State and federal courts in Maine are reducing operations to help reduce community transmission of the coronavirus and to protect employees who interact with the public. Courthouses will remain open and sufficiently staffed to ensure access for those who request protection from personal violence and whose liberty interests are at stake, according to a statement issued Sunday by the judicial branch. 

For the second year in a row students from across the region wanting to make a difference in their schools and communities came together to share what they are doing and brainstorm ideas to carry forward at the Positive Action Team Summit on March 6 at Dexter Regional High School.  The day-long event featured about 100 pupils from student-led teams representing high schools and/or middle schools in Dexter, Greenville, Guilford and Milo.

Schools in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties will remain closed for at least another month, through the normally scheduled week of April vacation.

Piscataquis County Democrats gathered for party caucuses in 15 communities throughout the region on March 8.  Close to 100 individuals rallied to Rise and Organize! in four locations including Greenville, Guilford, Dover-Foxcroft and Milo.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills announced stricter limits on public gatherings on Wednesday, ordering restaurants and bars to stop dine-in service effective that day, banning social gatherings of more than 10 people and urging many private businesses to close.

All five of the region’s school districts will be closed through at least late in the month in response to the coronavirus.

Before adjourning on Tuesday because of the coronavirus, the Maine Legislature passed a package of bills letting municipalities and schools operate on current budgets through January and giving Gov. Janet Mills wide authority over the June primaries.

Four of the region’s five school districts will be closed for the next two weeks in response to the coronavirus. The Dexter-based SAD 46 will be closed on Monday, March 16 and that evening the school board is set to meet to decide whether the district should join others in making a similar decision on a prolonged closure.

The board of directors for Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo/Brownville have decided to suspend meetings for Wednesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 25. Due to the Covid-19 virus the board is taking every precaution to keep people safe and healthy.

The woods and waters of what is now Piscataquis and Aroostook counties were largely uncharted territory for the people of European descent in Maine in the years prior to statehood in 1820.

Roughly half or more of all Maine adults -- particularly older and rural people -- are at risk of developing serious illnesses if they contract the new coronavirus, making the state’s older population one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to the virus.

A 42-year-old Bangor man died on March 8 after he was unable to stop at a snowmobile trail intersection and crashed into the trees.

With the pending retirement of a Waterville hospital executive and the recent addition of a new hospital, Northern Light Health is shuffling around the leadership of its hospitals in central Maine and Piscataquis County.

Two organizations with a shared vision to meet the health care needs of the people of Piscataquis County have officially come together. Northern Light Health and Mayo Regional Hospital completed their merger agreement on Sunday, March 1. On Monday morning, Michelle Hood, president and CEO of Northern Light Health, joined with Marie Vienneau, president and CEO of the newly named Northern Light Mayo Hospital, for a press conference and celebration at  the hospital with employees.

Spectators gathered at the finish line at Lonesome Pine Trails in Fort Kent to cheer on mushers as they arrived at the end of their 30-mile trek through Fort Kent at the Can-Am Sled Dog Races on Feb. 29. Race winner was racer No. 25 Rico Portalatin of Milo with a time of 2:24:11; second place, No. 2 Julie Albert with a time of 2:49:19; and third place, No. 24, Alexander Theriault with a time of 2:52:21. 

When Maine achieved statehood in 1820, it was home to a number of wild creatures that are no longer seen in the region today. Wolves, caribou, panthers and rattlesnakes are among the animals found roaming the woods and waters of Maine 200 years ago. 

The U.S. Postal Service will celebrate Maine’s bicentennial with the issuance of a new Forever stamp and a dedication ceremony on the actual anniversary of Maine’s statehood, March 15.

A lawsuit seeking to block the merger of Mayo Regional Hospital with Northern Light Health is heading to court late next month after the Maine attorney general’s office and both health care organizations all filed motions seeking to dismiss the case.