Upcoming events around the region.

Skowhegan Savings announced that it will celebrate its 150th anniversary with 11 customer appreciation events between July 11 and Oct. 4. Each event will be held at one of the bank’s 11 branch locations or a nearby venue, including in Dexter from 4-7 p.m. on Sept. 18.

A donor board modeled to resemble an old time card catalog has been permanently installed just outside of the Abbott Memorial Library's reading room. Each drawer bears the name or names of a business or individual who donated to the 2018 restoration project for the library in Dexter.

A presentation and demonstration of low-stress cattle handling will be held at the Shaw Road Farm on Saturday, July 20 from noon to 3 pm. Dr. Colt Knight, UMaine Extension livestock specialist, will discuss the impact of handling cattle on their stress levels and participants will see Shaw Road Farm’s practices of separating beef animals from a herd of 50.

I would like to say in these days where politics have split the country, Maine has shown to still have some conscientious leaders that respond to the needs of the people regardless of party. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the votes of Sen. Paul Davis on LD 1494 and LD 1711.

Legislators should approve a Land for Maine’s Future bond for the 2019 ballot. Land for Maine’s Future is a fantastic program, yet it hasn’t received bond funding for years. What are we waiting for?

On Wednesday, July 3 at 1 p.m. the Abbott Memorial Library will be presenting a free wildlife program. Josh Spark of Spark’s Ark Animal Services in New Gloucester will be bringing some rehabilitated wild animals to show and share with local animal lovers.

Joe Siccardi, a recent mid-Maine transplant, has completed his third book “My Name is Sam…. and Heaven is Still Shining Through.”

The Sebec Village Associates will have a day of events on the Fourth of July next week, with proceeds benefiting the Reading Room. The day on Thursday, July 4 starts with a breakfast at the Sebec Village Community Christian Church at 7:30 a.m.

Women who own or manage farmland in central Maine are invited to participate in a free conservation discussion focused on soil health on Thursday, July 11 at Hall’s Christmas Tree Farm, 816 Douty Hill Road. The program, sponsored by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Women, Food and Agriculture Network, is called Women Caring for the Land.