For anyone qualified and interested in a fulfilling and challenging career as a Maine Game Warden, the opportunities over the next few years will never be better. According to Warden Service spokesman Sgt. John MacDonald, there is among the warden ranks a large number of senior wardens who will be eligible for retirement in the near future.

But it was an issue that continues to be central to the ongoing story of the United States -- the enslavement of kidnapped African people -- that is irrevocably tied to Maine’s independence, thanks to an 1820 federal agreement known as the Missouri Compromise.

The week concluded with a dance where the Winter Carnival court was crowned. Pictured are grade 9 Lord Bryce Connor, Lady Jozlynn Paige, grade 10 Duke Cameron Allen, Duchess Elizabeth Kinney, grade 11 Prince Hunter Dean, Princess Cheyenne Beem and grade 12 King Cameron Paige, Queen Caitlyn Hardy.

A happy mood was felt by the 40-plus people at the Dexter-Age Friendly Tea Talk held at Gatherings 4 Main Street on Feb. 13 when members of the Central Maine Country Music Association played some new and familiar country songs.

The coalition selected five communities to serve as host sites for the tour with the loop route starting and finishing in Old Town. Cyclists will spend the first night in Binette Park -- along the Penobscot River -- then move on to Lincoln, Patten, Millinocket and Dover-Foxcroft. 

At the Feb. 13 meeting of the Dexter Town Council Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville and Rep. Steve Foster, R-Dexter presented to Elizabeth Breault and Marilyn Curtis Legislative sentiments recognizing their service as employees of the town of Dexter for 30 years

Saturday and Sunday, as you may have heard, constitute a Free Fishing Weekend here in Maine, and the state is inviting you to head out onto the ice (safely, of course) and try your hand, whether you have a license or not.

Rep. Paul Stearns R-Guilford, left, presented Paul McPhetres of Sangerville with a certificate and special commemorative coin expressing the gratitude of the citizens of Maine for his service in the United States Army during the Korean War.

You are invited to attend Pine Tree Hospice’s “It’s All About You” from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 7 at the Guilford United Methodist Church. All area caregivers will have the opportunity to be pampered through massage therapy, manicures, guided meditation, Reiki and more.

Citing overcrowding with 10 grades currently housed at Piscataquis Community Elementary School and potential educational benefits of having the older middle school students be in the secondary school building, SAD 4 officials were given the go-ahead to proceed with planning to move grades 7-8 to Piscataquis Community High School during a Feb. 11 school board meeting at PCHS.

Upcoming events around the region.

On Feb. 5 the Sangerville Public Library hosted Chewonki's StarLab at Piscataquis Community Elementary School for all fifth-graders. StarLab is a portable, inflatable planetarium that introduces features of the night sky and explains how stars are formed. It also shows us human history with the constellations above, from early mythological characters to modern navigation.

Greenville is gearing up for one of its most popular winter events on Sunday, Feb. 16 -- the annual Chocolate Festival. This year the festival, which was created 16 years ago by former Moosehead Chamber Executive Director Bob Hamer and his wife Susan as a fundraiser for the chamber, tips its hat to Maine’s 200th anniversary. 

The public is cordially invited to a concert of classical music performed by The Highlands Classical Chamber Ensemble at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23 in the Greenville High School auditorium, located at 130 Pritham Avenue. Solos, duos and ensemble works for violin, cello, piano, saxophone, flute and bassoon, will be presented, including works by Haydn, Brahms, Kodaly, Gershwin and Kalliwoda.

Anglers looking for a day of fun on a beautiful Maine lake may want to head to the Milo/Brownville area this weekend, as the venerable Schoodic Lake Ice Fishing Derby returns for its 58th edition.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the lake trout population and what it took to get it under control. Of course, the main goal of thinning the small lake trout down was to improve growth for all our gamefish. Lake trout, salmon, and to a lesser extent, brook trout all feed on smelt. The small lake trout were so abundant that they were eating us out of house and home and all the gamefish suffered.

The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) Executive Committee is pleased to announce the hiring of a new executive director, John Shea.

The Maine ATV Task Force, created last fall by Gov. Janet Mills, recently finished its work and sent recommendations to the governor’s desk.