Foxcroft Academy sophomore Jacob Reed tied for second in the high jump during an Eastern Maine Indoor Track League/Penobscot Valley Conference meet on Jan. 11 at the University of Maine.

I remember early in my career Roger AuClair, the regional fisheries biologist for the Moosehead Lake region at that time, told us a story about shore-spawning brook trout in the big lake. Roger knew a gentleman from Rockwood that was a caretaker for some camps, and he was also a trapper.

I recently received two emails from readers looking for great places to snowshoe in Maine. They were looking for trail suggestions, and boy did I have a lot to say. Too much to say, really. So I decided to write a whole advice column on the topic.

The Three Rivers Milo-Brownville Kiwanis Club is pleased to give Book Awards in the amount of $500 to a pair of Penquis Valley High School graduates who apply for in the spring and complete their first semester of college.

The world famous Harlem Wizards will be coming to Dexter Regional High School at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14 in Guiski Gymnasium. This is going to be an entertaining family-friendly evening of tricks, hoops and alley-oops! The Wizards will be playing against some favorite high school and Ridge View Community School staff and coaches. 

1. Dexter 135.5, 2. Mattanawcook Acad. 128, 3. Skowhegan 114, 4. Oxford Hills 109, 5. Nokomis 91.5, 6. Dirigo 53, 7. Deering 51, 8. Mt. Blue 47, 9. Westbrook/Gorham 42, 10. Mt. View 37.5, 11. Madison 32, 12. Foxcroft Acad. 31, 13. MCI 28, 14. Hermon 18, 15. Monmouth Acad. 18 and Fort Kent 16

Aroostook County guide and outfitter Nathan Theriault had a pretty good idea where Big Dodge liked to hang out, especially when the rut was on. The season before one of Nathan’s clients got a shot at the big bull, but failed to put him down.

Foxcroft Academy boys varsity basketball coach Tyler Erickson was dismissed from that post Friday, Jan. 3, according to Head of School Arnold Shorey.

A record 61 Unified basketball teams representing 67 Maine high schools were free to hold their first preseason practices Thursday, Jan. 2. But how the season should conclude for those teams, which blend student-athletes who have intellectual disabilities with non-varsity partners, is being re-evaluated.

Team Iron Will, a powerlifting team from Dexter, recently traveled to the WABDL World Championships in Las Vegas. The team is comprised of four lifters that train together at Iron Will gym in Dexter. The gym is located in the old Dexter Shoe building. The group grabbed international attention with 11 first-place trophies, three best lifter awards and seven second-place medals.

With New Year’s, this is a good time to look at a couple of new regulations that will go into effect when the clock strikes midnight.

When Aleya Pelletier was filling out information on a form before taking her SATs, she had to list her extracurricular activities. Even though she had been a skier for Greenville High School and didn’t play basketball her first three years, she decided to check off the “Senior Basketball” box.

Ice anglers looking to find a safe place to fish on the traditional opening day of the season might want to consider a trip north, as the superintendent of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway reports that there is some fairly thick ice on AWW lakes and ponds. In much of the state, ice fishing is allowed as soon as safe ice forms. In the AWW, the season still begins on Jan. 1, as used to be the custom statewide.

As the saying goes, change is the only constant, and 2019 was no  exception. For the outdoor community in Maine, some of the change was good, some not so good. Let’s check out our backtrack.

The Foxcroft Academy boys finished sixth among nine schools with a score of 33 points during a Penobscot Valley Conference/Eastern Maine Indoor Track League meet on Dec. 28 at the University of Maine. Pony junior Logan Martin won both the 55 meters and long jump to pace the team

The more years I spend on earth, the faster each year speeds by. Not an original thought, I know: “Older” people have been telling me similar things forever. Now, it seems, I’ve finally reached an advanced enough age that their nonsense finally makes sense.

Visiting Baxter State Park in the winter takes extra planning. The main road that leads into the park is unplowed and therefore closed to vehicles. Plus the cold, wet conditions of winter in Maine add more risk to any outdoor adventure. But the sight of Katahdin and surrounding mountains cloaked in snow makes the planning worth the effort.

Just two coaches have led the Dexter Regional High School boys basketball program since the current building the Tigers call home opened in 1968. Now each has more than 300 victories. Peter Murray joined his predecessor, the late Ed Guiski, in that club last Thursday with a 56-47 victory at Piscatquis Community High School of Guilford, extending a remarkable level of consistency within the program.