to a pair of studies conducted by global consulting firm FutureIQ on behalf of the nonprofit Maine Woods Consortium.

Leaders of Mayo Regional Hospital say the merger they’re pursuing with one of the state’s largest hospital systems is critical for the Dover-Foxcroft facility’s survival after years of operating losses. But the negotiated merger agreement with Northern Light Health would only obligate the hospital system to keep operating Mayo in its current form for five years after the merger.

Guilford Town Manager Thomas Goulette was recognized in the Maine House of Representatives with a Legislative Sentiment presented by Rep. Paul Stearns, R-Guilford March 15 in Augusta. During his visit Goulette also met with Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville.