The Maine attorney general’s office has asked a federal judge to dismiss an ex-police officer’s lawsuit against the Penobscot County district attorney on the same grounds that an appeals court threw out a similar lawsuit in 1992 against the man who was then the county’s top prosecutor. 

The American Red Cross of Maine and the Dexter Fire Department  are teaming up to make town residents safer by installing free smoke alarms in their homes, helping them create escape plans and providing other fire safety tips.

Currently the younger students at Penquis Valley Middle School have little more than a decades-old basketball court and a small area with a pile of dirt and two roads going right by to use for recess but a group of educators, parents and community members are working to change this with a new playground.

The Bangor Humane Society is delighted to announce receipt of a generous bequest of over $1.3 million from Violet and James Moffett of Dover-Foxcroft, the proceeds of which will be placed in the newly established Violet F. Moffett Memorial Fund. “This is the largest single gift BHS has ever received,” said Executive Director Suzan Prendergast, “and we will forever be grateful for their remarkable generosity.”

A game warden and members of Millinocket Fire Department responded and located the subjects on the west side of the lake. The Sutchs were taken by rescue sled to an awaiting ambulance and transported to Millinocket Regional Hospital where they were treated for mild hypothermia. Both are recovering and have been released from the hospital.

On Nov. 22, something wonderful happened in Guilford. The former Guilford Primary School building, which had been on the market since the summer prior, was sold to its long-standing tenant Friends of Community Fitness (FoCF).

The Center Theatre for the Performing Arts announced that for the first time in facility history it is raffling off a lifetime supply of popcorn. Tickets are only $10 per person and can be purchased at the Theatre or from a member of the Center Theatre board of directors. 

The typical snowmobilers were older than they used to be, but helped inject $606 million into Maine’s economy last winter, according to the first economic study of the state’s snowmobile industry in 22 years.

A Monson resident is working to combat plastic pollution by launching a small-scale, community-based plastic recycling workshop called Precious Plastic Monson. Precious Plastic Monson is currently crowdfunding (fundraising many small amounts of money from a large number of people) to purchase a set of plastic recycling machines that will shred collected plastic, melt it and remold it into new products.

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.

A former police officer in Penobscot County has sued the county’s top criminal prosecutor, claiming she relied on false information in putting him on a list of police officers who are potentially unreliable trial witnesses.

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.

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

This story isn’t specifically about this year’s high school basketball tournament, but it does involve a championship trophy. Not mine, mind you.

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.