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This is going to be a memorable week for residents of Perry and surrounding communities, and I am grateful to Tess Ftorek of Robbinston for providing the following information.
The town of Perry, along with many other towns, cities and states, has proclaimed today, Valentine’s Day, “A Day for Hearts: Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day.”
The proclamation’s intent is to raise public awareness about congenital heart defects, or CHD, and recognize those born with heart defects, honor professionals who treat heart defects and remember those who died from them.
In recognition of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day, the Perry-based organization Stronghearts is hosting the second annual Winter Sport and Fun day beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at Pottle Tree Farm on South Meadow Road in Perry.
The day includes competitive and noncompetitive activities for all ages, such as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, skating, hiking, sledding or taking a winter walk through a labyrinth, and closes with a fireside potluck meal.
T-shirts are available for donations of $10 or more at the event, which last year raised more than $2,000 for the Devon Nicole House at Children’s Hospital Boston.
That facility provides housing for children who are being treated at the hospital, and their families.
Brian and Sue Duffy of Perry established Stronghearts in honor of their late son, Seamus Duffy, who was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
Each year, CHD affects approximately 40,000 babies, or one in 100 births.
Stronghearts’ mission is to educate the public and support families caring for children with CHD.
Making the Winter Sport and Fun day an even more significant event is that it also will be a day to honor the memory of the late James Pottle of Perry.
The former Bangor Daily News employee died in an automobile accident while delivering the paper on Saturday, Jan. 29.
With his wife, Sandra Pottle, also a NEWS delivery driver, he was the owner of Pottle Tree Farm, which the couple turned into an outdoor classroom for schoolchildren.
Despite her recent loss, Ftorek wrote of her longtime friend, “Sandra insists that this event goes on.”
That, in my mind, makes Sandra Pottle a “Strongheart” too.
It will be a special day, one to honor young and old who, even in death, are making a difference in the lives of others.
For more information about Stronghearts and CHD Awareness Day, call the Duffys at 853-2774, visit Stronghearts.org, e-mail scduffy@prexar.com, or write Stronghearts, P.O. Box 177, Perry 04667.
From Lt. Col. Urban Feero of Winterport comes word that the Pine Tree Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America is hosting a special luncheon beginning at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at Penobscot Valley Country Club in Orono.
During the luncheon, the chapter will award a $1,000 scholarship to an outstanding Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet attending the University of Maine in Orono, and a $1,000 scholarship to an outstanding midshipman attending Maine Maritime Academy in Castine.
Feero wrote that MOAA members and interested military officers are invited to attend the event, and can make reservations by writing retired Col. William Deering, 423 Hancock St., Bangor 04401, or calling him at 942-6482 by Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Here is a valentine for our Bangor International Airport troop greeters.
Nancy Smith of Broken Arrow, Okla., wrote to the “Dear Citizens of Bangor” that some of us “must have been up very early” one Saturday morning last fall to greet a plane of military personnel “coming home, on leave from Iraq.”
She wrote that “about 25 of you were there as they got off, with cheers and applause, handing them cell phones to call their families.”
Her husband reported that you were “a mix of VFW veterans, young ROTC kids and others.”
“After seeing our loved ones leave our lives, have them facing the risks of war,” she added, “it felt good to know that others out there understood the sacrifice we had all made. We could not be there to greet our family members as they first touched down on American soil, but you all were there for us. That meant so very much.
“Thank you for making them feel appreciated, for taking care of them as you did, and for welcoming them home. You must be the kindest and most generous people around. Bangor should be proud!”
As should Unicel, which provides the phones for troops to call home.
Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.
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