Last month the Piscataquis County Commissioners gave approval to a radio system upgrade for the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office to replace antiquated dispatch equipment with components dating to the 1980s. County officials heard from Dispatch Sgt. Gary Grant who mentioned how he has been working for several years to upgrade the telecommunications division of the department through grants and funding sources -- totaling about $72,000 -- outside the county budget but said more money would be needed to complete the project.

Dover-Foxcroft Police Sgt. Todd Lyford was honored by the town for his response during a fiery car crash in late July, during an Aug. 27 selectmen’s meeting. Sgt. Lyford was presented with a formal award for valor recognizing his actions in getting the car driver out of the vehicle, at great risk to himself.

Dispatchers with the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office are currently using an antiquated radio system, with components dating to the 1980s. Dispatch Sgt. Gary Grant has been working for several years to upgrade the telecommunications division of the department through grants and other funding sources, but in order to complete the project more money is needed. The specifics are to be determined, but the Piscataquis County Commissioners passed a motion to proceed with an upgrade during an Aug. 21 meeting.

The Maine Warden Service promoted a 25-year-veteran of the service to the position of Lieutenant on Aug. 14 in Augusta. Lieutenant Dan Menard was selected to oversee one of five Warden Service divisions based in Sidney. Lt. Menard filled a vacancy created after Lieutenant Tim Place retired a short time ago after serving more than 31 distinguished years with the Maine Warden Service.

A Dover-Foxcroft woman died on Wednesday, Aug. 8 after a 10-day hospitalization following a fiery car crash the previous week, police said.

On Saturday, Aug. 4 at approximately 12:45 p.m. Maine Warden Service divers being pulled underwater with planing boards located the body of Robert Hammond, 66, of Hanson, Mass.

The pilot of the plane that crashed in Greenville had flown for 10 years and was described by a family friend as “meticulous.” Local authorities identified the three people who died in the Monday, July 30 plane crash as a Canadian couple and their adult daughter.

Three people died Monday, July 30 when their small plane crashed in Greenville on its way to Prince Edward Island, police said.

A 47-year-old woman (Baxter State Park does not release the names of injured parties) was rescued by a Maine Forest Service helicopter off the Abol Trail on Katahdin at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Monday, July 30. She was transported to Millinocket Regional Hospital by the Millinocket Fire Department after a short transport to Caribou Pit in the south end of the park.

The man accused of stealing a Dexter police cruiser while handcuffed in May and leading police on a high-speed chase down rural roads was indicted July 26 by the Penobscot County grand jury on nearly a dozen charges.

The man charged with causing a crash last year that killed his brother’s mother-in-law was sentenced Tuesday, July 24 at the Penobscot Judicial Center to 20 years in prison with all but seven years suspended and the loss of his driver’s license for life.

A Piscataquis County jury on Thursday, July 19 found a Baileyville man guilty of a series of charges stemming from an assault on his girlfriend and her son in early January, according to District Attorney R. Christopher Almy.

The captain and crew of the steamboat Katahdin steered the smoking, drifting vessel carrying 66 people safely back to the dock after its two engines failed at the start of a pleasure cruise Friday on Moosehead Lake.

A hiker who was rescued out from the Appalachian Trail two weeks ago after falling ill was carried out again Tuesday, July 17 after another bout of sickness.

On Sunday, July 15 at approximately 7:15 p.m. Danny Adams, 53, of Farmington, was driving his ATV north along the railroad bed trail when his ATV left the trail and struck some small trees, according to the Maine Warden Service. Adams, who was carrying two juvenile passengers at the time, received serious injuries as a result of the crash.

For the fifth consecutive year a contingent -is hiking approximately 120 miles over a week and a half from downtown Monson to the summit of Mount Katahdin through the 100-Mile Wilderness along the northernmost section of the Appalachian Trail to raise funds through pledges. This year’s “Honor Rocks” hike supports the Wilderness Walk for Warriors, an organization that raises money for Maine veterans and service members and their families and honors the nation’s fallen heroes through a motto of “Assisting the Living, Honoring the Deceased.”

On July 5 the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a 21-year-old female hiking southbound on the Appalachian Trail (AT) complaining of nausea near the Wilson Valley Lean-to. Four game wardens from the Greenville area responded along with Greenville Fire Department, Monson Fire Department and C.A. Dean Memorial Hospital EMS personnel.

A Connecticut man accused of shooting a Garland resident in his home on April 19 was indicted Wednesday, June 27 by the Penobscot County grand jury on one count each of robbery and elevated aggravated assault. Neftali Colon, 34, of Hartford remained at the Penobscot County Jail unable to post $200,000 cash bail.