Each month outstanding pupils in grades 5-8 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are honored as Students of the Month. The nine April honorees were presented with certificates in front of their peers during an assembly in the cafeteria to start the day on Thursday, April 25.

Citizens in Milo voted in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health, voting 25-0 in favor of the merger at an April 23 special town meeting.

Piscataquis County experienced the biggest gain in unit sales, up 30 percent to 56. But the median sale price dropped 10 percent to $106,000.

Samantha Siemerling of Dover-Foxcroft was presented with the first-place prize in the high school division of the Secretary of State’s 2018 Maine Native American History and Culture Essay Contest by Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville at the Maine State Museum in Augusta on April 17.

The Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office did not have to look very far to find a new full-time deputy sheriff for the patrol division, with the hiring of Jeremy Rackliff. Rackliff, who lives in Sangerville, has been working on a part-time and fill-in basis for the department, Sheriff Robert Young told the county commissioners during an April 22 meeting.

Citizens in Bradford voted in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. Bradford residents voted 20-1 in favor of the merger at a special town meeting on April 22.

The population of Maine as a whole and 10 of the state’s 16 counties is rising, as is the number of people moving into the state and into 14 counties, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which released its 2018 population estimates April 18.

Non-binding town meeting votes on the plan are scheduled across a dozen HAD 4 communities from April 20-30 to help area legislators make a decision on submitting a bill to amend the hospital district charter to pave the way for a merger. More information is at https://mayohospitalfacts.org/.

The towns that make up Hospital Administrative District 4 (HAD 4) are planning for public votes regarding the potential merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. The votes will be held on a variety of dates set by each individual town as a part of a town meeting format. The result of the votes will give legislators guidance on whether or not to submit legislation to change the HAD 4 charter to allow for the merger.

A dozen pieces created by students at Foxcroft Academy and Piscataquis Community High School were on display at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)/Miosac Club’s annual art show on Sunday, March 24 at The Commons at Central Hall.

For 11 years the Valley Grange of Guilford has sponsored advertisements in the Piscataquis Observer’s annual Newspapers in Education supplement, which features business advertisement content created and drawn by school children from around the region.

The recent trend in hospital consolidations started in October 2013, when St. Andrews Hospital merged with Miles Memorial Hospital in nearby Damariscotta to form LincolnHealth, which in turn is part of Portland-based MaineHealth.

Squeezed tightly by the high cost of doing business at a time when federal reimbursements don’t cover expenses and more patients need free care, Maine’s hospitals are looking to each other to survive. Hospital mergers, consolidations and collaborations have been occurring for the past 20 years, but the trend has accelerated during the past five years, experts said.

Connor DiAngelo of Greenville was awarded a Maine Legislative Memorial Scholarship in the Maine Senate in Augusta on April 11. While he was unable to attend session, DiAngelo’s parents Bette and Joe accepted the scholarship on his behalf. Connor attends college at the University of Maine where he is majoring in business finance.

The Dexter Town Council unanimously gave its approval to the proposed merger of Mayo Regional Hospital with Northern Light Health system during an April 11 meeting.

Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine said he’s upset by a report that found lower-income counties, including two in Maine, are subject to more tax audits by the IRS. Piscataquis and Washington counties have median incomes below most of the nation and the rest of the state. But, according to a study published in a trade publication, they have been targeted for IRS audits.

“The large radio reorganization is in California, the equipment is in California,” Dispatch Sgt. Gary Grant said during an April 9 commissioners meeting. Grant said the equipment will go Whitten’s 2-Way Service, Inc. of Brewer -- which has worked with the sheriff’s department for more than two decades -- to be programmed for installation.

For the fourth year in a row the Abbot-based JD Foundation invites the community to honor those who have died by suicide and support survivors and families impacted at the organization’s Walk/Run to Wake the Silence. The 5-kilometer event will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, with an opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and registration beginning at 8 a.m., at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA on Park Street.