The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced the selection of Michael Vermette as the Allagash Wilderness Waterway (AWW) Visiting Artist for 2020. DACF initiated its AWW Visiting Artist Program to celebrate the long-standing tradition of artists capturing the Allagash's beauty and solitude.

The date and method of conducting the annual town meeting amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is still to be determined, but a warrant featuring seven articles was approved as written by both the selectmen and budget advisory committee during the annual public hearing -- conducted via Zoom -- on June 3.

When Puritan Medical Products celebrated its 100th birthday early last year, it may have struck outsiders as a big deal for the family-owned Guilford company. Little did anyone know what 2020 had in store for the business, which is one of just two companies worldwide that makes specialized medical testing swabs. 

All eyes will be on Guilford on Friday, June 5 when President Donald Trump flies up from Washington, D.C., to visit the town of 1,500 people. He’ll be touring the local plant where Puritan Medical Products has been cranking out the medical testing swabs that have grown critically important during the coronavirus pandemic.

The list of public Masses with safety restrictions being celebrated daily and on Sundays at Maine churches continues to grow. The dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass continues to be in place, and the long list of live-streamed Masses at Maine parishes remains in place (portlanddiocese.org/response-coronavirus).

Photos of the region’s National Honor Society chapter members.

Upcoming events around the region.

President Donald Trump will make an official White House visit to a medical manufacturing plant in Guilford on Friday, June 5 his first trip to Maine since taking office and a seismic event for a town of 1,500 in the state’s least populous and most conservative county.

The 133rd edition of the Piscataquis Valley Fair in Dover-Foxcroft has been postponed until next year due to factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fair, originally scheduled for Aug. 27-30, will be held next on Aug. 26-29, 2021.

Extension staff will have seedlings available at several other locations while supplies last: Tradewinds in Milo, 7 to 11 a.m. on Friday, June 5; Smith’s Grocery and Lunch in Brownville, noon to 3 p.m. on June 5; Whitney’s Supermarket in Guilford, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 6; and the Piscataquis County Extension Office in Dover-Foxcroft, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, June 8.

The Abbott Memorial Library has reopened with limited hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 1-5 p.m. Wednesday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

The Center Theatre announced this week that registration is now open for the summer drama camp program. The camp, which brings kids of all ages and backgrounds together for a two-week day camp program, is the Theatre's longest running program. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic and necessary precautions to ensure the safety of campers and staff, Patrick Myers, the executive director of the Center Theatre, said that there would be some significant differences for this year's camps.

Behind the steady stream of shoppers entering Whitney’s Family Supermarket late Monday afternoon was an anticipation of what is to come Friday -- a visit to this quiet milltown of some 1,500 residents by President Donald Trump.

The 2020 Piscataquis River Festival, which was scheduled for Saturday, July 25, will not be happening.

The Thompson Free Library is collaborating with the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District (PCSWCD) and will be setting up a story walk at the Law Farm. What is a story walk, you ask? A story walk is a series of signs featuring sequential spreads from a children's picture book.

Curbside pickup begins at the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft. While it won’t bring order to the current chaos, it may bring some comfort as books and movies often do. Get new picture books to read to your kids, the next in a series you love, a comedy that makes you LOL or non-fiction resources to motivate and inspire.

The Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District is holding its monthly board meeting from 9-11 a.m. on Friday, June 12. This meeting is open to the public.

Valley Grange of Guilford recently announced that in a joint agreement with the administration of SAD 4, the Parade of Pirates scheduled for Wednesday, June 10 is being canceled. In announcing the cancelation, Valley Grange Program Director Walter Boomsma explained, “After reviewing the recent changes to Gov. Mills’ Executive Order, we made the unhappy decision to cancel the event in keeping with the spirit of the order and everyone’s safety.”