Plans for Atkinson to join the Unorganized Territory (UT) on July 1 -- the community voted 187-19 (nearly 91 percent) at the November referendum to deorganize -- are still on track.

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.

More than a dozen students in the younger grades at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are now HEROs for their outstanding conduct during the month of January. The HERO honorees were recognized with the presentation of certificates during an elementary-wide morning meeting on Feb. 15.

Eight rail cars on an Eastern Maine Railways train left the tracks in a remote area of Piscataquis County on Friday, Feb. 8, according to a spokesperson from J.D. Irving, the Canadian conglomerate that owns the rail company.

Greenville has long been considered a town on the edge of wilderness. Centuries ago the wild forests were logged and Moosehead Lake was instrumental in moving those logs from the forests to mills downstream of the lake’s outlets. The town, incorporated in 1836, prospered as a result of this industry. Homes and churches were built.

Directors from Dexter and the other dozen communities making up HAD 4 are awaiting negotiation details between officials with Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health on a potential merger of the Dover-Foxcroft facility serving the region with the statewide healthcare system, the town council learned during a Feb. 14 meeting.

Mayo Regional Hospital has been awarded participation in a remote, technical assistance program with the Texas A&M University Center for Optimizing Rural Health. Mayo Regional Hospital is one of five hospitals in the state to be selected for support and training through the year-long program. Technical assistance will begin this spring.

Seven different capital improvement projects will be carried out across the SAD 4 school campuses in the current and next academic years after the directors approved a package of about $205,500 in district funds during a Feb. 12 meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School.

After some Foxcroft Academy seniors objected to a plan to eliminate the use of white graduation gowns for female students in favor of everyone wearing burgundy, the head of school said that members of the Class of 2019 will have input before a final decision is made. Graduation is scheduled for Sunday, June 9 and a decision on the attire could be made next month, a specific timeline and method are to be determined.

Sen.Paul Davis, R-Sangervlle has submitted LD 784 “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Eligibility for Unemployment Benefits.” If passed, this legislation would require individuals who are collecting unemployment benefits to accept and attend interviews for jobs they are reasonably fitted for. Failure to attend would result in disqualification from benefits.

Five rural Maine hospitals, including one that recently filed for bankruptcy protection and others that have cut key services in recent years, will receive expert help in stabilizing their business models after winning a rare federal award.

Richard Gurney of Rockwood maintains a bait pile on Brassua Lake that he allows local friends to use, whether they choose to hunt coyotes over it, or just sit and take photos of the scavenging animals that visit for a snack.

The precise wording is still being finalized, but when Dover-Foxcroft residents head to the polls in June they will be voting on an amended shoreland zoning ordinance after the selectmen passed a motion to put the final version of the document on the ballot during a Feb. 11 meeting.

Last spring, I wrote about a project to prevent invasives from gaining access to Rainbow Lake. Rainbow Lake is one of just a dozen waters in Maine that holds native Arctic charr. In fact, Maine is the only state in the lower 48 to have any native Arctic charr. These fish are very sensitive to aberrations in the natural ecosystem.

America’s longest-serving conservation organization, the Appalachian Mountain Club, is teaming up with the country’s top ranked environmental nonprofit, The Conservation Fund, to protect nearly 27,000 acres of working forestland in Maine’s North Woods.

MONSON — Once upon a time many years ago, when horses pulled carts and carriages, winter transportation required sleighs to get around.

Nearly a year after residents of the four SAD 41 communities voted down a referendum on an approximate $2.3 million funding package for a heating system upgrade, converting from steam to hot water, and energy efficiency project at the Penquis Valley School, a revised project will be brought forward for a vote at the polls on Thursday, March 14 with an information meeting the week before at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6.

Four snowmobilers encountered thin ice on Sebec Lake early Saturday morning, Feb. 9. Shortly after midnight the four men encountered thin ice on the lake, Carignan and Smith escaped going in but Lynch and Taylor became completely submerged along with their snowmobiles. Both men managed to get out of the water and onto the ice. Taylor drove one of the two remaining snowmobiles to an unoccupied camp to find warmth.