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Honors for Hermon lifter

BANGOR – The 2008 Maine Games-New Balance Male Athlete of the Year, Chris Page, will be honored at a public reception at noon Friday, Sept. 19, at Union Street Athletics, Griffin Road.

Page, 42, of Hermon is a power-lifter who has competed in the Maine Games State Powerlifting Championships every year since the event began in 2005. The accolades for this champion don’t end there, however. In August, Page was selected as the National Congress of State Games’ Male Athlete of the Year.

“It’s quite an honor for someone from Maine,” said Maine Games executive director Jeff Scully of Saco. “Chris is our first national winner, and I believe quite deserving of the award.”

In addition to being crowned Maine’s Strongest Man at this year’s Maine Games power-lifting event in Brewer, Page claimed his fifth and sixth gold medals in the Men’s Open division as well as in the Master’s division.

What makes Page’s story most improbable is the fact that in November 2006, while working as a lineman for Central Maine Power, the athlete had his left thumb severed. After a four-hour surgery and extensive rehabilitation, Page was able to adapt his grip, using only four fingers on his injured hand.

In March, less than a year and a half from what should have been a career-ending injury, Page was able to dead lift more than 622 pounds. In addition, his squat and bench press numbers gave him a three-lift total of 1,768 pounds.

Page will attend a banquet in his honor on Sept. 25 in Rochester, N.Y., during the National Congress of State Games’ annual symposium. Montana’s Marlene Tetrault, 70, of Red Lodge also will be honored at the banquet.

The Maine Games is a member of the National Congress of State Games, which is part of the United States Olympic Committee.

The mission of the Maine Games is to provide amateur athletes of all ages and abilities the opportunity to compete on a statewide stage, to practice good sportsmanship and to develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.

Mindy Fowler of Winslow was named the Maine Games-New Balance Female Athlete of the Year for 2008 after her two gold-medal performances in the tennis competition at Colby College in June.

In addition, Fowler competed in the High School Field Hockey tournament for the Winslow High School team. She captured the Women’s Open division gold medal and partnered with her father, Jeff, to claim the top spot in the Mixed Doubles competition.

New Balance, with manufacturing facilities in Maine, has been the sponsor of the statewide award since 2003.

Walkingtober 2008

HAMPDEN – The Hampden Recreation Department and SAD 22 are sponsoring Walkingtober 2008.

Register for the monthlong event from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Lura Hoit Pool area, 146 Western Ave. The first 100 people to register on site receive a free pedometer.

Activities include Walkingtober registration, a 1-mile nature walk, community vendors, raffle drawing and final chance prize drawing.

Memorial 5K Run and Walk

DIXMONT – The second annual Gary S. Crocker Memorial 5K Run and Walk is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 14, and will benefit the Dixmont Scholarship Association.

The race, which began in 2007 during the Dixmont Bicentennial, is held in honor of Gary S. Crocker, a community member and strong supporter of local agriculture and farming, who died last summer.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. and race time is 9 a.m. sharp on Cottrell Road in Dixmont. The 5K event will issue prizes to the top three places in the men’s and women’s divisions. The cost to participate is $10 for adults, $5 for youths, and each registrant will receive a commemorative T-shirt.

The Dixmont Scholarship Association awards scholarships annually to Dixmont high school seniors.

To get to the registration table and start of the race, enter Cottrell Road from Route 143, Simpson Corner Road, about 1.5 miles north of the intersection of Routes 9 and 143. Follow Cottrell Road to the bend, where the registration table and start of the race will be located. The race will be held rain or shine.

To obtain more information, call Don Pendleton, head of the race committee, at 234-2243 or e-mail swancreek@uninets.net.

Stream study

BANGOR – In addition to its second annual Frogs, Logs, & Bogs Road Ride on Sunday, Sept. 14, Bangor Land Trust will host a Stream Study for participants of all ages along the Kenduskeag Stream on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Living among the rocks in streams and rivers are wondrous miniature communities. With the aid of a microscope, participants will examine these creatures and their adaptation for living in a wet, fast-moving world. People of all ages will love getting their feet wet as we explore this habitat on the Kenduskeag. Meet at the last parking area on Valley Avenue.

For more information, visit www.bangorlandtrust.org to view a calendar of events.

Maine Games volleyball

WATERVILLE – The Maine Games will offer its second annual State High School Volleyball Festival, known as NET-FEST, on Saturday, Sept. 20, at Colby College. Sixteen teams will compete for gold, silver and bronze medals at the largest high school volleyball tournament in the state’s history. The event will feature eight varsity teams and eight JV teams on three courts.

While volleyball has been a varsity sport for some time in Maine, the total number of schools currently competing is low. Too low, according to Maine Games executive director Jeff Scully, who is also a volleyball official.

“We’re starting to pick up some steam with volleyball in Maine, but we need many more schools all over the state to add this to their fall line up of scholastic sports,” he said. “The benefits of offering volleyball are great.”

According to Scully, the cost of offering a scholastic volleyball program is one of the lowest of all sports recognized by the National Federation of High School Sports.

“So many schools already have the basic net and standard equipment for their gym classes. The rest, after a small start up cost, is very minimal, and volleyball allows so many other kids the opportunity to play an exciting sport, develop a different set of skills, and also learn a sport they can play a lifetime,” he said.

One of the missions of the Maine Games NET-FEST 2008, is to shine a spotlight on the sport and expose it to schools around the state that might consider adding volleyball in the near future.

Teams from both southern Maine and Down East schools are traveling to Waterville to compete in the event. As many as 200 Maine high school volleyball players will participate.

The Maine Games is a statewide, multievent, Olympic-style sports festival. State Games are offered all over the country from the Aloha State Games in Hawaii to the Maine Games.

Members of the National Congress of State Games are nonprofit, 501(c)3 public charities.

The Maine Games 2008 NET-FEST is open to the public. Competition begins at 9 a.m. and will continue through gold medal matches at around 5 p.m.

Concessions will be provided by athletes from various Colby College sports teams.

Grant to YMCA program

OLD TOWN – The JCPenney Afterschool Fund has awarded a grant of $10,200 to the Old Town-Orono YMCA to help more children participate in safe, life enriching after school programs.

The gift is one of 340 grants from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund to YMCAs around the country. JCPenney Afterschool Fund’s national contribution exceeds $3.5 million.

The grant award is specifically targeted to help YMCAs provide financial assistance to youth not currently participating in an after-school program because their families lack the financial resources, or those who are currently participating in a program but at risk of leaving due to lack of funds.

“The JCPenney Afterschool Fund is firmly committed to supporting youth-serving organizations like the YMCA that are dedicated to providing safe, meaningful programs during the crucial hours of 3 to 6 p.m., when studies show that youth are at a greater risk of involvement in crime, drug abuse and other destructive behaviors,” said Jodi Gibson, president of the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.

Complementing the JCPenney Afterschool Fund’s support of the Old Town-Orono YMCA is a separate gift from JCPenney of 18 JCPenney Gift Cards worth $50 each for children receiving financial assistance from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund grant to help with the purchase of school clothing and supplies for the school year.

“The generous support of the JCPenney Afterschool Fund and JCPenney enhances our efforts to serve as many children as possible with meaningful, high-quality after-school programming,” said Jill Nitardy, executive director. “They believe, as we do, that children are our greatest asset, and that by working together we can not only keep children safer, but also help provide them with lasting benefits, including healthier lifestyles, improved social skills and an enhanced academic performance.”

In Old Town, the YMCA offers an array of after-school programming for youth, including swim lessons, gymnastics lessons, recreational sports, indoor skate and climbing programs and homework tutoring.

Activities at Fields Pond

These programs are scheduled to take place at Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road in Holden:

. Photo Journey of the Galapagos Islands with Karen Francoeur, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16. $5 Audubon member, $6 others. Master Maine sea kayak guide Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures International will present photos and video clips of the island’s unique and endemic species above and below the water.

. Family walk in nature, 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20. No cost to parents, $4 children. Call 989-2591 to take part. Bring the family to explore nature on the grounds of Fields Pond, exercising while learning the science and poetry of nature. A creative indoor project will be offered after the walk.

. Seventh annual Penobscot Valley Chapter auction, 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19. Free. To donate items, call 989-2591. Proceeds support environmental education and programs of Fields Pond Audubon Center and Penobscot Valley Chapter.

. The Ecology of Gardening with Native Plants with Julie Beckford, Rebel Hill Farm, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23. $5 Audubon members, $6 others.

. Home-school Program for children age 6 to 10, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25. $4. Advance registration required. Experience the Maine forests in autumn. Search for signs of animals, shake hands with trees, learn how nature recycles materials. Rain or shine.

. The Wonders of Lichen: An Introductory Class in Identification, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. Instructor is Jim Hinds, co-author of “The Macrolichens of New England.” $40 Audubon members, $45 others. Advance registration is required, 989-2591. Bring a bag lunch.