By Pete Warner, Bangor Daily News Staff While the final numbers have yet to be calculated, it appears the COVID-19 pandemic continues spurring people to pursue outdoor activities in Maine.

By David Marino Jr.

GUILFORD – Valley Grange members and friends are delivering bags of children’s’ socks to local schools (Piscataquis Community, SeDoMoCha, Brownville, Ridge View, and Harmony elementary schools) for distribution to kids who need them during what is undoubtedly some of the most bitterly cold weather so far this year.

GUILFORD — Last year students at Piscataquis Community Elementary School captured their thoughts and feelings from the coronavirus pandemic in firsthand accounts, poetry, stories and art.

GUILFORD — An early step for a proposed regional comprehensive high school concerns the governance of the secondary institution.

ABBOT — An old two-story farmhouse in Abbot was destroyed when an indoor wood stove sparked a fire that enveloped the structure Tuesday afternoon.

AUGUSTA – The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) and the Maine Department of Education announced today further revisions to the Maine CDC’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for responding to COVID-19 in schools.

Abner Wade Lodge in Sangerville started the Santa Project in 2009, headed up by W.

BANGOR – Dirigo Reads, a program that aims to put a book in the hands of every Maine first grader each month during the school year by 2025, is looking to increase the number of schools that will participate in the program during the next school year.

DOVER-FOXCROFT – Each year Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District has a tree & plant sale fundraiser that offers different varieties of locally-grown fruit trees, flowers, and herbs.

Maine adults seeking to pursue college have a new option to jumpstart their education with support from their local Maine adult education program.

Photo courtesy of Tammy O’Neil WINTER SCENE – Tammy O’Neil took this picture beside Lowes Bridge and the Piscataquis River in Guilford, facing south toward Dover-Foxcroft on Jan.

Nominations are now open for the 2022 County Teachers of the Year and 2023 Teacher of the Year.

The Maine State Legislature has recently announced a new opportunity for Maine residents to temporarily defer collection of homestead property taxes.

By David Marino Jr.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Piscataquis County Commissioners agreed in September to provide $7,000 to the town of Brownville for a slope study.

Programs that assist older Maine people with transportation received a total $141,000 in grant funding in 2021 through the Maine Charity Foundation Fund and three donor-advised funds at the Maine Community Foundation.

The Piscataquis County Extension Association annual meeting will be held online Monday, Jan.