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. 

State courts in Maine will again cut back the hours they are open to the public Monday to help limit the community transmission of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland announced March 27 that Holy Week and Easter services will be online and not open to the public due to the regulations currently in place in Maine as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

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.

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.

A mild winter is giving emergency management officials one less thing to worry about: The spring flooding risk is reduced in New England.

Rep. Norm Higgins, I-Dover-Foxcroft, left, and Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville presented a Legislative Sentiment to Ethelyn Treworgy and Jeanne Hamlin in memory of Charles Edwin Treworgy.

With Gov. Janet Mills having announced stricter limits on public gatherings last week, including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, the Piscataquis County Commissioners and county officials are taking steps to meet remotely and keep the public involved should the order still be in place for the next regular meeting of the commissioners at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7.

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).

All five school districts in the region and most across the state have extended closures for at least another month. Closures initially slated to last for two weeks until the end of March will now last through the normally scheduled week of April vacation.

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.

State and federal courts in Maine are reducing operations to help reduce community transmission of the coronavirus and to protect employees who interact with the public. Courthouses will remain open and sufficiently staffed to ensure access for those who request protection from personal violence and whose liberty interests are at stake, according to a statement issued Sunday by the judicial branch.