Stephen King, Baldacci serve at supper to raise Red Cross Katrina funds

AUGUSTA – Author Stephen King stood side by side with Gov. John Baldacci dishing out spaghetti at a public supper Monday to raise money for the American Red Cross effort to assist Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

More than 500 tickets were sold for the dinner at the Augusta Armory, where a line snaking around the sides of the building moved slowly toward the serving line, where King and Baldacci bantered with guests.

“Tell the people Stephen King tossed your sauce,” the author joked with one guest as she held out her plate.

The governor later thanked the people for sending a “strong message” of support from Mainers for the hurricane victims.

The latest in a series of Maine efforts to pitch in for the Gulf Coast relief effort featured a silent auction of more than 100 items, including an autographed University of Maine ice hockey stick, meals at Maine restaurants, golf and ski passes, Maine-made gifts and crafts, and a print signed by artist Jamie Wyeth.

Also among the items up for bids were tickets for Boston Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins and New England Patriots games, a baseball autographed by King and Baldacci and another ball signed by Red Sox player Trot Nixon.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, donated a signed copy of “Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate,” a collection of personal accounts and professional experiences by the nine woman senators serving in 2000.

Guests at the supper sampled spaghetti sauce from Momma Baldacci’s, the Baldacci family restaurant in Bangor. The suggested donation for the supper was $5, with all of the money going to Red Cross chapters in Maine.

Organizers were happy with the turnout.

Jeannine LaPointe of Chelsea, a state government receptionist, was at the end of the line but she had no complaints.

“I thought it was for a good cause. Anything we can do … Anything we can do to help is good,” LaPointe said.

Monday’s event was the latest among numerous public and private fundraising efforts in the state to help those affected by the devastating storm and floods.

The Maine Turnpike Authority has placed orange buckets at every staffed toll lane at each of the highway’s toll plazas from York to Augusta to collect cash donations. The “Road to Recovery” initiative ends Wednesday.

In addition, more than 500 Maine homeowners have signed up to provide housing for people left homeless by the hurricane. The state was prepared to house up to 900 displaced families in private homes or in current and former military installations in the state.

“There has been an outpouring of support across the country for those who have lost so much in this disaster, and Mainers are doing their part to help,” said Snowe.