An act of the Legislature is needed if Mayo Regional Hospital’s merger with a statewide health care system is to go forward in the way administrators at the Dover-Foxcroft hospital are proposing. But no legislator from Piscataquis County has publicly committed yet to sponsoring the legislation that would eliminate the charter the hospital has operated under since the 1970s.

On Feb. 27 the board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital (Hospital Administrative District 4) voted 14-2 to tax the 13 communities it serves should it need to in order to balance its debt service. Two board members abstained and one member was absent.

The public board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital has voted to begin a merger with Northern Light Health, the statewide health care organization that’s based in Brewer and includes Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. The board members, who are elected from 13 Piscataquis County communities served by the hospital and who oversee a quasi-municipal entity known as Hospital Administrative District No. 4, approved the merger agreement in a 15-3 vote during a meeting Wednesday night, Feb. 27.

Maine's highest court has denied another appeal of a Guilford man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and the toddler she was babysitting. Jeffrey Cookson sought a new trial for the 1999 killings in Dexter based on a provision of Maine's DNA statute.

Following four weeks of budget advisory committee meetings, a public hearing on the proposed 2019-20 Dover-Foxcroft municipal budget is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, March 27 -- potentially at 6:30 p.m. but a formal start time will be announced. The March 27 date was set by the selectmen during a Feb. 25 meeting, and the board will hold its annual joint session with the budget advisory committee on Wednesday, March 20.

Each month outstanding pupils in grades 5-8 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are honored as Students of the Month. The 15 February honorees were presented with certificates in front of their peers during morning meeting in the cafeteria on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

The public board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft will vote Wednesday on whether to go forward with a proposed merger with Northern Light Health, the statewide health care system that’s based in Brewer and includes Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

A few significant projects in Senate District 4 include bridge replacement on Route 150 in Athens, highway construction and rehabilitation on Route 6 in Abbot and bridge improvements on Pleasant Street in Milo.

On Wednesday night, Feb. 27, following months of due diligence, planning, and gathering public input, the board that oversees Mayo Regional Hospital (Hospital Administrative District 4) plans to vote on a non-binding merger agreement with Northern Light Health, a statewide health care system.

If Maine lawmakers pass a bill endorsed by the Legislature’s judiciary committee, pay for jurors in state courts would more than triple, rising to $50 per day -- the same rate paid to jurors by the federal court system.

More than a dozen students in the younger grades at Piscataquis Community Elementary School are now HEROs for their outstanding conduct during the month of January. The HERO honorees were recognized with the presentation of certificates during an elementary-wide morning meeting on Feb. 15.

Directors from Dexter and the other dozen communities making up HAD 4 are awaiting negotiation details between officials with Mayo Regional Hospital and Northern Light Health on a potential merger of the Dover-Foxcroft facility serving the region with the statewide healthcare system, the town council learned during a Feb. 14 meeting.

Mayo Regional Hospital has been awarded participation in a remote, technical assistance program with the Texas A&M University Center for Optimizing Rural Health. Mayo Regional Hospital is one of five hospitals in the state to be selected for support and training through the year-long program. Technical assistance will begin this spring.

Seven different capital improvement projects will be carried out across the SAD 4 school campuses in the current and next academic years after the directors approved a package of about $205,500 in district funds during a Feb. 12 meeting at Piscataquis Community Elementary School.

Sen.Paul Davis, R-Sangervlle has submitted LD 784 “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Eligibility for Unemployment Benefits.” If passed, this legislation would require individuals who are collecting unemployment benefits to accept and attend interviews for jobs they are reasonably fitted for. Failure to attend would result in disqualification from benefits.

Five rural Maine hospitals, including one that recently filed for bankruptcy protection and others that have cut key services in recent years, will receive expert help in stabilizing their business models after winning a rare federal award.

MONSON — Once upon a time many years ago, when horses pulled carts and carriages, winter transportation required sleighs to get around.

Puritan Medical Products, a Guilford-based global manufacturer of single-use products will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2019. Puritan’s management team attributes “innovation, evolution, and authenticity” to the longevity of the organization, which originated from humble beginnings in 1919 as the Minto Toothpick & Specialty Company.