Katahdin Avenue water main project set to begin in June

LINCOLN -- The Lincoln Water District Board of Trustees approved the purchase of a trench box and reviewed the status of upcoming projects at an April 14 meeting. Superintendent Jeff Day reported that the project to replace water mains on Katahdin Avenue and Grindle and Spring streets will get underway in June.

Mattawamkeag holds out for permanent Shay Road fix in next budget

MATTAWAMKEAG -- The Mattawamkeag Board of Selectmen discussed roads and ISO ratings at an April 20 meeting.

Burlington select board tackles contaminated water issue

A pressing public health concern dominated the meeting: the well that supplies both the municipal building and the fire station has tested positive for contamination.

Maine Road Ranger to consult Passadumkeag on road conditions

PASSADUMKEAG - A representative from the Maine Road Ranger program will visit the town to consult the town on roads and ditching. The road ranger is a free technical assistance service provided by the Maine Local Roads Center to towns, cities, and counties for local road issues, including site visits and technical guidance.

Lowell school budget likely to end year tight

LOWELL -- The Lowell School Committee met April 14 and made a plan for developing the budget for next year.

SAD 31 sets budget vote dates

HOWLAND -- The School Administrative District 31 Board of Directors at an April 15 meeting, hired administrators and set the dates for district residents to vote on the school's fiscal year 2027 budget.

New ambulance boosts comfort, performance for Lee emergency responders

LEE — The town’s new ambulance, delivered last Thursday, April 9 is already proving its worth. Purchased new—a 2024 Ford F550 XLT Demers MXP-170E—the ambulance is the department’s first brand-new apparatus and was acquired to address rising call volume and local road conditions.

Maxfield fire director resigns over lack of ADA accommodation

MAXFIELD -- The Maxfield fire director for Central Maine Highlands Fire and EMS District No. 1 resigned April 17 citing lack of accommodation for "medically necessary use of closed captioning."

Lincoln Fire knocks out wildfires

LINCOLN -- Lincoln Fire Lt. Donnie Olsen informed Lincoln News on Monday that the department responded to 26 fire and 75 emergency medical service calls in the previous two weeks. Olsen said it was a quieter several weeks with a few small wildland fires -- a campfire that rekindled off of West Broadway, and  at Prospect Avenue, something burning in the mulch.

Lincoln Public Works: sweeping schedule, fee-free May, roadside cleanup

LINCOLN – The public works department in Lincoln released a schedule of sweeping the town's roadways starting in May.

Millinocket to go forward with school budget adopted by board

MILLINOCKET—Days after a special meeting when Millinocket School Board was to consider additional budget changes, including the reconsideration of whether to eliminate a second-grade teaching position, it was announced late last week the school department will move forward with the budget adopted by the board earlier this month.

East board discusses fire and EMS budgets

EAST MILLINOCKET - East Millinocket Selectmen continued their budget review workshops meeting with Fire Chief Kevin McAdam last week. The chief presented both the fire and EMS budgets.

Council backs stipend increases

MILLINOCKET—Beginning the night with a proposed fiscal year 2027 municipal budget that would increase the local tax raise by almost $325,000, Millinocket Town Council approved a pair of budget amendments during Thursday’s first public hearing. Councilors voted 4-2 to add $1,400 to the council stipend line of the budget to increase the annual amount paid to each of the seven members by $200.

East selectmen consider new rec programming framework

EAST MILLINOCKET - Selectmen are reviewing a proposal for a “Tri-Town Regional Recreation Programming Framework,” for Millinocket, East Millinocket and Medway. East Millinocket Administrative Assistant Celina Charette told selectmen that she’s been meeting regularly with Medway Administrative Assistant Kathy Lee and Millinocket Town Manager Peter Jamieson to talk about common issues and find collaboration where possible. She said the recreation proposal comes out of the spirit of that collaboration.

Converted ambulance has no negative impact on EMS services in East

EAST MILLINOCKET - At the selectmen’s meeting three weeks ago, Fire Chief Kevin McAdam asked for, and received, permission to retire an older ambulance and repurpose it into a public safety utility vehicle. McAdam explained to the board that due to reduced call volume and staff, the fourth ambulance was no longer needed and would be of better service as that utility vehicle transporting needed staff and equipment to fire and emergency calls.

Millinocket Regional Hospital CEO Peterson retiring in July

MILLINOCKET - Millinocket Regional Hospital CEO Dr. Robert Peterson will retire July 1 after leading the Katahdin region’s hospital since 2014. Over the last 12 years Peterson has worked to keep the hospital accessible to residents while advocating for the need to provide quality care in rural Maine. Providing that care has become more and more challenging over the years, a challenge Peterson took on to the benefit of the region.

East selectmen consider paving, piping options

EAST MILLINOCKET - East Millinocket Selectmen met with Public Works Leadman Lee Powers for a department update and took the opportunity to talk about potential paving projects for the summer. Powers said he was waiting for the budget to pass before confirming projects. 

East makes two hires

EAST MILLINOCKET - East Millinocket Selectmen made two more hires in recent weeks that addressed identified needs in the town office.

No changes offered on proposed wastewater budget during first public hearing

MILLINOCKET—The proposed Millinocket wastewater budget for fiscal year 2027 was unchanged as a result of the first public hearing held last week. The budget was reviewed by Millinocket Town Council at the start of Thursday’s special meeting. There were no comments from the public on the proposal, which calls for expenditures of $1,031,996 and revenues of $1,086,000 in FY27.

Millinocket Planning Board gets update on Our Katahdin subdivision

MILLINOCKET—Millinocket Planning Board received an update last week on the progress toward a subdivision on the former Great Northern Paper mill campus now owned by Our Katahdin. Millinocket Code Enforcement Officer Tom Malcolm told the board during its April 15 meeting that street names have been decided upon for the property, but the project’s engineer had yet to finalize the updated map. It is expected that map will be available for the board to review during its May meeting.

Millinocket gets $50,000 of solar credits through partnership with Nexamp

MILLINOCKET—Town officials shared some positive financial news last week announcing the town had received $50,000 in solar credits, and potentially more, working with Nexamp Community Solar.