Levi Ladd was the Maine Central Institute girls JV basketball coach in 2008. Now the Milo native is back at the Pittsfield school as the varsity coach.

Maine recorded its worst year for Lyme disease in 2019, with 2,079 reported cases statewide. Experts in infectious disease weren’t surprised. And there’s no indication that the upward trend won’t continue this year.

Annis, born on the Cape, is a business-savvy guy who owned and operated restaurants in the Boston area for 30 years before his intense desire to travel sent him across the country for a stint, eventually returning to Boston, where he would meet the love of his life. Several years ago, and two children later, the couple moved to Dresden, motivated by a pursuit for a simpler life for their daughters. While in Dresden, they began a search for their slice of heaven; a family farm, which eventually landed them in Dover-Foxcroft, and Maison de Chevre (translated as goat house) was born.

Area grant recipients are the town of Dover-Foxcroft, $7,500; Piscataquis Regional Food Center of Dover-Foxcroft, $7,500; Eastern Area Agency of Aging, $15,000; Partners for Peace, $5,000; and Penquis, $20,000.

The Thompson Free Library will host Susan Pinette, professor of modern languages and literatures and director of Franco American programs at the University of Maine, live via Zoom at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. This online presentation is part of an ongoing Bicentennial series sponsored by a Maine Bicentennial Community Grant.

Brayson’s relationship with firefighting took yet another turn late Thursday afternoon, May 14 as Make-A-Wish Maine gifted him with a firefighter-themed golf cart at the end of a procession featuring more than 30 firetrucks and law enforcement vehicles from Dover-Foxcroft, Newport and more than a dozen surrounding towns.

The sweet of the year started today, May 17. The week of cold north winds did a 180-degree shift, and a south wind moved in where I live at Branch Lake. Overnight the hardwoods in the higher elevations turned from somber gray to a delightful lime green. The forsythia blossomed.  And the first black fly wave came calling. Ah, spring!

Maine reached a milestone in its pandemic response on Monday by opening up COVID-19 testing to a greater range of people. 

A new bill in the U.S. Senate could provide more than $2 billion to state and local governments in Maine to help offset lost revenues due to coronavirus-related economic shutdowns. The proposal, co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, includes $500 billion for state and local governments nationally and also frees up $1.25 billion previously allocated as part of a stimulus package that passed at the end of March.

The Center Theatre has begun selling theater concessions online for curbside pickup. Pickup is available on Friday and Saturday nights between 6 and 7 p.m. and all orders must be placed in advance online at CenterTheatre.org.