Bangor

Bangor Art Society

The Bangor Art Society will exhibit artwork at Thistle’s Restaurant until Jan. 8. An opening reception is planned 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21.

Participating artists include Jane Blay, Jennifer Boilard, Helena Bosse, Judith Clendenning, Renate Ebner-Caraballo, Sally Guaraldo, Ed Healy, JoAnne Houlsen, John LeBlanc, Dave Mussulman, James Toothaker, Bonnie Lee Tucker, Rebecca Rivers and Pat Vadas.

Restaurant hours are 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. For information, call 945-5480.

Free Christmas dinner

St. John’s Episcopal Church Youth Fellowship will hold its second annual Christmas dinner for the Bangor community at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 22, in the church basement, 225 French St. There is no cost for the meal. Setup and preparation begins at noon. For information, call 947-0156.

Retirement party

Bangor Mental Health Institute will hold an open house retirement celebration for Dr. Roger Wilson in honor of his 25 years of service 2-4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19. The public is invited to attend. For information, call 941-4023.

Spirit of the Community

Jan Smith, news director and anchor of WVII Channel 7, received the Spirit of the Community Award at Eastern Agency on Aging’s annual meeting. Roberta Macko, director of volunteer services, presented Smith and WVII the award for their commitment to programming that benefits older persons and creates a positive image of aging, and for volunteerism.

Festival of Lights winners

Trophy winners in the Bangor Rotary Festival of Lights parade Dec. 7 were:

. Adult category: Bangor Harley Owners Group.

Commercial entry: Irving Oil.

. Marching band: Governor’s Restaurant All-Maine Marching Band.

. Nonprofit: Eastern Maine Technical College.

. Performing entry: Morita’s School of Dance.

. Youth group: Holden Girl Scout Troop 134.

. 2002 theme award: Hermon Boy and Girl Scouts.

Library Holiday Schedule

The Bangor Public Library’s holiday schedule is as follows:

. 9 a.m-9 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23.

. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 24. Closed Wednesday, Dec. 25.

. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 26.

. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 27 and 28.

Recycler excellence award

INK-INK Recycling Associates, founded by Larry Reynolds, has won the FreePressCoverage.com Excellence in Online Marketing Award. The company recycles empty inkjet and toner cartridges and offers a fund-raiser service to schools and tax-exempt entities that collect the empty cartridges.

Before launching INK-INK, Reynolds was a school principal in Old Town for 20 years.

For information about the company’s fund-raising service, call 945-3339 or visit the Web at www.webuyempties.biz.

Holiday cheer for pediatric unit

Girl Scout Troop 38 donated Christmas decorations to Eastern Maine Medical Center’s pediatric intensive care unit Dec. 17 in order to brighten the season for critically ill children.

YMCA New Year’s Eve party

The Bangor YMCA is holding a New Year’s Eve party 8 p.m.-1 a.m. and an overnight event 8 p.m.-8 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31, for 1st- to 7th-graders. Participants may choose from the late night party or the overnight party.

The late night party includes pizza, swimming, a scavenger hunt, games, and a celebration and party favors at midnight.

The overnight event includes the party plus late night movies, snacks and breakfast. Trained YMCA staff will supervise at all times.

Cost ranges from $20 to $30 per child. Registration deadline is Dec. 27. For information, call 941-2815.

Science foundation grant

Transpose LLC, and information technology company, has been awarded a $99,799 grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will be used to research an innovative technique for maintaining, evaluating and utilizing documents with large organizations, such as businesses and government agencies. The aim of the research is enable people within organizations to gain easier access to relevant information and greater capacity for using it.

Portions of the project will be conducted with officials at the University of Maine.

The Maine Technology Institute, which recently awarded Transpose a $10,000 seed grant, provided assistance in obtaining the NSF grant.

Counseling center grant

Community Health and Counseling Services has been awarded a $2,500 donation from the RBC Dain Rauscher Foundation to support its mental health services to the region.

This marks the first such donation to a social service agency in Greater Bangor by RBC Dain Rauscher, a securities firm. RBC Dain Rauscher has offices in Bangor and Portland.

“RBC Dain Rauscher’s corporate philosophy has been to donate 5 percent of its profits each year back into the communities that support us by making grants to worthy nonprofit organizations,” said Ben Smith, vice president and managing director of RBC Dain Rauscher’s Bangor office. “We are very happy to be able to support Community Health and Counseling Services with this grant.”

Parenting Experience grants

Penquis Community Action Program recently received a $2,500 grant from the Maine Community Foundation’s Maine Charity Foundation Fund, and a $1,000 grant from the Maine State Troopers Foundation to support The Parenting Experience, a project of the Penquis CAP Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Councils.

The Parenting Experience teaches middle and high school students about the consequences of parenthood and appropriate infant care. The goals are to prevent teen pregnancies and child abuse and neglect.

The project incorporates the national Baby Think It Over program, which uses infant simulators to enable students to experience the emotional, financial and social consequences of teen parenting. The simulators require real care on the part of the teen, including feeding, burping, rocking and diapering. The simulators record information on the quality of care received.

Classroom instruction helps students to understand the purpose of the program, the realities of pregnancy and parenthood, infant needs and appropriate responses to a baby’s cries.

“The grant funds will be used to buy additional infant simulators, including a drug-affected infant demonstrator and a fetal alcohol manikin,” said Cheri Snow, deputy director of family enrichment services at Penquis CAP. “These simulators will increase the capacity of schools in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties to educate students about the challenges of parenthood.”

The $3,500 is in addition to $9,000 already received from the Maine Children’s Trust, the University of Maine Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Rotary Club of Bangor.

For information on The Parenting Experience, call Cheri Snow at 973-3571 or 594-7116.

UCP honorees

United Cerebral Palsy honored the following people at its annual meeting Nov. 21:

Ira Wiseman, People in Promise; Dr. Laura Reidy, Volunteer of the Year; Barbara Cassidy, Donor of the Year; Wal-Mart, Kathy Welch, Corporate Sponsor of the Year; Miller’s Restaurant, John Miller, Respitality (Restaurant) Award; Ramada Inn Odlin Road, Free Martin, Respitality Award (Hotel).

NewsInME.com reporter

Pat Spekhardt has been hired as a reporter by the Portland-based NewsInME.com. Spekhardt has experience researching, writing and producing stories as well as hosting radio call-in shows. In 2001, he won Best Radio Sportscast award from The Associated Press. A Bangor native, Spekhardt is a resident of Scarborough. He is a graduate of the University of Maine and was previously a sports reporter and producer for WZON-AM in Bangor.

Brewer

Holiday houses

The Brewer Parks and Recreation Department will hold a holiday program for 5- to 12-year-old children at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 23, at the Brewer Auditorium. Participants will construct houses from graham crackers, frosting and candies. Children under age 5 may participate if accompanied by a parent. The cost is $5 for Brewer residents and $10 for nonresidents. Preregistration is strongly advised. For information, call 989-5199.

UPS driver

Otis Godley, tractor-trailer driver for United Parcel Service, was recognized by the company for completing 15 years of driving without an accident. Godley is based at the UPS facility on Atlantic Avenue in Brewer. He provides service in Bangor, Rockland and Portland.

Feeder supervisor Bill Hall presented the safe-driving award at a recent ceremony honoring Godley’s achievement.

Children’s holiday party

Nineteen children ate hamburgers and french fries while they waited for Santa at a recent Christmas party sponsored by the Brewer Kiwanis Club. Ed Callahan played an important role in Santa’s arrival.

Clay Hardy prepared a buffet for the children’s parents and Kiwanians.

Mary Kay Ayer and Manley DeBeck co-chaired the party. Manley, Gail and Kim DeBeck shopped for the toys the children received. Brewer Garden Club donated funds to help purchase the toys. Paul Cook took photographs of each child with Santa, compliments of Cross Insurance Agency.

Ringing the bell

Members of the Brewer Kiwanis donated a day of ringing the bell for the Salvation Army as one of their service projects. They also welcomed Tricia Largay as the group’s newest member.

Newburgh

Nomination papers

Nomination papers are available at the town office for the three-year position of third selectman. Papers must be returned to the town office by Jan. 17, with a minimum of 25 signatures. A municipal election will be held Tuesday, March 4, at the Town Hall.

Orono

Learn to ski

The Orono Parks and Recreation Department is accepting registrations for the Learn to Ski program Jan. 8, 15, 29, and Feb. 5. The program is open to children in grades 2-5. Participants will receive lessons from the ski instructors at Hermon Mountain and free skiing time each week. The fee is $60 for Orono residents and $80 for nonresidents, and includes lessons, transportation and equipment rental, if needed. For information, call 866-5065.

Winterport

Nativity pageant

The town’s 35th annual live Nativity pageant, an interfaith celebration, will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20 and 21, at the Union Meeting House.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin