A proposed $11,784,238 RSU 68 budget for the 2019-20 academic year was approved at the annual district budget meeting on May 28 at the SeDoMoCha School. The spending package will now go to a referendum in the towns of Charleston, Dover-Foxcroft, Monson and Sebec on Tuesday, June 11 with residents of the four communities voting either “yes” or “no” to make a district-wide decision on the total amount.

The 11 students are Ella Weber, kindergarten; Grace Wasel, grade 1; Jordon Dill, grade 2; Evie Wasel, grade 3; Jenna Hartford, grade 4; Samantha Kinney, elementary unified arts; Susan LaBree, grade 5; James Estes, grade 6; Tristan Turner, grade 7; Eli Sharrow, grade 8; and Evalyn Fisk, middle school unified arts.

Two cars with teenage drivers behind the wheel and peers in the passenger seats collided head-on. Soon emergency responders were on scene as family members of those in the accident arrived, seeing the horrific scene and fearing the worst about their loved ones. The crash was staged but the lessons were real as Dexter Regional High School hosted the Every 15 Minutes program on the afternoon of May 21.

Many visitors to Baxter State Park, the Golden Road, the Katahdin Woods and Waters Scenic Byway and other destinations in and near Piscataquis County will be able to learn more about the region, and use some new public restroom facilities, at a forthcoming Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) information hub at Millinocket Lake by the North Woods Trading Post and the Golden Road in T1 R9.

Baserunners were few and far between for John Bapst Memorial High School of Bangor during a May 21 Class B North softball game at Foxcroft Academy. The Ponies allowed just five players to get on base, with two coming on dropped third strikes and only two of the five getting into scoring position, in seven innings. Senior Makenzie Beaudry tossed a 1-hitter with zero walks and 15 strikeouts. The shutout is the team’s sixth in 13 games.

A 10-year-old who battled a brain tumor took a step toward his dream of one day becoming a firefighter by being named an honorary junior firefighter with the Dover-Foxcroft Fire Department during a presentation at the station on May 17. Brayson Dunton, who is a fourth-grader at the SeDoMoCha Elementary School, also had the opportunity to take a ride in the cab of his favorite ladder truck, being joined for the trip by his friend and classmate Evan Seavey.

Two Dover-Foxcroft women who have worked to provide comforting blankets to countless children through Project Linus and helped provide a happy holidays for numerous families via the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Community Christmas Project, among other volunteer efforts for each, have been honored by the Valley Grange with the organization’s 2019 Community Citizen of the Year honor. Barbara Austin and Judy Raymond received the recognition on the evening of May 17 at the Grange Hall.

Students at Piscataquis Community Elementary School spent several months reading as many books as possible, not only for fun and to learn but for the opportunity to win a brand new bicycle and helmet. Thanks to the Masons of Abner Wade Lodge #207 in Sangerville and Mt. Kineo Lodge #109 of Guilford students could place an entry into a bicycle drawing for every title they read in the Masons’ annual Bikes for Books program.

Dexter Regional High School did most of its damage in the top of the third, scoring five runs on the way to a 7-0 Class C North victory at neighboring Piscataquis Community High School May 15 to start the second half of the regular season for both teams. The Tigers (7-2) won for the seventh time in eight games since the 2019 opener while the host Pirates dropped to 2-7.

The SAD 4 school board approved a proposed budget for the 2019-20 academic year totaling $7,174,825 during a May 14 meeting at Piscataquis Community High School. This figure is up by nearly $87,800 (1.239 percent) from the current spending plan totaling a little less than $7.1 million.