The crisp connection between bat and ball was one of the chief selling points for a Shirley company as it returned to spring training sites in Florida and Arizona to market their bats to major- and minor-league baseball players. By all accounts Dove Tail Bats was having its share of success as one of approximately 35 bat makers certified by Major League Baseball.

Warning that “more people will die,” Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday ordered Mainers to stay home except to shop for necessities or to go to jobs deemed essential through April, putting Maine among a majority of states to take similar action to fight the coronavirus.

To provide an extra measure of protection for employees at Northern Light Mayo Hospital, and a safeguard for others working out in the community during the coronavirus pandemic, volunteers have gotten together remotely via Facebook to sew protective masks.

One additional new program available to people in the region who are self-isolating at home or anyone who is having trouble doing grocery shopping due to concerns about risk, illness or disability is called Community Pulling Together. This is a program funded partly with a small grant from The New England Grassroots Environment Fund COVID-19 response program awarded to The Commons Energy Collaborative.

The Center Theatre announced that they are asking for volunteers to help communities keep in touch while we are all keeping our distance. According to Patrick Myers, the Center Theatre executive director, the Theatre is working to help people stay connected  and hopefully bring a little joy into their daily life.

Hospitals across Maine are steeling themselves for a possible spike in patients with the coronavirus by stocking up on equipment and freeing up beds and workers. But while those efforts are critical from a public health perspective, they could make it harder in the long run for rural hospitals to sustain their current operations when many of them are already struggling to pay the bills. 

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced Friday, March 27 that many credentials issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that expire within the current state emergency period will be extended.

The Dexter Knights of Columbus made a donation to benefit the K-12 special education students of SAD 46, as a result of last fall’s Tootsie Roll Drive.

Gov. Janet Mills and Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa announced that the state will extend the deadline for Maine income tax payments from April 15 to July 15. The change aligns with the federal government’s recent extension of the federal tax filing deadline to July 15.

As hospitals across the country enter a period of turbulence because of the novel coronavirus, the Brewer-based health care system that includes Northern Light Mayo Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Northern Light C.A. Dean Hospital in Greenville has appointed its chief operating officer to serve as the system’s next head.

Grade 7 students at SeDoMoCha Middle School had the opportunity to head north to the mountain to ski and snowboard -- many for the first time -- earlier this year.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine announced that 18 health centers throughout Maine have been awarded a total of $1,083,790 to address screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies and boost telehealth capacity in response to this coronavirus pandemic. Among the recipients is HOMETOWN Health Center (Sebasticook Family Doctors), which has been awarded $55,522.

Under the authority granted to her during a State of Civil Emergency, Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday issued an executive order mandating that all non-essential businesses and operations in Maine close their physical locations that are public facing, meaning those that allow customer, vendor or other in-person contact. The order also closes non-essential business sites that require more than 10 workers to convene in a space where physical distancing is not possible. Non-essential businesses and operations may continue activities that do not involve these types of in-person contact and convenings, and should facilitate the maximum number of employees working remotely.

Despite all the changes and uncertainty, the Thompson Free Library (TFL) in Dover-Foxcroft continues to offer resources and information to our patrons and the community especially through our Facebook page and website (thompsonfreelibrary.lib.me.us).

With the novel coronavirus reaching pandemic levels, everyone has been stockpiling for the Centers for Disease Control’s recommended social distancing, self-isolation and self-quarantine, which could last for several weeks. That’s led to stores running out of products like hand sanitizer, hand soap and toilet paper.

The Center Theatre had hoped to open the new 2nd screen in mid-April, but unfortunately that will no longer be possible. Due to the global COVID 19 pandemic, the Theatre is now closed and some of the vendors working on the second screen have had to push back their start dates.

Luffas make bathtime a little more fun. The fibrous natural sponges -- not to be confused with the plastic puffs of the same name -- gently exfoliate the skin and give your whole body a deep, sudsy clean. Contrary to popular perception, though, luffas are not sea sponges. They come from gourds that you can grow in your own home garden. Brooke Isham, co-owner of lomah farmstead in Sangerville, started growing luffas two years ago to sell alongside her homemade soaps. 

Puritan Medical Products Co., which is a part of a Guilford manufacturing business with about 550 employees, is one of the top two makers of the specialized testing swabs that are desperately needed in areas hit by the virus, according to Kaiser Health News.