Each winter the state holds a free fishing weekend, during which people are invited to enjoy a day on the water without a fishing license. That weekend is upon us, and on Feb. 15 to 16 anyone who hasn’t otherwise had a license suspended or revoked can fish for free.

Greenville is gearing up for one of its most popular winter events on Sunday, Feb. 16 -- the annual Chocolate Festival. This year the festival, which was created 16 years ago by former Moosehead Chamber Executive Director Bob Hamer and his wife Susan as a fundraiser for the chamber, tips its hat to Maine’s 200th anniversary. 

Anglers looking for a day of fun on a beautiful Maine lake may want to head to the Milo/Brownville area this weekend, as the venerable Schoodic Lake Ice Fishing Derby returns for its 58th edition.

The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) Executive Committee is pleased to announce the hiring of a new executive director, John Shea.

The Maine ATV Task Force, created last fall by Gov. Janet Mills, recently finished its work and sent recommendations to the governor’s desk.

Long months spent harvesting lumber in the Maine woods could make anyone start to see things. At least, that seems to be what happened to many lumberjacks in the 19th and early 20th century in Maine and beyond -- when you’re living in an isolated lumber camp, you’ve got to keep yourself entertained with tall tales and fantastic stories.

The Omicron Chapter of DKG Society International, a group for women educators, met Feb. 1 at the SeDoMoCha School in Dover-Foxcroft. The guest speaker was Emily Poland RN, school nurse Consultant for the Maine Department of Education. Poland spoke about Project AWARE - Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education

Earlier this week, Maine’s conservation agencies -- the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, issued some safety tips that deserve a second look.

Throughout Maine, there are pockets of wilderness where nature is given free rein. The trees grow old and tall. The moss grows thick. And rare plants and animals find safe haven.

I didn’t grow up ice fishing. I loved to play outside in the snow, and we neighborhood kids spent plenty of time outdoors, sliding down hills on our sleds until the sun set and we’d waddle on home. But ice fish? Nope. Didn’t catch that bug until my late 20s, when I met a man who introduced me to the sport and its customs.

Laura Feaga, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner and a Piscataquis County native, has opened a new psychiatric practice in Dover-Foxcroft. Healing Partners Psychiatric Services, LLC, located in The Mill, provides psychiatric diagnosis, consultation, medication management and supportive therapy for clients by appointment.

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. 

In 2018 a committee formed to create a play area for the younger students at Penquis Valley Middle School. The group was later given approval by the SAD 41 school board to pursue fundraising opportunities and work with volunteers on prepping a parcel of land behind the school that was first cleared two and a half decades ago by the Army Corps of Engineers. During a Feb. 5 school board meeting at the Penquis Valley School, the directors authorized the committee to apply for a grant from the Libra Foundation as well as the Maine Community Foundation.

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.

Should a disaster strike the region when Piscataquis County Emergency Agency Director Tom Capraro is out of town and/or on vacation, the response may not be delayed as Deputy Director Debra Hamlin can now step up and fill in.

Maine voters approved a bond package in November 2017 that included $5 million dollars for vital improvement projects including stream crossing and culvert upgrades. More than two dozen grants have been awarded by the Maine DEP for projects across the state, including $95,000 for the Mountain Road in Blanchard and another $95,000 for Crooked Brook in Charleston.

After all these years, I realized there weren’t any donations made as she requested. My brother-in-law Fred in England gave me the idea to grow my hair and beard, get pledges from folks, set a date to get the haircut and beard shave and then take the money raised and donate it to her cause.

Squaretail. It’s been awhile since that word has been used around anglers, but I like it, and miss hearing people use it. It’s one of those words that triggers the synapses and gets gray-haired anglers thinking back to canvas-covered Old Town boats and bamboo rods.