Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputies Scott Mills, left, Cpl. G.J. Neagle III, and Dracco, his police dog, along with Waterville Police Officers Jennifer Weaver and Lincoln Ryder, run a leg of the Special Olympics Torch Run through Vassalboro into Winslow on Thursday. They were joined by several members of the Waterville High School track team in Winslow. Law enforcement officers across the state are taking part in torch runs that will converge in Orono for the state Special Olympics this weekend. Winthrop officers ran a part of a leg from Lewiston to Augusta and Augusta police and fire department members took a leg through the capital city from Hallowell to Vassalboro.

Veronica Jones clutches a chicken Thursday as the remainder of the flock head toward a feeder outside her Readfield home. Jones said the free-range egg layers tend to congregate under her family’s bird feeder to collect loose seeds dropped by songbirds

I don’t believe any artist has ever captured the scenic beauty of Hallowell and its neighbor, the Kennebec River, as impressively as the late Paul Plumer.

AUGUSTA — Gerry Pellerin joined a rally in front of the Muskie Federal Building Friday to protest a federal rule that exempts churches from a mandatory health insurance coverage for contraceptives, but covers other religious organizations that don’t rely solely on members of the religion as employees, such as schools and hospitals.