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Bangor

City personnel

New employees for the city of Bangor are:

. Susan Warner, BAT transit driver.

. Luc Dionne, building maintenance and construction projects supervisor, BIA.

. Matthew Wilson, ramp attendant, BIA.

The city has promoted the following employees:

. Edward Glidden, Bass Park lead maintenance worker.

. Tom Reagan, lieutenant, Bangor Police Department.

Lt. Mark Dunbar has retired from the Bangor Fire Department.

Beecher Boys and Girls

The Beecher Boys and Girls Hillbilly Band and Cloggers will appear outside the Bangor Public Library at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, in Pierce Park.

The Beechers, who are from the Bangor area, promise “footstompin’, hand clappin’ bluegrass country music and singin’ and banjo and bass pluckin’, geetar and mandolin strummin’, perdy girls cloggin’, wacky jokes and zany stories” – well, you get the idea.

The Beecher Boys and Girls donate the money they collect yearly to their favorite charity.

The Sebasticook Valley Band will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, at Bangor Public Library.

The Bangor Public Library’s Summer Music Series concerts are free and made possible by the generosity and public spirit of the performers. The concerts are sponsored in part by the Bangor Savings Bank and the Eaton Peabody law firm.

Neighborhood reunion

Norma Patterson Williams and June Robinson Leen of Bangor invite old neighbors and friends from the State Street and Oak Street areas to join them for a bring-your-own picnic from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at Williams Park, formerly known as Newbury Street Park.

If you have any photographs from those days, you are asked to bring them along.

For more information about this special neighborhood reunion, call Williams at 735-8407 or Leen at 947-8879.

Ministries for all ages

Target Ministries meets at 6 p.m. the last Sunday of each month at Glad Tidings Church, 1033 Broadway.

Everyone gathers in the main auditorium for a short time of worship, announcements and a word from Pastor Ron Morris. Then they disperse to one of three groups – men, women and seniors.

The men’s group includes a range of ages and is growing rapidly. Participants said they find the gatherings both entertaining and helpful spiritually. Kevin Alley leads the group.

The women’s group, led by Dixie Morris, has an upbeat atmosphere presenting helpful information for women of all ages. It is one of the larger groups so far.

The seniors’ group, “Pillars of Hope,” offers activities and special guests, with a wealth of information shared. The group includes both men and women, couples and singles. The group has a friendly atmosphere with lots of laughter. Elena Phillips is the leader.

Morris named the program Target Ministries “because within the numbers will be groups who will reach out to people in need.”

The new program is progressing well with great leadership and interest, organizers say. At the same time, there are programs for youth of all ages. The public is welcome.

The next Target Ministries night will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 29.

Bo Lozoff lecture

Bo Lozoff, founder of the Human Kindness Foundation and the Prison-Ashram Project, will give a public lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, at the Unitarian Universality Society of Bangor, 120 Park St.

An award-winning singer-songwriter, Lozoff also will perform, with Josh Lozoff’s Deep Magic Show, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Ellsworth. Admission is free.

Sponsors of the Lozoff tour are Peace Action Maine, Maine Council of Churches, Maine Alternatives to Violence, Restorative Justice Project of the Midcoast, University of Maine Peace Studies Program, Bangor Theological Seminary, Blue Hill Congregational Church outreach board, social justice committee of the UU Society of Bangor, Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine and volunteers for Hancock County Jail residents. For information, call 374-3608.

Riverside flea market

The Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce will sponsor its second Riverside Flea Market, 7 a.m.- 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, at the corner of Main and Railroad streets. The market will feature collectibles, arts, crafts, outdoor accessories, clothing, books, furniture, yard sale items and food.

Booth space is available for those who preregister at $30 for a 15-foot by 15-foot space. The morning of the flea market will be $40. To preregister, e-mail brccevents@bangorregion.com.

Lughnasa celebration

A ritual celebration of Lughnasa to mark the first harvest of summer, and the midpoint between the summer solstice and the fall equinox, will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, in the vestry of the Unitarian Universalist Church, 120 Park St. The public is invited to attend and to stop by Silo 7 for snacks and conversation.

Police department retiree

Sgt. Jim Owens is retiring from the Bangor Police Department after 36 years.

Owens graduated from Brownville Junction High School in 1960 and attended Ricker College in Houlton. He served three years in the United States Army, including two tours of duty in Vietnam, and was honorably discharged in 1967. He joined the Bangor Police Department on Feb. 22, 1971, as a patrolman. He attended Basic Police School at the Men’s Correctional Center in South Windham, where he finished fourth in his class.

He was promoted to sergeant on Jan. 9, 1989, after serving as a patrolman and detective.

Coworkers say he is best known for his passion for sports, his dedication to youth baseball and his solid approach to police work. He and wife Gloria are the parents of Trisha, Jamie, Mark and Shaun.

Police promotion

Bangor Police Department Chief Ron Gastia promoted Sgt. Tom Reagan to the rank of lieutenant at a May 31 ceremony.

Reagan was hired by the Bangor Police Department on Aug, 22, 1988. After working as a patrol officer for eight years, he was assigned to the department’s detective division, where he remained until he was promoted to the rank of sergeant on Oct. 1, 1998.

Reagan is a certified instructor for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. He is a drug recognition expert and an instructor for the program. He has served as supervisor for the department’s special enforcement team.

“Tom is an excellent choice for promotion to this position,” Gastia said. “He is a professional, motivated, has an excellent work ethic and will be a valuable addition to the administrative staff.”

Adoption information

The Bangor office of the Department of Health and Human Services will hold a public informational meeting about adoption and foster care at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6.

Those considering adoption or foster care through the Maine Department of Health and Human Services are encouraged to attend the open, no obligation meeting. To learn the location of the meeting and to participate, call A Family For ME at 877-505-0545.

Bucksport-Prospect

Markings by the DAR

The Daughters of the American Revolution will dedicate a bronze marker honoring the Revolutionary War service of Col. Jonathan Buck at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 27, at the Buck Cemetery on Main Street, Bucksport.

A Civil War display will be dedicated with a commemorative plaque at 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 27, in the Officers Quarters at Fort Knox State Park, Prospect. The Maine State Organization DAR funded the display as the state regent’s project of Donna Dunbar Hoffmann.

The public is welcome to attend both events.

Castine

Reminiscing

The Bagaduce Watershed Association will sponsor “Fishing, Farming and Fun in the Summertime: Way Back When,” an evening of reminiscing at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 29, at the Wilson Museum, 120 Perkins St. For more information, call the museum at 326-9247.

Antique appraisals

Maine Maritime Academy will be the host for an antique appraisal session in conjunction with its upcoming Travel Auction and Gala.

Organizers encourage the public to take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about their prized possessions noon-4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3, on the day of the gala. For a donation of $5 per item or $20 for five items, the public is invited to consult with professional appraisers.

Professional auctioneer for the gala, Kaja Veilleux, of Thomaston Place Auction Galleries and his team of appraisal experts will provide fair market value estimates from his mobile lab in the parking lot of Castine town dock.

Tickets are still available for the event, which recently launched an online site, www.mmatravelauction.cmarket.com, to allow previewing and bidding for outdoor excursions and travel packages.

The gala is the college’s second such event to benefit student scholarship, services and academic programs. Last year the event raised more than $30,000 in support of the college.

Tickets for the event are limited to 250 and are available by advance reservation for $35. Party tables may be purchased for groups of six for $150. To donate an item for auction or to purchase tickets, call Donne Sinderson at 326-2470 during weekday business hours.

Orono

Book signing

Miriam Colwell, author of “Contentment Cove,” will speak and sign copies of her book 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, on the second floor of Fogler Library, University of Maine. Colwell is a longtime Prospect Harbor postmistress.

“Contentment Cove” is a novel about social class clashes set in a Maine coastal village in the 1950s. First released as a short-run title by Puckerbrush Press in 2006, the book has been redesigned and recently reissued by Islandport Press.

The story, surprisingly relevant to today’s way of life, takes place over a matter of days one summer and is told from the illuminating perspectives of three women – a local shopkeeper, an artist and a wealthy retiree – whose lives become entwined, pleasantly at first and then tragically.

With recognizable Maine characters as well as those “from away,” “Contentment Cove” is infused with humor, but also is a novel that deals with serious issues, none more compelling than the erosion of a certain way of Maine life and the evolution of another.

Born in 1917, Colwell, the author of “Wind off the Water,” “Day of the Trumpet” and “Young,” lives in Prospect Harbor in the house her great-great-great grandfather built in 1818. Following in the footsteps of her grandfather and great-grandfather, she became the town’s postmistress at age 23, at that time the youngest in the United States.

For more information about the book signing, call 581-1661.