According to Sue Kircheis, secretary of the Simpson Memorial Library board of trustees, the organization “finds itself in a bit of a pickle.”

She wrote that the physical structure of the Carmel institution is in need of serious maintenance, “and we are a little short of funds to do it.”

So, the trustees organized two fund-raisers, their annual pie sale and raffle, to coincide with Carmel Days Fair, which was scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 2.

“Unfortunately, at the very last moment the Carmel Days Fair was canceled due to rain,” Kircheis wrote.

Not only were the trustees “left with a plethora of pies,” she added, “we then had no way to advertise our raffle!”

So, they hope you will help repair the library by purchasing a raffle ticket now through Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5, and can be purchased at the library, the Carmel Town Office or from library board members including Kircheis, Allison Goodell, Bill Senter, Evie Smith, Ruth McIlroy, Linda Ricker, Shelley May Gay or Bobbie Perley.

Kircheis wrote that purchasers have a chance to win one of 16 prizes, including a signed copy of Stephen King’s book “The Dark Tower: Gunslinger,” as well as gift certificates from local and Bangor merchants.

Genna Duplisea, writing on behalf of the John Bapst Junior Classical League, reports that the league will hold a yard sale and bottle drive from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, and Saturday, Aug. 23, on Horseback Road in Carmel.

Duplisea and six other John Bapst Memorial High School students recently joined the Maine delegation and will attend the national Junior Classical League convention at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. The group is raising money for the trip.

The league, Duplisea explained, is an academic organization for students of Latin and Greek, and this is the first year the Junior Classical League has been at John Bapst.

“JCL not only promotes the classics, but brotherhood, competition and dedication,” she added.

Duplisea encourages you to support Junior Classical League. “The classics are, in fact, alive and well, and we’d like to keep it that way,” she said.

They do, however, request no early birds at the yard sale.

Friends of the Symphony invite you to its eighth annual “Feast & Foliage” Excursion on Saturday, Oct. 4.

The trip includes a scenic drive along the Kennebec River, meals at Moose Point Tavern & The Birches Resort, a Moosehead Historical Society guided tour and a pontoon boat cruise on Moosehead Lake.

The bus leaves at 7 a.m. from the Park & Ride lot on the corner of Odlin Road and I-395, with boardings in Newport and Skowhegan through advance arrangement. A morning coffee stop is on your own. Otherwise, the $119 fee, or $109 for Friends of the Symphony members, covers it all.

The registration deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 2, and all reservations are final.

Reservations can be made with Nancy Ziegenbein, 41 Linden St., Bangor 04401, or by calling her at 947-7965.

Arrangements can be made for those with food allergies or physical challenges.

The Wayne Tate family of Otis thanks all those who were involved with a benefit supper earlier this summer while Tate was undergoing treatment for cancer.

The family also thanks the Otis Church and Mariaville Grange for the lovely baskets received during the past months, and greatly appreciates “all the many prayers” for Tate and his family.

To help the Nokomis Regional High School Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo Band travel to Hawaii next April, a donation car wash will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, at Wal-Mart in Palmyra.

Steve Hoekstra reports that one highlight of this trip will be the band’s performance at the USS Missouri Memorial at Pearl Harbor.

For more information about the trip, or for how you can help, call Hoekstra at 368-5570.

Betty Ray reports that the Ellsworth Garden Club will hold its annual Summer Sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, outside Shaw’s Supermarket on High Street in Ellsworth.

Proceeds will help support the club’s work at Donald A. Little Memorial Park.

Ray wrote club members and friends will have garden produce, baked goods, jellies, jams, perennials, houseplants, dried and cut flowers, wreaths, bouquets, herbs, potpourri and crafts.

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