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Tax assistance

An AARP tax aide will be available to provide free assistance with tax returns from 1:30-4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, Feb. 23 and April 12, at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St. Services are provided on a first come, first served basis.

An AARP tax aide is an IRS-trained and certified volunteer of the AARP Foundation. The aide provides free, confidential assistance with returns and answers questions for people of all ages with middle and low income, with special attention to those age 60 and older. To learn more about the free service, call 973-3576.

Spiritual autobiography

Grace United Methodist Church, 193 Union St., is offering a nine-week course, “Write Your Spiritual Autobiography,” at 7 p.m. beginning Thursday, Feb. 5. Each week there will be a reading from Richard L. Morgan’s “Remembering Your Story.”

Playwright presentation

Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance will hold a literary get-together for playwrights and theater devotees 2:15-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, at Bangor Public Library. Linda Britt will present “Let Me Count the Ways.” The event is free and open to the public. Discussion and socializing will follow the performance. A $2 donation is request to help defray the cost of refreshments.

Britt is a Spanish professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she has taught since 1988. She has published two works of translation and many articles of literary criticism and occasional poems. She holds a doctorate in Spanish from the University of Virginia.

To learn more about the monthly get-togethers, call Laura Emack at 567-3437, or e-mail lkecpa@praxar.com.

Poetry presentation

Maine poet Wesley McNair will give a presentation at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at Borders Books. McNair is the recipient of many fellowships and awards. He served on the nominating jury for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 2002. A recent series on Robert Frost, aired over PBS affiliates, for which McNair wrote the scripts, received an Emmy.

Featured on Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac” and NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” his work has appeared in the Pushcart Prize Annual, two editions of “The Best American Poetry,” in more than fifty anthologies and textbooks.

McNair is the author of seven collections of poetry and the editor of two anthologies of contemporary Maine writing, “The Quotable Moose” and “The Maine Poets.” He is a visiting professor in creative writing at Colby College and directs the writing program at the University of Maine at Farmington, where he received the Distinguished Faculty Award and Libra professorship.

Snowman contest

As part of Bangor’s first Winter Festival, the Bangor Public Library will hold a Creative Snowman Contest.

Children age 14 and younger are invited to create snow people on Feb. 12, 13 and the morning of Jan. 14. If there is no snow, participants are asked to use “faux snow” or alternative materials. Interested children are asked to complete a contest entry form by Feb. 10, describing two plans for a snowman, one with real snow and a second plan with alternative materials. Contestants are responsible for providing all materials needed for the creation of their snowman.

Judging will take place Friday, Feb. 14, and prizes will be awarded. Registration forms are available at the Children’s Desk at the library. Relay races and other fun activities will be offered from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. For information, call the Children’s Room at the library at 947-8336, Ext. 111.

Republican caucus

Chairmen of Republican town committees throughout the area have issued an invitation to registered local Republicans to caucus at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Husson College Center for Family Business in Bangor.

The main purpose of the caucus is to allow registered voters who are enrolled in the Republican Party to elect delegates and alternates to the Republican state convention. Other business of the caucus will include the organization of the local committee and the nomination of members of the Penobscot County Republican committee.

Brewer

Kiwanis news

Three out of four children placed in foster care are separated from at least one sibling. The Brewer Kiwanis Club was given that fact in a recent program presented by Kerry Priest, director of pupils services; Beverly Shumaker, executive director of Families and Children Together; and Michelle Bittrich, clinical director. They spoke about Camp to Belong, Maine, the only weeklong summer camp of its kind in the United States. The camp serves the needs of brothers and sisters placed in separate foster homes.

The camp will host 100 Maine youth in August, but for that to occur, it needs widespread community support. Volunteers are needed to serve as counselors, to serve on the Camp To Belong, Maine board of directors, to help raise funds to provide camperships, and to donate items to the camp. To learn more about how to help, call Beverly Shumaker at 941-2347.

Brewer Kiwanis members are making plans to attend the midwinter conference sponsored by the New England District of Kiwanians in Worcester, Mass., March 5-7.

Democratic caucus

The Democratic Committee in Brewer will hold its caucus at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at Brewer Auditorium. Delegates and alternates will be elected to the Democratic State Convention.

Glenburn

Preschool screening

A free developmental screening by Child Development Services-Penobscot County will be held from 10:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Glenburn Elementary School. The snow date will be Thursday, Feb. 26.

The screening process to check a child’s overall development is 3- and 4-year-old children and 5-year-olds not yet eligible for kindergarten.

To take advantage of the free service, call Child Development Service at 947-8493, Ext. 10 or 17, to schedule an appointment.

Democratic caucus

Town committee chairman Bob Campbell has scheduled a Democratic caucus for 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Glenburn Town Office. Delegates will be chosen for the state convention in May. A registrar of voters will be available at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 8. For information contact Campbell at 884-7259.

Super Bowl Bottle Cleanup

The eighth-grade class in Glenburn will hold a Super Bowl Bottle Cleanup 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 7, in Glenburn only. The bottle drive will benefit the eighth-grade graduation activities.

Those who wish to donate returnable bottles and cans, but do not expect to be at home are asked to leave the bottles in a visible place and to mark Glenburn on the container. Or, drop bottles and cans off at Nason’s Redemption Center, 230 Phillips Road, and specify that the bottles are a donation for the eighth-grade class.

Snow date for the bottle drive is Sunday, Feb. 8.

Hampden

Democratic caucus

The Hampden Democratic caucus will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Hampden municipal building.

The registrar of voters will be available to register voters at 1:30 p.m.

Presidential preference voting and election of delegates to the Democratic state convention will begin at 2:30 p.m.

To learn more about the caucus, call Hampden Democratic Chairman Carl Pease, 862-4340, or e-mail cpease61@adelphia.net.

Multiple sclerosis program

The Maine Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will present “Write-On: A Tool for Emotional Health,” 11 a.m.-noon Monday, Feb. 9, at the outreach office of the MS Society in Hampden.

Mary Moore will present the free program about journaling as a way to reduce stress.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that is most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 50. Symptoms range from blurred vision, numbness in an arm or leg, to total paralysis.. While there are treatments to slow the progression of the disease, there is no cure.

To register or to learn more about multiple sclerosis, call 942-8604 or log on www.msmaine.org.

Old Town

Father-daughter dance

The Old Town Parks and Recreation Department will hold its 16th annual Father-Daughter Valentine Dance from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Stillwater Avenue. Tickets for the dance are $12 per couple for Old Town residents, $17 for others and an additional cost of $2 per extra daughter. The event includes dancing, snacks and door prizes. Tickets will not be sold at the door and must be purchased by 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5. Preregistration is required.

To purchase tickets or to learn more about the dance, call the recreation department at 827-3961, or e-mail otrec@oldtown.org.

The hall will be open at 6 p.m. for early birds who want to have photographs taken.

Diversity training

The Penquis Community Action Program Resource Development Center will offer a training session, Weaving Diversity into Our Work with Children and Families, for child care professionals 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at the Old Town-Orono YMCA.

The six-hour session, Maine Roads to Quality training, will allow participants to explore personal memories, give an introduction to concepts of the cultural lens and anti-bias approach and practice giving responses using child care scenarios based in the work setting.

The fee for the session is $10. Current child care providers may apply to the Penquis Resource Development Center’s scholarship fund for reimbursement of the fee.

Lunch will not be provided.

The training session is a recommended prerequisite for Many Eyes, Many Voices: Talking About Diversity with Children through Literature, another training session planned for March 27 and April 3. To register or to obtain more information, call 941-2840.

Orono

Women of the World

Russia will be celebrated at the Women of the World luncheon at noon Monday, Feb. 9, at the Church of Universal Fellowship, Main Street. Women with connections to or interests in any part of Russia and adjacent countries are invited to help prepare food and bring books, photographs and special articles of interest for display tables.

Women of the World welcomes International and American women from around the world to become acquainted and learn about one another’s cultures. Meetings are the second Monday of each month, September-May. A different country or culture is featured each month. The cost is $4, but there is no charge for small children who are welcome to attend with their mothers.

To learn more about the Women of the World luncheons, call Mirielle Le Gal at 581-3423.

Statewide

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced recently that Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Somerset counties are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance to cover snow removal costs incurred when a record amount of snow fell Dec. 6-7. Local officials have been notified of meeting dates and locations.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin