SeDoMoCha Middle School eighth-grader Nathaneal Brown stands at the microphone during the 2018 Maine State Spelling Bee on March 24 at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

The Maine Warden Service celebrated its 138th anniversary at the Winslow VFW. Included in the March 30 celebration was the annual awards banquet that gives special recognition to game wardens for their performance in 2017.

Piscataquis Community High School Principal John Keane recently announced the valedictorian and two salutatorians for the Class of 2018.

This spring, new 3D terrain models of Baxter State Park will be installed throughout the park at visitor centers, campgrounds and ranger stations for the public to use while planning their backcountry adventures.

The American Fisheries Society recently presented the fisheries division of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) with a national award for cutting-edge work in the restoration of the native Arctic charr to Big Reed Pond in Piscataquis County.

On Saturday, March 24 owners David and Luisa Surprenant, hosted a final ride-in to the site where the Chesuncook Lake House stood for more than 150 years. “The Final Ride,” as it was called, attracted an estimated 800 riders and it was at that event when the Surprenants announced they would rebuild.

Applications for the superintendent position were submitted at the start of the month and interviews with the leading candidates have been scheduled, the full SAD 4 school board learned during a March 20 meeting at Piscataquis Community High School.

The Libra Foundation investment in Piscataquis County, which includes revitalizing downtown Monson and the planned construction of an ice arena on West Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, is continuing as the Portland-based organization is donating $20,000 to fund equipment to improve emergency communications for the Monson and Dover-Foxcroft fire departments.

The Butter Stick Bakery on East Main Street was formally welcomed to the area with a Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 24.

The Maine Warden Service was recently provided with a special gift, one that is at the heart of any outdoor enthusiast who loves a good Maine winter. Nine pair of genuine, Maine-made snowshoes were donated to the newest graduating class of game wardens to use in their missions that range from fish and wildlife conservation, search and rescue and public safety.

The Northern and Eastern Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross recognized community members who have gone above and beyond in service to others at its 21st annual Real Heroes Breakfast on March 21. The 2018 Real Heroes include Officer Kenneth Spaulding Dexter Police Department, who was presented with the Community Hero Award.

Kaitlyn Webber, a senior at Dexter Regional High School and the daughter of Kevin and Nichole Webber of Garland, has been selected to receive the 2018 Principal's Award, Principal, Stephen Bell announced. The award, sponsored by the Maine Principals' Association, is given in recognition of a high school senior's academic achievement and citizenship.

At the March 23 all-school assembly to start the day six Students of the Month were named -- fifth-graders Lena Pearson and Devan Pelkey; sixth-grader Kaileigh Elderkin; seventh-graders Emma Calnan and Gracie Talbot; and eighth-grader Sydney Hutchins.

The 2018 Maine Moose Permit Lottery application process is officially open to Maine residents and non-residents alike.

A snow storm may have moved the event back a week from the 14th day of the third month of the year to March 21, but the enthusiasm was not dampened as students and teachers at SeDoMoCha Middle School celebrated the sixth annual Pi Day with various events connecting to the dessert which is a homophone of the term for the non-terminating ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

The Shaw Public Library recently received a $400 grant from the Rose and Samuel Rudman Library Trust Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. Library director Linda Wohlforth said the grant will be used to support the purchase of the collection development of a new genre of book titles which will be called “New Age/New Adult.”

Last fall more than a dozen small aircraft landed at Old Orchard Beach to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s unexpected landing at the spot in the Spirit of St. Louis and in the process raised thousands of dollars for Make-A-Wish Maine. Jim Crane of Exeter was one of the pilots who took part “Wings 4 Wishes” in York County, and he is looking to hold a similar fly-in by Lake Wassookeag in early August.

Five students artists will each have a hand in designing a new patch for the Dover-Foxcroft Police Department, town officials announced during a March 12 selectmen’s meeting.