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River Coalition

OLD TOWN – The River Coalition recently received a $2,250 grant from the Frederic Future Fund of the Maine Communities Foundation to support the student projects component of its Youth Empowerment Initiative. The mission of the initiative is to motivate and prepare high school students to engage in cultivating their school and residential communities by collaborating with local organizations to plan, promote and host creative opportunities for their peers to contribute to.

“This grant provides a significant financial contribution that will support the YEI,” said Mike Crooker, executive director of the River Coalition. “Students will develop projects and recruit their peers to assist with implementation. They will have an opportunity to be actively involved in addressing the needs of the communities in which they live.”

Since its inception in May 2005, initiative participants have discussed their hopes for the program’s future and lent their efforts to the creation of one of seven commemorative canoe plaques auctioned during the River Coalition’s annual fundraiser and community celebration. Their project, “Explore. Dream. Discover.,” was a multimedia visual representation of the change they’d like to see in their communities.

“The message is to create more and stronger bonds between youth and adults within the community,” said Andrew Chalila, a member of the initiative’s youth advisory council. “Having youth support this will show just how crucial it is. It shows we’re willing to work for it.”

Essay contest winners

Area students who attained honorable mention in the Margaret Chase Smith Library essay contest are Andy Baldacci, a Bangor High School student, and Sheila Nevells, a Hampden Academy student. Baldacci and Nevells each were awarded $25.

The theme of the essay contest was civil rights, a cause championed by Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. senator from Maine from 1949 to 1973.

4-H Foundation Scholarships

ORONO – Several students were awarded $1,000 scholarships at the Pine Tree State 4-H Foundation’s recent annual meeting. They were among 4-H members receiving the scholarships to help support their educational goals.

According to Dr. Fred Schlutt, executive director of the foundation, “post-secondary education scholarships are an important offering of the 4-H Foundation. They reward the hard work of our graduating 4-H members and also display the dedication of 4-to higher levels of learning.”

The Pine Tree State 4-H Foundation partners with University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s 4-H youth development program to enrich youth experiences.

. Peter Guerin of Glenburn was awarded the Verna Witter Scholarship. Guerin was president of the Penobscot Sheep Club, as well as the founder and president of the 4-H Community Service Club during his 11-year tenure with 4-H. He participated in National 4-H Congress and Citizenship Washington Focus, and also completed a 4-H exchange trip to France. Guerin will study studio art at the University of Maine.

. Brian J. Pierce of Windham was awarded the Gladys Conant/Farm Credit of Maine Scholarship. Pierce was a 4-H member for nine years. He was president of the Bulls Eyes and Young Farmers Beef Clubs, completed many community service projects, and was very active at Windham High School. He plans to study animal science and agribusiness at the University of Maine.

. The recipient of the Parker Lovejoy Scholarship was Elizabeth Hilton of Alfred. For 13 years, Hilton participated at the local, state and national levels as a 4-H club member. She remarked that her many years in 4-H taught her that success comes from self-discipline and motivation. Hilton plans to study animal and veterinary sciences at the University of Maine.

. Colleen Slattery of Gilead received the Claude Clement Scholarship. A 4-H member for 12 years, Slattery credits her sense of respect, responsibility and determination to her 4-H education. She served as secretary to the Tally-Ho 4-H Horse Club and volunteered at a 4-H after-school program. She plans to attend the University of Maine at Farmington.

. Katherine Pike of Cornish won the Azure Dillon Memorial Scholarship. Pike was a 4-H member for 11 years, and during that time she served as vice president of the Cumberland County All-Star Dairy Club, and participated in National 4-H Congress and the Maine 4-H Dairy Fitting and Judging Teams at Eastern States. Pike plans to pursue a degree in veterinary science.

. Matt Moseley of Norway garnered the Evelyn Trotsky Scholarship. Moseley was a 4-H member for nine years, participating in Eastern States and Maine 4-H Days, and he also frequented the Tanglewood 4-H Camp. He dedicated a great amount of time to community service, volunteering at Camp Susan Curtis and for the March of Dimes, in addition to fundraising for cystic fibrosis research. Moseley plans to study secondary education and Nordic ski coaching.

. The recipient of the Doris Roberts, H. Lawrence and George Lawrence Humphrey 4-H Scholarship was Erica Heinrich of Albion. Heinrich was a member of 4-H for eight years. During this time she served as club president, participated in Eastern States Exposition and completed various community service projects. She plans to study elementary education.

The Maine 4-H program grew out of early 20th century boys and girls clubs, which were folded into the University of Maine’s Extension work in 1914. Since that date, 4-H has continued to set the standard in youth development, helping Maine’s young people acquire the knowledge, life skills, leadership abilities and attitudes necessary for lifelong success. Young people can become involved in 4-H through school enrichment programs, 4-H camps and county UMaine Extension offices.

4-H is the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s youth development program. The Pine Tree State 4-H Foundation is a nonprofit 501c (3) organization that provides financial and organizational support to 4-H clubs throughout Maine.

Colleges

Fulbright Scholar

ORONO – University of Maine chemistry Professor Francois G. Amar of Orono has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and do research at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka, during the 2006-07 academic year. The announcement was made by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Amar will focus on computer modeling of nano-particles on surfaces and will connect frontier science to coursework in modeling for advanced undergraduates. He is one of some 800 United States faculty and professionals who will travel abroad to 140 countries for the academic year through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program has as its purpose the building of mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.

Amar, who came to UMaine in 1983, teaches undergraduate level chemistry courses and works on the university chemistry department’s Inter-Chem-Net project, which provides an infrastructure for making networked chemical instrumentation and spectrometers accessible to students in the general chemistry program.

He also works with Peer Led Team Learning groups in chemistry. Amar serves as a member of the recently established UMaine Center for Science and Mathematics Education Research and on the advisory board for the UMaine Center for Teaching Excellence.

Amar will leave in September and return next summer.

The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange activity, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Over its 58 years of existence, thousands of American faculty and professionals have studied, taught or done research abroad, and thousands of their counterparts from other countries have engaged in similar activities in the United States.

Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and extraordinary leadership potential in their fields.

Fraternity inductee

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Ellen Libby of Orono has been selected for membership in the Alpha Mu Tau fraternity. Only those individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the clinical laboratory science profession are selected for membership.

Libby was inducted into the fraternity at its annual meeting on July 28 in Chicago.

Dartmouth College

HANOVER, N.H. – James Sutcliffe graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College recently. He studied English and environmental-evolutionary biology while he was a student at the college. He is the son of Robert and Nina Sutcliffe of Bangor.

Northeastern University

BOSTON – These area students were named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Northeastern University:

. Matthew Whalen of Brewer.

. Alexander Rosenblatt of Bangor.

. Nicole Leblanc of Bangor.

. Sarah Chase of Hampden.

Roger Williams University

BRISTOL, R.I. – Amy Hutchins of Orrington graduated during commencement ceremonies May 20 at Roger Williams University. Hutchins received a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in architecture.

She also was the recipient of the American Institute of Architects Henry Adams Certificate of Merit. During her college career, she was a member of Tau Sigma Delta, an architecture and allied arts honor society. She also was a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society.

Smith College

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Kelly Swindlehurst was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester at Smith College. She is the daughter of Robert Swindlehurst and Elizabeth Hennessey of Orono.

Stonehill College

EASTON, Mass. – Megan Mansfield of Bangor graduated recently from Stonehill College. While at the college she studied communications and Spanish.

University of Maine

ORONO – Three Maine museums will receive grants from the 2006 Museums for America program. The University of Maine’s Hudson Museum in Orono, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay and the Maine State Museum in Augusta will utilize the funds to strengthen projects to better serve the community.

The funding is distributed as follows:

. $96,265 to Hudson Museum, University of Maine, Orono. The funding will assist the project Gifts from Gluskabe: Documenting Maine Indian Material Culture, which will document artistic traditions represented in the museum’s material culture collections.

. $107,624 to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay. The funding will support the project Plants, People, Place: Interpreting the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which will provide visitors with a better understanding of gardening and horticulture.

. $107,624 to the Maine State Museum in Augusta. The funding will support the project, Maine Science Collections Curatorial Assessment, which will provide a statewide assessment of science collections held by state-funded institutions, including universities, to gain control over these materials.

The Museums for America is the largest grant program for museums, providing millions of dollars each year to sustain cultural heritage and to support lifelong learning. Projects eligible for funding include supplemental programs, research, and high priority activities that enhance community involvement.