Community News

loading...

Area-wide Library grants

The JTG Foundation has announced a major grant to expand public access to computer resources in rural Maine. The foundation has awarded a total of 82 computers to 30 public libraries in Franklin, Hancock, Oxford and Penobscot counties.

Libraries in selected counties were invited to apply for up to 10 computers to upgrade or expand existing resources devoted to public access. Coordination and implementation of the program was facilitated by the support and assistance of the Maine State Library and staff of the Northeastern, Central and Southern Maine Library districts.

Grant applications confirmed a tremendous need exists for adequate and up-to-date technology devoted to public use in rural libraries in Maine. Most grant applicants struggle with excess demand for services and obsolete computers.

“We hope that this grant program will enable library patrons, particularly students, job seekers and the elderly, to access the resources they need without regard to income, geography or economic conditions,” said John T. Gorman, who founded the JTG Foundation in 1995.

The organization is a private Maine foundation which annually makes grants supporting charitable causes in Maine, with a focus on enhancing community services, cancer care services, mental health services and services supporting the elderly and low-income or disadvantaged children.

Area libraries receiving computer awards through the foundation’s gift are John B. Curtis Free Public Library in Bradford, Buck Memorial Library in Bucksport, Witherle Memorial Library in Castine, Edythe Dyer Library in Hampden and Old Town Public Library.

Land, wildlife projects

The U.S. Senate recently passed the Fiscal Year 2006 Interior Appropriations bill, which earmarks $13.8 million in federal funding for land and wildlife projects in Maine.

Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery in Orland will receive $2.48 million for wastewater treatment compliance to enable the hatchery to be in compliance with state of Maine and national EPA laws and policies regarding hatchery discharges.

The Penobscot River Restoration Project will receive $1 million to be used for the purchase and removal of the Great Works Dam and the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River. The project is a five-year, $50 million project to restore the natural flow of Maine’s largest watershed.

The University of Maine: Northern States Research Cooperative will receive $500,000 to study the management and harvesting practices of Maine’s forests.

Bangor

Smiles on a Summer Night

River City Cinema’s summer series, Smiles on a Summer Night, opened July 8 with the Marx Brothers’ film “Night at the Opera.” Pickering Square, downtown, is once again the venue for the six films shown free to the public.

The series, made possible by the generosity of local businesses, will be shown at 8:15 p.m. Fridays. The schedule is: Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times,” July 15; “His Girl Friday,” July 22; “The Trouble With Harry,” July 29; “Sleeper,” Aug. 5; and “Young Frankenstein,” Aug. 12.

Bring lawn chairs. To obtain more information, call 659-6355 or visit www.rivercitycinema.com.

Computer donation

Bangor Savings Bank recently donated to the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and installed the computers to update the orchestra’s computer infrastructure. The donated computers will improve the orchestra’s networking, data analysis and communications and increase its capacity to serve the public.

Banquet and family day

North Star Lodge invites the public to attend its annual Summer Banquet and Family Day Outing.

The banquet buffet will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the downtown Holiday Inn on Main Street. The day outing will be held at noon Sunday, July 17, in Glenburn along the shore of Kenduskeag Stream. Guests from the Grand Lodge in Boston will attend the event.

The banquet buffet menu is carved-to-order roast beef, beef burgundy, seafood Newburg, whipped potatoes, vegetable, rice pilaf, freshly baked rolls, tossed salad, antipasto salad, deli platter, dessert table, coffee and tea. Dancing is planned after the dinner. The donation for the event is $20 per person.

The Family Day Outing menu is Maine lobster, barbecue ribs or chicken and hamburger or hotdog meals. Each meal includes corn on the cob, potato salad, tossed salad, rolls, punch and watermelon.

The number of lobster meals will be determined by advance orders. Donation is $20 for the lobster meal, $15 for barbecue ribs or chicken meal and $5 for the hamburger or hotdog meal. A hamburger or hotdog meal is free for children 12 and under.

Activities of the day will be music, games, horseshoes, canoeing and fishing.

In case of inclement weather, the cookout will be 1 p.m. at the Bangor Grange, 1192 Ohio St.

Tickets may be purchased from any member of North Star Lodge 22. For information and directions to the Family Day outing site, call Buck Buchanan, 945-6618; Sterling Dymond, 942-3148; Wilfred Dymond, 942-8716, Lloyd George, 942-0227; Ricky Hall, 945-3810; or Steve Lloyd, 487-5120.

Child-care training

The Penquis Community Action Program Resource Development Center is offering 30 hours of training in Fostering the Social-Emotional Development and Competence of Young Children. The classes will be held 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, to Thursday, Aug. 18, at Penquis CAP, 262 Harlow St. Bangor. Lunch is provided.

The registration fee for the training session is $15. Current child-care providers may apply for reimbursement of the fee. To obtain more information or to register, call 973-3533.

Magic for Muggles

Maine Discovery Museum’s special summer programs continue with a performance by Greg McAdams, also known as Throckmorton the Wizard, at 2 p.m. Friday, July 22, at the museum. His show, Magic for Muggles, will showcase his talents and give the audience a chance to learn how to do magic tricks.

The show is appropriate for all ages and is free with museum admission. To learn more about the museum and its programs, visit www.mainediscoverymuseum.org.

Bradford

Annual Bradford Days

Bradford Days will be held Saturday, July 16, organized by the Bradford Volunteer Fire Department.

The parade will start at 10 a.m. at the firehouse, with activities afterward at Bradford Elementary School.

Events at the John B. Curtis Free Public Library include a library book sale, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; the Bradford Heritage Museum, open 9 a.m.-noon; and the Bradford Heritage Archives, open 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

The museum is also open other times by appointment. Call 327-1246 or 327-2329.

The archives are open 5-7 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays.

Castine

Museum open house

The Wilson Museum will hold an open house in remembrance of Ellenore W. Doudiet noon-5 p.m. Saturday, July 16, at the museum, 107 Perkins St. The program will include remarks, presentations and dedication.

The John Perkins House, the Blacksmith Shop, the Hearse House and the Doudiet House are part of the museum. Museum hours are 2-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. To obtain more information, call 326-9247 or visit www.wilsonmuseum.org.

Explorer George Waymouth

The Castine Historical Society will present Ben Fuller’s illustrated lecture on George Waymouth’s Expedition of 1605, and the re-creation of Waymouth’s Lighthorseman boat, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 20, in the society’s home in the Abbott School on the town common.

George Waymouth was an Englishman whose explorations 400 years ago along the Maine coast marked one of the first contacts between Native Americans and Europeans. Waymouth’s mission was to gather information that would be helpful to his patrons who were interested in establishing a permanent English settlement in the New World. The Lighthorseman was a small wooden boat powered by oars or sail that could carry 16 people.

Ben Fuller, curator of the Penobscot Maritime Museum in Searsport, has considerable experience with wooden boats, previously serving as head curator of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut and working at the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. He was educated at Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and in Vietnam. He is a master Maine kayak guide and part-time instructor at Wooden Boat School.

Fuller’s lecture will discuss the research behind re-creating a 17th century vessel that originally was assembled by two people in one week. He also will address the navigational skills of explorers like George Waymouth. The lecture is free and open to the public.

For more information about the historical society or Ben Fuller’s lecture, call 326-4118.

Hampden

Class reunion

The Hampden Academy Class of 1990 reunion will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at the Hampden Kiwanis Hall. Classmates and spouses are invited to attend. Family activities will be held at the Kiwanis Hall during the day. E-mail Andrea Stairs at ajstairs@comcast.net to obtain more information.

Children’s Day Parade

The Hampden Children’s Day Committee is looking for groups, organizations and clubs to participate in the Hampden Children’s Day Parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20. Rain date is Aug. 21.

Entries for the parade are not limited to Hampden. Area businesses, groups and organizations are encouraged to participate, as well as individuals who may want to walk or decorate a bike to ride in the parade.

People can also gather friends and neighbors to create a float.

The parade also will be a great opportunity to display a classic or antique auto.

Prizes will be awarded in public safety, best float, best performers and best classic or antique auto.

The parade route begins at Reeds Brook Middle School on Main Road and ends at the junction of routes 9 and 202.

To obtain an application to participate in the parade, contact Amy Lorenzo at 862-5522 or Don Darling at 947-2866.

Indian Island

Business enterprise

Gov. John Baldacci announced recently that the Penobscot Indian Nation received a $500,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Office. The grant will help the Penobscot Indian Nation implement PIN Rx, Maine’s first pharmacy mail-order distribution center.

Currently, Mainers who utilize pharmacy mail-order services do not have a Maine-based vendor and often face logistical challenges, such as long waits, in order to obtain the prescriptions they need.

Based on Indian Island, PIN Rx will provide pharmacy mail-order services beginning this summer to the state of Maine pharmacy program, which includes MaineCare, Drugs for the Elderly and Maine Rx Plus members. Additionally, private groups and businesses will be able to purchase medications more cheaply through PIN Rx.

Starting in January, PIN Rx will be available to beneficiaries of Medicare Part D, Medicare’s prescription drug program, which is scheduled to begin at that time.

Old Town

Pianist Melanie Manzer Kyer will play music of World War II at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 17, at the Old Town Museum.

The museum features rotating displays of Old Town’s history and is open 1-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday free of charge. The museum is handicap accessible. To learn more about the museum, call 827-7256.

Orono

Concerts in the park

The Summer Concerts in the Park series continues at Orono’s Webster Park on the corner of Main Street and North Maine Avenue with the Stillwater River as a scenic backdrop. The concerts are at 7 p.m. Tuesdays and are free.

Evergreen will be the feature of the July 19 concert; Castlebay, July 26; Mark Phillips, Aug. 2; Elizabeth Ross Trio, Aug. 9; and Side by Side, Aug. 16.

The concerts are sponsored by the Orono Village Association and the Orono Parks and Recreation Association. Bring a lawn chair.

In case of rain, the concerts will be held in the Keith Anderson Community House, 19 Bennoch Road. For information, call the parks and recreation department at 866-5065.

Winterport

Book auction

The Belfast Poetry Festival will conduct a silent book auction from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at the Winterport Winery, Main Street.

Fine used and antiquarian books on poetry, photography, nature and more will be auctioned during the fund-raiser. Book dealers from across the country have donated books, including many rare and signed collections, organizers said.

To obtain more information, visit www.festivo.org or call Troy Casa at 974-9333. The Belfast Poetry Festival will be held in Belfast Oct. 7-9.