There are certain tasks most of us will face, assuming we have the good fortune to live long enough. One of those is cleaning out the house of our parents — perhaps the house where we grew up. My mother, Louise Farmer, died in October 2015, and I have put off dealing with her house for almost four years.

Code Maine Coding Academy, based in Dover-Foxcroft, is offering a 9-month, tuition-free coding program to any high school graduate residing in Maine. The aim of this nonprofit organization is to train Maine residents to learn valuable technical skills for rewarding lifelong careers.

Summertime in Maine is typified by fairs and festivals featuring fun, food and raffles. This year at Dexter’s Hot Dog Festival on Saturday, Aug. 10, the Dexter Public Health Association will raffle a summery quilt called “Sidewalk Chalk” by its creator, Rosemarie O’Toole.

Saturday, Aug. 3 will be the eighth annual Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Supper, sponsored by Parkman Grange from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Grange Hall. The supper, featuring smoked pork loin, baked beans, salads, cake and ice cream, is open to the public by donation. All monies will go to the Minnie Welts Bridge Memorial Scholarship Fund -- the 2019 scholarships will be awarded that evening.

It is with great pleasure that the Baxter State Park Authority announces the appointment of its new park chief ranger, Daniel Rinard. Rinard comes to the park from the Appalachian Mountain Club's Maine Woods Initiative, where he ably guided facilities management and operations at the Maine lodges since 2012, most recently as director.

A father and son from LaGrange have been accused of drug trafficking after drug agents say they seized nearly $15,000 worth of Oxycodone from their truck and home.

Autumn Finkle of Brownville, a graduate of Maine Connections Academy (MCA) the state’s first online public charter school, has graduated with a prestigious Mitchell Scholarship as well as a MELMAC scholarship. Finkle will be enrolled this fall as a freshman at Husson University in Bangor, where she plans to study nursing.

DOVER-FOXCROFT -- In conjunction with Foxcroft Academy’s Alumni Weekend and the Dover-Foxcroft Shiretown Homecoming, the 23rd annual Pony Pride 5K will be open to all and run at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3. For the fourth year in a row, the 3.1-mile event is starting and ending on the campus of Foxcroft Academy.

While the increase in broadband speeds has been dramatic and is encouraging, these numbers mask a disparity between urban and rural Americans. Nearly all Americans living in urban areas have access to the Internet at speeds that meet the Federal Communication Commission’s broadband threshold, while one in four rural Americans do not.

Upcoming events around the region.