The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Bureau of Parks and Lands announced that a record number of visitors camped in Maine state parks in 2018, included are Peaks-Kenny State Park in Dover-Foxcroft and Lily Bay State Park on Moosehead Lake. Through September 255,553 campers have been recorded, breaking the previous all-time camping record of 254,789 set in 2016.

The last year or so, I started digitizing audio cassettes I’ve kept since the late 1970s. Hold on to cassettes long enough, the significance of their taped content changes.

As a rule my editors prefer that the Maine outdoor beat steers clear of politics. And they are right, most of the time. But when the body politic begins trifling with our Second Amendment rights, should an outdoor writer just walk away? Tough to do because gun rights and taking a gun to the woods are not mutually exclusive. In the end, gun laws inevitably have an impact on our hunting rights and traditions.

For the first month of school students and families at the SeDoMoCha Elementary School had the opportunity to read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House in the Big Woods” at home together during the ninth annual One Book, One School program -- copies of the book were provided by the school. The shared reading program concluded with a celebration on the evening of Oct. 4.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine and Angus King, I-Maine announced that 17 community health centers in Maine will receive a total of $4,980,138 through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Expanding Access to Quality Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Services (SUD-MH) awards. This funding will better equip health centers to help individuals and families overcome substance use disorders and improve mental health.

The Charlotte White Center and Penquis, two prominent nonprofit service providers, announced the merger of the two organizations, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

The Guilford Memorial Library will be hosting William Geller as he leads a discussion on the history of the Piscataquis watershed. This discussion will also include the 1825 Guilford fire and local river logging drives. This will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at the library.

Girl Scouts of Maine will host a Discover Girl Scout event at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 18 at Piscataquis Community High School for potential members and volunteers.

Channel 2's Oct. 8 2nd Congressional District Candidate Debate made one point perfectly clear. Will Hoar, Tiffany Bond, and Jared Golden understand what life for the middle and working classes is like in rural Maine. Bruce Poliquin seems to only understand how to use name calling and crowing about alleged successes for our welfare. Despite low unemployment statistics, residents I meet are still struggling due to insufficient salaries and wages.

I have had the privilege of working with Sue Mackey Andrews as a member of Helping Hands with Heart. I have seen first hand her commitment to families and children. She has worked tirelessly to bring awareness and education on topics that directly impact our area including poverty and childhood trauma.