The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) is tracking Maine lake “Ice-Out.” This annual effort provides boaters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts with information, data and resources to help plan outdoor adventures on Maine lakes. It is available for spring 2017 and for previous years on an Ice-Out webpage maintained by the Department. The public is invited to assist this effort by reporting ice-out dates for water bodies throughout the state.

Deer yards, or deer wintering areas, are a critical component of deer survival in Maine. Nearly 15 years ago, in an article about the status of Maine’s deer yards, I wrote this: As state biologists prepare Maine's next 15-year plan for deer management, which is due to be approved early this year, deer wintering habitat (deer yards) has become the focal point. Over the past decade, there has been a marked decline in deer wintering areas, especially in Northern and Eastern Maine where deer populations are down.

Are we about to see another state tax transfer millions of Maine cigarette smokers’ dollars into government programs said to help Mainers stop, or not start, smoking cigarettes? Maine legislators sponsoring LD 945 "An Act To Reduce the Burden of Tobacco-related Illness by Increasing Revenue from the Cigarette Tax for Use for Tobacco Cessation" want to increase state taxes to $3.50 on each pack of 20 cigarettes, effective November 1, 2017.

Mayo Regional Hospital has signed an interim agreement with Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS). This non-binding agreement follows a substantial amount of work completed since August when Mayo Regional Hospital submitted a letter of intent with the Brewer-based health system.

On Saturday, April 29 residents will gather in the gymnasium at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building at 9 a.m. to vote on a 10-article warrant at the annual town meeting. Items approved on April 29 will then go to the referendum ballot set for Tuesday, June 13.

State Sen. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville has introduced legislation to protect law enforcement officers in the line of duty with LD 990 “An Act To Protect Law Enforcement Officers by Creating the Crime of Aggravated Assault on an Officer.”

In my Piscataquis Observer column published on March 29, I wrote about Piscataquis County Economic Development Council Executive Director Christopher “Chris” Winstead and the council’s work toward providing all of Piscataquis County with the economic, social, and educational advantages of first-class broadband internet.

Back in the 1990s, when I worked as information officer for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIF&W), the U.

PORTLAND — FairPoint Communications has announced the completion of broadband expansion projects in 14 communities in Piscataquis County that extend and enhance FairPoint’s approximately 18,000 mile fiber optic network, which is the largest, fully-owned and managed fiber-based network in northern New England.

Photo courtesy of Kate Taylor SPELLING WITH THE BEST OF THEM — SeDoMoCha Middle School sixth-grader Adam Taylor stands at the microphone during the 2017 Maine State Spelling Bee on March 25 at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Ryan Reardon, who grew up in Dexter and has worked in law enforcement since 1994 including for a time as the interim sheriff of Kennebec County, was appointed as the chief of the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department effective as of April 30, by the selectmen during a March 27 meeting.

GUILFORD — The first formal step toward pursuing an integrated, consolidated grade 9-16 educational facility shared by SAD 4 and SAD 46 of the Dexter-area was taken by the SAD 4 school board as the directors authorized Superintendent Ann Kirkpatrick to work with SAD 46 officials — who approved the application during a school board meeting earlier in the month — on the initial project application, during a March 21 meeting at Piscataquis Community Secondary School.

DEXTER — Having lost a member of the school community last year to suicide, students involved in the Seeds of Peace program at Dexter Regional High School wanted to do something to break the stigma related to mental health issues.

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The morning after Brownville residents voted to defund the community’s police department after the end of March — at town meeting citizens amended the proposed $167,620 budget line item to $35,767 or the estimated cost for the first three months of the year — county officials discussed the future of law enforcement services in eastern Piscataquis County during a March 21 commissioners’ meeting.

Is there a single solution for providing rural Maine communities access to reliable, affordable, high-speed broadband internet? Probably not.

The gathering of wild things for home consumption has always been regarded by my family as one of life’s most basic pleasures.

BROWNVILLE — Residents decided to stop funding the town’s police department during the annual town meeting on March 20.

SANGERVILLE — A group of residents has formed the Sangerville Economic Development Committee (SEDC) to emphasize that the small community is an excellent place to live and to operate a business.