After what seems like an endless winter, we can’t wait to celebrate spring -- a hopeful new season. And celebrating is a recurring theme this April at the Thompson Free Library in Dover-Foxcroft.

We are still in the midst of the 2018-19 school year, but we are rapidly approaching the summer season. With that in mind, we look to the future. On Wednesday, April 10 at 6 p.m. Foxcroft Academy will host the annual Step-Up Night for eighth-grade families.

My dad died six hours ago. His name was Chester B. Fish, Jr. At age 93, dad outlived my mom by two years. And among his parents and two brothers, dad was the last man standing.

At the Commons at Central Hall on Thursday April 11 at 1 p.m., Sandra Ingerman, MA, a world-renowned teacher of shamanism, a licensed psychotherapist and a board-certified expert on traumatic stress will present, via video, a program explaining and demonstrating how shamanic ceremony supports trauma healing. This free program is part of the Sounds True Healing Summit and is brought to the public by NAMI Piscataquis County.

Game Warden Investigator Josh Bubier was honored as the Maine Game Warden of the Year as the Maine Warden Service celebrated its 139th anniversary March 27 at the Winslow VFW with the annual awards banquet. Bubier is stationed in Division D in Greenville.

Last year, I wrote about the project to restore the wild brook trout population at Thissell Pond after an illegal introduction of smelt. We chemically reclaimed the pond in August of 2013 to permanently remove the smelt. We had documented a serious decline in brook trout abundance after the introduction, and the only way to restore the pond was to hit the reset button.

Yoga instructor and Pine Tree Hospice volunteer Gayle Worden RYT, is offering free Yoga Nidra sessions for both professional and family caregivers in the community and for PTH volunteers as well. The sessions are about 45 minutes in length and are held at the Dover-Foxcroft Congregational Church on West Main Street The next session is at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 13.

We all like to think that we make rational, sound decisions based on our own quality judgment. We roll on with life, evaluate the facts we see in front of us and act accordingly.

Medical cannabis was legalized in Maine 20 years ago and since that time patients either cultivated their own plants or authorized a caregiver to do it for them. This past December a new medical cannabis law took effect giving Maine’s approximately 50,000 medical patients broader access to cannabis and cannabis products, thus making the process safer and laws easier to enforce.

American veterans who served their country richly deserve our appreciation, no matter where, when or how they served. If they wore a U.S. military uniform, they were in the freedom-preservation business. Next to those who made the ultimate sacrifice, stand another very special American serviceman or woman – the disabled vet.