Folks coming from miles around for some holiday shopping or to watch the Festival of Lights Parade in downtown Bangor beginning at 4:30 p.m. today have the opportunity to make 48 Christmas wishes come true.

If you stop by the Briar Patch at 27 Central St. in Bangor, you will find a little tree on the counter with a sign that reads, “The Airline School on Route 9 has 48 kids and No Library.”

Placed there by storeowner Cathy Anderson, this special “Angel Tree” is her attempt to help a delightful little country school obtain some books for a much-needed library.

Anderson said one of her regular customers, Tracey O’Connell of Orono, the school counselor at the Airline School in Aurora, had applied for a grant to help fund a library for the school and wanted to know how to order some books.

Anderson told O’Connell when the grant was awarded, she would help get the books.

Unfortunately, “the grant did not go through,” O’Connell told me, “but when I told Cathy that, she said, ‘I will still help you improve your school library.'”

Anderson decided to sponsor an Angel Tree for the Airline School, hoping that her customers would help “build” its library.

There are 48 tags on the tree, and Anderson has a “wish list” of books for kindergarten through grade eight.

Anyone who purchases one hardcover book for ages 4-14 receives 20 percent off the price of that book, and 20 percent off their own purchases of twice the book’s value.

Anderson said the response has been good, and that the most oft-heard reaction to the sign is an incredulous, “They don’t have a library?”

No, they don’t, and with the nearest major libraries in Ellsworth and Bangor, “we have very few families who can drive back into town to get reading material,” O’Connell said.

Anderson is pleased to be helping this small school that is the center of community activity.

“My daughter went to the Dedham School,” Anderson said, “and her team ran cross country against the Airline School. I used to love to go out there in the fall because the blueberry bushes are so beautiful when they turn red.”

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With the recent findings of a state study revealing that more than 1,500 people in Maine are homeless on any given night and that the number of homeless has doubled since 1993, there is no doubt about the need for services offered by homeless shelters.

People shopping between 7 a.m. and noon today at Wal-Mart in Bangor have an opportunity to help the homeless in our area.

Though the Wal-Mart Charity Appeal, a percentage of the profits made from sales during those hours will be donated to the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.

Jim Umble, commander of the James W. Williams American Legion Post 12, wants service families to know that as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the American Legion Family Support Network is available to assist families of military personnel who have been activated recently.

The program first was implemented during Operation Desert Storm, primarily to help families of reservists or National Guardsmen who had been activated, often leaving behind families unable to meet regular monthly expenses or without assistance for a variety of everyday chores.

If you are in this situation and need assistance, call the American Legion Family Support Network at (800) 504-4098.

Operators will answer your questions during the day, and answering machines will record overnight calls.

Information will be collected and passed on to local departments for follow-up by members of the American Legion post in your area.

Families with minor children in the home may be eligible for Temporary Financial Assistance if those families, due to activation, face a loss of income that places the family at risk.

TFA applications are available by calling the state American Legion headquarters at 873-3229.

If you are uncertain whether you are eligible for this program, Umble would be happy to answer your questions.

You can reach him at 848-5342.

Everyone knows that as happy as the holidays are for most of us, they can be a very difficult time for those who have experienced a significant loss.

For people in that situation, help can be found through the Holiday Community Bereavement Program offered by Hospice of Eastern Maine.

The program will be offered in four sessions from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of December and January.

The program begins Wednesday, Dec. 5, and runs through Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002, at the HOEM conference room at the Eastern Maine Healthcare Mall on Union Street in Bangor.

Facilitating the meetings will be Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and HOEM social worker Karen Proulx and Linda Boyle, coordinator of Pathfinders: Support for Grieving Children.

The program is completely confidential, and more information may be obtained by calling HOEM at 973-8269.

In nine years, more than 1,800 gold stars have been purchased through the Mount Desert Island Hospital Auxiliary to adorn the hospital’s Christmas tree.

Proceeds from the sale of each $5 star – which are purchased in memory or honor of a friend, loved one or pet – help the hospital purchase needed equipment.

To participate in this program, send $5 per star with the name you want it to honor or memorialize, plus your name and address and whether you want an acknowledgement, to MDI Hospital Auxiliary, P.O. Box 8, Bar Harbor 04609.

The deadline for ordering the stars is Friday, Dec. 21.

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.