UCB students come to aid of humane society

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Before they leave campus for the summer, here’s a salute to members of the Veterinary Technology Program at University College of Bangor.

UCB staff member Jeri Waterhouse informed me these students transformed “their anesthesiology class into a spay/neuter day for Kennebec Valley Humane Society” in Augusta.

That special class day came about after KVHS director Robert Haley “called the vet tech program with a dilemma,” Waterhouse wrote of his statement that the organization was “overflowing with cats, and cannot get them spayed or neutered fast enough to adopt.”

So, the UCB class “offered to attempt to do 30 on one day,” Waterhouse wrote.

And 30 they did!

The cats “were examined, anesthetized, spayed or neutered and recovered by 17 students,” the program’s veterinary surgeon Dr. Laura Buckley and veterinary technicians Waterhouse and Jennifer Gallant.

“The work of one day helped KVHS with surgeries by more than two weeks,” Waterhouse wrote.

She extends “a big thank you to the students for their professionalism, sharply focused skills, compassion for the cats, and enthusiasm for the project.

“Each cat presented its own challenges, and the students were observant of that. They should be proud of completing such an ambitious project.”

Speaking of organizations that care for animals, PETS, which Laurie Mountain describes as “a local, nonprofit animal welfare organization,” is hosting its next major fundraiser.

A yard, craft, bake, anything goes sale, rain or shine, is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day, Friday-Sunday, May 11-13, at the former Kingdom Hall building on Route 7 in Corinna.

“Just follow the signs,” Mountain wrote.

Proceeds benefit the organization that assisted more than 600 animals in 2006 and already has assisted more than 140 this year, she added.

“Another busy year means funds are desperately needed for this small, all-volunteer group to continue their life-saving work with needy animals in the surrounding communities.”

If you have items to donate, or want more information, call Mountain at 278-2175; Sue Slate, 379-2809, Mary Shapleigh, 564-8092, Phyllis Dyer, 564-8072 or Sally Sue Pearson, 876-2752.

Simpson Memorial Library trustees secretary Sue Kircheis wants readers to know the library “has amassed a huge collection of hardcover and paperback books” for its annual sale.

That event is 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, May 11, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at the library on Plymouth Road in Carmel.

Kircheis reports some of the books were donated, “while others are being culled from our collection,” and that most “will be sold at a fraction of their value.”

More importantly, however, is that “every penny received will go to the support of this wonderful community library.”

Fulton Butler has informed me that Penobscot United Bikers of Maine will hold its annual Bike Show and Rodeo.

The rodeo games are from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the bike show follows from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 12, along the Kenduskeag Stream, “across from Aubuchon Hardware” in Bangor, Butler wrote.

For more information about the event, or the organization, call 223-4252 or 843-6144.

Here’s more information from Deborah Butterwick about fundraisers for the Hancock Grammar School Destination Imagination Team that is traveling, this month, to the DI Global Competition in Tennessee.

Two events are planned for one day.

First is a DI auction beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at HGS on Route 1, with “many great items to bid on,” Butterwick wrote.

And, if your car is dirty, have it cleaned from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day, at the Irving Car Wash in Ellsworth.

Then, take the family and enjoy the Pizza Hut for DI from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 14, at that Ellsworth restaurant.

“Profits from the sales, that evening, will go to DI,” Butterwick wrote of the group that originally needed to raise about $11,000 to participate in the championship event.

Galen Cousins of Orland, a Maine Troop Greeter and U.S. Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War, is at the Maine Veterans Home in Bangor after treatment for throat cancer.

And while he cannot talk on the phone, he would appreciate hearing from his many friends.

Mail can be sent to Cousins at MVH, Section C-1, 44 Hogan Road, Bangor 04401, or to his wife, Karen Cousins, 23 Leaches Point Road, Orland 04472, and she will deliver your greetings to him.

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