Four of the region’s five school districts will be closed for the next two weeks in response to the coronavirus. The Dexter-based SAD 46 will be closed on Monday, March 16 and that evening the school board is set to meet to decide whether the district should join others in making a similar decision on a prolonged closure.

The board of directors for Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo/Brownville have decided to suspend meetings for Wednesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 25. Due to the Covid-19 virus the board is taking every precaution to keep people safe and healthy.

The woods and waters of what is now Piscataquis and Aroostook counties were largely uncharted territory for the people of European descent in Maine in the years prior to statehood in 1820.

Roughly half or more of all Maine adults -- particularly older and rural people -- are at risk of developing serious illnesses if they contract the new coronavirus, making the state’s older population one of the most vulnerable in the U.S. to the virus.

The Narrow Gauge Riders Snowmobile Club is again conducting the annual Lake Hebron Ice Out Contest. Guess the closest date and time, without going over, of ice out on Lake Hebron and win $150. All proceeds will go to support club equipment, grooming and other trail maintenance.

A 42-year-old Bangor man died on March 8 after he was unable to stop at a snowmobile trail intersection and crashed into the trees.

The Piscataquis Regional YMCA is pleased to announce the appointment of Mandy Adams as its new executive director/CEO, effective March 11. Adams was selected by the Y’s CEO search committee, following a 3-month search.

RSU 68 officials are looking at an approximate 1.3 percent budget increase, in both the spending plan total and the tax commitment to the four district communities.

Connor DiAngelo of Greenville is this year’s Piscataquis County recipient of the Legislature’s $1,000 Memorial Scholarship. DiAngelo is majoring in finance and financial economics at the University of Maine. He also received the scholarship in 2019.

On Wednesday, March 11, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sara Gideon will host a bean supper in Dover-Foxcroft beginning at 5 p.m. The event is open to the public and free to attend. The menu will include baked beans, hot dogs, brown bread, cole slaw, desserts and beverages for attendees. The event will be held at The Commons at Central Hall, 152 East Main St.

Today, after yet another report of a monster brook trout coming from the state’s largest lake, I’m changing my stance a bit and offering up some enthusiastic advice. If you want to catch the fish of a lifetime, you might want to consider Moosehead Lake.

The program can still reverse field and stay at the 11-player game, but Dexter Regional High School is looking to be among a number of Maine high school football teams -- including much of the Little Ten Conference (LTC)/Class  D North -- shifting to 8-man football when the 2020 season kicks off in August. The SAD 46 school board supported the transition with a formal motion during a March 4 meeting at the Ridge View Community School. A timeline would be determined by the superintendent and principal.

"I'd go, 'Well, we're going fishing this weekend. We can't do that,'" Brann said. For 11 years, that excuse worked. But this year, with an annual fishing vacation to Moosehead Lake with three other couples looming, Collins made Brann a deal he couldn't refuse.

Jim Young reached out to share his story and a photo of the impressive brookie he caught while fishing Moosehead Lake recently. The monster squaretail weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces and was 25 inches long. The fish was also 18 inches around at its widest point.

Should the need arise, the county has up to a $1.75 million line of credit, with a 2.45 percent interest rate, with Androscoggin Savings Bank after the Piscataquis County Commissioners and Treasurer Johanna Turner signed the paperwork during a March 3 meeting.

With the pending retirement of a Waterville hospital executive and the recent addition of a new hospital, Northern Light Health is shuffling around the leadership of its hospitals in central Maine and Piscataquis County.

The plan for Legislative District 119 includes work in seven of the district’s towns: Abbot, Greenville, Monson, Parkman, Sangerville, Sebec and Shirley. It includes 12 projects over the next three years, totaling over $12.88 million. Highlights include reconstruction of Route 6 in Abbot ($8,680,000) and work on Route 23 in Sangerville ($2,660,000).

Each month the SeDoMoCha School recognizes “Students in the Spotlight” celebrating pupils from kindergarten to grade 8 who teachers and staff have determined best demonstrate a specific positive attribute or characteristic chosen for the timeframe from the Habits of Mind (a set of life skills for educators and parents). The February students were honored for “Creating, Imagining and Innovating” on the morning of Monday, March 1.