Bangor

Race for the Cure

The Survivors Ceremony will open the Komen Race for the Cure at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at the Bangor waterfront.

Registration for the race begins at 8 a.m. The 1K Fun Run-Walk begins at 10:30 a.m. and the 5K Run-Walk begins at 11 a.m. Approximately 2,500 walkers and racers participate in the event.

The Komen Race for the Cure helps raise funds for breast cancer research and is the largest series of 5K runs in the United States. The annual event was established in 1982 to honor the memory of Susan G. Komen, who died of breast cancer at age 36. Today the Komen Foundation has 113 affiliates in the United States and others worldwide. Since 1982, the foundation has raised nearly $600 million for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment.

Amica Insurance’s Maine office is a sponsor of the race.

“It is estimated that 211,300 new cases of breast cancer will appear in the United States in 2003,” said Emily McEntee, branch sales manager in Amica’s Maine office. “Knowing how many people it can affect and that it can affect our own mothers and sisters is very sobering. Amica welcomes the opportunity to be here with so many survivors of breast cancer. It’s a gratifying experience.

To learn more about how to register for the Race for the Cure, call 947-9100, or visit www.komenmaine.com.

Women’s health screening

A no-cost women’s health screening will be held 1-4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, in Bangor.

Sponsors are the St. Joseph Regional Breast Care Center and Penquis CAP.

For information, call (800) 350-5180.

Ethnic identity discussions

In coordination with the current exhibit at the Bangor Museum, “From Away: Exploring Bangor’s Cultural Heritage,” the museum and the Bangor Public Library will sponsor a book discussion group. Margery Irvine will lead the group, which will read texts that focus on ethnic identity and assimilation.

Discussions will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Sept. 23, Oct. 7 and 21, and Nov. 4 and 18, at the Bangor Museum, 6 State St. Titles to be read include “Tales of Gluskap the Trickster,” “Maine Speaks: An Anthology,” “Papa Martel,” “Turnip Pie” and “The Girl Who Would be Russian.”

Registration is required and may be done by calling 942-1900. Books may be picked up in advance at the Bangor Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

There is no fee for the books or the discussion group. Support has been provided by the Maine Humanities Council through the “Let’s Talk About It” program.

Jewish new year

As noon approaches Saturday, Sept. 27, the sound of a shofar will ring from the sanctuary of Congregation Beth El, Bangor’s Reform synagogue.

The blast of the a ram’s horn, one of the most ancient of instruments, calls Jews to observe Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the world’s creation; the beginning of the Jewish new year; and the High Holy Days – the Days of Awe – when Jews examine their deeds and their relationships with God and with their fellow human beings, and atone for their sins.

Congregation Beth El’s observance of Rosh Hashanah will begin with a service at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, followed by a 10 a.m. service and a 2 p.m. family service Saturday, Sept. 27. It will conclude with a 3 p.m. celebration of Tashlich, the custom of gathering near a river for a symbolic casting of sins into the water.

In addition to the blowing of the shofar and the traditional liturgy, services will include a 25-voice, four-part choir singing interpretive settings of Jewish prayers. Services are open to the public. All are welcome and tickets are not required for attendance.

During the 10 a.m. Saturday Rosh Hashanah service, a High Holy Days children’s program will be offered. Interested parents may register their children in the religious school area of Beth El at 9:45 a.m. Child care will be provided during all worship services, with the exception of the 2 p.m. family service, which is geared specifically to young children.

To obtain information about Rosh Hashanah services, call Congregation Beth El, 183 French St., at 945-4578.

Down payments on homes

First-time home-buyers in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties may qualify for the Maine State Housing Authority Great Rate home mortgage program, according to Bangor Savings Bank officials.

The Great Rate program is available to households earning less than 65 percent of median income, or approximately $28,860 for a four-person household in either county. Applicants must meet all credit and underwriting requirements of the Great Rate loan program.

The type of property participants in the program may buy is single-family residential property. It must be the applicant’s primary residence. Mobile home, land or purchase plus improvement loans are not permitted. Funding for new construction is not available under the program. The maximum new home price limit is $129,000. The maximum existing home price limit is $94,000.

Equity Builder home purchase grants for down payment assistance will not be awarded unless the applicant successfully has completed the “hoMEworks” home-buyer education program offered by Maine Stream Finance Inc., a subsidiary of Penquis Community Action Program.

Grants of $5,000 per applicant will be awarded. Fourteen grants are available, but they must be awarded and funded between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2004. Grants may be used as equity, down payment assistance for closing costs, matching funds to family development accounts or for essential property improvements.

Grants are secured by a five-year forgivable security agreement and second mortgage on the subject property, but do not require any monthly repayment. Grants may be combined with other guaranty or home-buyer assistance programs offered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Rural Development, the Veterans Administration, private mortgage insurance programs, the state of Maine or municipally administered housing programs.

Bangor Savings Bank is the lender authorized to award Equity Builder home purchase grants to applicants financing homes under the Maine State Housing Authority Great Rate program. Bangor Savings Bank must be the originator of the MSHA mortgage.

To learn more about the Equity Builder program, call:

. Nancy Harrison at 942-5211 in Bangor if you are a resident of Penobscot County.

. Tracy Gayton at 564-3341 in Dover-Foxcroft if you are a Piscataquis County resident.

Presidential campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will campaign in Bangor and Unity on Friday, Sept. 19. The Ohio congressman will speak at 11 a.m. at a rally outside the Bangor Public Library, then board a bus for a “Rolling Reception” fund-raiser as supporters ride with Kucinich to the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity.

Kucinich will tour the fair from 12:30 to 2 p.m., then head to Boston to attend a dinner sponsored by Peace Action Massachusetts.

It will mark Kucinich’s second campaign swing to Maine. He addressed a crowd of more than 300 in Portland on Aug. 29.

In March, for his dedication and work in the peace movement, Kucinich was honored with the prestigious Gandhi Peace Award. The award is given annually to an individual recognized as a “distinguished peacemaker” and “for contributions made in the promotion of international peace and good will.” Past recipients include Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Helen Caldicott and Cesar Chavez.

An advocate for small farmers, Kucinich is the sponsor in Congress of a bill to require mandatory labeling of food made from genetically modified crops. He is touring the Common Ground Country Fair because he supports the work being done by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, which sponsors the fair each year. The fair this year runs Sept. 19-21.

The “Rolling Reception” fund-raiser will include a ticket to the fair. The bus will leave the fair at 6 p.m. for the return trip to Bangor.

Those interested in reserving a space on the bus may call the Maine Kucinich campaign office at 781-2527, or e-mail mehq@kucinich.us.

Kucinich campaign organizers emphasize that the schedule of events may change depending on the path of Hurricane Isabel, which could threaten New England on Friday.