It’s a new day -- and a new year -- for more than 70,000 Mainers who have been waiting years for health care coverage. New Gov. Janet Mills has vowed that she will begin to implement Medicaid expansion as soon as possible. She has tapped Jeanne Lambrew, a national recognized expert on health care, as commissioner for the Department of Health and Human Services to reform and revitalize the department.

Being faced with loose ends after someone dies is the topic of Pine Tree Hospice’s Jan. 15 Lunch ‘N Learn, held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church. Donna Peterson, Piscataquis County register of probate, will present “Tying up Loose Ends.”

Disappointment is the understated term of choice at the news that Bruce Poliquin will not continue his challenge to the travesty of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). If need be, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District (CD2), who voted in a strong majority against the RCV, were keen to have their interests represented, to its fruition, at the highest levels of court in our Nation. This is not to be.

Soul loss and soul recovery of warriors following combat is the specialty of Edward Tick, PhD. His healing strategies to address these wounds and PTSD through psycho-spiritual therapy will be explored in a video presentation at NAMI’s Trauma Healing Session at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 10 at The Commons at Central Hall. Normalizing the traumatic experience while passing through the healing transformational process leads to depathologizing PTSD.

January, the perennial fresh start, can feel a bit anticlimactic, even weighted with pressure from loose ends of the past year to the bright, uncertain promises of a new one. So, it’s the perfect time to visit the Thompson Free Library (TFL) in Dover-Foxcroft, where our programs, like our collection, feature plenty of your favorite elements mixed with new concepts and new faces -- all in a welcoming setting.

Penquis Valley High School senior Cymeria Robshaw won the 55 and long and triple jumps during a Dec. 29 Penobscot Valley Conference/Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet at the University of Maine. Robshaw accounted for 30 points on her own, which was good for sixth place among eight schools taking part.

I had a stroke during the early hours of Feb. 14, 2018. I couldn't get off the bed without falling. My speech was extremely slurred and I was throwing up. To say the least, I was in trouble. My wife called 911 and the ambulance came from Milo and picked me up and transported me to Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft. The EMTs were extremely professional and caring.

A man with a history of escapes from state correctional facilities is one step closer to trial for his latest escape. The Penobscot County grand jury late last week indicted Arnold Nash, 65, for his September escape from Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston when he had just 14 months left on his sentence. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but rather a determination that enough evidence exists to bring a case to trial.

Upcoming events around the region.

Mayo Regional Hospital and the Piscataquis Regional Food Center (PRFC) collaborated for the groups’ second annual Gadget Drive during the months of October and November. Employees and community members collected more than 125 gadgets and raised $148 to purchase additional kitchen gadgets for clients of area food cupboards.