The State Award of Merit, awarded by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, was presented to Archer by his oldest son Cameron, who is an athletic administrator at SeDoMoCha Middle School in Dover-Foxcroft.

More than a half dozen runners with ties to the region took part in the Bridge the Gap 3-Miler and 10-Miler on April 6 in Prospect and Bucksport.

Nothing conjures up visions of the Maine wilderness experience like mentioning Allagash Lake. It’s a special place for many of us. I made my first trek to this remote lake with my uncle while I was in high school.

The Foxcroft Youth SeDoMoCha Middle School wrestling teams competed at the Marshwood Youth New England Classic on Saturday, March 30 at the Cross Insurance Arena. Over 1,000 wrestlers from all six New England states attended this very competitive event. The local teams had 16 wrestlers attend this event and eight of them placed in their weight classes.

Todd Mackey of Rockport isn’t among those who’ve entered the BDN’s “Win a Drift Boat Trip” contest for years and years. In fact, he’s new to the fly fishing game, and entered for the first time this year. That didn’t matter to lady luck: Mackey was randomly selected from a field of about 600 applicants to go on a full-day fly fishing trip.

Penquis Valley High School senior Cymeria Robshaw has been named to the MTCCA Indoor Track & Field 2019 All-State Team. Robshaw is one of 14 team members from Classes A and B from across the state.

The pictures on Paul Lancisi’s cellphone are a testimony to his love of baseball and his continuing connection to the game. Newly signed Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper, 2016 National League MVP Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada, and rising prospects Pete Alonzo and Jeff McNeil -- opening-day starters at first base and third base for the New York Mets -- all are on display.

Chosen for the East team -- made up of high school senior football players from Classes A, B, C and D -- is Foxcroft Academy’s Eli Bickford and Hyatt Smith and David Kirshkaln of Dexter. Lobster Bowl positions are to be determined but Bickford and Kirshkaln were linemen for the Ponies and Tigers respectively and Smith played receiver and defensive back for the Ponies.

Last year, I wrote about the project to restore the wild brook trout population at Thissell Pond after an illegal introduction of smelt. We chemically reclaimed the pond in August of 2013 to permanently remove the smelt. We had documented a serious decline in brook trout abundance after the introduction, and the only way to restore the pond was to hit the reset button.

On Saturday, March 23 the Maine State Pee Wee Wrestling Championships K-8 were held at Noble High School in South Berwick Close to 600 participants competed in this event from all over the state. Two SeDoMoCha Middle School wrestlers placed at this very competitive event.

The Foxcroft Youth and SeDoMoCha Middle School teams competed at the Hichborn Middle School youth wrestling tournament March 23 in Howland. Many teams from the area competed plus programs from Fort Kent and Caribou. The Eagles continue to dominate the competition with seven champions and 13 second-place finishers.

The ice fishing season in the northern region of the state was extended after Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill that gave Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso the authority to extend the ice fishing season when conditions permit.

Football remains king of America’s spectator sports, with Super Bowl Sunday a virtual national holiday each February. But its underpinnings remain under considerable stress, largely the result of the long-term impact of head injuries on players from local youth programs through the NFL ranks.

Maine wildlife biologists on March 21 proposed a slight increase in the number of moose permits for the coming seasons. If approved, the number of permitted hunters would jump from 2,500 to 2,820, according to a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife spokesman.

The Foxcroft Youth and SeDoMoCha Middle School wrestling teams competed at the Dexter Youth Wrestling Tournament held at the Ridge View Community School March 16.The squads continue to improve every week and are always given their all. Congratulations to the wrestlers that placed!

On Saturday, March 16 the Eagle’s Explorers (outdoor club) teamed with Mountain’s Market (Travis Belote and Kerr Dickson) to hold the first SeDoMoCha Ice Fishing Derby on Snow’s Pond. All SeDoMoCha students were welcome to fish for prizes provided by Mountain’s Market and its vendors.

Penquis Valley High School senior Cymeria Robshaw received a trio of postseason honors on the Penobscot Valley Conference/Eastern Maine Indoor Track League All-Conference Team.

The Moosehead Lake region, as designated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, is big … some might say wicked big. It stretches from Dover-Foxcroft in the south to Allagash Lake in the north, Rainbow Lake to the east and the thriving metropolis of Skinner to the west. The land area covers 4,391 square miles with 4,125 miles of flowing water and over a quarter million acres of Great Ponds (there’s also another 2,160 acres of not so Great Ponds. i.e. less than 10 acres).