Over the last week Brown has set up drive-up hotspots in several of our district towns, with more to come. Using equipment from the Academy that is not being used at the moment, students can drive to area hotspot locations and with their iPad (or other devices), log on to the Foxcroft Academy network. 

Like many other venues of its kind, the Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft is closed these days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some theater officials are still at work, but instead of showing movies and hosting live events they hope to collaborate with the local performing arts community in a unique effort to boost the spirits of local residents while still generating some income to support the nonprofit enterprise.

Gov. Janet Mills directed the Maine National Guard and the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to work with Maine’s health care systems to open two alternative care sites in Portland and Bangor as part of the state’s preparations to bolster Maine health system capacity in the face of COVID-19. 

Towns and cities whose usual polling locations have closed because of the coronavirus pandemic are waiting for guidance from the state on how or whether the June 9 primary will happen before they choose new locations and make other arrangements for voting.

Meanwhile, there are several Kiwanis-sponsored events that won't happen or will be postponed. First, as you probably assumed, due to state and federal mandates, our annual Piscataquis River Race scheduled for April 25 has been canceled. Nevertheless, we greatly appreciate the sponsors of this event, most of whom decided to donate their sponsorship amount anyway. They will be recognized when we have the final tally. But our fundraising raffle has not been canceled. Renamed our “Social Distancing Community Raffle,” you have three chances to win gas cards in the amount of $300, $200 or $100.  

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention has spent a month modeling how the new coronavirus might spread. The scenarios are wide-ranging. 

Despite a lack of recorded cases of the coronavirus in Piscataquis County as of Tuesday morning, county officials are still exercising caution in daily operations with facilities on the East Main St. campus mostly closed to the public and limited staff working on site. Gov. Janet Mills announced stricter limits on public gatherings last month, including banning gatherings of more than 10 people, the Piscataquis County Commissioners met via teleconference for the April 7 meeting.

More than three weeks after Maine confirmed its first case of the new coronavirus, the state has recorded cases in all but one of its 16 counties. As of Monday, Piscataquis County was the only one without a confirmed case of the fast-spreading infection that has caused a pandemic and shut down much of daily life. Two other counties, Aroostook and Washington, both recorded their first cases last week.

A former Damariscotta man has been arrested after, according to police, he sexually abused a young girl for years and, when she became pregnant, assaulted her to cause a miscarriage. Joseph A. Richards, 44, faces one count of class A elevated aggravated assault on a pregnant person, one count of class A gross sexual assault, two counts of class B aggravated assault, two counts of class B gross sexual assault, and one count of class D endangering the welfare of a child, according to court documents. Richards now lives in Atkinson Township.

The death toll started on a Monday -- Sept. 23, 1918, to be exact. William Lawry, a 36-year-old Augusta resident, had fallen ill while visiting Camp Devens, an army facility in Massachusetts that had been stricken by influenza, and had returned home a few days earlier to recuperate. 

Snowmobiling is supposed to be fun, a wintertime recreational pursuit accessible to families and people of all ages. It is not supposed to end in death or serious bodily injury. Yet in Maine, the season winding down has been badly marred by one after another snowmobiling accidents that resulted in death to the operators. Eleven people have died this winter somewhere on Maine’s 14,000 miles of trails. In almost all the crashes, the operator lost control at a high rate of speed and hit a tree.

Will Wedge arrived at work on March 12 anticipating a typically busy Thursday at his grocery store in downtown Dover-Foxcroft. What he got instead was his first glimpse of a brand new world for grocers large and small as the coronavirus pandemic arrived on America’s doorstep.

Marr Pond Farm in Sangerville is among the hundreds of farms around the state offering a CSA this year. Owners Courtney Williams and Ryan Clarke are preparing for the growing season.

President Trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for Maine due to the coronavirus, Gov. Janet Mills said Saturday. The "major" disaster declaration will unlock federal funding assistance for the state and municipalities throughout Maine.

Citing a continuing goal of reducing moose density in certain areas in order to cut down the effect of winter ticks on the herd, Maine biologists have proposed increasing the number of available moose permits this year by 11 percent over last year, up to 3,135.

Recent times have proven less profitable for the 2,968-yard layout located on Park Street in Milo, so the Gerrishes have opted to close the 90-year-old course.

Monson is one of three Maine towns that will receive support from the National Main Street Center to develop networks in their communities to foster entrepreneurship and innovation. Monson, Skowhegan and Lisbon were selected to participate in the Community Entrepreneurship Program through a competitive application process managed by the Maine Community Foundation in partnership with Maine Development Foundation’s Maine Downtown Center.

With students learning remotely through at least the end of the month, SAD 46 staff are working hard to serve the pupils during the coronavirus pandemic. SAD 46 school board members learned more during an April 1 meeting conducted via Zoom, a web-based video conferencing system.