Maine teacher certification is seriously flawed as Paul Stearns pointed out in his OpEd, and has been for years. Maine's restrictive and simple-minded requirements are keeping the highly qualified individuals mentioned, as well as others, out of our schools that urgently need the best teachers we can find.

Bob Mallard, in a letter to the editor, once again states that the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife does not fully embrace catch and release. While C&R is undoubtedly an effective management tool, there are many other options required for different situations.

Catch-and-release is an invaluable management tool. It’s the regulation that comes closest to allowing a fishery to be what it naturally is. Per the Department of Environmental Protection, Maine has nearly 6,050 lakes and ponds. Approximately 2,435 are listed on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s lake and pond database, indicating they contain fish.

Since 1923, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR or DAR) has been awarding scholarships to help students attain higher education and achieve their career aspirations. There are a variety of scholarships for students pursuing different idea of study such as history, education, nursing, medicine, science, math and law. The amount DAR awarded last year was over $250,000.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lousia May Alcott's beloved book, the Center Theatre and the Slightly Off-Center Players will be performing the Broadway version of “Little Women” in December. They are inviting anyone who would like to be part of the Center Theatre's production to the upcoming auditions.The auditions will be at the Center Theatre on Saturday, Sep. 21 from 3-6 p.m. and Monday, Sept. 23 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

The town of Guilford’s annual Harvest Fair will be on Saturday, Sept. 21 with events taking place at the Guilford Memorial Library, the Guilford Historical Society and Center Cemetery.

The Bucksport Golden Bucks played as advertised during their homecoming football game at Carmichael Field on Friday night, Sept. 13 -- and a game Dexter team had no answers. Freshman Jaxon Gross and sophomore Josh Miller combined to rush for 360 yards and six touchdowns as coach Joel Sankey’s club methodically pulled away to a 43-7 Little Ten Conference victory over the Tigers.

This past Wednesday, September 11th, Eileen and I were in Freeport, ME, standing an hour in the rain for the farewell watch of the great Freeport Flag Ladies. The three ladies — Carmen Footer, Elaine Greene, and JoAnn Miller — stood on their Main Street corner every Tuesday, for 18 years, commemorating 9/11.

The Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District has built a successful and popular chainsaw safety offering in our area. Now that we have graduated several level 1 participants and see the demand for a higher-level chainsaw safety offering across the state, we are ready to offer a chainsaw safety level 2 workshop on Friday, Oct. 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Law Farm.

Charlie Mann of Winthrop and George Smith of Mount Vernon, who has a camp at Nesowadnehunk Lake on the edge of Baxter State Park, were each honored with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award. MDIFW Commissioner Judy Camuso presented the award to Smith and Elaine Mann, Charlie’s widow, at the annual Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine banquet on Sept. 7. The award, one of the department’s highest honors, celebrates a lifetime of achievement and mentoring in Maine’s outdoors.