Each year, thousands of people head to Carrabassett Valley and Sugarloaf/USA to spend some time enjoying the Maine winter.

None of those visitors, I would assert, has any more fun at the mountain and its varied venues than the group that will take over Sugarloaf on Sunday night.

The 500 athletes participating in Special Olympics Maine’s winter games will take part in two full days of competition and social and recreational events.

This marks the 37th year of the winter games in Maine, which is credited with holding the first Special Olympics winter games in the world.

The event began on a small hill in Gorham in 1970, moved to Saddleback the following year and has been held at Sugarloaf since 1982.

Residents of Carrabassett Valley roll out the welcome mat for competitors and coaches alike, and the sizeable contingent is housed in mountainside condos that give an Olympic Village feel.

On Monday morning the athletes will begin competing in Alpine and Nordic skiing, speed skating, snowshoeing and dual skiing.

On Monday evening a banquet of champions, fireworks display and victory dance are on tap, and on Tuesday competition resumes in all events.

Statewide, more than 2,500 athletes participate in Special Olympics, a year-round athletic training and competition program for people of all ages with intellectual disabilities.

On Monday morning, I’ll be back at Sugarloaf with the athletes, learning a bit more about the competitive fire and perseverance of these special athletes.

On Tuesday, I’ll introduce you to a few of them, and share a few of their stories.

It promises to be a fun day in the snow.

Penobscot effort gains big boost

National budget battles being what they are, I’m reluctant to jump for joy at an announcement made Friday.

Reluctant … but jumping nonetheless.

As you likely read elsewhere in this paper, the Bush Administration has requested $10 million from Congress for the Penobscot River Restoration Project.

That money includes $8 million for dam acquisition and $2 million for technical assistance, studies and engineering by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Habitat Conservation.

When the final budget is passed, that money may or may not still be included. When politicians begin their age-old game of trading pork for important projects, the money may be funneled elsewhere.

But it may not.

And the involvement of the federal government is exactly what Penobscot restoration fans have been hoping for since the project was unveiled.

This project won’t be cheap: About $25 million is needed to purchase the dams, of which $7.5 million has been raised from private sources and another $4.5 million from federal funds.

U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud has been a champion of the project from its inception, and the other three members of Maine’s delegation were praised Friday for their efforts in attracting critical federal involvement.

Here’s hoping that when the dust settles on this budget round, the Penobscot River Restoration Project benefits to the tune of $10 million.

The thought of once-abundant fish, including shad and salmon, being able to work their way farther up the Penobscot to their spawning grounds is enough to brighten the longest winter day.

And the thought that through a lot of hard work by a lot of good people, the project has gained much-needed federal traction feels pretty good, too.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Santerre ready for snow ride

If you’re looking for a fun snowmobile outing, you may want to consider heading to Caribou on Feb. 10 for the third annual benefit snowmobile run for Aroostook Mental Health Center’s Sexual Assault Services.

The run features Cherryfield native Andy Santerre, a former Busch North Series stock car champ who has again lent his support. Santerre has also enlisted the services of several others from the NASCAR community to join in on the run.

Joining Santerre will be drivers Sean Caisse and Mike Olsen and Hendrick Motorsports crew members Shane Parsons and Scott Foxx.

Santerre’s race car will be on display at the Lakeview Restaurant on Feb. 8, at County Sports in Caribou on Feb. 9, and at the Caribou Inn & Convention Center on Feb. 10.

Sleds will leave the Caribou Inn & Convention Center at 10 a.m. for a 100-mile ride into the St. John River Valley and back.

Some of the state’s best snowmobile trails are located in the St. John Valley, and riders are likely to enjoy some of the region’s fine sledding during the event.

Santerre and his NASCAR pals will host a social hour at 4:30 p.m., and at 6 p.m., a buffet dinner will be served with an auction to follow.

Tickets for the entire day’s festivities are available for $50, or $25 for those who want to take part in either only the ride or only the dinner and auction.

Tickets are on sale at County Sports, Clukey’s Auto Parts in Caribou, Houlton and Presque Isle, or by calling Aroostook Mental Health Center at 498-6431.

AMHC’s Sexual Assault Services is Aroostook County’s rape crisis victim response and advocacy center with specialists located in Houlton, Caribou and Madawaska.

Coming up on ‘Going Outdoors’

On Thursday, I introduced you to Jonathan James and Kurt Thomas, who team up during the winter as members of the Bangor Motorsports snowmobile racing team.

Thomas, the team owner, and James, the rider, travel to the Maritime Provinces to take part in blink-and-it’s-over drag races over a 220-yard ice sheet.

On Monday, you can get a better idea of what it looks like when James fires up the 1,000-cc Arctic Cat Thundercat during the ABC-7 newscasts at 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., and during FOX-22’s 10 p.m. news.

ABC-7 chief photographer Dave Simpson and I joined Thomas and James at Hermon Pond on Wednesday as they tuned up the sled and took a few test runs.

The duo will be the feature of our weekly “Going Outdoors” segment as we watch them try to milk a couple tenths of a second out of an already frighteningly speedy sled.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.