5 years ago Restaurant re-tools while owners wait out coronavirus concerns Paul Zimmerman and Martha Ward already had planned an improvement project for the Red Maple Inn in Guilford again this year. They’ve invested in their Piscataquis County restaurant and lounge annually since moving the business across the street in 2013 to its current location -- the former Braeburn Hotel annex on North Main Street. Little did Zimmerman and Ward know how much free time they’d have for renovation this year after the Red Maple Inn and other restaurants around the state were closed to dine-in customers as of March 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
5 years ago Pandemic changes the way we experience grief and loss Take a moment to think of the things, activities and people who bring meaning to your life. Got them? Chances are that one or more of them have been threatened or lost during this pandemic.
5 years ago Area students to remain with remote learning for rest of school year Following last week’s recommendation by Maine Department of Education (MDOE) Commissioner of Education Pender Makin, with the support of Gov. Janet Mills, regional school districts are extending remote learning plans until the end of the academic year.
5 years ago Overdue canoeists located alive at Madison Family Dollar Two overdue canoeists paddling the Kennebec River were located alive and well on Monday afternoon at the Family Dollar Store in Madison when they were able to recharge their cell phone and notify family members. Jake Cyr, 22 of Guilford, and Tyson Bell, 31 of Dixfield, began their canoe trip on the Kennebec River Saturday evening in Bingham. Cyr and Bell camped Saturday and Sunday night on the river, portaging both the Solon Dam and the first of two Madison dams.
5 years ago Guilford town manager departing at end of the month After nearly a year on the job, Guilford Town Manager David Wilson will be leaving the position in several weeks to become director of campus security at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor. Town Treasurer/Deputy Town Clerk Johanna Tuner will serve as interim town manager through the March 2021 annual town meetings as part of a shift in several municipal positions.
5 years ago Businesses and Masons provide hams for SAD 4 families Thanks to Herring Brothers Meats, Mount Kineo Lodge #109 of Guilford and Gordon Construction, 160 hams were delivered to SAD 4 families for Easter.
5 years ago Outages still exceed 60K after spring nor’easter strikes Maine More than 60,000 people across Maine are still waiting for their power to be restored as of Sunday morning after a nor’easter tore through the state late last week causing widespread outages.
5 years ago Virus likely widespread in Maine, study finds Given low testing rates for coronavirus across the country, it can be difficult to gauge from official numbers where outbreaks are actually happening. So researchers at the University of Texas at Austin ran simulations to calculate the risk in each U.S. county that there are sustained, undetected outbreaks -- epidemics -- already occurring.
5 years ago Gov. Mills officially pushes back June elections to July 14 Gov. Janet Mills formally moved Maine’s June 9 primaries to July 14 and pushed back all election-related deadlines by a month on April 10.. Her executive order delaying voting followed a statement earlier this week that it was "not going to be possible" to hold the elections in early June while maintaining required social distancing measures.
5 years ago Thousands of Mainers stuck at home without power following spring nor’easter Over 110,000 Mainers are still waiting for their electricity to be restored two days after a spring nor’easter tore through the state Thursday night, bringing down trees and power lines.
5 years ago Maine DOE delivers donated devices to RSU 68, SAD 4 The Maine Department of Education (DOE) delivered Wi-Fi-enabled Samsung Tab A's with a 12-month Verizon service to RSU 68 and SAD 4 schools on April 8, in an effort helping area students with their school work while they are engaged in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
5 years ago Maine’s Angus King wants money for local news organizations in next coronavirus stimulus Maine Sen. Angus King and several Democrats in the U.S. Senate called on Wednesday for a future stimulus bill aimed at coronavirus relief to include money to support local news organizations. King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, signed a letter with 18 Senate Democrats that characterized local news organizations as “in a state of crisis” that was only “exacerbated” by the coronavirus pandemic.
5 years ago Gov. Mills announces plan to open alternative care sites Gov. Janet Mills directed the Maine National Guard and the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to work with Maine’s health care systems to open two alternative care sites in Portland and Bangor as part of the state’s preparations to bolster Maine health system capacity in the face of COVID-19.
5 years ago Towns wait for direction from Gov. Mills on how or whether June 9 voting will happen Towns and cities whose usual polling locations have closed because of the coronavirus pandemic are waiting for guidance from the state on how or whether the June 9 primary will happen before they choose new locations and make other arrangements for voting.
5 years ago Maine is planning for a worst-case coronavirus scenario. It’s hard to predict what happens next. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has spent a month modeling how the new coronavirus might spread. The scenarios are wide-ranging.
5 years ago County officials working through COVID-19 conditions Despite a lack of recorded cases of the coronavirus in Piscataquis County as of Tuesday morning, county officials are still exercising caution in daily operations with facilities on the East Main St. campus mostly closed to the public and limited staff working on site. Gov. Janet Mills announced stricter limits on public gatherings last month, including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, the Piscataquis County Commissioners met via teleconference for the April 7 meeting.
5 years ago Piscataquis is the lone Maine county without a positive coronavirus case More than three weeks after Maine confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus, the state has recorded cases in all but one of its 16 counties. As of Monday, Piscataquis County was the only one without a confirmed case of the fast-spreading infection that has caused a pandemic and shut down much of daily life. Two other counties, Aroostook and Washington, both recorded their first cases last week.
5 years ago In 1918, a pandemic swept through Maine — and offers lessons for containing COVID-19 The death toll started on a Monday -- Sept. 23, 1918, to be exact. William Lawry, a 36-year-old Augusta resident, had fallen ill while visiting Camp Devens, an army facility in Massachusetts that had been stricken by influenza, and had returned home a few days earlier to recuperate.