The Piscataquis Community High School National Honor Society recently sponsored a school-wide food drive to help local food cupboards during the holidays, over 525 items were collected from the PCHS advisory groups.

Moments before the Dec. 18 deadly Amtrak derailment, a Mainer on board noticed the train’s high speed. Cody Clark, a 28-year-old Dexter Regional High School graduate from Exeter, said he recalls thinking, “We’re going pretty fast. We’re going faster than all the cars on the highway.”

The tired old joke goes like this: “How can you tell the difference between a partridge and a grouse?” You know the answer, right? If it’s shot on the ground, it’s a partridge; if it is shot on the wing, it is a grouse.

The Forest Society of Maine Board of Directors named Karin Tilberg as the organization’s new executive director during the December board meeting. The Forest Society of Maine (FSM) is a land trust with a focus on conserving forest land throughout Maine’s North Woods.

At this time of year, we gather with loved ones to celebrate Christmas, count our blessings, remember the past year and look forward to next year.

Early on the morning of Dec. 16 Dexter Regional High School Student Council and Key Club members, along with several Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis members, gathered at the P&L Country Market to assemble and wrap 49 Christmas food boxes to be given to area families.

Gabriella, left, and Destiny Michelle Richardson tell Santa what they would like for Christmas during the Sebec Village Associates’ annual party on Dec. 16 at the Reading Room.

There’s really nothing like the holidays in Maine. They bring a certain spirit, one that’s as magical as the first snow. But it’s not the beautiful winter landscapes or the crackling fire that makes this such a wonderful time to be in Maine. No, the joy comes from the opportunity to spend these days surrounded by those we love, in a state we love to call home.

Upcoming events across the region.

The American Red Cross is urging eligible donors to give more life to patients now and into the new year by giving blood or platelets. Area blood drives will be on Friday, Dec. 29 from noon to 5 p.m. at Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft; Friday, Dec. 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Greenville American Legion; and Tuesday, Jan. 2 from 1-6 p.m. at the Milo Town Hall.