Maine has an important legacy when it comes to Maine people serving their country in the armed forces.

And today I’d like to speak to the thousands of military veterans in our state who have served both in combat and in peacetime, keeping our country and our state safe.

Hello, this is Governor Janet Mills.

In honor of your service and your sacrifice, this week I announced the formation of the Maine Veterans’ Dental Network, in partnership with Northeast Delta Dental, participating dental clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers.

The Maine Veterans’ Dental Network will provide dental services to Maine’s veterans who otherwise could not afford them starting on May 15th.

Any veteran who is not 100 percent service-connected to the VA, doesn’t have dental insurance, and can’t afford to pay for dental care out of pocket, may contact the eight participating dental clinics or centers to enroll in the program.

The eight participating dental clinics include Community Dental; Lincoln County Dental; Kennebec Valley Family Dentistry; Waterville Community Dental; UNE Dental Clinic; UMA Dental Clinic; Eastport Health Care and Fish River Rural Health.

Participating dental clinics all over the state in the Veterans’ Dental Network can provide preventative, diagnostic, oral surgery, and restorative services.

To receive these dental services, veterans should fill out a State of Maine Request Form, provide a copy of their discharge papers, and grant permission for clinics to forward the documents to the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services for addition to their database.

An Honorable discharge or General Under Honorable discharge is required to qualify for the Maine Veterans’ Dental Network program, but veterans who don’t qualify due to their particular discharge can work with the clinic to arrange other access to care.

For more information or to access the Maine Veterans’ Dental Network, please contact Sarah Sherman at the Maine Bureau of Veteran’s Services - she is the director of strategic partnerships - at sarah.sherman@maine.gov.

This partnership is another step forward in our commitment to serving and honoring Maine’s veterans and I am truly grateful to Northeast Delta Dental for their generosity and to all the participating dental clinics, without which this program would not be possible.

If you are a veteran who lacks access to dental care, please consider enrolling in the Maine Veterans’ Dental Network.

This week I also announced I am seeking applications for Maine’s Aides-de-camp positions, an advisory council of military veterans who will advise me on policies impacting Maine veterans.

If you are a military veteran and are interested in serving as an Aide-de Camp, please send a letter of interest and resume to the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Service Director David A. Richmond at: mainebvs@maine.gov – that’s M-A-I-N-E, B as in boy, V as in veteran, and S as in service at maine.gov - by April 30, 2021.

You know as someone who comes from a military family myself, I deeply appreciate the service and sacrifice of Maine veterans and their loved ones. My Administration will continue to incorporate the input of veterans as we work together to improve services for our servicemembers in Maine.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.

Spring has come to Maine, believe it or not, and so is April snow and wind. Skiiers are hitting the slopes in Western Maine as we speak and more people are outside regardless of the weather.

This is Janet Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, and thank you for listening.

While daffodils and crocuses are shaking off a light coating of snow in some towns, we too are pushing through the long, hard winter of an unprecedented pandemic.

Meanwhile the state also added more than 4,000 new jobs to the economy last month alone, the largest gain since September.

These gains are welcome news and a sign that our economy is improving.

Throughout the pandemic, I’ve tried to do two things: protect the lives of Maine people and protect their livelihoods.

Like every state in the nation, Maine has endured its share of hardship during this pandemic.

We’ve tailored public health restrictions to limit to the greatest extent possible the impacts on businesses, and we distributed more than $249 million in economic recovery grants, more than $50 million to restaurants, bars, tasting rooms, lodging and retail shops, to help them get through these hard times.

We also announced the Moving Maine Forward plan to provide clarity and predictability to plan for the summer months for businesses and people in Maine.

We are also working around the clock to vaccinate Maine people as quickly as possible and to date, almost half of all eligible people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.

According to Bloomberg’s tracker, Maine is the best state nationwide for the percentage of population fully vaccinated.

All of that’s making a difference. In March, new jobs in Maine were concentrated in education and leisure and hospitality, the two sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. Construction, business services, and a few other sectors have nearly fully recovered to the staffing levels they had a year ago.

These gains reflect other trends that show our economy is improving — building supplies and home sales, consumer sales, auto and business operating sales, retail sales and revenues are up.

According to Moody’s Analytics, Maine ranks second best in New England for returning to pre-pandemic economic activity.

That progress in recovering from the pandemic is important, but we’ve got work to do. Our unemployment rate and labor force participation have changed very little over the last few months.

People are looking to hire. Jobs are available right now. And many people may not realize they can work and still receive partial unemployment benefits including the $300 stipend. You can search for available jobs on the Maine JobLink at Joblink.Maine.Gov.

As we get through this pandemic, we want Maine people to get back to work, we need you to work, so our Administration is focused on training skilled workers to fill jobs; makingeducation more affordable and accessible; connecting students to local businesses building life-long careers right here at home. We’ll continue to build the infrastructure young families need – high speed internet access and affordable childcare. Let’s get back to work.

My Administration will be laser focused on strengthening our economy and in the coming weeks, we will announce our plans to distribute the new federal funds Maine has received from the American Rescue Plan from Congress to get people back to work and to get our economy up and running at full speed.

As we do that, it’s important to remember that we can’t have a healthy economy without healthy people. Let's keep doing those basic things — watching our distance, avoiding large gatherings, particularly ones that are indoors. And, for crying out loud, wear the mask.

You know, you don’t go into a construction site without putting a hard hat on, right? You don’t go into a manufacturing plant without putting ear plugs and safety goggles on, right? You don’t get in your car, go for a drive, without buckling up. It’s the same thing. Wear the mask, keep us all protected.

With spring break right around the corner for many schools, we’ve got to be extra careful. Travel is inevitable, but please travel safely.

Get outside and explore all the beauty and abundance Maine has to offer.

And if you haven’t done so already, please, it’s is a great time to schedule your appointment to get the vaccine.

Visit maine.gov/covid19/vaccines to see where you can get a vaccine and set up an appointment.

Together we will get through this and get our state back to normal. Meanwhile please, keep the faith and stay safe during this spring break.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.