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Bangor

Theater workshops

The Bangor Public Library and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance are sponsors of the Maine in Maine Theatre Workshop, a series of literary get-togethers for Maine playwrights and theater devotees.

The workshop serves as a forum where playwrights may receive feedback about their scripts. Discussion follows each presentation.

A $2 donation will help defray costs of refreshments. Each workshop will be held 2:15-4:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall at Bangor Public Library.

Playwright Carolyn Gage will present “Ugly Ducklings” Saturday, Oct. 25. The play is about female coming-of-age and is set at a summer camp. It explores the relationship between homophobia and teen suicide.

Gage is the author of more than 40 plays, musicals and one-woman shows. She has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, and at many colleges and universities throughout the United States. She was recently interviewed on National Public Radio. She lives in Portland, where she directs Cauldron and Labrys, a women’s theater company.

Laura Emack, a Maine Playwright’s Festival finalist and a University of Maine Hamlet Award winner, will present “Writer’s Block” Saturday, Nov. 15. The play chronicles the connections that form while six writers, ages 24 to 79, tilt at the maddening marketplace as they try to sell their writing.

Caitlin Harrison, a 2003 theater graduate who plans to study at Actor’s Studio in New York City, will present “Strange Love Triangle at the Children’s Theatre” on Saturday, Dec. 13. The play is a comedic tale about murder in the theater.

To learn more about Made in Maine Theatre Workshop or to schedule a reading, call Laura Emack at 567-3467 or e-mail lkecpa@prexar.com.

Laptops for health providers

The Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and Hospice of Eastern Maine are preparing for a conversion to laptop computers for all providers. Patient Care Technologies is providing technical assistance.

PCT personnel said the conversion was one of the most successful they have seen.

The visiting nurses and hospice agency is the first local agency to convert to laptops for its nurses, home-health aides, therapists and social workers, making patient information available at the providers’ fingertips.

Hospice of Eastern Maine underwent an unplanned Medicare recertification survey in August. After two days of reviewing records and going on patient visits, Hospice of Eastern Maine was awarded a deficiency-free survey, a rare occurrence according to the surveyors.

Bangor Area Visiting Nurses and Hospice of Eastern Maine just completed its fifth successful Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations survey in September. The rigorous, four-day survey included extensive review of documentation, patient visits, assessment of clinical procedures and staff interviews. The result was a score of 92 percent.

“We’re pleased with all we’ve accomplished this year,” said Director Helen Genco. “It has been ambitious from the start, and thanks to dedicated staff, we’ve come through with flying colors.”

Bangor Area Visiting Nurses is celebrating 90 years of home-health services in the community. For more information about the agency, call 973-6550.

The Marketplace

Those seeking to get a head start on holiday shopping or to treat themselves to something special may want to mark The MarketPlace on their calendars, to be held 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Bangor Civic Center. More than 50 small businesses from Millinocket to Rockport, Calais to Dover-Foxcroft and everywhere in between will showcase their goods and services. Admission is free.

The MarketPlace features will include jewelry, gift cards, specialty gourmet foods, infant apparel and skin-care products. Service-oriented businesses will include computer counseling, marketing, event photography and wildlife control management.

Area businesses taking part in the show include StrayDog Publications and Cammie’s Candies from Brewer and Wild Treasures from Orono.

The businesses featured in the show are members of the Eastern Maine Incubator Without Walls program, which provides classes, one-on-one technical assistance and networking opportunities for individuals interested in staring or expanding a business with five or fewer employees. The program is offered through Penquis Community Action Program, Eastern Maine Development Corp., Washington Hancock Community Agency and Waldo County committee for Social Action.

Sponsors of The MarketPlace are the Eastern Maine Incubator Without Walls program and Fleet Bank.

Health program grants

BANGOR – The Maine Community Foundation’s Penobscot Valley Health Association Fund recently awarded $78,386 to four nonprofit organizations in Greater Bangor:

. A $10,000 grant to the Penobscot Community Health Center to support the opening of an on-site, low-cost pharmacy. It will provide medications to PCHC patients regardless of their ability to pay.

. $32,283 to Penquis CAP for a speech and language pathologist with Head Start to work with children in the classroom and on an individual basis; and to train teachers and parents how to help children improve speech and language skills.

. $28,986 to the River Coalition in Orono to support its Challenge Day-Mentoring Program to develop and sustain solutions for the causes of social oppression.

. $7,000 to Opportunity Housing in Hermon to help create a sensory integration room for children with autism spectrum disorders – the first in Maine.

The PVHA advisory committee reviews proposals yearly. Priority is given to projects that draw upon the strengths of the community, foster collaboration and involve the targeted population in design, implementation and evaluation. For information, visit www.mainecf.org, or call toll free at (877) 700-6800.

Breast cancer guidebook

Available in time for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the second edition of the American Cancer Society book, “A Breast Cancer Journey: Your Personal Guidebook,” has been revised and updated to meet the changing needs of readers.

ACS officials said that editors have retained the widely praised aspects of the first edition, and have incorporated data from readers, breast cancer survivors and experts to produce a second edition that guides women through every aspect of the breast cancer experience and empowers them to take control of the disease, make informed treatment decisions, and plan for recovery and life after cancer.

Features of the new edition are:

. Expanded and updated information on new treatment options, chemotherapy medicines, complementary and alternative treatments, including herbal therapies, and breast reconstruction techniques.

. Wellness plans to guide readers through recovery and life after cancer.

. A new section devoted to helping family, friends and caregivers understand, cope and provide support.

. New information on the special needs of young and pregnant women, women of color, and men with breast cancer.

. A more portable, more accessible book that still provides comprehensive coverage.

For more information about the new second edition and about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, call the ACS 24-hour information and support center at (800) ACS-2345.

Inventors Forum meeting

ORONO – The Orono Inventors Forum will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Target Technology Center. James E. Richardson, principal of Richardson and Associates in Eliot, will speak on development and marketing options and strategies for individual entrepreneurs.