Bangor, Maine News Update: February 12, 2018

Two snowmobile accidents over the weekend have the Warden Service cautioning riders to slow down and stay to the right of the trails. A man was killed in an accident on the railroad bed trail in Corinna on Friday evening and a Holden man was injured Saturday morning in an accident on Brewer Lake.

Mainers who lost health care coverage when Anthem stopped selling plans through the federal marketplace still have time to buy a new plan. State officials say they qualify for a special enrollment period that ends on March 1^st, and can sign up for plans through Harvard Pilgrim or Community Health options.

An 11-month old puppy is recovering today from puncture wounds after she was attacked by a bear in the woods off Route 1A in Dedham. Dustin Gray had stopped to let his dog relieve herself when the 150 pound bear attacked the puppy, so  he punched and kicked the bear until it ran away. Officials say all the recent rain most likely woke the bear and forced it out of its den.

Folks in Washington County are still reeling from the sudden closure of the Downeast Correctional Facility, which put many local people on leave, and left some local businesses that employed inmates, short-staffed. Correctional officers, under a directive from the governor, took over the prison just after midnight Friday and moved all the inmates to the Mountain View facility in Charleston. Staff members were put on paid administrative leave until next month.

Students from Mount View Middle School in Thorndike are trying to visit every state park in Maine this year, as part of the I Know ME program. Maine has 48 state parks and historic sites and the students are working their way through them as part of the Park Passport Program.