Bangor

March of Dimes Dinner Auction

A Hall of Fame basketball and several trips will be among the items up for bid during the fourth annual March of Dimes Dinner Auction at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the Elks Club on Odlin Road.

George Hale will be honored at the dinner for his 50 years in broadcasting.

The March of Dimes also will recognize Paula Peirce, Debbie Murray, Jill Ashe, Barbra Youngs, Kelli Duplissa and Steve Hughes for their outstanding service to the March of Dimes.

Eighteen restaurants from the Bangor area will provide food for the event. Tickets are still available at $40. For ticket information, call the March of Dimes office at 989-3376.

Several trips in and outside Maine will be auctioned off, along with a basketball signed by the 2005 Basketball Hall of Fame class featuring Jim Boeheim of Syracuse University and Jim Calhoun from the University of Connecticut.

Halloween party

The Bangor Parks and Recreation Department will hold a Halloween party for children in kindergarten to fifth grade 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, at the recreation building, 647 Main St. Games, prizes, a costume contest and a haunted house will be part of the fun. For information, call 992-4490.

Heart walk

The 2005 Northeastern Maine Heart Walk will be held Saturday, Oct. 15, at the UCB Fitness Center in Bangor.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., and the walk at 9:30 a.m. Choose a 1-mile walk or a 3-mile walk. Proceeds benefit the American Heart Association.

Register online at www.heart

walk.kintera.org/bangorme, or call (800) 937-0944.

Bid for Kids

Ready, set, bid. Clear Channel Radio in Bangor is pulling out all the stops in its second annual Bids for Kids online auction. Funds raised from the event will go to the Children’s Miracle Network of Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems to help sick and injured children in northern, central and eastern Maine.

Auction items include Opening Day 2006 Red Sox tickets at Fenway Park; a monster truck party at your house featuring Gravedigger; seats for the Rolling Stones and U2 concert in Boston; tickets for Anne Murray’s Christmas show in Bangor or tickets to see Maureen McGovern in “Little Women” in Boston; the opportunity to play “air flute” in a performance with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra; an opportunity to be a WVOM sportscaster for a day with George Hale; an all- expense-paid trip to see Bon Jovi in Montreal and many more prizes.

Bidding opens Oct. 17 and continues through Oct. 31. Make bids and view prizes at www.bidskids.com.

Grant award

Spruce Run Association, the domestic violence project that serves Penobscot County, has been awarded a three-year grant through the Department of Justice, Office of Violence Against Women. The award helps Spruce Run develop and strengthen its transitional housing program with additional staff resources and community collaboration.

Spruce Run provides a 24-hour crisis hot line services, support and education groups, shelter, transitional housing, children’s services and legal advocacy to people whose lives have been affected by domestic abuse, all accessed through a 24-hour crisis hot line, 947-0496 or (800) 863-9909. Spruce Run fosters a coordinated community response to domestic abuse through public education, intensive training programs, systems advocacy, task force coordination, policy development and consultation.

Artist reception

“Dog Show,” a series of photographs from Downtown Dog Day, is on display through Nov. 30 in the City Hall foyer.

The public is invited to a special reception for photographer Edwin Martin, 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at City Hall. Light refreshments will be served.

Photo exhibit

Maine author-artist Trudy Scee will return to the Bangor Public Library with an exhibition of photographs titled, “Seeds of Peace International Camp.”

The subject of Scee’s work, an organization founded in 1993, brings together teenagers from war-torn regions around the world. Designed to foster peace, the camp is located on Pleasant Lake in Otisfield.

Scee will speak about the Seeds of Peace program and her photographs at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the library’s Lecture Hall.

Brown Bag Lunch series

Jewelry artist and designer Donna Tumosa, will be the Brown Bag Lunch series speaker at noon Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the Bangor Public Library. Tumosa, known for her silver and gemstone creations, will introduce her art and answer questions for those interested in learning jewelry-making skills.

Church sessions

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor will hold four introductory sessions at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, beginning Oct. 20, at the church, 120 Park St.

Church leaders will cover the activities of the society and meetings will feature the video “Our American Roots,” which will be shown in segments during the four sessions.

“We’re particularly pleased with this video,” said Charles Boothby, council chairman, “because it emphasizes that our UU values are American values – freedom of conscience, freedom of thought and the right to choose our own leaders.”

To obtain information, call 947-7009.

Brewer

Benefit yard sale

A yard sale to benefit hurricane victims will be held 7 a.m. to dark Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14-15, and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Brewer Eagles Club. Donations for the yard sale will be accepted 8 a.m.-4 p.m. through Friday, Oct. 14, in the Eagles parking lot. Proceeds will benefit The Salvation Army.

Jonatha Brooke concert

Singer-songwriter Jonatha Brooke will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at the Brewer Middle School, 5 Somerset St.

Brooke, based in New York City, recently completed a tour of Europe, opening for Joe Cocker.

With her band The Story, Brooke made two albums, “Grace in Gravity” and “The Angel in the House.” Her first solo effort was “Plumb,” followed by “Ten Cent Wings” and “Steady Pull,” which lead Billboard Magazine to call her “one of the most gifted and unique artists of the decade.”

Her latest release, “Back in the Circus,” drew critical acclaim from The Boston Globe.

Tickets for the concert are $20 and available at The Grasshopper Shop in Bangor, Brewer Middle School and at the door. Proceeds from the event will benefit Brewer Youth Theatre. To obtain information, call 989-8640, or visit www.brewer

theatre.com.

Breast cancer awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and three local Curves facilities are joining an effort to support and educate its members. Informational displays in the Brewer, Bucksport and Hampden Curves will feature information regarding the benefits of proper nutrition and exercise.

“This is part of our commitment to women’s health,” said Kim Griffin, owner of the three franchises. “We work with our members on exercise and fitness, but more than that, we work with them on ‘wellness,’ taking responsibility for their bodies and their lives. As women exercise they become stronger, both physically and emotionally. That strength enables them to take control over their lives. Regular medical checkups are part of a total wellness program and Curves is proud to encourage the women of the community.”

Informational studies show that even moderate exercise can lower breast cancer risk by about 20 percent in women who are already a normal weight. Keeping a healthy weight with a good diet is critical. Mammograms have been shown to be less accurate in heavier women, and these women are less likely to schedule regular cancer screenings, which may explain why they tend to be diagnosed at a more advanced stage.

Information regarding Curves breast cancer awareness program may be obtained by calling franchises in Brewer, 989-3733; Bucksport, 469-3900; and Hampden, 862-6746.

Meet the candidates

The Brewer Education Association invites the public to a Meet the Candidates night at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, at Brewer High School cafeteria. To obtain information, call Kim Khoury Kelley at 989-4140 or 843-6260.

Acrylic painting class

The Brewer Parks and Recreation Department is offering a new class for adults, Introduction of Acrylic Painting, with instructor Bev Langley. The eight-week class will meet 7-8:45 p.m. Mondays, beginning Oct. 17, at the Brewer Auditorium.

The class is designed for beginners who have been interested in painting but hesitant to take the first step.

Participants will learn color basics, selection and use of materials and tools, canvas stretching, painting techniques and methods.

Class space is limited with registrations accepted on a first- registered, first-entered basis. The cost is $40 for Brewer residents, $45 for others, plus an additional project fee of $10. To obtain information, call 989-5199.

Corinth

Lamb and goat auction

Tilton’s Auction Facility on Puddledock Road in Corinth will host a lamb and goat auction at noon Saturday, Oct. 29. Corinth is about 30 minutes from Bangor on Route 15. Staff from University of Maine Cooperative Extension will be on hand with educational displays and printed materials about goat and lamb production.

The auction is a good time to sell livestock.

A team from the University of Maine, the USDA and the Maine Department of Agriculture is working to improve the market for Maine-raised goats and lambs. Local auctions such as the one planned at Tilton’s are one of the outcomes of the effort.

The auctions connect Maine producers of goats and lambs with traditional livestock buyers as well as new buyers from Maine’s growing ethnic communities. There is typically a high demand for lambs and goats for ethnic religious observances. High-quality lambs and goats can bring a premium price.

If you have lambs or goats to sell, or you would like information about the auction, call the Piscataquis County office of the UMaine Cooperative Extension at (800) 287-1491.

Eddington

Historical society meeting

The Eddington Historical Society will meet at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16, at Comins Hall, Route 9 in East Eddington. The program is Halloween Lore and Pumpkin Painting, which begins at 2:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend the meeting.

Orland

Smoke detector reminder

The Orland Fire Department reminds residents to adopt a simple lifesaving habit and replace the batteries in smoke detectors. The most common cause of smoke detector failure is batteries that are worn or missing. To obtain information, call the fire department at 469-3079.

Orono

Checkups and checkouts

The public is invited to attend an informational presentation at noon Tuesday, Oct. 18, at Parker Senior Center, Birch Street, Orono, given by town nurse Leslie Peterson and town librarian Kathy Marks-Molloy. Their topic will be “Checkups and Checkouts: What do Health and the Library Have in Common?”

To learn about the event, call the library at 866-5060.

Program in social work

An informational meeting about the master’s in social work program through the University of Maine School of Social Work will be held three times in the coming months:

. 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18.

. 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10.

. 2-4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 16.

Each session will be held in Room 104 in the Social Work Building on campus.

Scarecrow Contest

A Scarecrow Contest will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at Orono Public Library. Make a scarecrow with family or friends and bring it to the library to be judged. Prizes will be awarded and refreshments will be served. The contest is open to all ages.

Dr. Patch lecture

Mary Bird, instructor in science and environmental education at the University of Maine, traveled to Augusta on Tuesday to give a slide show and talk on the life, work and legacy of Dr. Edith Marion Patch at the meeting of Koussinoc Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.

The lecture was held at the City Center Auditorium in Augusta. Bird recently completed her dissertation on Dr. Patch and will be awarded a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education this fall.

Edith Marion Patch was a pioneering entomologist whose scientific, educational and environmental work expanded the ecological understanding of scientists, educators, children and families around the world. She came to the University of Maine in 1903 and worked for one year without pay. When she first came, one person said she should not be hired as she “could not climb a tree, nor catch a grasshopper.”

The director answered that she was not being hired as an acrobat, and it would take a “lively grasshopper to evade her!”

Patch was a pioneer in the truest sense of the word – the first woman entomologist, first woman department chairman, and the first woman president of the Entomological Society of America. In addition to publishing more than 80 scientific articles, and working tirelessly to reduce pesticide use and protect the environment, Patch wrote dozens of nature stories and books for children. Her home in Orono, Braeside, has become a museum.

Orrington

Coffee Night

Coffee Night will be held 6:30-7:30 p.m. the third Thursday of each month, beginning Oct. 20, at Orrington Public Library. The hour will offer coffee, conversation and current book titles to browse and borrow. Call the library at 825-4938 for information.