Warning that “more people will die,” Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday ordered Mainers to stay home except to shop for necessities or to go to jobs deemed essential through April, putting Maine among a majority of states to take similar action to fight the coronavirus.

Milo Police Chief/Town Manager Damien Pickel passed away unexpectedly at his home on Monday evening, March 30.  He was 51.

To provide an extra measure of protection for employees at Northern Light Mayo Hospital, and a safeguard for others working out in the community during the coronavirus pandemic, volunteers have gotten together remotely via Facebook to sew protective masks.

One additional new program available to people in the region who are self-isolating at home or anyone who is having trouble doing grocery shopping due to concerns about risk, illness or disability is called Community Pulling Together. This is a program funded partly with a small grant from The New England Grassroots Environment Fund COVID-19 response program awarded to The Commons Energy Collaborative.

The Center Theatre announced that they are asking for volunteers to help communities keep in touch while we are all keeping our distance. According to Patrick Myers, the Center Theatre executive director, the Theatre is working to help people stay connected  and hopefully bring a little joy into their daily life.

Hospitals across Maine are steeling themselves for a possible spike in patients with the coronavirus by stocking up on equipment and freeing up beds and workers. But while those efforts are critical from a public health perspective, they could make it harder in the long run for rural hospitals to sustain their current operations when many of them are already struggling to pay the bills. 

State courts in Maine will again cut back the hours they are open to the public Monday to help limit the community transmission of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland announced March 27 that Holy Week and Easter services will be online and not open to the public due to the regulations currently in place in Maine as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

The board of directors for Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo/Brownville have decided to suspend Wednesday meetings through April 27 due to COVID-19.

Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap announced Friday, March 27 that many credentials issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles that expire within the current state emergency period will be extended.

The Dexter Knights of Columbus made a donation to benefit the K-12 special education students of SAD 46, as a result of last fall’s Tootsie Roll Drive.

Gov. Janet Mills and Commissioner of the Department of Administrative and Financial Services Commissioner Kirsten Figueroa announced that the state will extend the deadline for Maine income tax payments from April 15 to July 15. The change aligns with the federal government’s recent extension of the federal tax filing deadline to July 15.

As hospitals across the country enter a period of turbulence because of the novel coronavirus, the Brewer-based health care system that includes Northern Light Mayo Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft and Northern Light C.A. Dean Hospital in Greenville has appointed its chief operating officer to serve as the system’s next head.

Grade 7 students at SeDoMoCha Middle School had the opportunity to head north to the mountain to ski and snowboard -- many for the first time -- earlier this year.

A mild winter is giving emergency management officials one less thing to worry about: The spring flooding risk is reduced in New England.

Rep. Norm Higgins, I-Dover-Foxcroft, left, and Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville presented a Legislative Sentiment to Ethelyn Treworgy and Jeanne Hamlin in memory of Charles Edwin Treworgy.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine announced that 18 health centers throughout Maine have been awarded a total of $1,083,790 to address screening and testing needs, acquire medical supplies and boost telehealth capacity in response to this coronavirus pandemic. Among the recipients is HOMETOWN Health Center (Sebasticook Family Doctors), which has been awarded $55,522.

With Gov. Janet Mills having announced stricter limits on public gatherings last week, including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, the Piscataquis County Commissioners and county officials are taking steps to meet remotely and keep the public involved should the order still be in place for the next regular meeting of the commissioners at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7.