A little more than a month after the first version of the 2017-18 SAD 41 budget was voted down -- by a combined total of 270 to 68 across the district communities of Atkinson, Brownville, Milo, and LaGrange -- a revised spending plan will be brought to voters at a district budget meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 2 at the Penquis Valley School.

Children in SAD 41 are able to eat breakfast and lunch every weekday when school is in session. In the summer months food insecurity can be more of an issue, but thanks to a collaborative effort between several organizations and volunteers anyone under age 18 can receive a free bag lunch five days a week from 11 to 11:30 a.m. through the summer meals program located at the Derby Community Center.

This year’s Dover-Foxcroft Shiretown Homecoming celebration on Saturday, Aug. 5 will mark 95 years since the communities of Dover and Foxcroft joined together to become one town. To recognize the 95th anniversary weekend theme, residents who have reached their 90th birthday are invited to watch the Homecoming parade from a special viewing area in front of Central Hall.

After tabling a decision at their regular meeting on the first Tuesday evening of the month, the selectmen set the 2017 tax commitment during a July 18 session. The 2017 mill rate -- in Milo the town’s fiscal year follows the calendar year from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 -- will be $31.25 per $1,000 in assessed property, a decrease of 25 cents from the 2016 rate of $31.50.

Shortly before 2 a.m. on Wednesday, July 19 the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department along with the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene of a rollover crash that occurred on the Bangor Road just north of the South Dover Cemetery. Officers arrived and found there was a crash that had struck a parked vehicle which careened into the front porch of a home at 1282 Bangor Road in Dover-Foxcroft.

Residents and visitors to town had the opportunity to learn more about the project from Libra Foundation Chairman and CEO Craig Denekas, who spoke at the Monson Historical Society on July 15 during the annual Monson Summerfest.

As part of the newly-approved state budget SAD 41 will be receiving approximately $263,000 more in state subsidy for 2017-18 and during a July 12 meeting the school board made a motion to use all these funds to reduce the assessment for the four district towns in the next version of the spending plan to be brought forward later in the summer.

The town council gave its unanimous approval to a net municipal budget of $4,515,292 for the 2017-18 fiscal year during a July 13 meeting. This figure represents an increase of a little more than $129,000 from the previous year.

The selectmen set the tax committment for the 2017-18 fiscal year during a July 10 meeting, with the mill rate rising 65 cents from the year before to a rate of $20.90 per $1,000 in assessed property.

The Libra Foundation recently purchased the former Brothers Chevrolet-Buick site on West Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft with plans to convert the building into an all-season indoor recreation facility with artificial turf. It will add an indoor ice rink and a connecting building that would include locker rooms and spectator space and serve as the primary entrance.

For the fourth year in a row a contingent is hiking 120 miles from downtown Monson to the summit of Mount Katahdin through the 100-Mile Wilderness along the northernmost section of the Appalachian Trail to raise funds through pledges along the way. This year’s “Miles of Memories Hike” supports the Wilderness Walk for Warriors, an organization that raises money for Maine veterans and service members and their families and honors the nation’s fallen heroes.

After 17 years of service in the U.S. Navy, Chief Petty Officer and Sangerville native Joshua Haskell has reenlisted. Haskell was able to have a reenlistment ceremony back in his hometown before family and friends on the afternoon of July 8 at the fire station.

Customers stopping by the Kineo Coffee Shop for a drink and a bite to eat had the opportunity to learn more about the efforts of the Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation and the Brand Leadership Team through a “Coffee Shop Talk” on the morning of July 8.

On July 6 U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, visited the Dove Tail Bat Company in Shirley, a small business owned and operated by Paul and Theresa Lancisi.

Fourth of July celebrated with Sebec Village Associates' annual day of events

Rescuers helped an injured hiker to safety in Piscataquis County for the second time in as many days on Thursday, July 6.

A teenager who suffered a broken leg on the Appalachian Trail was airlifted off a mountain east of Greenville on Wednesday, July 5.

How do you kick off your daughter's summer vacation? By taking them to visit our nation's capitol in Washington, D.C. Local Girl Scouts Troops 915 and 1503, each based in Dover-Foxcroft, had an amazing opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. from June 21-25.