A woman runs Wednesday, Jan. 25, atop a pare of snowshoes through Capitol Park in Augusta. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

Forrest Bumford gathers energy and collects his breath on Thursday, Jan. 26, after clearing steps covered in soaked snow at the Augusta Civic Center. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

Elementary students and teachers perform Monday, Jan. 9, outside the Gilbert School in Augusta. Gilbert Elementary School is one of 16 schools in the state that will be competing to win a $5,000 first-place prize in the WinterKids Winter Games. The four-week competition requires students to complete various outdoor learning challenges ranging from physical activities to nutritional challenges. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

Hallowell Fire Department Deputy Chief Aaron Selwood, left, throws another tree on burn pile as the Hall-dale High School Taiko Drummers perform during Bonfire of the Trees event on Saturday, Jan. 7, in Granite City Park in Hallowell. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

A pair of immature Bald Eagles flee Tuesday, Jan. 24, the overtures of a mature Bald Eagle over the Kennebec River in Randolph. Birding podcaster Will Valentine, of Gardiner, spotted five of the raptors roosting on trees along on the Gardiner side of the river. The large predators are occasionally spotted dipping for Rainbow Smelt that migrate up the Kennebec in the winter. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal

Urban skier Carson Theriault of Fort Kent skids over the base of the Two Cent Bridge while freestyle skiing with friends by the Kennebec River, shown in the background, in Waterville on Monday, Feb. 27. The men were practicing jumps and spins while recording their moves on video. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The Lady of Wisdom statue atop the Maine State House in Augusta is seen through a condensation coming out of the Cross State Office Building on 15 degrees below zero early Saturday, Feb. 4. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Ellsworth diver Kiera Springer completes her dive under the scrutiny of judges during the Class B girls swimming championships at Colby College in Waterville on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

North Yarmouth Academy’s Josie Harper-Cunningham, center, swings a teammate in the air while celebrating with their team after beating Hall-Dale during the C South semifinal at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta on Friday, Feb. 22. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Kim Brawn, left, carries tulips from the grow room to a storage container so that her son Carter Brawn can smell the freshly harvested flowers on Thursday, March 16, at Pease Hill Farm in Monmouth. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Dwayne Tomah, of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, leads the “Come Together Song” to wrap up the State of the Tribes Joint Convention of the House and Senate on Thursday, March 16, at the Maine State House in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Violin soloist Aidan Montmeny plays with members of Capital Strings during a rehearsal for the Pineland Suzuki School’s Benefit Concert Movie Music at Lawrence High School’s Williamson Performing Arts Center in Fairfield on Friday, March 17. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Gardiner Area High School senior Ashlyn Poulin race-walks on Tuesday, March 28, around the track on Hoch Field in Gardiner. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Craig Carpenter, left, goes to unhook the sucker he just caught Friday, April 14, as Sheena Cyr jokes that it was the same fish she’d caught yesterday along the banks of the Kennebec River at Augusta’s East Side Boat Landing. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

A firefighter tends a hose line next to charred rubble during a fire at the Last Unicorn at 8 Silver St. in downtown Waterville on Sunday, April 23. Firefighters from multiple agencies as far as Augusta and Skowhegan battled the fire that destroyed the newly reopened Last Unicorn restaurant. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

From left, Landen Bolduc, 10, and his sisters Maddy Bolduc, 10, and Aryia Acsi, 5, join Catherine Pimental, 6, also a family member, as they leap into the swimming pool at the family’s home in Sidney on Sunday, May 28. It was their second day in the pool, according to the kids. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Hermon infielders from left Lyndsee Reed, Addy Waning and Mikelle Verrill make a play on Nokomis runner Camryn King at third base during the Class B North softball final in Brewer on Wednesday, June 14. King was safe on the play. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Edward Little’s Gage Ducharme avoids a diving tag attempt from Bangor catcher Jack Schuck during the Class A North baseball final on Wednesday, June 14, in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Women’s first place finisher Thea Davis celebrates after sinking putt on 18th green to win The Maine Event golf tournament on Tuesday, June 27, at the Augusta Country Club in Manchester. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Mark Henry’s ashes are scattered over the Kennebec River by his son Rick Cody during a celebration of Henry’s life in Anson on Saturday, July 15. In the background from left is Henry’s son, Chris Bothwell; along with friends Matt Sleeper and his wife Kathy Sleeper; Henry’s girlfriend Debbie Brewall; and Henry’s niece, Kathie Casey. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

One member from each 24-hour race team sprints past a P3 Orion plane to get a quiz, which was the first part of the Maine Summer Adventure Race on Saturday, July 22, in Brunswick. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Lucy Dennett, of Lakers Track Club, finished 8th with time of 9:59.52 in 8 and under girls 800-meter race walk during USATF-Maine Group C Qualifier on Thursday, Aug. 3, on the Taylor Harmon Track at Cony Middle/High School in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Colby College’s Nick Donatio (20) and Elian Joseph (81) get excited during pregame warmups in a game against Trinity in Waterville on Saturday, Sept. 23. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Nokomis Regional High School student Simon Chadbourne casts his line while fly fishing in the Piscataquis River in Guilford on Monday, Sept. 18. Chadbourne, and nine other students who fished, are part of an interdisciplinary course about fly fishing. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Oakland Town Attorney Matthew Tarasevich, left, fields a question from Brenda Bennett, bottom with hands in the air, during a discussion of town manager Ella Bowman at the council meeting in Oakland on Wednesday, Sept. 13. About 100 people attended the meeting, which was held after Bowman was placed on administrative leave following an unspecified complaint. Bowman later resigned from the Oakland job to take the position of town manager for nearby Winslow. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Ducks cut through foam while paddling upstream in the Kennebec River in Waterville on Sunday, Sept. 3. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Yousif Ibrahim stands with an Iraqi flag on Wednesday, Sept. 6, at CARA fields in Augusta. Ibrahim, a Cony High School student from Augusta, has been called up to join the Iraqi U20 team. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Messalonskee’s Kyra Cummings, center, is greeted by teammates as lineups are introduced to begin the volleyball match against Cony at Messalonskee High School in Oakland on Wednesday, Sept. 27. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Gardiner and Falmouth coaches and captains meet with officials at sunset before a football game on Friday, Sept. 15, on Hoch Field in Gardiner. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Handmade heart-shaped notes, seen on Thursday, Oct. 26, were placed on Main Street in Lewiston after the mass shootings that took place in the city. The notes send love to those affected by the tragedy as they read “To My Friends,” “To My Home,” and “To My Community.” Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Bryar-Rayne Hutchinson, 14 months, portrays Little Red Riding Hood while being guided by her parents Moriah Hutchinson, left, and Dallas Hutchinson, also dressed in red capes and hoods, as the family trick-or-treated on Burleigh Street in Waterville on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

People hold candles and make the “I love you” sign at the end of a vigil on Wednesday, Nov. 1, at Winthrop High School for victims of the Lewiston mass shootings. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Thomas Terriers’ junior Sky Kubwalo celebrates after sinking a three-pointer during a basketball game against the Colby Mules on Tuesday, Nov. 21, in Waterville. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Monmouth’s Kyle Palleschi celebrates his goal during the class D south title game against Richmond on Tuesday, Nov. 7, in Gardiner. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

A member of the Northern Light Health float checks Santa’s heartbeat during the Parade of Lights in Waterville on Saturday, Nov. 25. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

A member of the Amish Community unties his horse that is hitched to a buggy while parked near a charging station for electric vehicles in the parking lot of Bangor Savings Bank in Unity on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The man, who was doing business at the bank, said the horse is named Little Bub and is a 5-year-old purebred Morgan stallion. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Rachel Isaacs, rabbi at Beth Israel Congregation in Waterville, lights candles on the Menorah during a candlelight vigil Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Maine State House in Augusta. The vigil, organized by Central Maine Israelis and Friends, was held in honor of Israeli hostages in the Gaza war with Hamas. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

A fallen tree prevents Carmen Bourgoin from opening her front door during the rain and wind storm at her home off Fuller Drive in Winslow on Monday, Dec. 18. The tree, which Bourgoin said fell around 1 pm Monday, also blocked the front entrance to the home where Bourgoin and husband Wayne Bourgoin live. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Dylan Koza carries work equipment as he evacuates the apartment he shares with his significant other, Olivia Koza, left, at the Hathaway Creative Center on Water Street in Waterville on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Koza said both of their cars were lost when the Kennebec River flooded the parking lot of their building shown behind them. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

A woman looks at the flooding of Gardiner’s Maine Avenue on Tuesday, Dec. 19, after a historic storm dumped several inches of rain and led to historic flooding across the region. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Rachel Lessard, center, and daughter Adyson Lessard, 12, warm themselves by their fire pit as dad and husband P.J, heats hot water with a propane grill in the driveway of their home off Halifax Street in Winslow on Tuesday evening, Dec. 19. The family had been without power since Monday morning at 11. Their home had no heat, hot water, lights or operating refrigerator. They set up a propane grill in the driveway to boil water and cook meals. It was 59 degrees in their home, they said. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel