The following organizations have made provisions to serve as warming shelters during the unusually cold temperatures predicted for Friday and Saturday. Some will be open day and night, some only during the daytime, and some only overnight.

 If cold weather conditions create an emergency for you or your family, call 911. 

Daytime warming shelters

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A forecasted temperature of -17 degrees followed by a high of 2 degrees will bring dangerously cold weather and shocking wind chills to Washington County this weekend, which means residents should prepare now to ensure their safety and the safety of their loved ones.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Five Maine Game Wardens, two Maine Forest Rangers, the Whiting Fire Department, one K-9, and a Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy successfully located a missing Cutler man after a four-hour search and rescue operation conducted during a sleet storm on the night of Sunday, Jan. 15.

Peter Taylor set out by ATV on Sunday morning, looking for moose antlers, a frequent pursuit of his. His family knew Taylor would normally return from the woods by midday, so when he didn’t come home, they went out to search for him.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

A shortage of available ambulances has caused longer ER wait times, caused patients to lose beds in other facilities, and created frustration in the community, said Down East Community Hospital and Calais Regional Hospital CEO Steve Lail, speaking from Machias Friday.

Following news that the Petit Manan Ambulance Corps could soon close its service primarily due to a lack of funding, Lail said the loss of even one local EMS service would have a serious impact on the two Washington County hospitals.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

The nonprofit Petit Manan Ambulance Corps is weighing whether or not to close its doors following another year of lost revenue and news that the municipalities it serves, Milbridge and Steuben, have declined to offer additional financial support. 

Early on Friday, Nov. 18, the Maine State Police reported a "suspicious incident" taking place in Cherryfield on Thursday, Nov. 17.

They have now declared that incident to be a homicide which was discovered after the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to a 9:17 p.m. call reporting a home invasion at Tenan Lane in Cherryfield.

When deputies arrived they found 36-year-old Matthew Adams of Whitneyville* deceased. His body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta where an autopsy was performed today, and his death was ruled a homicide.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

All but one member of Washington County’s Augusta delegation will be a Republican, following the midterm elections held Tuesday, Nov. 8.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon 

It’s Tuesday afternoon in Machiasport, election day, and voters are lined up in the short town office hallway waiting for their turn at the three-person voting booth. Machiasport’s old wooden ballot box has already been called into service once because the new ballot scanner wasn’t working. But it’s up and running now, and town clerk Marcia Hayward is glad. With it, she’ll be able to head home around 9:30 tonight.

by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Service deferrals at a Penobscot County cancer care center mean Washington County cancer patients must drive even further for care, or delay it.

Almost all Washington County cancer patients receive treatments at the Lafayette Family Cancer Institute in Brewer, says East Machias Family Nurse Practitioner Christine Moulton, but three months ago, Lafayette stopped accepting most new patients. 

The Maine State Police have announced that today, July 6, at approximately 3:00 p.m. 42-year-old Rebecca Moores, of Robbinston, was arrested without incident on an outstanding warrant for Murder by the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit- North. The arrest occurred during a traffic stop on Hardy Point Road in Pembroke, with assistance from the Pleasant Point Police Department.