Truth be known, the bloom is off the rose for me when it comes to upland bird hunting. It just isn’t the same when your favorite gun dog is no longer of this earth. But my memory still works, and the intense pleasure of breathing cool fall air against a color-coated autumn backdrop, while watching my Sally on point, is never forgotten.

A man who helped engineer some of the largest public land conservation deals in state history has died. Alan Hutchinson, 70, died at his Orono home on Sunday, Aug. 26 according to an official at Brookings-Smith Funeral Home of Bangor.

With Piscataquis County government department heads making their initial requests for the 2018 budget -- the county fiscal year follows the calendar year -- the county commissioners are getting ready to put the budget advisory committee in place so the group can start its work in October.

Three girls will reign as Miss Maple in their respective age groups for the next year after being crowned during the third annual Miss Maple Pageant on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 26 at the 130th Piscataquis Valley Fair.

A close friend, driving one of Maine's suburban roads, came upon an accident scene. A maroon SUV was stopped on a grass median. Police were trying to save the life of the unconscious young man lying on the grass. The driver had overdosed on drugs. The police were acting to save his life. One officer, using a special nasal injector, administered into the young man an overdose blocker called Narcan. Within moments, the driver came to. Did he thank the police for saving his life? No, he screamed at the officer for "ruining his high."

Maine outdoor writer Steve Carpenteri, in a recent article in the Northwoods Sporting Journal, posed a number of questions related to the baiting of deer by hunters. He then answered those questions in an informative and useful way. While many states allow the hunting of deer over unnatural bait, including neighboring New Hampshire, Maine is not one of them. Here, hunting deer over unnatural bait is illegal.

A proposed $6,879,013 budget for the 2017-18 school year was approved during a district budget meeting on Aug. 24 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School. The near $6.88 million budget is now moved to a referendum in Abbot, Cambridge, Guilford, Parkman, Sangerville, and Wellington on Tuesday, Aug. 29 with residents of the half dozen communities voting either “yes” or “no” to make a district-wide decision on the 2018 budget.

The Maine Highlands Senior Center, to be housed on the first floor of Central Hall on East Main Street, has received two grants.

Earlier in the summer the former Spruce Run-Womancare Alliance announced a name change to Partners for Peace. The organization, which provides support services to anyone affected by domestic abuse and violence in Piscataquis and Penobscot counties, celebrated its new identity with an open house and free barbecue at the 8 Mechanic Street resource center on Aug. 18

The truth is, I'm stumped on the best way to approach this week’s column topic. I am aware of the Charlottesville, Va., protests, the groups involved, the senseless death of a young woman, and of others near her who were seriously injured. But I have not been, nor will I be, digging deep into the Virginia mayhem details.

Steve and Diana Hobart have made a lifetime commitment of being land stewards through forestry and farming at Breakneck Ridge Farm. The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District is pleased to present the Hobarts with a Lifetime Achievement Award for their decades of contributions to natural resource stewardship and for sharing their knowledge and guidance with so many others over the decades.

For some reason, there is a popular misconception that anyone who hunts -- say a grouse hunter who kills and eats a game bird -- would not also be a bird-watcher. Not necessarily so. Hunting and bird-watching are not mutually exclusive.

The 2017 Maine Hire-A-Vet Campaign kicks off at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at the Augusta Armory, 179 Western Avenue, in a statewide effort to commit at least 100 employers to hire at least 100 veterans and military family members during the 100-day period.

Throughout the year the Piscataquis County Democratic Committee is holding a series of non-partisan information forums on various issues facing the region. The most recent “Ensuring the Success of Our Youngest Mainers: A Conversation about Children and Families in Piscataquis County” during the afternoon of Aug. 2 at Mayo Regional Hospital examined related challenges such as poverty, food insecurity, and barriers in accessing care, and the discussion featured Maine Speaker of the House of Representatives Sara Gideon, D-Freeport.

Lightning flashed in the distance and rain began to fall, each drop forming a tiny bubble on the surface of Moosehead Lake. We’d watched the dark clouds gather during our short paddle, and with a few words, we agreed it was time for us to turn our kayaks around and get back to Seboomook Wilderness Campground, where we were staying.

Members of the Sebec Village Associates were recognized at the start of the annual town meeting on Aug. 7 at the Harland A. Ladd Municipal Building as the organization is the community’s 2017 Spirit of America Award recipient.

The purpose of the meeting is assessing public sentiment regarding six proposed industrial wind projects and CMP’s Maine Clean Power Connection 145-mile high voltage transmission corridor.

The bottom line is this: At a critical time in Maine’s deer recovery the state has ostensibly been without a seasoned, experienced deer research leader for far too long. It’s a typical bureaucratic situation: sudden departure, slow replacement.