Joan Shapleigh and her horse Donatello rode into history when the pair took part in a dressage show at Infinity Farm on Aug. 19. Shapleigh, 81 of Dover-Foxcroft, and Donatello, 21, have a combined age of over 100 and this statistic enabled them to join the Dressage Foundation’s Century Club once Shapleigh rode the horse for a dressage test and had the performance scored by a judge.

A legislative watchdog found “no evidence” that Gov. Paul LePage’s administration diverted public timber from Maine millowners because they criticized the governor, though there was “very little documentation” to back that finding.

Two other regional proposals that also made the approved priority list must now wait to see if the state will find additional monies to fund their projects. The third-ranked proposal was submitted by officials from SAD 46 (Dexter area), SAD 4 (Guilford area), SAD 41 (Milo area) RSU 82/MSAD 12 in the Jackman area, the Greenville school district and the Dexter-based Tri-County Technical Center.

In May and June a near $11.6 million RSU 68 was approved across the four district towns with the respective annual meeting and referendum. After the two votes, district officials noticed a clerical error in one article from the district budget meeting and this mistake will now need to be corrected.

Gary Dethlefsen has discovered that when you live in a decidedly rural county like Piscataquis, diversification can be a key to successfully making a living. He has been interested in food related work for decades and has created three companies that help sustain him during the year: Moose Bee Jam and Granola, Lakeshore Provisions, Catering and Chef Services, including Mainley Treats Wholesale Baking Company (supplying bakery items for Northwoods Outfitters in Greenville), and Big Moose Deli which provides meals to hungry skiers during the winter season at Big Squaw Mountain. Now he has a fourth – Comida del Lago, a charming street taco stand at 3 Lakeview St. in downtown Greenville.

Three prestigious awards were announced at Foxcroft Academy’s 2018 Alumni Banquet, the Dr. Mary Chandler Lowell Award, the Tillson D. Thomas Award and the James S. Holmes Award. This year’s respective recipients are Linda Clark Howard ’63, Gene Philpot and Dr. Albert S. Buck.

A Marine from Dover-Foxcroft who perished in the crash of a Marine HMH Squadron 463 helicopter in Vietnam on Feb. 18, 1971 was honored with the presentation of the Purple Heart on the afternoon of Aug. 15 at the Dover-Foxcroft American Legion. Thanks to the efforts of his fellow Marines, the award was bestowed 47 years later upon U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Gregory A. Sloat -- who was 21 at the time of the crash -- with the Purple Heart presented to his mother Clarice Sloat Call.

The Maine Warden Service promoted a 25-year-veteran of the service to the position of Lieutenant on Aug. 14 in Augusta. Lieutenant Dan Menard was selected to oversee one of five Warden Service divisions based in Sidney. Lt. Menard filled a vacancy created after Lieutenant Tim Place retired a short time ago after serving more than 31 distinguished years with the Maine Warden Service.

Columnist and author Lew-Ellyn Hughes says she “grew up everywhere,” being the daughter of an often transferred service man. But Greenville was where she felt most at home.  “My parents were born and brought up in Greenville as well as my maternal grandparents – so this was really home. My father wanted to make sure we had roots; we always came back to Moosehead for summers.”

Following a decade of work to preserve and rebuild the more than 135-year-old Central Hall on East Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, the newly christened The Commons at Central Hall was formally opened to the public in mid-May. The building is the site of an event center on the upper level and a senior commons/gathering space on the first floor with an adult day service center planned for the future at the back end of the first floor.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is part of the effort with its American chestnut germplasm conservation orchard at the Law Farm on the Lee Cemetery Road. A sign informing visitors of the orchard, with over 100 seedlings, was installed during the late afternoon on Aug. 2.

The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC), in partnership with Helping Hands with Heart (HHH), has received a $10,000 grant from a component fund of the Maine Community Foundation to investigate shared concerns about workforce development, youth aspirations, local youth and the barriers to successful employment in the towns served by five area school districts.

Each year, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) honors an educator working in the county with the Outstanding Conservation Educator of the Year award. The awarded educator’s dedication to fostering students’ learning and understanding of natural resource ecology and related curriculum is why they were selected. This year, the PCSWCD staff and board of supervisors will present Alexandra Conover Bennett, Maine guide and professor at the College of the Atlantic.

On Saturday, Aug. 4 at approximately 12:45 p.m. Maine Warden Service divers being pulled underwater with planing boards located the body of Robert Hammond, 66, of Hanson, Mass.

The eighth annual Depot Celebration and Railroad Workers Reunion takes place at the Greenville Junction Depot on Saturday, Aug. 18, so mark your calendars! Everyone is invited to take a tour of the old station and learn about railroad history in this area from those who knew, those who worked for the railroad or had family involved.

The SAD 41 directors had hoped to start the combined project this summer, but instead the plan will be for the elevator to be installed prior to the start of classes and the sprinkler work to be done in the summer of 2019.

The pilot of the plane that crashed in Greenville had flown for 10 years and was described by a family friend as “meticulous.” Local authorities identified the three people who died in the Monday, July 30 plane crash as a Canadian couple and their adult daughter.

The Academy of General Dentistry, a professional association of more than 40,000 general dentists who are dedicated to professional excellence through the pursuit of continuing education, is pleased to announce that Daniel L. Steinke, DDS, MAGD of Steinke & Caruso Dental Care in Dover-Foxcroft has earned the 2018 Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition for his commitment to lifelong learning, volunteering his services to communities in need, mentoring associates and new dentists and participating in organized dentistry. This is the second time Dr. Steinke has received this prestigious award.