The Wiscasset man who died Sunday was the seventh person to be killed in a snowmobile crash in Maine in a little more than a month, and the third in three days, making this winter an above-average season for snowmobile-related deaths.

A lawsuit seeking to block the merger of Mayo Regional Hospital with Northern Light Health is heading to court late next month after the Maine attorney general’s office and both health care organizations all filed motions seeking to dismiss the case.

A Wiscasset man died on Sunday, Feb. 23 following a fatal snowmobile crash on Moosehead Lake. Gregory Lemar, 59 from Wiscasset, was operating a late model Arctic Cat 800 snowmobile toward Rockwood from Greenville shortly after 5 p.m.

The Maine attorney general’s office has asked a federal judge to dismiss an ex-police officer’s lawsuit against the Penobscot County district attorney on the same grounds that an appeals court threw out a similar lawsuit in 1992 against the man who was then the county’s top prosecutor. 

The typical snowmobilers were older than they used to be, but helped inject $606 million into Maine’s economy last winter, according to the first economic study of the state’s snowmobile industry in 22 years.

But it was an issue that continues to be central to the ongoing story of the United States -- the enslavement of kidnapped African people -- that is irrevocably tied to Maine’s independence, thanks to an 1820 federal agreement known as the Missouri Compromise.

A former police officer in Penobscot County has sued the county’s top criminal prosecutor, claiming she relied on false information in putting him on a list of police officers who are potentially unreliable trial witnesses.

Saturday and Sunday, as you may have heard, constitute a Free Fishing Weekend here in Maine, and the state is inviting you to head out onto the ice (safely, of course) and try your hand, whether you have a license or not.

Each winter the state holds a free fishing weekend, during which people are invited to enjoy a day on the water without a fishing license. That weekend is upon us, and on Feb. 15 to 16 anyone who hasn’t otherwise had a license suspended or revoked can fish for free.

Greenville is gearing up for one of its most popular winter events on Sunday, Feb. 16 -- the annual Chocolate Festival. This year the festival, which was created 16 years ago by former Moosehead Chamber Executive Director Bob Hamer and his wife Susan as a fundraiser for the chamber, tips its hat to Maine’s 200th anniversary. 

The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) Executive Committee is pleased to announce the hiring of a new executive director, John Shea.

Earlier this week, Maine’s conservation agencies -- the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, issued some safety tips that deserve a second look.

Piscataquis County Democrats gathered to prepare for the upcoming March 8 caucuses on Jan. 18 at party headquarters on North Street. April Thibodeau from the Maine Democratic Party provided training to conveners from virtually every town in the county.

Mayo Regional Hospital has announced a “Ski Day” for its employees and families in February. The first 100 employees to register are able to ski for free. Officials at the hospital say that this is to encourage employee wellness while calling attention to American Heart Month, which is recognized throughout February.

The people who are trying to develop the Moosehead Lake region into more of a tourism hub have spent years waiting for timber giant Weyerhaeuser to deliver on its plans to build two resorts, 1,000 second-home lots, a golf course and other attractions in the area.

If you drive north of Greenville on the road to Kokadjo you might notice a modest sign on the right hand side with an image of a plane and the words B52 Memorial. It commemorates an event that took place almost 60 years ago on January 23, 1963, when a hulking, 185,000-pound B-52 Stratofortress took off from Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts as part of an Air Force test of the eight-engine jet’s ability to handle low-level flight. 

It is with deep regret that organizers announce that this year’s Wilderness Sled Dog Race will be canceled, the event had been scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 1.

For more than 20 years -- since I first caught the fly fishing bug and began traveling up to the East Outlet of the Kennebec River every chance I got -- I’ve looked forward to regular visits to downtown Greenville, and to the fly shop that sits just a few long casts from Moosehead Lake.