The winners have been announced for a recipe challenge that encouraged Mainers to put their cooking skills to the test while helping parish food ministries in the process.

Difficulty: Moderate. The hike, out and back, is 3.6 miles if you only visit the Middle Summit and viewpoint, and it’s another 0.4-mile if you add the short side trail to the forested North Summit of the mountain. The hike is mostly gradual but includes a few short steep sections and rock staircases.

More than 20 students in the younger grades at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are now HEROs for their outstanding conduct during the first few weeks of the new school year. The HERO honorees were recognized with the presentation of certificates during the elementary morning meeting on Friday, Sept. 20.

The concerns for downtown Dover-Foxcroft vary, those raised included tractor trailer trucks turning on the narrow streets, where pedestrians can safely cross and deteriorating asphalt and cement on the road and sidewalks, and while there may be no immediate fixes, town and state officials hope to develop some short-term and long-term solutions. An early step in the process was taken with a Dover-Foxcroft Urban Area Transportation Study public meeting on Sept. 19 at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building.

Elaine’s Bakery is well known in Piscataquis County, not simply because their finger-licking products can be found in convenience stores, cafes and markets across the state of Maine but because of the bakery’s owner Elaine Poulin. Most would say of Elaine, “to know her is to love her.”

Theresa Mudgett, career pathways manager in Dover-Foxcroft, has retired after 31 years of providing Workforce Development services. Mudgett began her career in Workforce Development in 1988 with TDC, and was hired by EMDC in 2009. Her work fostering partnerships with other service providers and working one-on-one with individuals has been a valuable asset to job seekers, employers and EMDC.

SeDoMoCha School officials were excited to welcome some special guests into grade 1 classrooms on Sept. 19. Dan and Karen Cashman, who are the co-founders of Dirigo Reads, came to deliver a brand new book to each first-grade student.

Since 1972, an organization called North Maine Woods has been providing remote outdoor recreational opportunities amid a vast expanse of privately owned commercial forest that encompasses more than 3.5 million acres in this state.

During the week of Sept. 16 students at the SeDoMoCha School enjoyed foods grown in the state for Maine Harvest Lunch Week.

Ever want to spend a day in the field with a state fish expert? One lucky winner and a friend will win just such an opportunity in the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s third “Keeper of the Maine Outdoors Experience” contest.

Fewer soccer errant balls going over and around the posts will be traveling far beyond the Piscataquis Community High School goals thanks to a pair of backstops with netting provided by a pair of area businesses.

Maine’s highest peak in Baxter State Park is named for an Abenaki word meaning greatest or main mountain. The possibility of changing the official name of Mount Katahdin to Katahdin -- which would be made by the Maine Legislature -- was proposed by Baxter State Park Director Eben Sypitkowski to the Piscataquis County Commissioners. The commissioners made no formal motion, but expressed that they would not be in favor of such an adjustment during discussions as part of a Sept. 17 meeting.

Difficulty: Easy to challenging, depending on what campsites you select. Some campsites require longer paddles than others, and some require portaging (carrying your canoe and gear over land to reach the next body of water).

As the town of Dexter prepares to revise its comprehensive plan, the community will receive some help. During a Sept. 12 meeting the town council agreed to participate in the Orton Family Foundation Community Heart & Soul program.

The town of Guilford’s annual Harvest Fair will be on Saturday, Sept. 21 with events taking place at the Guilford Memorial Library, the Guilford Historical Society and Center Cemetery.

SeDoMoCha School students can avoid boredom on the daily ride to and from home thanks to each bus now containing a library of books for various ages and abilities to read. The “Erma’s Books on the Bus” program, which also runs in Florida and is named for a registered READing (Reading Education Assistance Dog) and a therapy dog with Alliance Therapy Dogs, kicked off at the end of the day on Thursday, Sept. 12.

Charlie Mann of Winthrop and George Smith of Mount Vernon, who has a camp at Nesowadnehunk Lake on the edge of Baxter State Park, were each honored with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. MDIFW Commissioner Judy Camuso presented the award to Smith and Elaine Mann, Charlie’s widow, at the annual Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine banquet on Sept. 7. The award, one of the department’s highest honors, celebrates a lifetime of achievement and mentoring in Maine’s outdoors.

Citing a thriving wild turkey population that some have said is a bit too high, lawmakers this spring passed new laws that will allow fall turkey hunters to enjoy a long season and take more birds in many Wildlife Management Districts.