Crime in Maine dropped for the seventh consecutive year in 2018, according to data from the Maine Department of Public Safety released Wednesday, but there were more assaults and homicides compared with 2017.

A number of events are planned for the weekend and on the holiday as part of the annual Dover-Foxcroft Halloween BooNanza. A full schedule and more information is available at http://www.boonanza.info/.

More than 300,000 Maine homeowners can expect a $100 check early next year under a new state law. The households that can expect the payment qualified for the homestead exemption in 2019. The homestead exemption reduces a home’s taxable value by $20,000, so a taxpayer pays property taxes on only $130,000 in value for a $150,000 home. Homeowners can only claim the homestead exemption on their primary residence.

The Center Theatre has announced that theatre officials are building a second movie screen and plan to have it open to the public in April of 2020. The new screen will seat 40 to 50 people and will be located in the space formerly occupied by the Center Coffee House.

The Piscataquis Observer’s Stuart Hedstrom picked up top honors in the food story/feature writing category among the state’s smaller weekly publications from the Maine Press Association in the 2019 MPA Better Newspaper Contest on October 19 during the organization's annual awards banquet at the South Portland DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.

Ahead of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, October 26, U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine announced the locations of the Maine collection sites, the full list is at https://takebackday.dea.gov/. Area sites include the Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft, Greenville and Milo police departments and Piscataquis County sheriff’s office.

The Dover-Foxcroft Window Dressers workshop, with The Commons Energy Collaborative, completed its annual weeklong build on Saturday, October 19 at the Dexter Town Hall, constructing 300 insulating window inserts for 45 customers and with the help of over 45 volunteers.

Giving talks to rod and gun clubs around the state is enjoyable for me. It's a good chance to rub elbows with good people who share a common interest. I learn a lot and always come away with new insights and topics to write about. Most of the time, the food is good, too.

In a recent ceremony and reception held at the Abbot Town Hall, Selectman Mickey Knowles presented Abbot’s Boston Post Cane to nonagenarian Thelma Weymouth.

Maine Game Wardens rescued a group of capsized canoeists in high winds on Ripogenus Lake on Friday, October 18.

The Dover-Foxcroft municipal airport at Charles A. Chase Jr. Memorial Field on Pine Street could become the home of a four megawatt solar project, the Dover-Foxcroft selectmen learned during an Oct. 15 meeting. In order for the project to move forward, the airport would need to be decommissioned and a public hearing on the proposal has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12 at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building.

Staff at the Hibbard Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dover-Foxcroft want to wish one of their assisted living residents a very happy 100th birthday. Earl Chase was born in Augusta, on October 18, 1919.

Difficulty: Moderate. Out and back, the hike is about 3 miles. The trail climbs gradually but steadily. Watch your step for exposed tree roots and rocks. Footing is especially tricky near the East Spur Overlook. Take your time traveling over the exposed bedrock.

The man who was involved in a plane crash at Dexter Regional Airport on Wednesday died at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, according to hospital spokesman Bob Potts.

The Commons at Central Hall is growing with programs and activities to serve the Piscataquis area. In order to fulfill the mission statement to “provide programs that create and preserve memories, build community, and enhance personal vitality by including people of all ages” successfully, a new program manager, Jeremy Loguercio, and a new volunteer coordinator, Jessica Brasier, were hired in September.

Recently the White House named Alyson Lee Saunders, a science teacher at Dexter Regional High School, a recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). PAEMST are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and/or computer science teaching.

A small World War I-era replica plane crashed at the Dexter Municipal Airport late Wednesday morning after a breeze lifted the taxiing plane into the air with the pilot strapped inside.

The Travis Mills Foundation has been providing support and respite to combat-wounded veterans and their families since 2013. Next month Bangor Savings Bank -- which has branches in Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft and Greenville -- will put the foundation on a literal fast track for growth when it gifts its primary Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car sponsorship to the nonprofit for the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.