The Hermon High School girls basketball team showed Friday night, Dec. 6 why it should be among the contenders for the Class B North championship this season. Although they were facing a youthful Foxcroft Academy team, the Hawks were impressive in all phases of the game en route to a season-opening 74-28 victory at Hermon High School. The veteran Hawks wasted little time capitalizing on the Ponies’ inexperience, scoring the game’s first 10 points en route to a 17-2 run.

Leased and operated by the nonprofit Friends of Squaw Mountain, Big Squaw Mountain features more than 20 easy and intermediate runs for downhill skiers and snowboarders, serviced by a chair lift.

The Commons at Central Hall will be kicking off the New Year with an 1980s-themed dance party in the stunning Event Center. The event will start at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, and will feature the elegant 1980s DJ dance mixes of Absolution Bangor.

In Piscataquis County a blood drive will be held at Holy Family Parish, 145 Pritham Avenue, in Greenville from 1-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12 and at the Milo Town Hall, 6 Pleasant Street, from 1-5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 26.

When the former Guilford Primary building went up for sale last summer, the organization operating a fitness center at that location decided it was time to act.

There will be a meeting of the Piscataquis County Republican Committee on Friday, Dec. 13 at the Mayo Regional Hospital Resource Center. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

The Commons at Central Hall has been selected as one of three sites in Maine to oversee a new program aimed at improving the quality of care for older adults diagnosed with dementia. The Northern New England Network, the Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging and national healthcare consulting company, Qualidigm, brought together key leaders within nine communities (three per state) across northern New England to work together to identify and share successful approaches, models and supports that can improve the health, care and care coordination of community-dwelling older adults diagnosed with dementia, as well as their care partners.

I am writing a winter update to our community about The Commons as we wrap up an eventful year and have made some important changes in our structure. We now have both a program and marketing director, Jeremy Loguercio, and a development director, Tara Smith. We are also pursuing a position for volunteer director.

The SeDoMoCha Builders Club will host the Miracle Tree event this weekend at The Commons at Central Hall, 152 East Main Street, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec 7 and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8.

Many genealogists in Maine have Scottish and/or Irish ancestors in their family trees.