What means the most, perhaps, to the individual organizing a benefit for Fletcher Simpson, a kindergartner at Asa Adams School in Orono, is that it took only four hours to put the event together.

Dr. Ken Johnson of Orono said he was amazed at the “great community support” he received when he took an afternoon to begin making phone calls and personal contacts to find willing participants for the Kids Family Fun Day 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, June 19, rain or shine, at Asa Adams School.

He told me that the afternoon making phone calls demonstrated, without a doubt, the tremendous “outpouring of love and support of the community” for a 6-year-old boy undergoing treatment for a brain tumor.

Johnson said he couldn’t believe it took just that one afternoon to pull everything together.

He received no refusals, and more offers of help than he had imagined.

The son of Elana Simpson and grandson of Augie and Hazel Desiervo of Orono is receiving treatment in Portland. The purpose of the benefit, Johnson said, “is to raise funds to help defray the cost of that treatment.”

Saturday’s event includes an appearance by Julie Monroe, best known to kids as Julie and the Bug Boys; a petting zoo, thanks to folks at the University of Maine farm; and the opportunity to meet juggler Zach Field as well as members of the Orono Fire Department, who will be there with their firetrucks and mascot.

The Kids Family Fun Day also includes, among other things, a melon race, a cupcake walk, sugar cookie decorating, a silent auction, face painting, kids’ games such as a rainbow parachute with folks from the Old Town-Orono YMCA, and lots of food, drinks and prizes.

If you cannot attend but would like to help Fletcher and his family through this difficult time, donations can be made to the Fletcher Fund at any branch of Bangor Savings Bank or by mailing a donation to the Fletcher Fund, BSB, 110 Park St., Orono 04473.

Advance reservations are a must, so get on the phone today if you want to take the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau “Tommyknockers” & More bus tour beginning 2 p.m. Sunday, July 4, on the Bangor Waterfront.

Tour guide Ryan King will take you on a tour of Bangor as seen through the eyes of an unrelated King: our most famous local author and philanthropist, Stephen King.

Among the sites you will see are where Ellie saw the “Skinny Santa,” the cemetery where Stephen King presided over the funeral of Gage Creed and “the Barrens.”

The cost of the tour is $10 per person, and advance reservations can be made by calling (800) 91-MOOSE, which is (800) 916-6673.

The inspiration for the tour is the “commonalties between Bangor and the fictional town of Derry,” which is the setting for many of King’s works, according to a release from the Greater Bangor CVB and The Maine Highlands.

Tour guide Ryan King is a volunteer from the Bangor Museum and Center for History and is best known for leading its Mount Hope Cemetery tour and Candlelight Tours of Downtown. He also has been seen on the History Channel and PBS.

All proceeds benefit the Greater Bangor CVB mission of stimulating economic vitality by promoting the Bangor region as the preferred destination for meetings, conventions and visitors.

Local coordinators for the Council on International Educational Exchanges, Dennis and Delia Michaud of Bangor, report they are looking for families in Greater Bangor to host students for the 2004-2005 school year.

Host families must provide individual beds, meals, transportation to and from school, and a place to study.

The exchange students have their own insurance and spending money.

Last year, the Michauds reported CIEE students lived with families in communities such as Dexter, Blue Hill, Bangor and Bar Harbor.

An international, nonprofit organization that represents 30 countries, CIEE formerly worked solely with university exchanges but recently added high school exchanges to its program.

To learn how you can take advantage of this opportunity to make a lifelong connection with a person from another country, call the Michauds at 990-0963.

Since it’s still spring, it’s appropriate for Judy Kellogg Markowsky to thank the 40 individuals for making last April’s “Earth Day cleanup of the Penjajawoc Stream,” from the Bangor Mall area to Route 2 and the Penobscot River, “a resounding success.”

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