SAD 41 residents in Brownville, LaGrange and Milo approved a $9,639,532 budget for 2019-20 during the June 27 referendum by a combined total of 152-37. In the Brownville the numbers were 35 in favor with 15 opposed, 16-5 in LaGrange and 101-17 in Milo.

A Shirley Mills man charged with attempting to share child pornography made his first appearance Monday, July 1 in U.S. District Court in Bangor. Eugene Murray, 25, was not asked to enter a plea because he has not yet been indicted by a federal grand jury.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) is now able to offer additional parking for and access to the Law Farm thanks to a generous land donation from Pleasant River Lumber. The donation includes six acres of land that abuts the Law Farm and on that half dozen acres, there is a cleared parking area, fruit trees, perennials and much more.

Joe Siccardi, a recent mid-Maine transplant, has completed his third book “My Name is Sam…. and Heaven is Still Shining Through.”

The Sebec Village Associates will have a day of events on the Fourth of July next week, with proceeds benefiting the Reading Room. The day on Thursday, July 4 starts with a breakfast at the Sebec Village Community Christian Church at 7:30 a.m.

On Friday, June 28 Gov. Janet Mills signed into law legislation that will allow Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft to move forward in merging with the statewide health care organization, Northern Light Health.

After years working in the field, Miss A’s Childcare owner/director Alex Barden had the opportunity to open her own facility last fall in the former Guilford Primary School building at 31 High Street. Not only did Barden accomplish a goal with the opening of Miss A’s Childcare, her business is helping meet a need for working parents/guardians.

The Sebec Village Associates will be operating the community library at the Reading Room, 665 Sebec Village Road, again this summer. There are no fees to borrow books and media from the library which boasts an extensive collection of fiction and nonfiction.

Earlier in the month Dexter residents voted down five non-binding advisory questions on marijuna businesses which were developed through a community task force comprised of town officials, business owners and citizens. The group held its first post-election meeting with a forum on June 25 to discuss possible next steps with about two dozen attendees present.

A 61-year-old man from Utah was airlifted off the Hamlin Ridge trail on Mount Katahdin early Monday morning, June 24 after a long struggle to descend to Chimney Pond. He suffered injuries from a 10- to 15-foot fall on the Cathedral trail on the afternoon of Saturday, June 22.

Bangor Savings Bank had a big year in 2018, bringing in record-breaking earnings, acquiring a New Hampshire bank and completing the construction of a new campus on the Bangor waterfront, where about 400 people now work. Bangor Savings Bank has area branches in Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft and Greenville.

Two Pennsylvania men in their 50s were rescued off the southeast side of the Knife Edge below Pamola Peak on Mount Katahdin through the coordination of Mahoosuc Volunteer Search and Rescue, Baxter State Park rangers and the Maine Forest Service on Saturday, June 22. Both men suffered no injuries and walked down the Helon Taylor trail to safety by 1:30 that morning.

It was a sweet day in Maine as 7,500 people attended the 10th anniversary edition of the annual Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on Saturday, June 22. Those passing through the entrance gates celebrated the taste of tens of thousands of whoopie pies, enjoyed other food, games, live music and hundreds of artists, crafters and vendors.

A LaGrange man who helped rescued a woman trapped inside her burning car that had struck a tree in Bangor last November was among the honorees during the Maine State Police Awards June 21 at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.

Six new law enforcement teams of police and their canine partners graduated from the State Police Canine School on June 21 The officers and their dogs have spent the past 14 weeks training across the state in various locations and conditions.

The Piscataquis County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded $30,949 in grants to six nonprofits.

A week after a $11,784,238 RSU 68 budget for the 2019-20 academic year was approved by a combined count of 249-50 across the four district communities, the school board set the assessments for Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft and Monson and Sebec during a June 18 meeting at the SeDoMoCha School.

All children under the age of 18 will again be able to enjoy free summer meals across town, with no sign up required. The summer meals schedule is as follows: