Piscataquis Community High School Principal John Keane has announced that Megan McLaughlin is this year’s recipient of the MPA Principal’s Award.

In early April, the Department of Education delivered 500 internet-enabled tablets to schools in Piscataquis County made possible through donations.

Piscatquis Community High School Principal John Keane has announced the valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2020, Melissa Burdin and Macee Pearl respectively.

Democratic candidate Margarita Contreni announced her candidacy for the Maine House of Representatives for District 119. The district includes the unorganized territories of Northeast and Northwest Piscataquis; Barnard, Blanchard and Elliottsville townships; and the towns of Abbot, Beaver Cove, Bowerbank, Greenville, Greenville Junction, Guilford, Monson, Parkman, Sangerville, Sebec, Shirley and Willimantic.

Puritan is one of the world’s top two makers of the specialized swabs that are used to collect samples from people’s nasal cavities so that they can be tested for the coronavirus that has now infected more than 1 million Americans, including at least 60,000 who have died. That flurry of outreach to the manufacturer has now led to a federal contract worth up to $75.5 million, which will help it to rapidly grow into a new Pittsfield facility and staff it with at least 150 additional workers, according to Wellman. 

Minority Republicans in the Maine Legislature want to reconvene and end the coronavirus state of emergency declared by Gov. Janet Mills, which would allow all businesses to reopen but would require unlikely Democratic support.

Over 40 fourth-graders from Piscataquis Community Elementary School were challenged to create an advertisement for Valley Grange as part of the annual “Newspapers in Education” program sponsored by the Piscataquis Observer. This is the 12th year the Grange has sponsored the program.

Amid criticism of her plan to reopen Maine’s economy from hospitality and other businesses, Gov. Janet Mills on Friday stood firm on allowing businesses to restart in stages over the next few months.

Out of concern for the health and well-being of Partners for Peace staff, volunteers and the survivors and community members we serve, all Partners for Peace in-person services will continue to be “on pause” at least until June 1 or until further notice. Our 24-hour helpline will remain open and available to anyone affected by abuse or violence, including community partners, at 1-800-863-9909.

Following the announcement by Gov. Janet Mills that Maine will take a phased approach to reopening certain business operations tomorrow, Northern Light CA Dean and Mayo hospitals are joining other Northern Light Health facilities across the state in taking steps to prepare for the phased launch of critical services delayed by COVID-19.

Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage teased a run against his successor in the strongest terms yet so far on Wednesday, telling a radio host he will return to Maine from Florida and “challenge Janet Mills or the Democratic Party in 2022.”

A Guilford company that makes the medical swabs necessary to test for the coronavirus has identified a location in Pittsfield where it would open a second manufacturing facility to help meet the spike in demand for its products.

As health care systems in coronavirus hot spots are stretched thin, Maine hospitals and the state prepared for a much larger onslaught of coronavirus cases than the one that has materialized so far here.

Certain Maine businesses can reopen on Friday as part of a gradual plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions, though many hospitality businesses could remain closed deep into the summer, Gov. Janet Mills said Tuesday.

Self-employed workers and independent contractors will be able to apply for federally funded unemployment benefits starting on Friday, the Maine Department of Labor announced on Tuesday.

Gov. Janet Mills suggested on Monday that she might reduce restrictions on businesses when a stay-at-home order expires at the end of April, but she told Mainers to “stay the course” on public health measures aimed at slowing the coronavirus.

While Mayo had established historical relationships with some system members, like Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, the close of the merger opened up vast new resources, Vienneau says. Leaders at Mayo are now included in daily COVID-19 incident command meetings, where they can tap the expertise of the system’s healthcare professionals all over Maine. In addition, subgroups focused on clinical and support areas including infection control, facilities management, pharmacy services and many others are meeting as needed during the week. 

More than 400,000 Maine residents have already received economic impact payments from the federal government, according to data released jointly by the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service on Friday.