FORT KENT — On May 5 more than 170 University of Maine at Fort Kent nursing students graduated from the program, with 28 attending the 39th annual UMFK Nurse Pinning Ceremony at the Sports Center on the UMFK campus.

The local Masonic Lodge in Dexter presented a generous donation, with the help of the Widows Sons Masonic Motorcycle Riders Association and the Grand Lodge of Maine, that would directly affect students at the Tri-County Technical Center.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Maine’s beloved Whoopie Pie Festival, which draws thousands to downtown Dover-Foxcroft each summer, will return Saturday, June 24.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Piscataquis County officials plan to alleviate internet issues at the county campus on East Main Street with a cabling upgrade.

The Piscataquis County Democrats continue their mission of helping those struggling with food insecurity.

GUILFORD — Piscataquis Community Elementary School sixth-graders answered their principal’s challenge to make a difference globally.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — UScellular has started upgrades on four towers to bring 5G in-home Internet to Somerset and Piscataquis County residents as part of the Maine Connectivity Authority’s Jumpstart Connectivity Initiative (Jumpstart).

GUILFORD — On Thursday, June 15 Friends of Community Fitness celebrated its 20-year anniversary with a  barbecue and family fun day including entertainment from the Piscataquis Ukulele Players.

A Dexter woman was hospitalized after rear-ending a cement truck in a Monday morning crash in Newburgh.

The General Federation of Women’s ClubsMIOSAC Club of Dover-Foxcroft has celebrated its 87th birthday.

AUGUSTA — The Maine Department of Education announced the return of “Hot Lunch Summer,” the state’s summer food service program which provides free meals to children beyond the school year.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Foxcroft Academy Key Club has had another great school year of service, and it’s time for the club to give back to the community it serves.

Photo courtesy of Dexter Regional High School STUDENTS OF THE YEAR — Dexter Regional High School honors students monthly throughout the school year to recognize their outstanding effort and achievements day in and day out in the classroom.

By Emily Burnham, Bangor Daily News Staff Long before he made his name as a saxophone player in both his own projects and as a member of the Dave Matthews Band, Jeff Coffin was a 9-year-old kid in Dexter, Maine, trying to pick out which instrument he was going to play in elementary school band.

By Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News Staff The question of whether to build an entirely new Penobscot County Jail has been on the minds of the county officials pushing for it and the activists fighting it for years.

By Billy Kobin, Bangor Daily News Staff AUGUSTA — The fight over changes to Maine’s generous solar incentives is coming down to two rival bills and moneyed interests making their cases either by targeting Democratic lawmakers or invoking the era of former Gov.

GUILFORD — A day after voters across the six SAD 4 communities approved an $8,473,000 budget for the 2023-24 academic year, the school board set the respective half dozen assessments during a meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School on June 14.

Observer photo/Jeannette HughesFIND THE WHOOPIE PIE CONTEST WINNER — Susan Cannon of Atkinson is the grand prize winner of the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Find the Whoopie Pie Contest.