Dover-Foxcroft officer gets new position

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Scott Arno, 41, of Dover-Foxcroft has been hired as the new part-time domestic violence investigator for the Piscataquis County District Attorney’s Office.

Piscataquis County commissioners were told Tuesday that Arno will start on April 2. He plans to continue his job as a full-time Dover-Foxcroft police officer and do the 20-hour-a-week county work on weekends and evenings.

“I’m excited. I think it’s going to be another challenge for me,” Arno said after the meeting. The number of domestic violence cases and the follow-up that is required to keep victims safe is an important issue to him.

“He’s a very good choice,” Owen Pratt, interim county manager, said Tuesday.

The commissioners also learned from Sue Almy, Penobscot County registrar of probate, that most of the probate registrars in the state are working together to get a standardized software system in order to have probate business online.

The new software program is not expected to cost any more after the first year’s setup than what the county now pays, according to Judy Raymond, Piscataquis County registrar of probate. The first-year costs for Piscataquis County are estimated at $10,750. Second-year costs are estimated at $3,050 less any fees collected from those who use the Web site to download documents, she said. Her office has $7,000 in a capital account and another $3,000 set aside for microfilming that will be replaced by scanners, she said Tuesday.

Linda Smith, Piscataquis County registrar of deeds, also updated the board on her department’s move to offer public access to documents online. When completed, documents can be downloaded for a fee.

She said 14 of the 18 registrars in the state are online. Piscataquis County is one of four that has not yet completed the transition.