DOVER-FOXCROFT -- After a change in contractors was made earlier in the month due to health reasons, prep and ditching work is being done to get a 1.8-mile stretch of the Elliottsville Road in the township of the same name ready for scheduled paving next month.

The Maine Forest Service is cautioning towns and residents against using third-party, non-sanctioned online burn permit systems after at least two fires occurred this spring. The fires likely would not have resulted if the officially sanctioned state online burn permit system had been used instead of that of a third party.

Officials at Maine’s Department of Professional and Financial Regulation (DPFR) are focusing attention on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day--recognized each June 15 throughout the United States and in other countries, and often referred to as the ‘crime of the 21st century,’ because of its increasing prevalence and devastating impacts.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced that Mayo Practice Associates of Mayo Regional Hospital has received NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long‐term, participative relationships.

Maine is one step closer to a manageable, cost-effective health care system that enhances choice and access to services.

A 71-year-old man reported missing on June 8 was found alive the following morning in Monson. Maine game wardens and a Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office deputy located Arthur Lowe, 71, shortly after 7 a.m. on Friday, June 9.

Our administration has done a good job bringing accountability to the Maine Turnpike Authority. Mainers are still counting on us to ensure that turnpike revenue is spent as efficiently as possible.

With the summer travel season just around the corner, the Maine Office of Tourism anticipates another good year for the tourism industry in Maine.

Maine election officials are readying for an election in just over three weeks that you already may have forgotten about — if you knew about it at all. Mainers will vote June 13 on a $50 million bond issue for economic development, $45 million of which would be earmarked for infrastructure, equipment and technology upgrades in seven targeted sectors, including aquaculture, forestry, agriculture and composite materials.

After looking into a pair of bids that were more than $28,000 apart, the Piscataquis County Commissioners awarded pre-paving ditching and culvert work for a 1.8-mile stretch of the Elliottsville Road to Bennett Construction of Guilford for the lower price of $10,350.

Legislation to allow hunters to wear red if their religion prohibits them from wearing orange earned support in the Maine House on Thursday, May 11. The bipartisan vote was 120-27.

Maine Department of Education (DOE) Commissioner Robert Hasson has approved a one-year extension for all certificates with an expiration date of July 1, 2017. All teachers, educational specialists and administrators with certificates expiring on July 1, 2017 will be issued a one-year certificate that will be mailed to their home address on file with the Maine DOE.

A need for more law enforcement officers across the region was a key finding of a recent countywide task force. While the issue has been identified, there are no easy answers to addressing the shortage, according to county officials who discussed the task force report during a May 2 meeting.

The Maine Broadband Coalition recently highlighted a number of legislative initiatives to increase Maine’s connectivity to the world.

Downtown Monson is undergoing a transformation thanks to the Portland-based Libra Foundation as the non-profit organization has purchased several buildings and is in the process of replacing these structures as part of its mission of making significant contributions to worthy causes across Maine.

Hearings were held at the State House Monday on a number of bills that would make changes to Maine’s social services programs, particularly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. There were at least 10 bills related to TANF on the public hearing docket and they covered a broad spectrum of proposals.

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) is tracking Maine lake “Ice-Out.” This annual effort provides boaters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts with information, data and resources to help plan outdoor adventures on Maine lakes. It is available for spring 2017 and for previous years on an Ice-Out webpage maintained by the Department. The public is invited to assist this effort by reporting ice-out dates for water bodies throughout the state.

Deer yards, or deer wintering areas, are a critical component of deer survival in Maine. Nearly 15 years ago, in an article about the status of Maine’s deer yards, I wrote this: As state biologists prepare Maine's next 15-year plan for deer management, which is due to be approved early this year, deer wintering habitat (deer yards) has become the focal point. Over the past decade, there has been a marked decline in deer wintering areas, especially in Northern and Eastern Maine where deer populations are down.