Five finalists, from a pool of 50 submissions, have been selected in a contest inviting Foxcroft Academy and SeDoMoCha Middle School to design a new patch for the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department. Each of the five students gave a short presentation on their design to the selectmen during the Feb. 26 meeting.

Towns have the ability to opt out of the retail aspect of recreational marijuana -- residents can still use recreational and medicinal marijuana within the law -- but questions pertaining to unorganized territories remain.

Dover-Foxcroft Deputy Fire Chief Patrick “Rick” Pembroke, left, was presented with a plaque by Dover-Foxcroft Town Manager Jack Clukey of behalf of the community during a Feb. 26 selectmen’s meeting in recognition of Pembroke’s half century served as a firefighter.

Last month Gov. Paul LePage’s administration unveiled a restructuring proposal to hand oversight of the state’s 15 county jails to a new state commission and potentially close five jails -- including Piscataquis County’s -- while regionalizing the system.

A Sangerville man died Feb. 9 as a result of a snowmobile crash in Corinna. Jeffrey Wiley Jr., 44, was travelling south along the rail-bed snowmobile trail when he struck a tree.

Through its mission of providing information and support to people of all ages affected by abuse and domestic violence throughout the region, staff at Partners for Peace work closely with area law enforcement. Often Partners for Peace personnel and police officers are together during times of crisis, so the organization hosted members of the various law enforcement agencies for a pancake breakfast at the Mechanic Street location on Jan. 26.

Game wardens are urging anyone accessing Maine’s lake and ponds to exercise extreme caution. Following the Jan. 17 rescue of three people from Long Pond in Southwest Harbor, at least nine more people reported breaking through thin ice on snowmobiles in a 24-hour period.

An escaped prisoner who left his home confinement on the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 16 was reportedly captured later that night, according to police.

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.