6 years ago LaGrange man to serve 5 years for fleeing police in stolen cars, including police cruiser A 23-year-old LaGrange man who stole two separate vehicles last spring -- a Dexter police cruiser and a Toyota Celica belonging to a veteran of the Iraq War -- and led authorities on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed the Celica will serve five years of a 10-year sentence.
6 years ago Northern Light board approves merger with Mayo Regional Hospital The board of directors at Northern Light Health unanimously voted March 20 to merge with Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft, which would make the small Piscataquis County hospital the health care system’s 10th.
6 years ago Portland couple charged in Dexter robbery remain jailed A Portland couple remained Monday night, March 18 at the Penobscot County Jail unable to post bail in connection with an alleged robbery and assault the week before that left a Dexter woman with a broken jaw.
6 years ago Penquis CEO receives national NeighborWorks Association Award Penquis President and CEO Kara Hay was recognized by the National NeighborWorks Association (NNA) at the annual NeighborWorks Executive Directors Symposium in Washington D.C. Hay was one of three leaders nationwide acknowledged at the NNA’s 15th annual Excellence Awards, which honors outstanding practitioners in the field of housing and community development.
6 years ago Mayo Regional Hospital officials say Northern Light merger is crucial for survival Leaders of Mayo Regional Hospital say the merger they’re pursuing with one of the state’s largest hospital systems is critical for the Dover-Foxcroft facility’s survival after years of operating losses. But the negotiated merger agreement with Northern Light Health would only obligate the hospital system to keep operating Mayo in its current form for five years after the merger.
6 years ago SeDoMoCha Middle School celebrates seventh annual Pi Day DOVER-FOXCROFT -- For the seventh year students and teachers at SeDoMoCha Middle School celebrated the 14th day of the third month with various events for Pi Day. The activities connect to the dessert which is a homophone of the term for the non-terminating ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
6 years ago Community forums on potential Mayo/Northern Light Health merger start next month Mayo Regional Hospital has announced four community forums to provide updates and answer questions regarding the potential merger with Northern Light Health, a statewide health care system. The forums will be held in four of the 13 towns that make up Hospital Administrative District (HAD) 4 and will provide an opportunity for citizens in the district to learn more about what a merger might mean for the hospital and local access to quality care.
6 years ago Mayo officials look to hold public session on merger April 2 in D-F With the HAD 4 board of directors voting 15-3 last month to start a merger with Northern Light Health, Mayo Regional Hospital officials are looking to hold four public information nights across the region to share details of the process and hear from residents and answer their questions. One session is tentatively scheduled for 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2 in the Morton Avenue Municipal Building Gymnasium.
6 years ago Ridge View seventh-grader Ranquist qualifies for state geography bee Ridge View Community School seventh-grader Kaleb Ranquist, the son of Erin and Robert Ranquist, has been notified by the National Geographic Society that he is one of the semifinalists eligible to compete in the 2019 National Geographic GeoBee Maine State Competition. The contest will be held at the University of Maine Farmington on Friday, March 29.
6 years ago Sen. Davis seeks to make colorectal cancer screenings available at earlier age Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville introduced LD 555 “An Act To Reduce Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality by Updating Screening Coverage” late last month to the Legislature’s Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee. With this bill, Sen. Davis hopes to remove the reference to the minimum age at which insurance companies must cover colorectal cancer screenings.
6 years ago Area high school students teaming up to make a difference After discussion that day about issues facing young adults and what can be done, Mills encouraged those present to go back to their schools and form a Positive Action Team. “Our group thought if kids had more positive things to do then maybe they would not turn to drugs,” Keane said. The teams have caught on.
6 years ago Hospital needs legislation to merge without towns’ votes An act of the Legislature is needed if Mayo Regional Hospital’s merger with a statewide health care system is to go forward in the way administrators at the Dover-Foxcroft hospital are proposing. But no legislator from Piscataquis County has publicly committed yet to sponsoring the legislation that would eliminate the charter the hospital has operated under since the 1970s.
6 years ago Hospital board votes to tax member communities to cover debt service On Feb. 27 the board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital (Hospital Administrative District 4) voted 14-2 to tax the 13 communities it serves should it need to in order to balance its debt service. Two board members abstained and one member was absent.
6 years ago Mayo board votes 15-3 to start merger with Northern Light Health The public board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital has voted to begin a merger with Northern Light Health, the statewide health care organization that’s based in Brewer and includes Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The board members, who are elected from 13 Piscataquis County communities served by the hospital and who oversee a quasi-municipal entity known as Hospital Administrative District No. 4, approved the merger agreement in a 15-3 vote during a meeting Wednesday night, Feb. 27.
6 years ago Maine’s top court rejects appeal from man convicted of killing girlfriend, toddler Maine's highest court has denied another appeal of a Guilford man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and the toddler she was babysitting. Jeffrey Cookson sought a new trial for the 1999 killings in Dexter based on a provision of Maine's DNA statute.
6 years ago Mayo board will take a first vote on merging with Northern Light system The public board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft will vote Wednesday on whether to go forward with a proposed merger with Northern Light Health, the statewide health care system that’s based in Brewer and includes Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.
6 years ago Mayo board vote is next step in Northern Light Health merger process On Wednesday night, Feb. 27, following months of due diligence, planning, and gathering public input, the board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital (Hospital Administrative District 4) plans to vote on a non-binding merger agreement with Northern Light Health, a statewide health care system.
6 years ago Pay for Maine jurors in state courts could more than triple If Maine lawmakers pass a bill endorsed by the Legislature’s judiciary committee, pay for jurors in state courts would more than triple, rising to $50 per day -- the same rate paid to jurors by the federal court system.