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At around the time you’re reading this, whatever’s left of Hurricane Debby will be swiping through western Maine. 

Compared to other storms, it doesn’t sound so bad — some rain and a bit of wind, with the more serious flash flood alerts over in northern New Hampshire. There’s a decent chance that we’ll be raking up some leaves and maybe a few branches, but we’re not likely to see the sort of damage we had last winter.

Still, we’re looking at a lot of rain landing all at once in streams and ponds (not to mention our driveways and highways). As you’ll see from some of the links below, our state continues to recover from last winter’s devastating storms.

Washed out roads and damaged bridges translate into long detours, delayed emergency response times, and can have serious repercussions. Take the town of Phillips, which the state says violated the law when it dredged part of the Sandy River following the storms.

As need for dementia specialists grows, one rural clinic takes a hybrid approach 

In the oldest state in the country, a tenth of Mainers over the age of 65 have dementia. But the number of dementia specialists, across multiple disciplines, has remained low and in some cases is shrinking.

At the Aroostook Memory Care Center, in Presque Isle, a dementia specialist meets with staff to review patient files and advise primary care doctors — from 150 miles away.

Read this story by Rose Lundy of The Maine Monitor.

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

ICYMI from The Monitor: A nearly $5 million federal grant recently awarded to the University of New England will be put toward efforts to improve Maine’s workforce supporting geriatric care over the next five years.

Also from The Monitor: Our newsroom's co-founders will be honored as “pioneers of Maine’s non-profit media landscape" by the Maine Press Association.

The remains of Hurricane Debby are expected to dump heavy rain across western Maine this weekend. | Press Herald

The DEP says that the town of Phillips violated state law when it dredged part of the Sandy River in December, damaging the habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon. | Maine Public

Oxford Hills voters rejected the SAD 17 school budget for the second time this week, despite more than $800,000 in operating budget reductions. | Advertiser Democrat

More than a dozen small businesses and nonprofits in western Maine are among those benefiting from a combined $5.8 million in state grants to help them recover from damage they incurred during last winter's storms. | Sun Journal

A proposal to have utility companies alert law enforcement to increases in power consumption to identify illegal pot grow operations has generated debate. | Associated Press

The superintendent in Winthrop has resigned effective Nov. 1, citing his dissatisfaction with two school board members. | Kennebec Journal

The town of Mexico's Board of Selectmen voted to idle the town's depleted police force on Aug. 20, turning over law enforcement duties to the Oxford County Sheriff's Office. | Rumford Falls Times

The University of Maine at Farmington is considering proposals to sell a number of pieces of property in the Farmington area. | Franklin Journal

A nonprofit received a $1 million grant to go toward constructing a childcare center in the town of Rangeley. | Rangeley Highlander 

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.