The Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District is excited to announce they are entering into a three-year contract with the Maine Chapter of The Nature Conservancy that focuses on implementation of stream restoration and aquatic organism passage projects.

Observer photo/Keri Foster FIND THE SHOP LOCAL TREE WINNER — Bill Cleaves of Sangerville is the grand prize winner of the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Find the Shop Local Tree contest.

By David Marino Jr.

BEAVER COVE, Maine — A company with a permit to build two single-family houses in Beaver Cove will have to pay a $6,150 fine and restore vegetation, leaving the Maine’s Land Use Planning Commission members to wonder how to better thwart violations such as these.

PORTLAND — The Maine Connectivity Authority has launched a critical public education campaign called Correct the Dots, a call to action for individuals to check their addresses on new federal internet maps and to file a challenge if the information is incorrect.

WASHINGTON, D.

Maine officials have approved a land use agreement that designates nearly 1,040 acres in the Moosehead Lake region as areas for future housing and commercial development.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — It will cost Piscataquis County $5,940,331 to operate next year, plus $2,205,199 to run the unorganized territories.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Piscataquis County’s economic development group recognized William “Bill” Thompson — a Guilford resident, teacher and longtime Select Board member — as this year’s Warren “Pete” Myrick Award winner.

By WGME A former Greenville police chief has pleaded guilty to several charges, including arson and burglary.

It starts with a few sniffles, a scratchy throat, and a couple of sneezes.

By Mehr Sher Mainers learned earlier this year that the state is approximately 75 percent carbon neutral, based on a first-of-its-kind analysis of Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions.

GREENVILLE — After town officials looked at several options, Greenville will continue to contract with Waste Management for municipal solid waste disposal.

By Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News Staff A major company that runs testing sites and medical laboratories across the country will take over much of Northern Light Health’s lab services operation next spring.

By Aislinn Sarnacki With ice cleats strapped to my boots, I hiked up an icy, snowy mountain in the Moosehead Region a couple of days ago.

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff Maine is on track again to see a record number of overdose deaths by the end of the year.

By Kathleen O’Brien, Bangor Daily News Staff After working with Bangor’s homeless population for nearly 20 years, Jen Weatherbee no longer trudges through snow looking for unsheltered people to offer them help.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Piscataquis County’s commissioners agreed to raise the daily boarding rate for prisoners from outside the county during a meeting Tuesday.