Maine Senate Republicans have given their full support to Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville for reelection.

Maine’s new state budget includes $2.7 billion more in spending than the previous two-year budget. This is a 16 percent hike in spending, a growth rate of more than three times the rate of inflation. Somehow, in this explosion of spending, this budget neglects to pay for the most fundamental of things that state government is supposed to take care of -- our roads and bridges.

The Commons at Central Hall will be introducing four new programs in January.

Two men from southern Maine will assume key leadership roles in the Maine Sports Hall of Fame beginning in January. Former television broadcaster Bill Green and Brian Corcoran, the chief executive officer of Shamrock Sports & Entertainment, are set to help guide the organization.

Visitors and local residents using their smartphones, tablets and other devices to access the internet in downtown Greenville and beyond have received an early holiday gift -- free Wi-Fi service. The gift is courtesy of Bill Varney, a well-known Maine businessman who branched out from car sales and insurance to fiber-optic and broadband information delivery a decade ago. Varney

You winterize your boat. You winterize your house. Heck, you even winterize yourself, grabbing a pair of gloves and a hat before heading out to work in the morning. But I’ll bet you do a less-than-impressive job winterizing your fly-fishing gear at the end of a season. That’s OK. Many of us are the same way.

My last column was about the immigrant Ulster Scots. Now, I’d like to introduce you to Scottish immigrants who didn’t come voluntarily.  

Christmas is coming, and you’re not ready. You’ve still got a few holes on your shopping list, and you just don’t know what to do. Don’t worry. My elves have you covered. At least, if you’re trying to find something for an outdoorsy friend or relative, you’re in luck. I’ve got a few suggestions that may just turn you into a holiday hero.

Louise and Stephen Rhoda have watched a number of riveting things happen outside their back door, which faces the Piscataquis River in Milo: deer trying to cross the ice, flooding and, over the last three years, baby eagles. But on Tuesday morning, Dec. 17 they woke to something they had never seen before: a spinning disc of ice that nearly spanned the entire width of the river.

The United Methodist Church of Dover-Foxcroft will hold a Christmas dessert pie sale starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 24, until sold out, with many varieties of delicious homemade fruit and filled dessert pies.