Members of the Brewer Eagles Club are hosting a benefit spaghetti dinner for past president Dave Gilbert of Hermon, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, club treasurer Sandy Russell reports.

The benefit is 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, at the club, 22 Atlantic Ave. in Brewer.

Admission is just a $5 donation, and a basket raffle will be included.

Russell said not only has Gilbert served as an officer for the Eagles, but he helped form and was an adviser to the Junior Eagles, Russell said.

“I know that he does a lot of work for the children, because he’s a Shrine clown,” she added, “and he’s always played Santa Claus for us at the Eagles Club,” during its children’s Christmas parties.

Iris Simon reports that 237.05 pounds were lost during Week No. 5 of the Healthy Hancock Lose and Win program with 45 participating teams, bringing the total to 1,823.43 and closing in on their goal of losing a ton.

Weekly winners of the Victory Stick for the most weight lost that week were the Merry Melting Pots of Winter Harbor, followed by the Inn-Credible Shrinking Women of Deer Isle and A Lighter Load, one of the teams from Ellsworth Congregational Church.

The speaker for Week No. 6 is Joyce Kleffner, an educator with University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

At 5:45 tonight at the Ellsworth VFW hall on East Main Street, Kleffner will offer Lose and Win team members tips and ideas about food shopping which, she said, will “both reduce waste and reduce waist!”

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Rape Response Services of Bangor will be the beneficiary of the 13th Annual Beta Sleep Out from 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17, to 6 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, on the campus of the University of Maine in Orono.

Sponsored by Beta Theta Pi fraternity, the event includes 45 brothers, fellow students and faculty representatives of other UMaine organizations.

Last year, the event raised $1,000 for RRS which, in addition to other services, provides a 24-hour hotline for anyone affected by sexual assault on the UMaine campus and throughout Penobscot and Piscataquis counties.

During the benefit, raffle tickets will be sold for $1 each or six for $5.

For more information, to make a donation or purchase raffle tickets, call Andrew Knapp at 581-8323.

If there is no answer, leave a message with your phone number, or you can write Knapp at 12 Munson Road, Orono, 04469 or e-mail andrew.knapp@umit.maine.edu.

Kathy Walker, executive director of RRS, reports the organization “is honored” to have been chosen “as the recipient of the funds” raised during the sleep out.

Lots of wonderful activities are planned for Penobscot River Winterfest 2006 Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant, Brewer Auditorium and Doyle Field in Brewer.

Jan Cox wrote that for those “who like to be warm, The Cool Cafe will be open” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. downstairs in the auditorium.

You can enjoy free Dunkin’ Donuts Munchkins, coffee and hot chocolate, and delightful music.

Four Guys of Swing entertain at 10 a.m., The Winters Family at 11 a.m., a Sax Quartet at noon, The Maynards at 1 p.m. and The Skyliners at 2 p.m.

Proceeds from many small admission fees for events at the auditorium will benefit Children’s Miracle Network of Eastern Maine Healthcare.

Our community recently lost two prominent citizens who gave a great deal of themselves to help improve the lives and opportunities of those around them.

To the family, friends and associates of Larry Mahaney, my sincerest condolences on his unexpected passing.

Much has been written about Larry, but what I believe may have been his most enduring contribution is that he never forgot his roots, and for that we are most grateful.

My deepest sympathies are extended to Barbara Hess and her family on the loss of her husband, John “Pete” Hess, a former Bangor resident who more recently called Orono home.

A well-known and highly regarded attorney, former Bangor City Council chairman and a longtime, dedicated volunteer, Pete served this area and his state admirably, on several boards and commissions of organizations and institutions that had a positive affect on all our lives.

We appreciate that service, and his commitment to us.

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