A Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant who has served as the DARE officer in area schools for more than two decades, goes above and beyond the call of duty and who gives back in other ways is now the Grange Northeast Region Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Lt. Jamie Kane received news of the honor during a surprise presentation by Valley Grange Lecturer and Program Director Walter Boomsma during a morning grade 5 DARE class on Friday, March 29 at Piscatquis Community Elementary School.

Each month outstanding pupils in grades 5-8 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are honored as Students of the Month. The 10 March honorees were presented with certificates in front of their peers during morning meeting in the cafeteria on Wednesday, March 27.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Like a true rite of spring, the opening of Stutzman’s Farm Café & Brick Oven Bakery on Friday, April 5 ushers in the beginning of the farming season. This third generation family farm located at 891 Douty Hill Road, enters its sixth season as a field to fork restaurant and its 40th anniversary since operators Sid and Rainie Stutzman took over the family farm.

Mayo Regional Hospital has announced four community forums to provide updates and answer questions regarding the potential merger with Northern Light Health, a statewide health care system. The forums will be held in four of the 13 towns that make up Hospital Administrative District (HAD) 4 and will provide an opportunity for citizens in the district to learn more about what a merger might mean for the hospital and local access to quality care.

The 2019-20 academic year budget continues to be developed by district officials, but SAD 4 is scheduled to receive approximately $234,000 more in state subsidy than for the 2018-19 Superintendent Kelly MacFadyen reported during a March 12 meeting at Piscataquis Community High School.

With the HAD 4 board of directors voting 15-3 last month to start a merger with Northern Light Health, Mayo Regional Hospital officials are looking to hold four public information nights across the region to share details of the process and hear from residents and answer their questions. One session is tentatively scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 in the Morton Avenue Municipal Building Gymnasium.

The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office plans to keep its patrol division housed in Guilford at the former primary school building -- the law enforcement space more recently was the home of the SAD 4 administrative office suite -- for another three years after the county commissioners approved extending the space lease through the end of 2022 during a March 5 meeting. A formal document should be signed during an upcoming session.

Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville introduced LD 555 “An Act To Reduce Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality by Updating Screening Coverage” late last month to the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee. With this bill, Sen. Davis hopes to remove the reference to the minimum age at which insurance companies must cover colorectal cancer screenings.

After discussion that day about issues facing young adults and what can be done, Mills encouraged those present to go back to their schools and form a Positive Action Team. “Our group thought if kids had more positive things to do then maybe they would not turn to drugs,” Keane said. The teams have caught on.