Area volunteers with the AARP Tax-Aide Program will be available on Saturdays at the University of Maine at Presque Isle during the next two months to help members of the community prepare their tax returns.

This free service will be provided by volunteers every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Feb. 5 to April 16 in Room 118 of UMPI’s Campus Center. The work these volunteers are doing is connected to the VITA [Volunteer Income Tax Assistance] and TCE [Tax Counseling for the Elderly] programs.

One week before the Super Bowl and all the festivities surrounding it, the University of Maine at Presque Isle will host an annual party of its own for high school and college students – College Goal Sunday.

Staff members will be on hand at two locations on Sunday, Jan. 30, beginning at 2 p.m. – in Folsom 105 on the UMPI campus and also at the Houlton Higher Education Center – to assist students in completing and filing their FAFSA [Free Application for Federal Student Aid] forms. This free event is open to the entire community. High school seniors and parents are especially encouraged to attend, along with currently enrolled college students needing assistance.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) is pleased to announce that its 2010-2011 University Distinguished Lecturer Series will continue with a presentation by Dr. David Tolin, founder and director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut.

Tolin will deliver his talk, Buried in Treasures: The Nature and Treatment of Compulsive Hoarding, on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. in the university’s campus center. His presentation will include information about compulsive hoarding, the root causes of this common and potentially disabling problem, along with current treatments being used to help people manage the symptoms more effectively. It is estimated that up to 2 million people in the United States may be affected by compulsive hoarding.

With winter in full gear and warmer weather in the future, the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Outdoor Adventure Program International (OAPI) is offering a series of adventures for campus and community members to enjoy.

Activities will kick off on Jan. 30 with a dog sledding adventure. Participants will talk to the mushers, help harness the dogs, go for a ride, and enjoy a warm, delicious lunch. The public is invited to attend and may register for this adventure beginning Jan. 24. The registration deadline for this event is Jan. 28 at noon and the cost to attend is $40.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle will host its annual spring semester American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, Feb. 2. This blood drive is sponsored by the UMPI Residence Life Office, the Brothers of Kappa Delta Phi and the Sisters of Kappa Delta Phi NAS.

The blood drive is scheduled from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room. If donors wish to reserve a time to make their donation, they should call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or 768-9585 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, or you can sign up at the new online appointment scheduler at www.redcrossblood.org.

The University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Reed Fine Art Gallery will showcase recent work by the University of Maine at Presque Isle art faculty from Jan. 18 to Feb. 19.

The Art Faculty Group Exhibition will be on display in the Reed Gallery located in the university’s campus center. Participants in the exhibit will include E. Clifton Boudman, Leo-Paul Cyr, Renee Felini, H. Anderson Giles, Don Cyr and Ann Kittredge. The UMPI art faculty works in a wide range of mediums including photography, sculpture, paint, prints, and music, which provides a diverse foundation for the exhibit.