On Thursday, Oct. 18 from 5:30-8 p.m. the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual meeting and Business of the Year celebration at The Commons at Central Hall. The chamber’s board of directors is pleased to announce that this year’s Business of the Year recipient is Gordon Contracting of Sangerville.

The case against a convicted murderer and Hancock County native who is charged with escaping the Charleston prison two weeks ago will likely be heard by a grand jury. Assistant Penobscot County District Attorney Alice Clifford said she is awaiting the completion of the investigation of Arnold Nash’s escape before seeking an indictment. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but rather a determination that enough evidence exists to bring a case to trial.

A Baileyville man was sentenced Monday, Sept. 24 at the Piscataquis Judicial Center in Dover-Foxcroft to seven years in prison with all but three suspended on a series of charges stemming from a January domestic violence assault.

Trisha Moulton's grade 8 science classes at Piscataquis Community Middle School hiked to the Piscataquis River on Sept. 12 to complete a water quality bioassessment to study whether the river was healthy or not.

Ernie Fitch and Arnold Nash grew up together. They met in grade school in Ellsworth and became friends. Many times during their early years, Nash would have dinner or stay overnight with the Fitch family, Fitch said.

The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that it has awarded a record-breaking 177 new scholarships in 2018 for a combined $500,000 in support. Among the award recipients is Clayton Carroll, son of Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Carroll, of Sebec. The younger Carroll is a student at Maine Maritime Academy and he is a Foxcroft Academy graduate.

Partners for Peace, the domestic violence resource center serving Piscataquis and Penobscot counties, will be observing Domestic Violence Awareness Month with three End Domestic Violence Days across the two county region in October, including from 2-6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2 in Dover-Foxcroft.

Earlier in the month the Piscataquis County Commissioners asked County Manager Tom Lizotte to collect proposals to fund an upgrade to the radio system for the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s to replace antiquated dispatch equipment with components dating to the 1980s. During a Sept. 18 meeting the commissioners approved a lease purchase proposal from Gorham Savings Bank for a total of a little more than $127,000 to be paid over five years.

Arnold Nash, a convicted murderer who escaped from Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston last week, has been captured.

A 52-year-old East Millinocket woman was found safe several hours after she was reported missing. On the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 17 Maine game wardens located Nancy Michaud with her 2012 Nissan Sentra stuck along a remote dirt road near Hurd Pond approximately 40 miles northwest of Baxter State Park in northern Piscataquis County.

In partnership with the United Way of Northeastern Maine, Helping Hands with Heart (HHH) has received one of six Early Childhood Community Planning Grants in the amount of $25,000 from The Maine Community Foundation. These funds will support a rigorous study of the region’s age 0-5 population, map community resources, identify barriers to early childhood education and develop local solutions intended to help communities ensure their youngest children are ready to learn and thrive when they begin school.

A Milo man died Wednesday night, Sept. 12 when his car rolled over on Route 16 in LaGrange, authorities said.

The man who killed his ex-girlfriend then led authorities on Maine’s longest manhunt has asked the state’s high court to reconsider his case.

On Sept. 7 the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) honored Alexandra Conover Bennett by presenting her with the Outstanding Educator of the Year Award at the East Sangerville Grange Farm-To-Table Suppah for her exceptional work over the years in natural resource ecology and education.

Pilots and spectators both flocked to Greenville over the weekend for the 45th annual International Seaplane Fly-In from Sept. 6-9. On the morning of Saturday, Sept. 8 crowds gathered on the shore of Moosehead Lake downtown to watch seaplanes land and take off from the water.

Reps. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, Thomas Skolfield, R-Weld, and Norman Higgins, I-Dover-Foxcroft, have formed the House Broadband Caucus to advocate for building out Maine’s broadband infrastructure in rural parts of the state.

The steamboat Katahdin, historic flagship for the Moosehead Marine Museum, is back to plying the waters of Moosehead Lake after engine failure on July 20 led to her being out of commission. Her engines have been replaced and she began her regular cruising schedule on Friday, September 7.

The Piscataquis County Commissioners recently filed a motion to intervene in the state’s lawsuit against the owner of Moosehead Mountain Resort in the Greenville and Moosehead Lake region. The motion to intervene is the most recent significant development in ongoing legal proceedings of consequence to the future of the ski resort and the economic health of the region.