Following a month and a half of remote learning for students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, this method of instruction will continue for about four more weeks as the SAD 46 school board approved Friday, June 5 as the final remote learning day of 2019-20 during a May 6 meeting conducted via Zoom.

So while the 75-year-old Mayo practices all of that to protect herself, she’s also helping others wage a similar battle against the coronavirus by spending much of her free time at her sewing machine creating protective face coverings.

Gov. Janet Mills announced that she is convening an Economic Recovery Committee charged with developing recommendations to mitigate the damage to Maine’s economy caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to jumpstart a long-term economic recovery for Maine people, businesses, and organizations.

The Maine court system on Wednesday extended many of the emergency deadlines set because of the coronavirus pandemic. It also expanded the list of cases and proceedings that may be scheduled and heard and implemented additional safety precautions for those entering courthouse facilities consistent with orders issued by Gov. Janet Mills.

Fewer Mainers have responded to the 2020 census than the national average, mainly because the coronavirus outbreak has halted U.S. Census Bureau field operations in less populated areas of the state.

Maine began to reopen businesses faster than most other states amid the coronavirus outbreak, but public pressure on Gov. Janet Mills has focused on sectors most sensitive to the summer tourist season as changing plans begin to roll out across the country.

Piscataquis Community High School Principal John Keane has announced that Megan McLaughlin is this year’s recipient of the MPA Principal’s Award.

In early April, the Department of Education delivered 500 internet-enabled tablets to schools in Piscataquis County made possible through donations.

Piscatquis Community High School Principal John Keane has announced the valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2020, Melissa Burdin and Macee Pearl respectively.

In recognition of Correction Officers Appreciation Week, Piscataquis and Penobscot County District Attorney Marianne Lynch said she would like to extend her deep appreciation to all the hand working correction officers in the two counties and all those serving in the capacity across the state.

With so much confusion and uncertainty this spring about what you can or cannot do and stay within the law, there isn’t a trout or salmon angler in Maine or elsewhere who isn’t asking this question: “Will I be able to access the woods and go fishing?” North Maine Woods, a recreational land management group that controls access to thousands of acres of woodlands and fishing waters in northern Maine, has announced that it will open its gates, but with conditions.

During the second week of April, a snow storm dumped over a foot of heavy, wet snow on Piscataquis County, bringing down limbs and trees and knocking out power to much of the region and beyond. County officials are looking to recoup some of the costs for the storm damage as the commissioners learned more during a May 5 meeting conducted via conference call.

The organization that represents landowners who control more than 3.5 million acres of Maine forest have reopened those lands to day use, and hopes to reopen primitive camping sites to Maine residents beginning June 1.

For four hours each weekday, 25-year-old Matt Dexter stands beneath a white pop-up tent in Brewer, fulfilling the labor of love that he started six years ago. He waits for cancer patients, referred to him by social workers at the nearby Lafayette Family Cancer Center, to drop by. Then he asks them what kind of groceries they might like, and fills a cardboard box for them to take home.

Democratic candidate Margarita Contreni announced her candidacy for the Maine House of Representatives for District 119. The district includes the unorganized territories of Northeast and Northwest Piscataquis; Barnard, Blanchard and Elliottsville townships; and the towns of Abbot, Beaver Cove, Bowerbank, Greenville, Greenville Junction, Guilford, Monson, Parkman, Sangerville, Sebec, Shirley and Willimantic.

Noah Bilodeau of Greenville, a senior at the Greenville Consolidated School, has been selected to receive the 2020 Principal’s Award, Principal Lee Pearsall announced. The award sponsored by the Maine Principal’s Association is given in recognition of a high school senior’s academic achievement and citizenship.

Puritan is one of the world’s top two makers of the specialized swabs that are used to collect samples from people’s nasal cavities so that they can be tested for the coronavirus that has now infected more than 1 million Americans, including at least 60,000 who have died. That flurry of outreach to the manufacturer has now led to a federal contract worth up to $75.5 million, which will help it to rapidly grow into a new Pittsfield facility and staff it with at least 150 additional workers, according to Wellman. 

The Eastern Area Agency on Aging has experienced a significant increase in demand for its Meals on Wheels program since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Maine. Meals on Wheels volunteers delivered 10,897 meals to older residents of Penobscot, Piscataquis, Hancock and Washington counties in March compared to 8,192 in February -- a 25 percent month-to-month increase.