Milo to greet father, son cross-country bicyclists

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Dipping their wheels into the Pacific Ocean last June 20 in Astoria, Ore., Russell Carey of Milo, his 16-year-old son, Ian, and 31 other adventurous individuals then turned their bicycles around, and headed east.

On Monday, Aug. 9, they will dip their wheels into the Atlantic Ocean in Portsmouth, N.H., having completed a fabulous, 50-day “America by Bicycle” tour that also included some mileage in Canada.

Carey, a social studies teacher at Penquis Valley High School in Milo, and his son will return home, by automobile, that evening.

There, according to friend Phil Gerow, “they will be met by a parade when they reach the top of the hill on Route 16.”

Gerow said members of the local police and fire departments will announce the time of the cyclists’ arrival.

He said the trip “is not a fund-raiser, just something Russell wanted to do. He learned about it online.”

Before the fun gathering when the Careys return home, Gerow and other supporters hope to surprise the father-son team by “showering them with cards” during an overnight stop in Vermont.

“Each night, they stay at a motel,” he explained.

“On Saturday, August 7, they will be in Brattleboro, and we’d love to have lots of cards congratulating and encouraging them when they get there.”

If you would like to be part of this card-shower surprise, you can send your best wishes to Russell and Ian Carey, c/o America By Bicycle, Holiday Inn Express, 100 Chickering Drive, Brattleboro, Vt. 05301.

Penny McHatten is a member of the Garden Tour Committee for the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club.

She hopes you will plan to attend the club’s garden tour from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7, featuring five local gardens.

The rain date is Sunday, Aug. 8.

After the tour, attendees will enjoy an ice cream and pie social at Myrtle Tree, 368 Fort Fairfield Road, Presque Isle.

Tickets are $10 each and available at Myrtle Tree, Pieces of Eight, Blossoms, Smythe’s IGA, all in Presque Isle; and Phil’s Florist & Greenhouses in Caribou.

Proceeds benefit the Carlton Project, a nonprofit corporation that works “in the areas of youth substance abuse prevention, alternative education, community building, online education and wilderness adventure,” McHatten said.

Carlton Project conducts summer programs for young people “that teach interpersonal skills and environmental awareness,” she added, and “has also developed a unique, alternative option for Aroostook County youth who have not found success in traditional school settings.”

For more information about the tour, call Sue Hill, 764-1696 or e-mail pikiwanis@yahoo.com.

Are you interested in the possibility of adopting a child, or children, from China?

Maine Adoption Placement Service has been bringing children and families together for 27 years, and it can help.

Development coordinator Melissa Huston invites you to attend “Adopting from China,” an informational meeting scheduled for 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 16, at the MAPS Bangor office, 181 State St.

The program will inform you about the international adoption process in China; you will meet MAPS China Program specialists; and you will have the opportunity to meet an adoptive family who traveled to China to make their dreams of becoming parents a reality.

Space is limited, so you are asked to call 941-9500 if you want to attend.

Information about all adoption options, and how the group can help you choose the process best suited for your situation, can be obtained by visiting www.mapsadopt.org.

“Phones to Fight Kids’ Cancer” is a new program of the Maine Elks Association Maine Children’s Cancer Program Private Sector Committee.

The committee, according to information provided by Mike Lange of the Skowhegan-Madison Elks Lodge, is collecting used cell phones to raise money for the program as well as helping preserve our environment.

For each cell phone collected, the Elks’ “Phones to Fight Kids’ Cancer” program will receive a monetary donation.

Lange wrote that the environmental research group, Inform, reports as many as 130 million cell phones are disposed of each year, phones containing toxic materials such as arsenic, lead and zinc.

The phones that cannot be reused will be recycled for parts that meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Used cell phones can be left after 1 p.m. any day of the week at the Skowhegan-Madison Elks Lodge, 21 Silver St. in Skowhegan.

For more information about this program, call committee chairman Bob Godin, 399-0092, or e-mail bgodin@rfgh.net.

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