Giving talks to rod and gun clubs around the state is enjoyable for me. It's a good chance to rub elbows with good people who share a common interest. I learn a lot and always come away with new insights and topics to write about. Most of the time, the food is good, too.

In a recent ceremony and reception held at the Abbot Town Hall, Selectman Mickey Knowles presented Abbot’s Boston Post Cane to nonagenarian Thelma Weymouth.

The Dover-Foxcroft municipal airport at Charles A. Chase Jr. Memorial Field on Pine Street could become the home of a four megawatt solar project, the Dover-Foxcroft selectmen learned during an Oct. 15 meeting. In order for the project to move forward, the airport would need to be decommissioned and a public hearing on the proposal has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12 at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building.

Staff at the Hibbard Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dover-Foxcroft want to wish one of their assisted living residents a very happy 100th birthday. Earl Chase was born in Augusta, on October 18, 1919.

The Center Theatre is hosting its second annual Mischief Managed fundraiser at the Commons Event Center at Central Hall on Saturday, October 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. Harry Potter fans of all ages are encouraged to attend, costumes are encouraged but not required.

The Commons at Central Hall is growing with programs and activities to serve the Piscataquis area. In order to fulfill the mission statement to “provide programs that create and preserve memories, build community, and enhance personal vitality by including people of all ages” successfully, a new program manager, Jeremy Loguercio, and a new volunteer coordinator, Jessica Brasier, were hired in September.

On Thursday, October 10 at the first Tea Talk meeting, Shirley Grant won a beautiful fresh flower arrangement, contributed by the Spring Street Greenhouse, for correctly answering the most Dexter trivia questions.

Recently the White House named Alyson Lee Saunders, a science teacher at Dexter Regional High School, a recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). PAEMST are the nation’s highest honors for teachers of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and/or computer science teaching.

Doors at the East Sangerville Grange open at 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 2 for its renowned annual Holiday Craft Fair.

Upcoming events around the region.

Now, after decades of preparing and serving the county’s best food, the kitchen is in dire need of a serious renovation. Handed-down counters and boxes that are hung as cabinets without doors have become grossly inadequate -- the cement floor has become the scourge of volunteers’ backs.

For close to two decades nearly 3,000 third grade students across the region have each been given a dictionary thanks to the Valley Grange and the organization’s Words for Thirds Dictionary Project. The first batch of dictionaries for 2019 were given out on the afternoon of Oct. 15 to approximately 75 students from the four grade 3 classrooms at the SeDoMoCha Elementary School in Dover-Foxcroft. Pupils and teachers traveled to the Guilford Grange Hall to receive their books.

Greenville, with its accessibility to Moosehead Lake and the great North Woods has a lot to offer, and now there’s a new addition to the mix – Chip Gerber, former powerlifting world champion, triathlete and professional fighter.

On Monday, October 21 students in Piscataquis County and members of the community will have the opportunity to enjoy a performance of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra's Juniper String Quartet when the group visits Dover-Foxcroft. The talented musicians will be visiting with school children to both educate and perform before arriving at the Center Theatre for a 7 p.m. performance.

For years now, from elected Augusta officials of either party, we have heard this song before: “We need to be more aggressive and creative in marketing Maine as a hunting and fishing destination.” Yes, it’s an old, familiar score.

For the first time in three years, the Maine Teacher of the Year is from outside Piscataquis County. On Oct. 10 at Gorham Middle School the Maine Department of Education and Educate Maine named alternative education teacher Heather Whitaker Maine’s 2020 Teacher of the Year. She follows SeDoMoCha School music teacher Kaitlin Young in 2018 and Piscataquis Community High School English instructor Joseph Hennessey last year as recent honorees.

On a recent fall day, the park’s director, Eben Sypitkowski, went on a short hike in the north end of the park. Along the way, he shared some of his thoughts about the future of the park and the challenges that he has faced during his first year as park director.

The Savvy caregiver program will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Thompson Free Library on October 31, November 7, 14 and 21 and December 5 and 12.