Those elected to represent the people of Maine have a responsibility to prioritize the needs of our state. But Maine’s senators do not put Mainers first.

A huge pumpkin grown in Charleston has squashed the record for the heaviest one ever grown in Maine. But breaking the record wasn’t a slam-dunk for Elroy Morgan’s Atlantic Giant pumpkin, which topped the scales at 1,756 pounds.

The following births were recorded recently at Mayo Regional Hospital:

If any non-human deserves a Nobel Prize, it’s the common fruit fly, according to a newly minted Nobel laureate and Maine retiree who used the tiny insect to unlock the mystery of the biological clock.

I recently came across Matthew Gagnon’s Sept. 21 BDN (and Sept. 27 Piscataquis Observer) column “The future of freedom of speech.” I found it interesting that Gagnon blamed political correctness as the reason college campuses are drifting toward speech codes and regulations on speech.

Upcoming October events

The Piscataquis County Retired Educators met for the last formal meeting of the year. Sixteen members gathered recently at the Bear's Den for a silent auction, meeting and lunch.

This year’s Moose on the Run events will be Sunday morning, Oct. 8 -- organized by the town of Greenville -- with the 1K at 9:30 a.m. and 5K walkers and runners departing at 10 and 10:30 a.m. respectively.

Speaking this week with Dover-Foxcroft based musician/teacher, Susan Ramsey, I found out Foxcroft Academy's String Program, which she directs, is a model other rural Maine communities can follow. From the start, I was surprised at the extent of FA's overall music programs. But I especially could not fathom why the FA String Program was so popular.

The Aroostook County community of Limestone’s search for a new town manager has concluded with the selectboard hiring Matthew S. Pineo, who previously held the same position in Brownville and later Sangerville on an interim basis.