Orrington firefighters ignite support for victims

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On behalf of the Orrington Volunteer Fire Department, Shellie Tourtillotte accurately reports that “There Because We Care” is “more than a motto” for those special people who protect and serve their fellow residents.

On the evening of Friday, Jan. 17, despite arriving within minutes of the call, members of the OVFD knew the fire that engulfed the Betts Road residence of Wallace and Nellie Byard would result in a total loss of their home.

The longtime Orrington residents, Tourtillotte wrote, “lost everything but the clothes on their back,” and the couple had no insurance.

In addition to being there when the family needed them, the fire department remains committed to helping the Byards and is holding a benefit spaghetti dinner from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, at the East Orrington Congregational Church.

Members of the fire department will be cooking and serving up the meal, and they certainly hope you will attend.

There is no set admission price for the supper, Tourtillotte wrote, while asking those who attend to just “give what you can afford.”

If you cannot attend, but would like to help the Byards, send your donation to People’s Heritage Bank, Attn: Susan York, 1067 Union St., Bangor 04401, and earmark your contribution for the Byards Building Fund.

All that shoveling got you down?

It’s the Bangor Garden Club to the rescue!

The BGC invites you to attend the Boston Flower Show on Tuesday, March 18.

If you decide to take advantage of this opportunity, you should know that no refunds will be made after Saturday, Feb. 15.

Tickets, including bus fare and entry to the show, are $60 each.

BGC vice president Marion Syversen reports the theme of the show, produced by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, is “The Garden Journey.”

And, she promises, the Boston Flower Show “will, once again, transport us from the cold of winter to the warm, sunny days to come. The smell of moist earth, as one enters the Expo Center, is worth the price of the ticket.”

Meals are not included in the fee; the bus leaves at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 18, from the Broadway Shopping Center, where it is expected to return at 9 p.m.

A coffee break and dinner stop are scheduled, however.

Through this annual fund-raiser and its spring plant sale, the BGC is able “to fund civic projects in the region,” Syversen said, noting, for example, “plantings at the Bangor Public Library, the patio garden at Bangor City Nursing as well as the Bangor Mental Health’s Circle of Senses and others.”

Such fund-raisers also help with the club’s weekly planting program for children in the pediatric unit at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, and support camperships and other youth programs.

To attend the Boston Flower Show, call Syversen during normal business hours at 862-2952.

The Augusta Rotary Club has a new fund-raiser.

Its first Charity Ball is 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the Augusta Civic Center.

The evening features entertainment by The Red Light Revue, a silent auction and midnight buffet. The cost is $25 per person.

In order to attend, you must make your reservation by Friday, Feb. 14, and you can do that by contacting Gail Martin at 623-5171 or visiting www.augustarotary.org.

Proceeds will help support Augusta Rotary programs, which include Feed the Kids.

The Rev. Kristin Orr of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Brewer called this week to report the Episcopal Diocese Caravan, which is taking nonperishable food, household and personal products to folks in the greater Millinocket area affected by the Great Northern Paper Co. bankruptcy, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 12.

“That means we’ll still be a collection site, and people can continue to bring items to us” from 9 a.m. to noon today and the same times Friday, Feb. 7, Saturday, Feb. 8, and Tuesday, Feb. 11, she said.

St Patrick’s is located at 21 Holyoke St. in Brewer, on the corner of North Main Street.

Contributions from throughout Maine will be delivered to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Millinocket.

If you have questions, call the church at 989-1308.

If no one is available, leave a message, and your call will be returned.

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