Michael and Wendy have joined the Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce and look forward to building strong relationships with surrounding chamber business members. The Chamber will host a member-only open house at the Guilford Bed and Breakfast on Friday, May 10 from 6-8 p.m. Guests can expect light refreshments, homemade treats and door prizes. Please call 564-7533 to RSVP.

Citizens in Guilford, Parkman, Atkinson, and Sebec all voted Monday night in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. Guilford residents voted 48-4, Parkman residents voted 14-5, Atkinson residents voted 8-0 and Sebec residents voted 29-13, all in favor of the merger at special town meetings held Monday evening.

More than halfway through the process, seven of eight HAD 4 communities have given approval to the proposed merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health, a statewide system comprised of hospitals across Maine.

Abbot resident Walter Boomsma of the Valley Grange, who also serves as communications director for the Maine State Grange, will appear on a one-hour program on Maine Public Radio Friday, May 3 starting at 1 p.m. The program is “Maine Calling” and will feature Boomsma and Past Master of the Maine State Grange Vicki Huff as studio guests discussing “The Role of the Grange in Maine.”

Just two days after marijuana enthusiasts celebrated their favorite vice on 4/20, the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy posted draft rules for the state’s coming regulated cannabis market.

Citizens in Milo voted in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health, voting 25-0 in favor of the merger at an April 23 special town meeting.

Piscataquis County experienced the biggest gain in unit sales, up 30 percent to 56. But the median sale price dropped 10 percent to $106,000.

Citizens in Bradford voted in favor of moving forward with a merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. Bradford residents voted 20-1 in favor of the merger at a special town meeting on April 22.

Non-binding town meeting votes on the plan are scheduled across a dozen HAD 4 communities from April 20-30 to help area legislators make a decision on submitting a bill to amend the hospital district charter to pave the way for a merger. More information is at https://mayohospitalfacts.org/.

The towns that make up Hospital Administrative District 4 (HAD 4) are planning for public votes regarding the potential merger between Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health. The votes will be held on a variety of dates set by each individual town as a part of a town meeting format. The result of the votes will give legislators guidance on whether or not to submit legislation to change the HAD 4 charter to allow for the merger.

Following application in March, the Plummer Memorial Foundation in Dexter granted $4,600 for a stairlift to improve the safety of those trying to access second floor services in the town office. The money was quickly granted, and the stairlift was installed on March 27.

Full Plates Full Potential, Maine’s only statewide childhood hunger organization is proud to announce the Piscataquis County 2018 Summer Food Program winner. The town of Milo will receive a $500 Summer Food Grant to support the 2019 summer program. Full Plates Full Potential’s inaugural 16 County Competition was launched to highlight the critical work summer food programs do reaching the 82,000 children who qualify for free and reduced price school meals.

The Center Theatre is looking for input from the community about its events, concessions, pricing and any other feedback from the community. While people are always welcome to send suggestions, Kathy Reardon, the chair of the Theatre Fundraising Committee, developed the survey to encourage everyone to give the Theatre their opinion.

The recent trend in hospital consolidations started in October 2013, when St. Andrews Hospital merged with Miles Memorial Hospital in nearby Damariscotta to form LincolnHealth, which in turn is part of Portland-based MaineHealth.

Squeezed tightly by the high cost of doing business at a time when federal reimbursements don’t cover expenses and more patients need free care, Maine’s hospitals are looking to each other to survive. Hospital mergers, consolidations and collaborations have been occurring for the past 20 years, but the trend has accelerated during the past five years, experts said.

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group, Northern New England’s leading independently owned real estate and home services company, honored its top agents for 2018. Agents from the company’s 36 offices in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont were recognized for their achievements in real estate sales including those from the Dover-Foxcroft office: Betty Ann Richardson, Grover Kilpatrick, Donna Vainio and Brian Chadbourne.

The Dexter Town Council unanimously gave its approval to the proposed merger of Mayo Regional Hospital with Northern Light Health system during an April 11 meeting.

For the fourth year in a row the Abbot-based JD Foundation invites the community to honor those who have died by suicide and support survivors and families impacted at the organization’s Walk/Run to Wake the Silence. The 5-kilometer event will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, with an opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and registration beginning at 8 a.m., at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA on Park Street.