It wasn’t a wild animal that distracted me. It was a wild phone call, an argument about work, no less. I wasn’t paying close attention to where I was. I wasn’t driving with the care we all should expect of one another. And I made a mistake.

A small World War I-era replica plane crashed at the Dexter Municipal Airport late Wednesday morning after a breeze lifted the taxiing plane into the air with the pilot strapped inside.

The Travis Mills Foundation has been providing support and respite to combat-wounded veterans and their families since 2013. Next month Bangor Savings Bank -- which has branches in Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft and Greenville -- will put the foundation on a literal fast track for growth when it gifts its primary Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car sponsorship to the nonprofit for the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida.

Every game at the end of the season becomes crucial for teams battling to get into the playoffs. An Oct. 11 contest at Hermon HIgh School was no exception for the Foxcroft Academy boys soccer team looking to make the postseason this year. The Ponies sit in ninth place in the Class B North standings, where only the top 10 teams make the playoffs.

Doors at the East Sangerville Grange open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 2 for its renowned annual Holiday Craft Fair.

Upcoming events around the region.

The Dexter Regional High School cross country concluded the regular season by taking part in the Pendale Invitational on Oct. 12 at Hermon High School. The Tiger boys scored 59 points to finish third of three teams, just behind the 56 points for Presque Isle High School. Host Hermon came in first with 18 points.

On a more regional level, the Dexter Tigers ended a 31-year, 25-game losing streak against neighboring rival Foxcroft Academy on Saturday, outlasting the visiting Ponies 27-21 in overtime.

Now, after decades of preparing and serving the county’s best food, the kitchen is in dire need of a serious renovation. Handed-down counters and boxes that are hung as cabinets without doors have become grossly inadequate -- the cement floor has become the scourge of volunteers’ backs.

Many government programs are trying to address Maine’s economic challenges. We have an aging population, more jobs than qualified candidates to fill them, and far too many families struggling to put meals on the table. Government assistance helps, but we cannot rely on it alone.