Because of the difficulty that nighttime driving presents to people with multiple sclerosis, just getting from the Blue Hill area to Ellsworth to participate in an MS support group there can be challenging.

For that reason, Rick Alexander of Blue Hill told me, an effort is being made to establish an MS support group in the community for area residents.

Alexander’s wife, Debbie Collins, has multiple sclerosis, he explained, and “those of us in the Ellsworth group thought, let’s try a support group here in Blue Hill.”

The first meeting of this new group is planned for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, in the Cafeteria Conference Room of the Blue Hill Memorial Library.

“We are affiliated with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society,” Alexander said, “and we will follow their guidelines.”

Additionally, he said, “members of the Ellsworth group will participate” in the Blue Hill meetings.

The new Blue Hill MS Support Group will meet the second Wednesday of each month, “for a minimum of three months, to see if it goes well,” Alexander said.

He and his wife want readers to know that “anybody with connections to anyone who has MS is more than welcome to attend” these meetings.

If you have questions about this new MS support group, Alexander would be happy to have you call him at 374-3766.

Anne Hathaway reports that the annual Blueberry Festival and Cabaret begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11, at the Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St. in Orono.

The event features not only blueberry desserts but “great entertainment from the community and our church members,” she wrote.

A trumpet quartet will be followed “by several other performances,” and the evening’s entertainment will end with “Mrs. Hooper in the Round,” which Hathaway has been told is so “hilarious, it should give the audience many laughs.”

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children.

More information or tickets can be obtained by calling 866-2624 or 866-3655.

Dan Williams invites the public to participate in a Bowl-A-Thon to benefit the Charles O. Howard Memorial Foundation at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, at Bangor-Brewer Bowling Lanes on Wilson Street in Brewer.

For this benefit, regular bowling fees will be reduced for those bringing pledge donations, for which there is no minimum requirement.

Shoe rentals will be 75 cents-per-person and strings will be $1.50 each.

You may bowl any time between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Proceeds from the Bowl-a-Thon benefit the foundation, which Williams directs. The group is working to erect a monument in downtown Bangor in memory of Charles Howard, a young gay man who drowned in 1984 after three juveniles threw him from a Bangor bridge.

If you are an accomplished musician new to the area, you should be pleased to know that the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director and Conductor Xiao-Lu Li, is the oldest continuously operating community orchestra in the United States, founded in 1896.

Newcomers, and other accomplished area musicians, should also be pleased to know the BSO needs you.

Auditions for the BSO’s 2004-2005 season will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 12, at Bangor High School, 885 Broadway.

Positions are available for assistant concertmaster, principal violin 2, horn 3, and section strings.

It should also be stressed that substitutes are needed for all instruments.

As a contracted musician, you will be paid on a per-service basis, with mileage and housing arrangements included.

The upcoming season features six Classical Concerts, one Special Event, three Youth Concerts and three performances of the Nutcracker ballet.

For audition requirements, or more information, call orchestra manager Scott Burditt, (800) 639-3221 or 862-2711.

You may also e-mail him at sburditt@adelphia.net.

On behalf of Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield, Dawn Lewis of its Safety Department publicly thanks business owners, employees and community members who participated in the recent Pittsfield Community Blood Drive/Bone Marrow Registry.

“Because of your donations,” Lewis wrote, “we were able to provide the bone marrow registry free to those who came to the drive. There were 46 individuals who registered for the bone marrow and 98 blood donors. Our goal was to raise $2,500 and, because of donations like yours, we were able to raise $2,945. Again, thanks for your support!”

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