The Center Theatre announced Monday that it is closing in an effort to slow the spread of COVID 19. According to an announcement posted on the website, "We are joining many other local organizations who are taking action to slow the spread of COVID 19 to give our healthcare systems and supporting infrastructure a chance to cope with this global pandemic. We do this not out of fear but from a sense of shared responsibility for the health and welfare of our community."

Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a civil emergency on Sunday as the state announced seven confirmed positive tests of the coronavirus with another five likely cases over four days, including a couple that lives in a Falmouth retirement community.

Four of the region’s five school districts will be closed for the next two weeks in response to the coronavirus. The Dexter-based SAD 46 will be closed on Monday, March 16 and that evening the school board is set to meet to decide whether the district should join others in making a similar decision on a prolonged closure.

The woods and waters of what is now Piscataquis and Aroostook counties were largely uncharted territory for the people of European descent in Maine in the years prior to statehood in 1820.

Roughly half or more of all Maine adults -- particularly older and rural people -- are at risk of developing serious illnesses if they contract the new coronavirus, making the state’s older population one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to the virus.

The Piscataquis Regional YMCA is pleased to announce the appointment of Mandy Adams as its new executive director/CEO, effective March 11. Adams was selected by the Y’s CEO search committee, following a 3-month search.

To protect staff and constituents, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District will be closing its office after 4:30 PM on Friday, March 13 and will be telecommuting starting Monday March 16. PCSWCD plans to reopen our office at 8 AM on Monday, March 30. If this date needs to be adjusted, we will communicate this.

RSU 68 officials are looking at an approximate 1.3 percent budget increase, in both the spending plan total and the tax commitment to the four district communities.

On Wednesday, March 11, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon will host a bean supper in Dover-Foxcroft beginning at 5 p.m. The event is open to the public and free to attend. The menu will include baked beans, hot dogs, brown bread, cole slaw, desserts and beverages for attendees. The event will be held at The Commons at Central Hall, 152 East Main St.

Should the need arise, the county has up to a $1.75 million line of credit, with a 2.45 percent interest rate, with Androscoggin Savings Bank after the Piscataquis County Commissioners and Treasurer Johanna Turner signed the paperwork during a March 3 meeting.

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.

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.

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.

When Maine achieved statehood in 1820, it was home to a number of wild creatures that are no longer seen in the region today. Wolves, caribou, panthers and rattlesnakes are among the animals found roaming the woods and waters of Maine 200 years ago. 

Agents from the company’s 34 offices in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont were recognized for their achievements in real estate sales including Betty Ann Richardson, Grover Kilpatrick and Donna Vainio of the Dover-Foxcroft office.

The U.S. Postal Service will celebrate Maine’s bicentennial with the issuance of a new Forever stamp and a dedication ceremony on the actual anniversary of Maine’s statehood, March 15.

Anglers are invited to Sebec Lake for the ninth annual Dover-Foxcroft Firefighters Association Ice Fishing Derby on Saturday, Feb. 29 and Sunday, March 1.