The Center Theatre is now accepting registrations for the 2020 April Vacation Drama Camp. The camp will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, April 20 through Friday April 24 at the Center Theatre.

There’s a symphony going on in the North Maine Woods, and few people know about it. Perhaps a handful of loggers have noticed. A smattering of snowmobilers might have heard the din while pausing on the trail. I rarely run into birders there. Indeed, never.

The Piscataquis Regional YMCA is pleased to announce the appointment of Mandy Adams as its new executive director/CEO, effective March 11. Adams was selected by the Y’s CEO search committee, following a 3-month search.

To protect staff and constituents, the Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District will be closing its office after 4:30 PM on Friday, March 13 and will be telecommuting starting Monday March 16. PCSWCD plans to reopen our office at 8 AM on Monday, March 30. If this date needs to be adjusted, we will communicate this.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer two sessions on using small-scale greenhouses to extend the growing season beginning 1-3 p.m. on Thursday March 12, at the UMaine Extension office, 165 East Main St. in Dover-Foxcroft. The program repeats from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, March 25 at the Extension office, 307 Maine Avenue in Bangor.

A group of concerned citizens in the PIttsfield area are coming together to try to save and revitalize the Pittsfield Community Theatre. Their vision goes beyond just restoring and refurbishing the Theatre, they hope to create a community center that will be a space for people of all ages to engage in various forms of art and culture.

As winter slowly winds down in Maine, giving way to mud season, it can be a challenge to plan outdoor adventures. Throughout the state, snow depth can vary drastically from the coast to inland mountains, dictating whether you can ski, snowmobile, snowshoe, ice skate, bike or hike on solid ground.

The Center Theatre announced that Gretchen Huettner has joined the Center Theatre staff through the Americorps Vista program. Through a partnership with Goodwill of Northern New England, Huettner will be the Center Theatre's volunteer coordinator. In this position, she will be responsible for the Center Theatre's volunteer recruitment, training and retention.

Upcoming events around the region.

"I'd go, 'Well, we're going fishing this weekend. We can't do that,'" Brann said. For 11 years, that excuse worked. But this year, with an annual fishing vacation to Moosehead Lake with three other couples looming, Collins made Brann a deal he couldn't refuse.

With the pending retirement of a Waterville hospital executive and the recent addition of a new hospital, Northern Light Health is shuffling around the leadership of its hospitals in central Maine and Piscataquis County.

The plan for Legislative District 119 includes work in seven of the district’s towns: Abbot, Greenville, Monson, Parkman, Sangerville, Sebec and Shirley. It includes 12 projects over the next three years, totaling over $12.88 million. Highlights include reconstruction of Route 6 in Abbot ($8,680,000) and work on Route 23 in Sangerville ($2,660,000).

The Final Friday Community Conversations on Climate continued on Feb. 28 with a well-attended potluck dinner followed by a talk by Citizens’ Climate Lobby representative Peter Garrett from Winslow. He reported that both U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King are now members of the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, an excellent representation for Maine which shows tremendous leadership of our delegation on climate issues.

Each month the SeDoMoCha School recognizes “Students in the Spotlight” celebrating pupils from kindergarten to grade 8 who teachers and staff have determined best demonstrate a specific positive attribute or characteristic chosen for the timeframe from the Habits of Mind (a set of life skills for educators and parents). The February students were honored for “Creating, Imagining and Innovating” on the morning of Monday, March 1.

The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation recently awarded $40,461 in grants to 13 nonprofit organizations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Among the recipients is the Code Maine Coding Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, to provide nine-month, tuition-free, software development and professional skills training to under-advantaged high school graduates in the Maine Highlands region.

The Clarks agreed to a $10,000 sale price with Friends of Community Fitness covering the $2,300 closing costs, allowing Friends of Community Fitness to officially become building owners as of Nov. 22. The now permanent home was recognized with a “Keys to the Building Celebration” on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 29 with Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Denise Buzzelli presenting a symbolic oversized key.

Two organizations with a shared vision to meet the health care needs of the people of Piscataquis County have officially come together. Northern Light Health and Mayo Regional Hospital completed their merger agreement on Sunday, March 1. On Monday morning, Michelle Hood, president and CEO of Northern Light Health, joined with Marie Vienneau, president and CEO of the newly named Northern Light Mayo Hospital, for a press conference and celebration at  the hospital with employees.

Our national bird, the American Bald Eagle, has been getting its fair share of media attention lately. Maine Game Wardens are still investigating the illegal shooting of one of our national symbols in western Maine. And, in a soon-to-be released story in the April issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal, columnist and USFWS wildlife biologist Mark McCollough writes a most fascinating article about the eventual fate of a 36-year-old state resident bald eagle that had to be euthanized by wildlife officials.