Oxford Recreation Dept. seeks historians

OXFORD — The Oxford Recreation Department will celebrate Community Days and Maine’s 200th Birthday on Sunday, July 19. Staff is looking for photos, memorabilia and historians to help with a presentation to be held inside the center with other festivities outside in the arena at the Station House Community Center, 223 King St.

Food and entertainment will be in line of days gone by. Stop in or call 207-539-8094 to volunteer or to provide items for display.

Staff is also looking for someone who would help with making bean-hole baked beans and a pig roast, fiddlers, blue grass, square dancers and caller and contra dancers. Call 207-539-8094 with suggestions.

Free coffee and conversation at church

DIXFIELD — Free coffee and conversation will be offered in the annex of the Dixfield Congregational Church, 16 High St., at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 4. For more information, call 207-562-4582.  Everyone is welcome.

Epidemiologist to discuss tick-borne illnesses in Maine

BETHEL — “Lyme Disease and Other Tick-Borne Illness in Maine” will be presented by Sarah Bly, epidemiologist, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.  Thursday, March 5, at the Bethel Congregational Church, 32 Church St. Snow date is March 12.

Bly has been an infectious disease field epidemiologist with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, for four years. She covers Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties.

Bly will highlight tick-borne illness and what can be done to prevent exposures. She will also discuss tick biology and ecology, “the how and why these pests do what they do where they do it.” According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s report for 2018, there were a total of 1,404 cases of Lyme Disease reported in Maine, 47 of these cases were reported in Oxford County, and two in Bethel.

The program is sponsored by To Your Health of Western Mountains Senior College with the collaboration of Bethel Family Health Center and SAD 44/Continuing Education. The public is invited, and admission is free. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Linda McDonough at 207-522-4625.

Course being offered for woodlot owners

SOUTH PARIS — A six-week course for woodlot owners will be held beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5, at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, SAD 17. Among topics included will be tree ID, deeds and boundaries, timber harvesting, wildlife management, forestry taxes, forestry regulations and working with a consulting forester.

There is a $70 charge for the course. All materials will be supplied. The instructor will be Merle Ring, retired Maine Forest Service District forester with 42 years of experience.

To sign up, contact or visit the adult education office at the high school, 207-743-8842, ext. 1.

Church to celebrate World Day of Prayer

DIXFIELD — Friday, March 6, is World Day of Prayer 2020 and a service will be held at the Dixfield Congregational Church at 3 p.m. that day. Everyone is welcome.

World Day of Prayer is an ecumenical celebration of informed prayer and prayerful action. The prayer service was written by the women of Zimbabwe. The theme is “Rise! Take Your Mat and Walk.”