Unlike many of the hundreds of eager hunters in the crowd on Saturday afternoon, Alan Baron of Sanford wasn’t too nervous about hearing his name read aloud during the Maine Moose Permit Lottery, which was held at Cabela’s.

The 2019 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival has expanded this year to include a new event at Dover True Value Hardware. The store will be hosting its first annual "Dover True Value Homeshow Expo" in the business parking lot from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 22.

Come celebrate thriving farms at “Root Down: A Farm Viability Party” hosted by Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) at Ripley Farm on the Merrills Mills Road from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, June 27. Guests can take a tour of the farm, enjoy snacks from Spruce Mill Farm & Kitchen, a cash bar with local beer and wine from Bissell Brothers and wine from Oyster River Winegrowers, learn about MFT’s Farm Viability work to help farms thrive and hear what the farmers at Ripley Farm are doing to grow their business.

Yesterday my iPhone chimed; a text message from a family member at work. “Is there any chance you might be able to pick up William from school today?” William's aunt was supposed to drive the 10-year-old home, but something came up.

The Dover-Foxcroft Historical Society will be opening the Observer Building Museum for 2019 on the day of the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival, Saturday June 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Upcoming events around the region.

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation recently awarded grants to several nonprofit organizations in eastern and northern Maine, including the Center Theatre for the Performing Arts in Dover-Foxcroft.

A Dexter police dog helped detect narcotics in a car that police stopped at about 10 a.m. Saturday, June 8. Dexter police said they arrested a Dexter man and woman after they stopped the car and charged them with aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs.

Penquis Valley High School senior Cymeria Robshaw concluded her prep track career by taking part in the long and triple jumps for the second year in a row, along with the other top performers from the six states, at the 74th New England Interscholastic Outdoor Track and Field Championship on June 8 at Thornton Academy.

Maine game wardens received a report of a hiker suffering a medical emergency on the Appalachian Trail shortly after noon on Friday, June 7. Penobscot Sheriff’s Office received the 911 call from Devin Kaufman, 25 of Fairfield, who reported he was hiking southbound near Big Beaver Pond before dispatchers lost contact with him.