When Jesse Erickson weighs in for Saturday night’s NEF 42 mixed martial arts bout against undefeated Josh Harvey -- a Dexter Regional High School graduate -- at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, he won’t be giving away nearly the poundage he did for one of his most recent athletic competitions.

I was moved to tears by the sincerity of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney's speech defending his decision to declare President Trump guilty. He relayed how enormously consequential his oath before God to be an impartial juror was and the emotional impact of these words caused him to bow his head to regain his composure.

With a smattering of regular-season finales still to be played, the jockeying for position continues in the high school girls basketball Heal Points standings. That said, the top seeds in four of the five North classes have been established.

The local board will be holding a meeting to discuss the operations and funding at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at the Peakes House located next to the Piscataquis County Courthouse. 

There will be a fundraising spaghetti dinner from 4:30-6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Dexter American Legion Hall on Church St. The dinner is by donation and all the money will benefit the Dexter Regional High School wrestling team.

Valentine’s Day brightens the long, cold winter.  Women dream of roses, jewelry, and romantic candlelit dinners. Woe betide the husband or sweetheart who forgets his wife or girlfriend (hopefully he doesn’t have both).  

There is a Democratic candidate running for president right now, and she is very liberal. At a press conference where she stood next to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, this candidate made clear that she supports a Green New Deal. This candidate is also firmly pro-choice, has a 100 percent voting record with both Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, and has called for federal funding for abortions.

On Saturday, Feb. 1 the Dover-Foxcroft Republican Committee held its biennial caucus. During the caucus, new municipal officers were elected and delegates to the Maine Republican Convention were selected. At the caucus, the committee also voted to make every registered Republican a member of the committee and elections were held for the executive committee.

Former US Rep. Bruce Poliquin is running, only this time it’s not into a bathroom to hide from reporters. Poliquin has found the courage to venture back in public since his defeat by US Rep. Jared Golden in 2018.

The forecast of an impending snowstorm on Thursday and Friday has led the Maine Principals’ Association to alter the starting times for the cheerleading and wrestling regional championship events scheduled for Saturday.