Jim Schmidt has been working with coyotes for more than 50 years. As a wildlife specialist for the USDA, he has been involved in coyote damage control throughout the country. He has hunted them, trapped them, snared them, chased them with hounds and chased them on horseback. He has also lived remotely with them for almost a year collecting biological samples for scientific research. He knows this critter intimately.

A public hearing on a $473,000 loan from the state’s school revolving renovation fund for sprinkler and elevator system upgrades at the Penquis Valley School has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 23 at 5:30 p.m. at the Marion C. Cook School in LaGrange.

The RSU 68 school board gave its approval to a proposed $10,817,189 budget for the 2017-18 academic year, during a May 2 meeting at the SeDoMoCha School.

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.

In last week’s column, Darn Good Yarn founder/CEO Nicole Snow spoke about her reasons for moving her Sebec, Maine-based million dollar a year business to Schenectady, N.Y. In part, the move was due to her husband’s business.

Soon it will be time to go fiddleheadin'.For the True Gatherer, the first fiddlehead green that pokes through the sandy silt in the lowlands near brooks and streams stirs an inner joy. I count myself among the True Gatherers: finding wild things to eat that were not processed by man is a source of intense satisfaction and accomplishment.

Chief of Police Ryan Reardon began his duties with the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department on Monday, May 1 upon taking the oath of office administered by Town Clerk Lisa Niles

Ten articles were approved at the 2017 annual town meeting on April 29 at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building gymnasium, with these items now moving to the Tuesday, June 13 referendum ballot .

If you are a longtime reader of the Piscataquis Observer, you’ve undoubtedly noticed changes to the paper and website in recent months. We’ve been working hard to provide you with fresh news and opinions that are especially relevant to residents of this ruggedly beautiful part of Maine.

With eight members having served on the Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department for more than half a century, the Robinson family has continued to give back to the community by funding a $9,000 thermal imaging camera. The camera was donated in memory of Alfred E. Robinson -- who was a member of the department for 35 years including serving as chief from 1978-83 -- by his sons, grandson, brothers and nephews who all have been involved in the department.

The Brownville Police Department has been formally disbanded following a special town meeting on May 1 at the Brownville Elementary School.

A new $3 million facility bringing services such as radiology, phlebotomy and behavior health to the area, doubling the number of exam rooms from seven to 14 and providing for greater patient privacy opened its doors on April 25. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital’s Northwoods Healthcare new clinic at 22 Haley Court formally dedicated the facility that afternoon.

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

New York State's gain is Maine's loss. I was surprised and sad to learn this week that Darn Good Yarn is no longer in Sebec, Maine.

From the Maine fisheries biologists, who candidly concede that early April fishing can be an angling challenge, here are some early fishing spot ideas released by IF&W the last week in April.:

During an April 24 selectmen’s meeting the board scheduled a public hearing on a 180-day moratorium extension for the Monday, May 22 meeting. If granted the policy would continue through late November.

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.