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.

Valley Grange of Guilford is sponsoring a blanket-making event from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 28 and volunteers are needed. Organizer Pat Engstrom notes “no sewing skills are needed. If you can measure, cut a straight line with scissors and tie a simple knot you can become a ‘blanketeer’ and help support Project Linus.”

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. 

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.

Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville and Rep. Paul Stearns, R-Guilford hosted Ben Beverly’s history class from Greenville High School at the Statehouse on Feb. 26.

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.

An owner of the largest employer in Piscataquis County has sued his cousin and fellow co-owner over a deep disagreement about the direction of the manufacturing business that has been in their family for generations -- Hardwood Products Company LP of Guilford -- and that could be sold to a new owner depending on the outcome of the suit.

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. 

On Nov. 22, something wonderful happened in Guilford. The former Guilford Primary School building, which had been on the market since the summer prior, was sold to its long-standing tenant Friends of Community Fitness (FoCF).

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.

Rep. Paul Stearns R-Guilford, left, presented Paul McPhetres of Sangerville with a certificate and special commemorative coin expressing the gratitude of the citizens of Maine for his service in the United States Army during the Korean War.

Citing overcrowding with 10 grades currently housed at Piscataquis Community Elementary School and potential educational benefits of having the older middle school students be in the secondary school building, SAD 4 officials were given the go-ahead to proceed with planning to move grades 7-8 to Piscataquis Community High School during a Feb. 11 school board meeting at PCHS.

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.

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.