On Thursday morning, Aug. 2 an unexpected visitor arrived at The Covered Bridge Motel which is located at 382 Water Street across from the famous Low’s Covered Bridge which spans the Piscataquis River. Linda Moon, the owner, was informed that the visitor was a health inspector. So Linda proceeded to take the inspector wherever she wanted to go.

An Integrated, Consolidated 9-16 Educational Facility Pilot Project involving four of the area’s school districts, the Tri-County Technical Center (TCTC) and the Jackman school system remains on a list of state fudning finalists. The local collaboration is again ranked third behind projects in northern and southern Aroostook County, the same position on several previous rating lists from earlier in the year.

Dispatchers with the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office are currently using an antiquated radio system, with components dating to the 1980s. Dispatch Sgt. Gary Grant has been working for several years to upgrade the telecommunications division of the department through grants and other funding sources, but in order to complete the project more money is needed. The specifics are to be determined, but the Piscataquis County Commissioners passed a motion to proceed with an upgrade during an Aug. 21 meeting.

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.

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.

Observer photo/Stuart HedstromTALES OF THE WATER — A mid-morning parade from outer Elm Street to the downtown athletic field helped celebrate Guilford’s annual Piscataquis River Festival on Saturday, July 28.

The 14th annual Piscataquis River Festival returns on Saturday, July 28 with a day of events in the downtown area.

A Piscataquis County jury on Thursday, July 19 found a Baileyville man guilty of a series of charges stemming from an assault on his girlfriend and her son in early January, according to District Attorney R. Christopher Almy.

Two of the state’s busiest prosecutorial districts will have new district attorneys in November after long-serving chief prosecutors decided not to seek re-election. Both Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson, a Republican, and Penobscot and Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy, a Democrat, will step aside this winter.

The Piscataquis County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded more than $55,000 in grants to eight nonprofits located across the region.

Rep. Paul Stearns, R-Guilford is pleased to announce that he has recently received an endorsement from the Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund.

Last month three bids for constructing a Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) storage garage all came in multiple times more than the project budget. The structure now has gone out to bid again with some revisions to the specs.

Local solar energy entrepreneur Tyler Adkins announced his independent campaign to represent District 119 in the Maine House of Representatives. House District 119 includes Beaver Cove, Greenville, Shirley, Monson, Abbot, Parkman, Sangerville, Guilford, Willimantic, Bowerbank and Sebec, plus the unorganized territories of Blanchard Township, Northeast Piscataquis (including Barnard and Elliottsville Townships) and Northwest Piscataquis.

Nicki Greene will be the director of special education in SAD 4 for the 2018-19 academic year, after her nomination was approved by the school board during a June 12 meeting. Greene’s salary will be $60,000.

The final Students of the Month at Piscataquis Community Elementary School were honored in front of their peers during the June 15 morning meeting, the last day of school.

Grade 5 students at Piscataquis Community Elementary School recently took a journey back in time by studying American history and then applying what they earned through a play performed for their families and the community last month.

Piscataquis Community Elementary School second-grader Nandin Erdene, left, looks at design possibilities and fourth-grader Caleb McKusick paints his pet rock during the 2018 Arts Alive event at the Guilford school on June 8. Through the help of approximately 100 volunteers from the community, the 300 PCES students spent a day taking part in more than 30 different workshops.