Offering numerous types of insurance coverages and financial programs, Kimball Insurance, LLC provides strong customer service to go above and beyond the needs of its clients. Since opening its doors in the spring of 1999, Kimball Insurance has strived to be a family-oriented independent agency.

Ryan Crane and Crane Brothers Farm, Inc., in Exeter produced more than 278 bushels of corn per acre from a Livermore field to top the state yield in all categories.

Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville has been appointed to serve as a member of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, the State and Local Government Committee, and the Government Oversight Committee.

As part of the Maine Department of Education’s ongoing efforts to highlight Maine’s outstanding teachers, nominations are now open for the 2019 County Teachers of the Year and 2020 Teacher of the Year. Members of the public are encouraged to nominate educators who demonstrate a commitment to excellence and nurturing the achievement of all students. Nominations can be made through the Maine Teacher of the Year website through Feb. 4.

Piscataquis County sees the revival of the Big Squaw Mountain ski area as a part of the Moosehead Lake region’s economic revitalization. So the county’s commissioners have joined the state in a lawsuit against the partially defunct ski area’s owner that seeks millions of dollars to restore the ski mountain.

The Dover-Foxcroft Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating family members of a Steadman’s Landing Road resident whose body was discovered on his front porch by a neighbor on New Year’s Day, after apparently being there for days.

Spruce Mill Farm & Kitchen owner Natasha Colbry delivered what she believed to be the largest order in the history of her establishment when she dropped off 100 freshly-baked baguettes at the Augusta Civic Center on Thursday. The long, skinny loaves of French bread were destined for Gov. Janet Mills’ Inauguration Celebration on Friday evening.

Janice Kimball-King, who owns The Moosehead Hooker, has been hooking and braiding rugs for the past 40-plus years. She found it was the kind of task easily picked up or put down, which worked well at the time her children were small.

The body of a Steadman’s Landing Road resident was discovered on his front porch by a neighbor on New Year’s Day and had apparently been there for days, Dover-Foxcroft Police Chief Ryan Reardon said on Wednesday morning.

A man with a history of escapes from state correctional facilities is one step closer to trial for his latest escape. The Penobscot County grand jury late last week indicted Arnold Nash, 65, for his September escape from Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston when he had just 14 months left on his sentence. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but rather a determination that enough evidence exists to bring a case to trial.

Mayo Regional Hospital and the Piscataquis Regional Food Center (PRFC) collaborated for the groups’ second annual Gadget Drive during the months of October and November. Employees and community members collected more than 125 gadgets and raised $148 to purchase additional kitchen gadgets for clients of area food cupboards.

There’s new life in the Depot Building in Greenville Junction. Amanda Hunt has opened a place to get fit – Balance Gym & Wellness Center. “I wanted to have a real gym for some time now,” said Hunt.  “My goal with this was to have a complete gym set up with top quality equipment.” The spacious interior is ideal. “It doesn’t feel crowded here,” Hunt said gesturing. “Even if a lot of members are here at the same time there’s plenty of space.”

The speaker of the Maine House of Representatives has appointed Rep. Norman Higgins, I-Dover-Foxcroft to the IDEA –- Innovation, Development, Economic and Advancement -- Committee. The IDEA Committee was recently established to increase the focus on statewide economic initiatives, innovation, and workforce development.

Broadcaster Steve Martin and longtime football coaches Tim Wilson and Tom Austin are among 12 impactful people who have been selected for induction in the 2019 class of the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

Debbie Young, left pictured with the Piscataquis Observer’s Keri Foster, is the winner in the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Find the Shop Local Tree Contest.

A recent book review in the Piscataquis Observer concerning the first steamboat on Moosehead Lake and a man named Moses Burnham who settled in The Forks in 1836 piqued my interest. There had been some controversy over the years regarding this steamboat, aptly named The Moosehead, and whether she was truly the first to ply the waters of the lake.

Two months ago the Dexter Town Council passed a moratorium ordinance regarding medical retail marijuana. The moratorium ordinance is in effect for 180 days through May 11, 2019 -- residents can still use medicinal and recreational marijuana within the law -- as the document covers the location, operation, permitting, approval or licensing of any medical marijuana retail stores, registered dispensaries, testing facilities, and manufacturing facilities in Dexter.

Last month three referendum questions concerning the town land use ordinance -- a revised ordinance, an ordinance concerning transportation corridors, and an ordinance on large-scale water extraction -- were each voted down. In the weeks since the Dover-Foxcroft Planning Board has met and devised a series of recommendations, which were presented to the selectmen during a Dec. 17 meeting.