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The summer meeting schedule is in full swing, as a number of communities are holding town meetings, school budget validation votes and local elections this month. 

In western Maine, this includes the school districts of RSU 9, RSU 10, MSAD 17 , MSAD 44, MSAD 58 and RSU 78: all of them looking for a 'yes' vote on their proposed budgets. A 'no' vote sends the budget back to the school board, to restart the process.

Towns that didn't hold their meeting back in March will finalize their plans for the next fiscal year over the next week or so: Buckfield, Kingfield (held today), Paris, Rangeley, Readfield (also today) and Wilton.

Then there's a host of local elections for selectpersons, school board directors, planning board members and all of the other positions that help keep rural Maine running.

In distracting times, rumble strips are saving lives — and money — on rural Maine roads

“It’s still, by far, our biggest lifesaver with regards to two-lane, rural, head-on collisions.”

Read this story by Benjamin Cassidy of The Maine Monitor

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

Hot weather is here, and the CDC wants you to be ready. | News Center Maine

Franklin County agencies will host a series of community forums to hear from those impacted by Sandy River flooding. | Daily Bulldog

ICYMI: Amid rising education costs, a rural Maine town weighs leaving its school district | The Maine Monitor

A lawsuit filed by West Paris against MSAD 17 was dismissed by the Maine Superior Court last month, with the town's attention now turning from the school board to the former Agnes Gray Elementary School building. | Advertiser Democrat

Residents of the Oxford Hills School District, including West Paris, will vote on a proposed $54.4 million school budget on June 10. The budget is up nearly 8 percent, despite $3 million in cuts made by the board. | Sun Journal

Voters in MSAD 44 will head to the polls on June 10 to weigh in on a proposed $17.6 million budget, up roughly 13.6 percent. | Bethel Citizen

Rangeley residents will have two budgets to set on June 10: a proposed $12 million municipal budget and a $5.9 million budget proposed for RSU 78. | Rangeley Highlander

A presentation by a parents' rights advocacy group at the invitation of the RSU 73 board chair sparked a number of reactions from residents and other speakers. | Livermore Falls Advertiser

ICYMI: New law will require landowners to report enrollment in forest carbon programs | The Maine Monitor

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. If you have feedback or a tip that you want to send to Ben Hanstein directly email him at: benjamin@themainemonitor.org. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.

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