The U.S. Census Bureau would like to remind parents and families who are staying at home amid the COVID-19 crisis to remember that the 2020 Census is here, and it is important to count their children.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is offering Maine farmers a chance to connect online from 7-8 p.m. on Fridays to ask questions, get answers and share information.

Pine Tree Hospice’s volunteers make up a large group of women and men in Piscataquis, Penobscot, and Somerset counties, giving 4,399 hours of their time last year. They come from every walk of life and bring with them life experiences that make them perfect matches for the many clients with life-limiting illnesses.

SAD 4 and other districts across the state are now educating students remotely through the end of the academic year. School board members learned more about the current methods of instruction during an April 14 meeting held via video conference and conference call.

Paul Zimmerman and Martha Ward already had planned an improvement project for the Red Maple Inn in Guilford again this year. They’ve invested in their Piscataquis County restaurant and lounge annually since moving the business across the street in 2013 to its current location -- the former Braeburn Hotel annex on North Main Street. Little did Zimmerman and Ward know how much free time they’d have for renovation this year after the Red Maple Inn and other restaurants around the state were closed to dine-in customers as of March 18 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Take a moment to think of the things, activities and people who bring meaning to your life. Got them? Chances are that one or more of them have been threatened or lost during this pandemic.

Following last week’s recommendation by Maine Department of Education (MDOE) Commissioner of Education Pender Makin, with the support of Gov. Janet Mills, regional school districts are extending remote learning plans until the end of the academic year.

With public gatherings such as town meetings prohibited under an executive order from Gov. Janet Mills in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the annual town meeting in Dover-Foxcroft will not be taking place on Saturday morning, April 25. With the Governor also moving the state primary from June 9 to July 14 the Dover-Foxcroft referendum will not be held on the second Tuesday of June. Instead town officials are looking to push back the schedule for remaining work on the 2020-21 municipal budget, as they discussed this during an April 13 meeting held via Zoom. 

Two overdue canoeists paddling the Kennebec River were located alive and well on Monday afternoon at the Family Dollar Store in Madison when they were able to recharge their cell phone and notify family members. Jake Cyr, 22 of Guilford, and Tyson Bell, 31 of Dixfield, began their canoe trip on the Kennebec River Saturday evening in Bingham. Cyr and Bell camped Saturday and Sunday night on the river, portaging both the Solon Dam and the first of two Madison dams.

After nearly a year on the job, Guilford Town Manager David Wilson will be leaving the position in several weeks to become director of campus security at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor. Town Treasurer/Deputy Town Clerk Johanna Tuner will serve as interim town manager through the March 2021 annual town meetings as part of a shift in several municipal positions.

Thanks to Herring Brothers Meats, Mount Kineo Lodge #109 of Guilford and Gordon Construction, 160 hams were delivered to SAD 4 families for Easter.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, pews across Maine were empty during live-streamed Masses at parishes across the state for Holy Week and Easter Sunday (April 12). That was not the case at Holy Family Church in Greenville, thanks to the inspired creativity of parish staff looking to offer support to Fr. Aaron Damboise, pastor of the parish as well as St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Jackman.

As part of the Keep In Touch Campaign, the Center Theatre is launching a service to send custom video messages via email or Facebook messenger. The videos, which can be requested for a $10 donation at centertheatre.org, can be sent to a friend, family member or even to yourself and can be to celebrate a birthday, anniversary or just to try to keep in touch while we're all keeping our distance.

I must thank Tommy Carbone for republishing Lucius Hubbard’s book "Woods and Lakes of Maine" which was originally published in 1884. I think Tommy must have put a lot of effort into this book, which includes fascinating drawings and lots of maps.

More than 60,000 people across Maine are still waiting for their power to be restored as of Sunday morning after a nor’easter tore through the state late last week causing widespread outages. 

Given low testing rates for coronavirus across the country, it can be difficult to gauge from official numbers where outbreaks are actually happening. So researchers at the University of Texas at Austin ran simulations to calculate the risk in each U.S. county that there are sustained, undetected outbreaks -- epidemics -- already occurring.

Gov. Janet Mills formally moved Maine’s June 9 primaries to July 14 and pushed back all election-related deadlines by a month on April 10.. Her executive order delaying voting followed a statement earlier this week that it was "not going to be possible" to hold the elections in early June while maintaining required social distancing measures.

Over 110,000 Mainers are still waiting for their electricity to be restored two days after a spring nor’easter tore through the state Thursday night, bringing down trees and power lines.