U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine recently met with Kaitlin Young, general and vocal music teacher at SeDoMoCha Elementary and Middle School, in her Washington, D.C., office. Young is the recipient of the 2018 Maine Teacher of the Year Award. She has taught at the SeDoMoCha School in Dover-Foxcroft for eight years and was previously named the 2017 Piscataquis County Teacher of the Year.

Students at the SeDoMoCha School will have a new principal when they return to classes in several months as the RSU 68 board of directors unanimously (7-0) voted to employ Ridge View Community School of Dexter Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Adam Gudroe during a June 19 meeting.

In order to get started to fulfill its mission of helping end food insecurity and increase the vitality of the agricultural economy of Dover-Foxcroft and surrounding communities, the Piscataquis Regional Food Center (PRFC) is applying for $50,000 in federal funding through the 2018 USDA Rural Development Community Facilities grant program. As part of the application process, a public hearing was held during the selectmen’s meeting on June 18.

The Center Theatre and lead sponsor Shaw's Supermarket announced that 7,000 people attended the 2018 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on Saturday, June 23. The festival brings bakers from around the state together with artists, crafters, and vendors to celebrate the whoopie pie, Maine's Official State Treat.

Smelt runs up lake tributaries are always a sight to see. Some are better than others. The first one you ever see, with thousands of slithering, wiggling silver fish fighting their way upstream under the glow of the flashlight, leaves an impression.

Rep. Paul Stearns, R-Guilford is pleased to announce that he has recently received an endorsement from the Maine Conservation Voters Action Fund.

Lately there’s been a lot of good news about young people moving to Maine to start a new business and a new life, all the while being engaged in their local community. Such is the case with Backwoods Harvest Company LLC, a family organization who bought the former Autumn Brook Farm on East Road in Greenville.

Last month three bids for constructing a Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) storage garage all came in multiple times more than the project budget. The structure now has gone out to bid again with some revisions to the specs.

A proposed 2018-19 SAD 41 budget of $9,077,841 was approved with all 15 articles passing with minimal discussion over 20 minutes during the annual district budget meeting on June 21 at the Penquis Valley School. The near $9.08 million total is now moved to a referendum in the district towns of Atkinson, Brownville, LaGrange and Mlo on Thursday, June 28 for a “yes” or “no” vote.

Foxcroft Academy is embarking on a fundraising campaign for the construction of a new field house on campus, boosted by a lead commitment of $2 million from the Libra Foundation.

Officials who oversee development in the state’s Unorganized Territory were urged June 20 to not make rule changes that critics say could create sprawl in the Maine woods and undermine development in northern municipalities.

It is with great pleasure that the Baxter State Park Authority announces the appointment of its new park director, Eben Sypitkowski. Sypitkowski is currently serving as Baxter State Park's resource manager and is managing its Scientific Forest Management Area. He brings knowledge and experience to the role of director, and a proven passion for upholding the Baxter Trusts and serving its mission.

Local solar energy entrepreneur Tyler Adkins announced his independent campaign to represent District 119 in the Maine House of Representatives. House District 119 includes Beaver Cove, Greenville, Shirley, Monson, Abbot, Parkman, Sangerville, Guilford, Willimantic, Bowerbank and Sebec, plus the unorganized territories of Blanchard Township, Northeast Piscataquis (including Barnard and Elliottsville Townships) and Northwest Piscataquis.

Tina Gerickont of Cambridge is the grand prize winner in the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Find the Whoopie Pie Contest. Gerickont was chosen from a pool of 10 weekly winners in which entrants successfully located a whoopie pie hidden in one of that week’s advertisements.

Prices for wood to build and renovate houses have as much as doubled over the past six months, increasing costs for consumers but boosting Maine’s softwood sales and signaling a turnaround in that segment of the forestry market, industry experts say.

A brand new 1,700-square foot showroom for the kitchen, bath and flooring offerings at Dave’s World was formally revealed to the public during a grand opening celebration with the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce on the evening of June 14.

Nicki Greene will be the director of special education in SAD 4 for the 2018-19 academic year, after her nomination was approved by the school board during a June 12 meeting. Greene’s salary will be $60,000.

SeDoMoCha Middle School sixth-grader Jasmine Lockwood is the state-level winner for grades 4-6 in the Letters About Literature contest. Lockwood’s letter to the author of “Too Tought to Hurt” came in first in a field of 833 submissions, which were narrowed to approximately 50 finalists as part of three rounds of judging.