DOVER-FOXCROFT — As part of the regular rotation for replacing older department vehicles the Piscataquis County Commissioners approved the purchase of a 2017 Ford Police Interceptor for $28,041 from Quirk Ford of Augusta, during a Jan.

A missing Dover-Foxcroft man with dementia has been found safe, police said.

In early February bids will be due for a pair of projects on the Piscataquis County campus. The first is for renovations to provide for more room at the district attorney’s office on the first floor of the courthouse and the second bid is for the construction of a roof enclosure over the exercise yard at the Piscataquis County Jail.

Moments before the Dec. 18 deadly Amtrak derailment, a Mainer on board noticed the train’s high speed. Cody Clark, a 28-year-old Dexter Regional High School graduate from Exeter, said he recalls thinking, “We’re going pretty fast. We’re going faster than all the cars on the highway.”

The man who fatally shot his ex-girlfriend then led police on the longest manhunt in state history was sentenced Friday, Dec. 15 to 55 years in prison. Robert Burton, 40, of Abbot, was convicted on Oct. 5 of murdering Stephanie Ginn Gebo, 37, of Parkman.

A missing North Carolina man was found dead early on the morning of Dec. 13 by authorities. Willard L. Hartsock, 55, from Old Fort, N.C., has died in a snowmobile related incident near Rockwood.

A 2018 Piscataquis County budget totaling just under $4.25 million and a near $1,489,000 Unorganized Territory (UT) spending plan for the 2018-19 fiscal year were both formally approved by the county commissioners during a Dec. 5 meeting.

Chief Deputy Robert Young has announced that he is seeking the office of sheriff of Piscataquis County in 2018.

The woman killed in a Friday, Nov. 24 crash in Alton was on her way to work at her daughter’s church cafe when she was struck by a relative who was texting while driving, police and a family member said.

A head-on collision Nov. 24 in Alton left one woman dead and a man facing charges as a result of the crash, according to the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.

A storage garage to consolidate the vehicles and equipment for the Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) in one location is being planned by county EMA Director Tom Capraro and the next step in the project was taken during a Nov. 7 commissioners meeting. The commissioners voted to accept a $16,500 proposal from Dirigo Engineering of Fairfield for planning work on the structure to be built on the county campus.

Maine Drug Enforcement Agents (MDEA) have arrested a Massachusetts man and seized 250 grams of heroin and cocaine destined to be sold in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties. The several month investigation, which involved the undercover purchase of heroin, centered on 38-year-old Don Twiggs of Hyde Park, Mass. who agents suspected of making regular trips to Massachusetts and then transporting significant amounts of heroin back to Maine

The selectmen gave their approval to both a $155,000 financing package for a fire department brush truck and an approximate $41,700 bid for a 2018 Ford Expedition to serve the police department, during a meeting on Sept. 11.

Dover-Foxcroft Deputy Fire Chief Patrick “Rick” Pembroke was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Maine State Federation of Firefighters during the organization’s recent convention in Boothbay Harbor.

The Maine Warden Service is seeking interest from the public to create a volunteer search and rescue team in Piscataquis County. There will be an informational meeting held at the Greenville Fire Department, 10 Minden Street, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

The following cases were heard under the Piscataquis Criminal Docket at the Dover-Foxcroft Courthouse during the month of August.

The Maine Warden Service is seeking volunteer searchers. Maine game wardens are planning a search for missing person Diana Esteys in Medford on Sunday, Sept. 17.

BAXTER STATE PARK -- Baxter State Park Rangers were assisted by the Maine Forest Service in the evacuation of a hiker from Mount Katahdin on the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 9.