Without the sponsorship of the National Football League and the outstanding volunteer commitment of local health professionals, some 12- to 14-year-old athletes in our area might never have the opportunity to learn the sport of football.

The NFL Junior Player Development Program, working with HEALTHSOUTH, the Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Center in Bangor, is now in its second year of sponsoring this eight-week program in the eastern Maine area.

Pamela Colson Power of HEALTHSOUTH reports that several local health professionals participated in “a massive project” in which they “donated their time to provide all the health screenings for the program,” which amounted to nearly “100 physicals a day at different sites.” Without these free screenings, Power said, the youngsters could not participate in the program.

Making that volunteer commitment were Ralph Gabarro, CEO of Mayo Regional Hospital in Dover-Foxcroft; Dr. James Berry, Guilford; Anita Moralis, Dover-Foxcroft; Dr. Michelle Labotz, Ellsworth; Nicole Beaulieu, Rhonda Lovejoy and Lori Johnston, Carmel Health Center; Dr. Peter Goebel, Ellsworth; Dr. Larry Smith, Winterport, and Dr. Johantha Fanburg, Ellsworth.

Mike Karnas of Brewer is regional coordinator of the NFL Youth Program that includes more than 300 children from Newport, Carmel, Dexter, Howland, Milo and other communities in Hancock, Washington and Aroostook counties.

Working with Karnas for the NFL program in the Carmel area is Gary Hamel. Shane Lowell covers the Ellsworth area and John Brown the Presque Isle area.

HEALTHSOUTH staff members Matt Tycz, Josh Randall and Phil Mateja are providing athletic trainer services for the NFL Youth Program, which began in March and concludes in June.

The program is specifically designed for young athletes whose middle and high schools do not offer football. If you have questions about this program and would like to learn more about it, call Power at 945-0207.

Until 1971, when Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, traditionally, had been celebrated on May 30.

That is why it is appropriate that today, the Bangor Public Library invites you to attend a ceremony in honor of one of our community’s fallen soldiers.

In 1945, the city of Bangor created the “Book of Honor” to memorialize residents of our city who lost their lives in World War II.

The book is on public view at the library and a page is turned each day.

A new page in the book, in honor of Sgt. Dennis T. Cullinan Jr., will be entered at noon today at the library at 184 Harlow St. in Bangor.

When the book was created, Cullinan’s photo was not available. Its recent acquisition has made possible this ceremony in honor of the Bangor man killed in action over France in May 1943.

Participating in the ceremony will be an honor guard and color guard from the Maine Air National Guard 101st Refueling Wing and members of the Bangor High School Junior ROTC. The event will include brief remarks and a moment of silence.

Here is a reminder for children ages 4 through 10, and their parents or guardians, who live in the Machias area.

Local volunteers, celebrities, University of Maine-Machias community members and members of local groups and organizations will read to children from 5 to 6 p.m. each Wednesday, including today, at the Porter Memorial Library in Machias.

Besides having great children’s literature read to them, the youngsters also may be entertained with storytelling or music.

The program is sponsored by the library, community members and representatives of UMM.

Under the direction of fourth-year UMM education student Douglas Mugford, “the Children’s Hour” is being conducted under the auspices of the Student Education Association and the UMM education department faculty, with additional support from the UMM International Club and the America Reads program.

Most of the United Way of Eastern Maine Lend-A-Hand projects are scheduled to be completed Saturday, June 2, according to Nancy Roberts of UWEM.

Among those activities are replacing acoustic tiles at the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter, cleaning the yard and building a deck at Down East AIDS Network in Ellsworth, outside painting at Project Atrium and Winnie-the-Pooh Nursery School in Bangor, or painting inside at the Abnaki Girl Scout Council headquarters in Brewer.

Additional projects are inside painting at United Cerebral Palsy of Northeastern Maine in Bangor, assisting seniors with yardwork or putting in screens and doing spring cleaning for Eastern Agency on Aging clients.

You are invited to start the day with a free breakfast at Cascade Park in Bangor and then Lend-A-Hand with a specific UWEM agency project.

Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. is sponsoring this year’s program, and the first 250 volunteers will receive a Lend-A-Hand T-shirt.

To sign up, call United Volunteers at UWEM, 941-2803; visit unitedwayem.org or e-mail paulab@unitedwayem.org.

The family and friends of former Troy resident Alice Leeman Call cordially invite you to join in celebrating her 90th birthday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 3, at the Seven Star Grange on the corner of state Routes 9 and 202 in Troy.

Call, who now resides at The Gables Home in Vassalboro, has an exceptionally large family, many of whom will be in attendance, said her oldest daughter, Ethel Call Tibbetts of Troy. “If we all get together, there are almost 100 of us.”

Tibbetts said that of her mother’s six children, five are still living. Of Call’s 15 grandchildren, 14 are living, and she has 20 great-grandchildren and 20 great-great grandchildren.

Although Call’s birthday is actually June 23, the celebration is being held at this time because it enables more of her family to attend.

Everyone who knows Alice Call is invited to attend her party. In lieu of gifts, guests may make a contribution to a money tree.

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