Sportscaster awards

BANGOR – WZON-AM 620, Stephen King’s all-sports station in Bangor, has been honored with four excellence in broadcasting awards from the Maine Association of Broadcasters.

The annual competition is sponsored by the association and is open to all member radio stations in Maine. Numerous radio stations compete for the statewide awards which are judged by out of state broadcasting professionals.

A total of six awards were presented in two sports categories. WZON claims four of the six 2008 awards:

Best sports play by play

. First: Clem LaBree and Dan Chadbourne, high school football.

. Second: Jeff Solari, Husson University basketball.

Best sports feature

. Jeff Solari, Profile of Husson University’s Brock and Shelby Bradford, first.

. Pat Spekhardt: The story of Bangor soccer star Eric Milles, second.

Earlier this year WZON brought home five of seven sports awards presented by The Associated Press in its statewide competition.

“This has been a very good year for us,” said WZON program director Dale Duff. “There are a lot of stations across the state and in our area that do a great job broadcasting and covering local college and high school sports. To win nine of the 13 total awards given out this year in Maine is a huge honor.”

For a complete list of awards, visit mab.org.

WinterKids program

Maine parents will find getting a WinterKids Passport to winter fun a lot easier and quicker this year by going to www.winterkids.org to order a Passport for their fifth-, sixth- or seventh-grader.

The WinterKids Passport, in its 12th year, offers Maine fifth-, sixth- and seventh-graders the opportunity to learn and enjoy winter sports with free and discounted tickets and lessons and rentals at outdoor recreation areas across the state, including downhill ski areas, cross-country ski centers, ice skating arenas, and tubing and sledding parks. Discounts for family members are offered as well. The WinterKids Passport participates in the National Passport program, which provides discounted tickets at winter sports venues across the United States for participating students.

In the past, parents could fill out an application on the WinterKids Web site and mail a check to cover the processing fee to the WinterKids office. Now, the entire registration and processing fee payment can be handled at one time in a simple and secure online transaction.

Registration and payment by mail is still offered for those who prefer that option. Paper copies of passport applications are available at all Maine schools with fifth-, sixth- or seventh-grades and at WinterKids sponsors’ locations: Hannaford Supermarkets, TD Banknorth branches and Time Warner Cable offices. Passport booklets will be mailed to families beginning in November.

For more information about WinterKids, visit www.winterkids.org or call 871-5700.

Nature activities

HOLDEN – These activities will take place at Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road:

. Family nature walk, 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15. Parents and children will enjoy exercise, fresh air and learn about the fall season. A creative indoor project will be offered after the walk. The cost is $4 children, free to parents.

. “A Trip to Churchill, Manitoba,” slideshow presentation with Bob Duchesne and fellow travelers, Judy Markowsky, Sandi Duchesne, Al and Nancy Larson, and Michele McCormick, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. Photographs of ptarmigans, Beluga whales, Arctic hares, nesting redpolls and sandpipers; $5 Audubon members, $7 others.

. Homeschool program for children age 6 to 10 – Maine Animals, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20. Includes a nature walk to count how many different animals can be seen or heard. $8 Audubon members, $10 others.

. Survival in the Forest Workshop, 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov, 23. Tom Copeland of Copeland Hill will lead a walk and demonstrate techniques of survival in the Maine woods. He will teach what is edible, how to make a shelter, build a fire and more; $5 Audubon members, $6 others.

Register for these activities by calling 989-2591.