State environmental officials are looking for a way for 115 communities now sending their trash to landfills after the recent closure of a Hampden waste plant to instead send it to an Orrington facility that burns waste to create electricity. 

Solutions will not happen overnight but some changes could be made to improve downtown Dover-Foxcroft for vehicular and pedestrian traffic alike. Nearly a year ago the town began to look for some possible solutions for the stretch of road where East Main, Pleasant, South, West Main, North and Lincoln streets converge having agreed to use up to $25,000 for the municipality’s 50/50 share with the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) on a cooperative agreement for a traffic study. The downtown includes the major routes to Bangor, Dexter, Milo and Greenville. Gorrill Palmer Consulting Engineers Inc. of South Portland came on board as a consultant.

These days good news in Maine is about as plentiful as smooth roads in April. There is some upbeat news though, especially if you are a Maine deer hunter. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has proposed the issuance of a record number of doe (any-deer) permits this fall! You heard right. If the Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council goes along with the Department’s doe-permit proposal, and it is expected to do so, there will be approximately 109,000 doe permits issued for the fall deer hunt.

Our plan is to host our Zoom conference series through the summer, every Thursday from 11 a.m. to noon. Each week we will have focused topics based on what we’re hearing from our communities. Our experts in the fields of medicine, infection prevention, human resources, mental health and more offer guidance, tools and materials so people can leave the session and apply to their situation.

On the morning of June 12, the long-awaited project for creating a waterfront park at the beginning of Lakeview Street in Greenville has come closer to completion with the signing of documents between landowner EJ Richardson and Steve Levesque, president and executive director of the Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation (MLREDC), which spearheaded this ambitious project for the people of Greenville and those that visit this beautiful part of the world.

Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville has received the endorsement of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in his primary election to return to the Maine State Senate in District 4.

On Thursday the Maine Department of Education released a draft framework to assist schools in planning for return to school scenarios in the fall. The framework was developed with input from multiple stakeholder groups, including the Department of Education’s Student Cabinet, community health experts and educators representing the many roles in schools.

Penobscot County voters will not be asked in November to approve funding for a new jail as officials consider whether operational changes imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak will become permanent. It could be November 2021 before the measure appears on the ballot.

In addition to her role as SAD 4 Superintendent, Kelly MacFadyen may be returning to the Greenville-based Union 60 but in a different capacity than before. SAD 4 officials are considering a potential service agreement between the district and Union 60 for superintendent services and other functions in the 2020-21 academic year.

While Major League Baseball and its players’ union squabble over how to salvage their 2020 season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Piscataquis County bat maker is continuing to expand his footprint in the sport. Construction is under way at Dove Tail Bats on a multipurpose building that will include an indoor batting cage and full gym and workout area. The six-week building project is expected to be completed by mid-July.

But the RSU 68 superintendent of schools was more than willing to relive that experience along with the teachers and staff at the SeDoMoCha School, who toured the district Wednesday, June 10 morning to see their students in person for the first time in nearly three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new waste plant in Hampden has had to temporarily close this month as it struggles to pay its expenses and faces a new lawsuit from a contractor that alleges it’s owed at least $1.2 million for staffing and running the facility. 

Among the honorees is Ethan Chadwick of Abbot, who is studying precision machining technology at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle. Chadwick is a 2019 graduate of Piscataquis Community High School.

U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock denied a temporary restraining order requested by Joseph Denbow and Sean Ragsdale, two inmates at the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, that would have required the Maine Department of Corrections to review the cases of all medically vulnerable inmates and release them to give them the ability to social distance during the pandemic.

While Naisbitt was startled to find the fawn lying so close to a well-traveled trail, her experience wasn’t that unusual. In Maine, people often stumble upon baby wildlife, especially in the spring and early summer. As a result, the Maine Warden Service and state biologists field a multitude of phone calls about wild animals that people worry have been abandoned or orphaned this time of year. And their message is always the same: If you care, leave it there. 

After closing its facilities on March 17 due to safety concerns and Gov. Janet Mills’ stay-at-home order surrounding the spread of COVID-19, the Piscataquis Regional YMCA will reopen on June 12. The reopening will be conducted under the guidance of state and local health authorities and will take place in phases.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the Dover-Foxcroft annual town meeting process will consist solely of a vote at the polls on Tuesday, July 14. In years past decisions on the municipal budget have been made with an in-person town meeting in the gymnasium at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building, with items approved that day then moved to referendum for final approval.

The Guilford factory that produces the nasal swabs that are sorely needed to control the coronavirus pandemic had to stall its production of the swabs all Friday, June 5 ahead of a visit by President Donald Trump, then throw away the swabs that were made during his tour, according to a report by USA Today.