The Heart of Maine Community Stories is an online platform for collecting and sharing stories about life in the Heart of Maine region. This community-based project is a collaboration between Hartland Public Library, Newport Cultural Center, Pittsfield Public Library and Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft.

Gov. Janet Mills announced on Friday a rural reopening plan aimed at reopening certain additional businesses in rural Maine over the course of the next two weeks with added health and safety measures. The plan comes after Mills stated last week that her administration was considering opportunities for regional variation as part of its Restarting Maine’s Economy plan.

All Northern Light Health hospitals, care centers and campuses have implemented universal masking, including face coverings for patients and visitors. We have embraced this at Northern Light Mayo and CA Dean Hospitals. While we are aware that there is only one confirmed case reported in Piscataquis County, we know that the virus is here.  We have seen and treated patients with COVID-19 at Mayo. The social measures we have taken thus far are proving to be effective at decreasing community transmission of the virus, but they are not going to eliminate it. There is no time to become complacent as the virus knows no county lines and does not discriminate against rural or urban areas.

The National Weather Service predicts that a late season storm will bring between 3 and 6 inches of snow to northern Maine on Saturday, and a mix of rain and snow to the Bangor region and farther south.

A testing acquisition the governor described as a “game changer” could help Maine hit goals outlined by health officials as benchmarks for economic reopening, though effects on summer tourism are less clear and the state has performed fewer tests than most on a per-capita basis.

While the full extent of the economic impact that Moore -- who had expanded his business’ Maine Maple Sunday activities into a weekend-long event in recent years -- and approximately 100 other licensed sugarhouses around Maine will face from the cancellation of the open houses isn’t yet known, it’s likely to take a big bite out of maple syrup consumption this year.

Maine State Police have charged a man from Plymouth with robbing the AE Robinson convenience store in Corinna early Friday morning. Mark Dunlop, 43, was taken into custody at his home early in the afternoon. He is charged with robbery and was transported to the Penobscot County Jail in Bangor.

Mass will be at 4 p.m. on Saturdays in the parking lot of the Holy Family Church (145 Pritham Avenue). Tune into 101.7 FM to listen to the Mass once parked.

On Saturday's opening day of wild turkey season, I had no intention of waking up before dawn, waddling into the woods in the dark, and trying to find a wild turkey I wasn't sure would be there. No, my initial plan looked more like this: Wake up at the crack of nine, eat a little bit, gather up my gear, and then … maybe … waddle into the woods.

Why are so many people turned-off by voting? Do they think government doesn’t affect their lives, isn’t responsive to the needs of their community or just isn’t worth the time and trouble?