Bangor Walk for Autism to raise awareness, funds

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April is Autism Awareness Month. That I learned from Linda Grant of Newburgh, who e-mailed me information about a new event in our area that benefits those with autism.

The 3rd Annual Walk for Autism premiers in eastern Maine with registration at 11 a.m. and the 2-mile walk at noon Sunday, April 17, at University College of Bangor.

Participants are asked to collect sponsor pledges before the walk.

Individuals raising more than $50 will receive a free Walk for Autism T-shirt, although the distribution is limited to the first 200 registrants.

The only other Maine Walk for Autism is the same time and day at the University of New England in Biddeford, and that will be a 3-mile event.

Autism, Grant’s e-mail explained, is a developmental disorder that strikes children in the first three years of life and affects normal development of the brain in areas of cognition, social interaction and communication skills.

Grant wrote that this premier Bangor Walk for Autism is being hosted by the Autism Society of Maine, working with Stillwater Academy in Bangor.

ASM is a nonprofit organization serving individuals with autism and their families, professionals, and communities, providing education, advocacy, referrals and resources development. It also provides current information in the support of informed choice of treatment.

Stillwater Academy is a program of Community Health & Counseling Services that serves students with a variety of disabilities, including autism, according to the BDN files.

Grant pointed out that “the Bangor area has many services for children with autism spectrum disorders, and Greater Bangor parents and professionals have worked closely, over the years, to expand opportunities for Early Intervention.

“The president of the Autism Society of Maine is a local person, Lesley Stelzer of Hampden, a parent as well as a professional. This area has been blessed with many people committed to improving the lives of children and adults with autism.”

Grant also wants you to know that “there is no known, proven cure for autism,” which is “now the third most common developmental disorder.”

She added that although “various treatments may provide some individuals with relative relief, current research is limited due to a lack of available funds.”

And that is why events such as the Walk for Autism need your support.

To register, call ASM at (800) 273-5200 or e-mail asm@asmonline.org.

More information about autism, and the walk, can be found at www.asmonline.org.

While a visit to the Owls Head Transportation Museum is a must for anyone interested in that subject, museum public relations director Park Morrison reports the facility will be closed Sunday, April 10.

That day, museum personnel will host the organization’s annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

“It is one of only four days during the year the museum is not open,” Morrison wrote.

More than 175 volunteers will be honored for their work in such areas as the front office, gift shop and Lang Library; giving museum tours, automotive and aircraft restoration workshops; and helping out with special events.

For more information about the museum, call 594-4418 or visit www.owlshead.org.

The Men’s Ministry of East Orrington Congregational Church is cooking up a Fisherman’s Breakfast 7-9 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at EOCC, 38 Johnson Mill Road in Orrington.

Your $5 donation includes breakfast and a raffle ticket for a chance to win a canoe donated by Merrill Merchants Bank, a set of golf clubs donated by Rocky Knoll Country Club or a barbecue grill donated by Glen Rand.

For more information, call 825-3404.

The public is invited to attend the Caribou Class of 2005 Project Graduation Bingo Night beginning at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10, at the Senior Citizens Bingo Center, 112 Sweden St. in Caribou.

Admission is $15 per person.

Jessica Feeley and Rick Williams, co-chairs of the CHS Class of 2005 Project Graduation Committee, add that the sponsors also will “provide a table of home-baked goodies to be enjoyed by the participants.”

For more information about this event, call Tammy Thomas, after 6 p.m., at 498-6011.

Misty Twilley, president of the Ladies Auxiliary VFW 4298 of Dexter, reports that organization will elect new officers on Sunday, April 17, and that it is seeking new members.

Any veteran’s wife, mother, sister or daughter, age 16 or older, interested in becoming a member, can call Twilley at 876-3374 or visit www.geocities.com/ladiesaux4298.

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