Bangor

Maine Action Coalition

The Maine Action Coalition, an advocacy group for people with physical handicaps, meets noon-2 p.m. the third Saturday of each month at Kenduskeag Terraces, 117 Court St.

New members and people with disabilities, and those involved with people with physical handicaps are encouraged to attend.

For information, contact Denny at 942-9126, or Greg at 942-9111.

Russian language classes

Downeast Russian School Inc., a nonprofit corporation, is offering classes for children and adults in Russian language. Lessons for individuals and groups are available. Classes are held Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for one hour. Classes began May 17. Materials are included. To register, e-mail natabra@yahoo.com, or call 262-9727 and leave a message.

Macaroni and music

The youth mission program of All Souls Congregational Church, 10 Broadway, will hold the fund-raising event Macaroni, Music and Magic, at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 21. Proceeds from the event will help pay for medical supplies that will be a part of a weeklong mission trip to Honduras June 21-July 1.

Pasta dishes of all kinds will be served at the event. Entertainment will consist of music and magic acts. The cost is $8 for adults and teens, $4 for children ages 3-12, free for children age 2 and under, $20 family of four.

The 59-member mission team includes 38 students from Bangor area high schools and 21 adults, eight of whom are medical professionals. The All Souls group will join with other church groups to build three houses in Honduras and to conduct Vacation Bible School for local village children. The program at All Souls is led by the Rev. Renee Garrett, minister of Christian nurture.

Benefit auction

Bangor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center’s first annual auction to benefit the van and activity fund will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 21, at the University of Maine Augusta, College Center, 201 Texas Ave., Bangor.

The Friends of the Facility are sponsoring the auction. The Rev. Bob Carlson will serve as auctioneer. Those who wish to donate items or make other contributions, may call Gerry at 942-1152, or e-mail gk432@adelphia.net.

Literacy volunteers

Literacy Volunteers of Bangor has a need for English as a Second Language volunteer tutors in order to serve requests from non-English speaking students.

ESL tutor training focuses on how to teach the English language and about American customs and culture. The 18 hours of training are scheduled for the following dates and times:

. 9 a.m.-noon Monday, June 6.

. 9 a.m.-noon Friday, June 10.

. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, June 11.

. 9 a.m.-noon Monday, June 13.

. 9 a.m.-noon Friday, June 17.

Training sessions are held at United Technologies Center on the Hogan Road. Those interested in volunteering must call the Literacy Volunteers of Bangor office at 947-8451 to register by Wednesday, June 1. Course materials are $20. Scholarships are available for those who can’t afford the fee.

Great Bangor Rubber Duck Race

The eighth annual Great Bangor Rubber Duck Race will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, in downtown Bangor. Good Samaritan Agency organizes the race, which has become an anticipated springtime family event. The race will start on Central Street Bridge and end at the footbridge behind the Pickering Square parking garage. WLBZ’s John Smist is honorary chairman of this year’s race and will help start the race.

Approximately 2,000 rubber ducks will be dumped into the stream and float to the finish line. The sponsors of the winning ducks will win one of many terrific prizes. Proceeds from the race will benefit Good Samaritan Agency’s programs and services.

Those interested in sponsoring a duck may pick up a ticket at Good Samaritan Agency or at several stores and businesses in the Bangor area. Individuals may sponsor one duck for $5 or six ducks for $25.

On race day, there will be activities in Pickering Square beginning at 11 a.m. Duck race sponsorships may be purchased between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Good Samaritan Agency volunteers will sell duck race souvenirs as well. There will be games and face painting for small children.

Good Samaritan Agency is a nonprofit agency founded in 1902 and offers services to single parents, including an alternative education program and a day care program in addition to adoption services. For more information about the agency’s services, call Good Samaritan at 942-7211.

Tree assistance program

Orchardists and forest timber producers have until Tuesday, May 31, to sign up for the USDA Farm Service Agency Tree Assistance Program, launched in 2005 to help producers recover from natural disasters that occurred in 2003 and 2004. The 2005 Appropriations Act authorized $15 million in assistance to those who produce periodic crops of forest timber for commercial use. To learn more about the program, call 947-3555.

Bradley

Independence Day bands

Organizers of the Bradley Independence Day parade and Community Fun Day are seeking marching bands, drummers and other types of music for an Independence Day parade set for 10 a.m. Saturday, July 2. To learn more about the opportunity, call 827-1087.

Bucksport

Riverbend Players

The newly formed Riverbend Players of Bucksport will present its first production, a variety show, at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at the Alamo Theater, Main Street. Acts will include folk songs, show tunes and comedy. The show is free.

Suzi Fleming Leeman is president of Riverbend Players.

Carmel

New town manager

James E. Collins is the new town manager of Carmel. Most recently he was town manager in Fayette, but also served in Jay, Ashland and Bridgton.

He was the only town manager in the state to administer three towns concurrently – Mapleton, Castle Hill and Chapman.

Collins is originally from Bangor.

The town is looking for volunteers to serve on the board of appeals, the planning board and the water control committee. Those interested should contact the town office by May 24 at 848-3361.

Pre-kindergarten program

SAD 23 has a pre-kindergarten for 4-year-olds in Carmel. Pupils who are pre-registered will attend Visitation Day on May 24 at Carmel Elementary School. For information, call 848-3383.

Recreation activities

The Carmel Recreation Committee has been working to get the fields ready for Little League and Junior Little League baseball. Bangor True Value Hardware and Potter’s Transmission are sponsoring the teams.

Volunteer coaches are Tom Colgan, Wayne Hawes, Nikki Gray, Chad Nute and Tom Zapsky. For information about the baseball season, call Dianne at 848-2803.

Signup for summer recreation will be held in June. Flyers will be distributed at school. Those who have questions may call Tina Alexander at 848-7160.

The Dunton Family has donated a bench by the play area in memory of David Dunton, who enjoyed spending time at the Five Road Recreation Field watching baseball games.

Fire department activities

Ten members of the Carmel Fire Department are enrolled in the Firefighter I Academy training program, giving them basic firefighting skills.

There are some 25 active members in the ambulance and fire departments. Ten are emergency medical technicians, one is finishing EMT training, and one is finishing paramedic training.

The departments answer some 150 ambulance calls and 70 fire calls a year. The town is working on a mutual aid agreement with the towns of Etna and Stetson.

A new firetruck has been ordered, and delivery is expected in December.

The fire department and auxiliary are working on the community calendar. Those who would like to add names to it may contact the town office or the fire department.

Castine

Plant sale

The Castine Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at Emerson Town Hall. Annuals, perennials, herbs and vegetable plants will be available for purchase. Many of the perennials come from the gardens of club members and friends. Proceeds from the sale go toward community gardening projects, such as flowers planted at the Castine dock, Dyce’s Head lighthouse and the post office.

Kenduskeag

‘

Walk Down Memory Lane’

Kenduskeag Union Church will offer a “Walk Down Memory Lane” and ice cream social at 7 p.m. Sunday, May 22.

Entertainment will be presented by Sue King and Wendy Stewart, Step in Time Cloggers, Buck Masters and the Beecher Boys. Come for a hand-clapping, foot-tapping time.

Orono

‘Kiss Me Kate’

Bangor Community Theatre and the Maine Center for the Arts will present “Kiss Me Kate” Friday-Sunday, May 20-22, at Hutchins Concert Hall, Maine Center for the Arts.

Local performers in the musical are Elena DeSiervo, Dave Rode, Katelyn White and Tyke McKay. Artistic director is Doug Meswarb, musical director is Lud Hullman and choreographer is Heather Astbury.

Tickets are available at the box office, or by calling 581-1755.

Backyard poultry keeping

The University of Maine Page Farm and Home Museum will sponsor a brown bag lunch lecture at noon Wednesday, May 25. The speaker will be Bob Hawes, poultry expert and professor emeritus of animal veterinary and aquatic sciences. His topic will be backyard poultry keeping. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Hawes, of Hampden, keeps exhibition poultry and is a licensed poultry judge. He has been a member of the boards of directors of the Page Farm and Home Museum, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy and the Kelmscott Rare Breeds farm.

His talk will be geared for small backyard poultry keepers and will include information about choosing breeds, ordering chicks, coop design, feeding methods and lighting systems. A question and answer period will follow his talk.

Hawes is a 1956 graduate of the University of Maine where he earned a degree in poultry husbandry. He earned a doctorate in poultry breeding from Penn State University.

Beginning in 1962, he worked at MacDonald College at McGill University and as a commercial poultry breeder for the HYLine Poultry Breeding Farm in Johnston, Iowa. From 1978 to 1997, he was a member of the animal and veterinary science department faculty at UMaine.

For information about the lecture and for directions to Page Farm and Home Museum, call 581-4100.

Green Thumb sale

The 49th annual Green Thumb sale will take place 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, on the front lawn of the Church of Universal Fellowship, 82 Main St.

The plant sale will include annuals, perennials, bulbs, ornamental bushes and trees. The food sale will offer homemade jams, jellies, pickles, preserves, breads, desserts, baked beans and other treats. The sale benefits the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter and the Spruce Run Association.

Got something for Community News? E-mail it to weekly@bangordailynews.net, or mail it to The Weekly, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or drop it off at the front desk of Buck Street entrance of the Bangor Daily News, 491 Main St., Bangor.