Veterans Day is one of the most sacred days on our national calendar. This year, it was a special pleasure to spend that day of remembrance and gratitude in Freedom, a town whose very name celebrates the great gift we have been given by our veterans and those who serve today.

In September 1988, a month before the annual six-day moose hunt, I was forewarned by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officials in Augusta that crowd control would be my greatest challenge as lead biologist of the Greenville moose hunter check station, the busiest in Maine.

Through a generous gift received from Howard and Susan Schaffer, the Three Rivers Kiwanis of Milo/Brownville was able to donate $3,200 to the Milo Ecumenical Food Cupboard.

Over the years, in pursuit of elk, my sons and I have made a number of backpacking hunts into the Routt National Forest in Western Colorado. There is a lot of careful preparation for trips of this sort. The central challenge, as you might guess, is to keep the pack weights manageable without leaving behind critical gear.

It took a lot of work to balance Maine’s budget, bring fiscal responsibility to state government and restore our rainy day fund. Expanding Medicaid must maintain a balanced budget, protect our reserves and not raise taxes on hard-working Mainers.

The Center Theatre announced recently that it is launching a new movie subscription service called PiscataFLIX.

Global thinking nowadays is complicated by the disparity of environmental, economic and social problems. If they are considered nationally, at least in the U.S., then consensus is impossible to reach because of the divisiveness and intractability of political parties.

Upcoming events around the region

The framed needlepoint pictured here was blessed on Oct. 29 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Brownville Junction in memory of Fr. Frank Baker, who served the church as an interim priest for more than seven years.

This November marks National Home Care and Hospice Month and gives our state the opportunity to recognize the incredible contributions of those who work in these fields.