Did you have an ancestor who changed his or her name? This was quite common in the past. If our ancestors didn’t like their given name and preferred a nickname or middle name, they usually didn’t feel the need to legalize a name change in a court of law as we do today. They just went ahead and used whatever they preferred.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Board of Supervisors will hold their monthly meeting from 9-11 a.m. on Friday, March 13 at the USDA Building, 42 Engdahl Drive in Dover-Foxcroft.

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)/Miosac Club is conducting its 2020 Sebec Lake Ice Out Contest for the 44th consecutive year.  Tickets may be purchased from any club member through March 31. Monies raised will be used to maintain a variety of club projects in the Dover-Foxcroft area.

The Northern Maine basketball tournament ended in dramatic fashion Saturday night, with Parker Ponte’s 3-point shot as -- or after -- time expired giving Dexter a 50-48 victory over Central Aroostook of Mars Hill in the Class C boys final.

Area blood drives will take place from noon to 5 p.m. on Monday, March 2 at the Dexter Unitarian Universalist Church, 35 Church St., and from 1-6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11 at Foxcroft Academy, 975 West Main St.

We had lots of activity on our trails on this perfect snowmobiling week. We were glad to see so many people on the trails and at our cookout this weekend.

Richards was the glue who held Dexter together through a grueling tournament that culminated in the Class C championship. Feeney was a force for the upstart Machias Bulldogs, who shocked No. 1 Jonesport-Beals in the semifinals en route to the D North crown.

Maine stands at the crossroads again of individual liberty and choice or government control and subjugation. Will we choose liberty or bend to out-of-state interests again? For the sake of freedom, let Maine's independence rise up and vote yes on Question 1!

A lawsuit seeking to block the merger of Mayo Regional Hospital with Northern Light Health is heading to court late next month after the Maine attorney general’s office and both health care organizations all filed motions seeking to dismiss the case.

Most of us who hunt for wild meat or pick wild berries and mushrooms, and take profound pleasure from the hunter-gatherer act, recognize that there is an ancestral or antediluvian connection. Your caveman lineage is likely to take on a new focus if you spend some time with a book titled “The Man in the Ice” by Konrad Spindler. Dr Spindler is an Austrian archaeologist.