The Piscataquis Regional YMCA kicked off the 2017 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on June 24 with the its annual Earn Your Whoopie Pie 3K and Kids’ 1K Fun Run, with both races starting on River Street.

The Center Theatre announced that over 7,000 people attended the 2017 Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on Saturday, June 24. The ninth annual festival brought bakers from around the state together with artists, crafters and vendors to celebrate the Whoopie Pie, Maine's Official State Treat.

Summer calendar of events

Fourth of July events are scheduled for Dexter, Greenville/Rockwood and Sebec.

Ed and Arlene Jewett, founders of Jewett Construction Inc. and part-time Greenville residents, have made a very gracious challenge donation toward the reconstruction of a replica of the old Big Moose (formerly Squaw) Mountain fire watchman’s cabin. The new cabin will be built next to the recently finished Big Moose fire tower at the Natural Resource Education Center (NREC) Visitors’ Center.

The Maine Forest Service is cautioning towns and residents against using third-party, non-sanctioned online burn permit systems after at least two fires occurred this spring. The fires likely would not have resulted if the officially sanctioned state online burn permit system had been used instead of that of a third party.

The Common Core State Standards, since their adoption in 2011, have been an expensive and harmful experiment that threatens Maine’s educational competitiveness. Unfunded mandates for local schools districts, excessive testing requirements, developmentally inappropriate material, and dubious data collection practices underscore how Common Core has caused, and will continue to cause, problems for Maine’s schools, teachers, and students.

On November 8, 2016, Maine voters overwhelmingly favored a citizens' referendum for Ranked-Choice Voting. Since that exciting moment in the political history of the United States (Maine being the first state to pass a referendum for the ranking of votes for state legislature, governorship and Maine's four congressional delegates), the Judiciary and Senate have done their part to put this bill before our House of Representatives for a two-thirds vote for a constitutional change.

When I started work for the IFW in the mid-1980s, we were having a peak in fishing activity. Angler use was at an all-time high and I used to cringe on the Monday of the Memorial Day weekend to see the steady stream of traffic heading south all loaded with fish from my favorite trout ponds (in my mind anyway).

Monday I was running errands, getting ready for a business trip to Hancock and Washington counties. I filled my car gas tank, deposited a check at the bank. The last item on my list? Haircut.