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.

Many readers have suggested that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has lost touch with Maine. What surprises me is how out of touch she seems to be with Washington. How could any observer of Washington politicians have thought that the president was going to amend his ways after his impeachment? People don't change, especially when they believe their behavior got them to where they are.

The plan for Legislative District 119 includes work in seven of the district’s towns: Abbot, Greenville, Monson, Parkman, Sangerville, Sebec and Shirley. It includes 12 projects over the next three years, totaling over $12.88 million. Highlights include reconstruction of Route 6 in Abbot ($8,680,000) and work on Route 23 in Sangerville ($2,660,000).

The Final Friday Community Conversations on Climate continued on Feb. 28 with a well-attended potluck dinner followed by a talk by Citizens’ Climate Lobby representative Peter Garrett from Winslow. He reported that both U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King are now members of the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, an excellent representation for Maine which shows tremendous leadership of our delegation on climate issues.

Each month the SeDoMoCha School recognizes “Students in the Spotlight” celebrating pupils from kindergarten to grade 8 who teachers and staff have determined best demonstrate a specific positive attribute or characteristic chosen for the timeframe from the Habits of Mind (a set of life skills for educators and parents). The February students were honored for “Creating, Imagining and Innovating” on the morning of Monday, March 1.

We are at a crossroads about the future of the Sangerville Town Hall Building. Some factions have the opinion the town hall costs too much to keep in use. Options I’ve heard include to “mothball”, sell or demo it. None of which keep it as a good identity for Sangerville. 

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation recently awarded $40,461 in grants to 13 nonprofit organizations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Among the recipients is the Code Maine Coding Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, to provide nine-month, tuition-free, software development and professional skills training to under-advantaged high school graduates in the Maine Highlands region.

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.

During recent meetings, the select board of Sangerville has discussed the possibility of giving up on the historic town hall in favor of building a new, smaller facility for town government. It seems that the present town hall is in need of extensive repairs which will be costly for the residents. While the board is to be complimented on their efforts to save money for the citizens of Sangerville, the bottom dollar should not always be the driving force behind a decision of this magnitude. There are other perspectives about the town hall and its future that should be explored.

Our national bird, the American Bald Eagle, has been getting its fair share of media attention lately. Maine Game Wardens are still investigating the illegal shooting of one of our national symbols in western Maine. And, in a soon-to-be released story in the April issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, columnist and USFWS wildlife biologist Mark McCollough writes a most fascinating article about the eventual fate of a 36-year-old state resident bald eagle that had to be euthanized by wildlife officials.