Bangor

Connie Strout’s retirement

Connie Strout will retire Feb. 28 after 48 years of employment with the city of Bangor – most of those years as administrative assistant at Bangor International Airport.

Around the airport, Strout is known as the unofficial historian because she has filled several large scrapbooks with newspaper and magazine articles about the facility.

Over the years, Strout has done her best to accommodate people passing through Bangor. She once borrowed a china cup from the airport gift shop so that Joan Mondale, wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale, wouldn’t have to drink her tea from a foam cup. She opened the conference room for former President Jimmy Carter when he found himself in the airport the morning the space shuttle Challenger exploded over Cape Canaveral.

Strout was given a farewell reception Wednesday at the Sheraton Hotel at the airport.

Birthday party for Dr. Seuss

Children are invited to attend a birthday party for Dr. Seuss at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, at the Bangor Public Library.

“Hats on for the big day!” said the librarians.

Line up for a “hat walk” to win a striped classic to wear home. Eat birthday cake and listen to special readers share their favorite Seuss stories. Watch silly librarians act out snippets from the birthday author’s books.

Dr. Seuss’ birthday is being celebrated in conjunction with National Education Association efforts to encourage every child to read every day with a caring adult.

Genealogy on radio

Carol Higgins has interviewed Roxanne Moore Saucier, writer of the Family Ties column in Monday’s Bangor Daily News, on the topic of genealogy.

Higgins’ show, “Senior Talk,” will air 6:30-7 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, on WVOM-FM 103.9; or 9-9:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 2, on WABI-AM 910.

Talk by author Cooney

Maine author Ellen Cooney will discuss her latest novel, “Gun Ball Hill,” at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at Bangor Public Library.

The novel is a gripping story set in Maine during the first days of the American Revolution.

Cooney taught creative writing at MIT and Harvard, and has had short stories published in the New Yorker and New England Review.

“Gun Ball Hill” is her fifth novel.

Parents of twins

A new support group for parents of twins will meet at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month in the Forsyth Room at Eastern Maine Medical Center.

For information, e-mail gayledroy@adelphia.net.

New city employees

New employees for the city of Bangor are:

. Colin Voter, passenger service agent, Bangor International Airport.

. Dane Courtois, passenger service agent, BIA.

. Ceressa Luehr, assistant accountant, BIA.

. Beckie Woods, secretary-administrative assistant, purchasing, City Hall.

Barrett Brown has been promoted to ramp attendant shift leader, BIA.

Course on pruning woody plants

Professor Reeser Manley will teach a six-week course on “The Art and Science of Pruning” 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays, March 26-April 30. The first class will be held at Maine Hall, Eastern Maine Community College, and the remaining classes will be held at various sites locally.

The course will introduce basic concepts of pruning woody landscape plants. Participants will learn by doing, pruning a wide variety of woody plants, including small flowering trees, deciduous shrubs and evergreens. Emphasis is on pruning to enhance the natural beauty of plants and to improve their health. Participants will not be working on large trees – all of the pruning will be done with both feet on the ground.

Examples of plants to be covered in the course include spireas, forsythias, crabapples, young shade trees, groundcover junipers, evergreen hedges, lilacs and hydrangeas.

The recommended textbook is “The Pruning Book” by Lee Reich. Required pruning tools are bypass hand shears, a small pruning saw, lopping shears, work gloves and safety glasses.

The registration fee is $125. Enrollment is limited to 12, but the course may be offered again in June. To sign up, call the Eastern Maine Community College Enrollment Office at 974-4621.

Scrapbooking Extravaganza

The Bangor-Brewer Moms club will sponsor an all-day Scrapbook Extravaganza 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at the Bangor Elks Club, 108 Odlin Road. The cost is $20 in advance or $25 at the door. A buffet lunch will be provided for $5.

Participants should bring photos, albums and supplies. Classes on scrapbooking techniques, including one on borders, will be conducted.

Raffle prizes include an album, a trimmer and a mini-star maker. Door prizes also will be awarded. Vendors selling scrapbooking supplies will participate in the event.

The event will benefit the Bangor-Brewer Moms Club, a nonprofit organization which does charitable work in the area. To obtain information or a ticket, call Kristin Tlili, 942-3063, or Leigh-Anna Lavoie, 945-6298.

Aviation museum

Don Martin of Bangor wishes to advise those “interested in antique airplanes and warbirds” that an informal meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, at the Kitchen Restaurant, 593 Congress St., Portland, near the Eastland Hotel, for the purpose of forming an aviation museum in southern Maine. To obtain more information, call Martin after 6 p.m. at 947-3442.

Brewer

After school art classes

The Brewer Parks and Recreation Department is accepting registrations for the next session of its after school art program, with Bev Langley instructing.

Classes, held Wednesday afternoons at the Brewer Auditorium, will meet for a seven-week session beginning March 2. The focus will be on sculpture.

Pupils age 6 to 9 meet from 4-5:15 p.m. and those ages 10 and up meet from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Students of all abilities are encouraged to register.

The cost for the program is $30 for Brewer residents, $35 for others. There is an additional project fee of $8.

Registrations for the program will be on a first come, first served basis. To obtain more information, call the recreation department at 989-5199.

Bucksport

Navy ship at Bay Festival

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has announced that a U.S. Navy ship will visit Bucksport this summer.

The USS Nashville, an amphibious transport dock, will be on hand for the Fort Knox Bay Festival July 29-Aug. 1.

Glenburn

Possible track field

The town of Glenburn is looking into the possibility of building a track field.

An introductory meeting to help people learn what they can do to make the field a reality will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, at the Glenburn Elementary School.

For information, call Jolene Belanger at 944-7590, or e-mail belangerd@glenburn.net.

Hampden

Child development screening

A free development screening by Child Development Services of Penobscot County will be held in cooperation with SAD 22 8:30-10 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, at McGraw School off Main Road.

The screening is for 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as 5-year-olds not yet eligible for kindergarten.

To take advantage of this free service, call for an appointment at 947-8493, ext. 17 or 14.

Old Town

Longaberger Basket Bingo

A Longaberger Basket Bingo, to benefit Viola Rand School’s Parents and Residents Involved in Developing Excellence in Bradley, will be held at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, March 20, at the Old Town Elks Club. Tickets are $10 and are available from Heidi Gifford at 827-2508.

Orono

Ecological landscape design

An “Introduction to Ecological Landscape Design” will be held 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Page Farm and Home Museum on the University of Maine campus.

The free session will be led by Kirsten Reberg-Horton, owner and designer for Kalmia Landscape Design in Old Town.

She will lead a discussion about the ease and importance of designing an environmentally friendly residential landscape.

A sampler of snacks from the Friends of Edith Patch Cookbook will be served.

This is the eighth in a series of gatherings sponsored by the Edith Marion Patch Center for Entomology, the Environment and Education and hosted by the Page Farm and Home Museum. The series focuses on science and the environment in celebration of the life of Edith Patch, the first woman scientist employed by the University of Maine.

For information on the Patch Center Forums or the Friends of Dr. Edith Marion Patch, contact Mary Bird, 581-2434, mary.bird@umit.maine.edu, or Tiffany Wilson, 581-3288, tiffany.wilson@umit.maine.edu.

Stetson

Nomination papers

Nomination papers are available at the Stetson Town Office for these positions:

. Selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor, three-year term.

. School director for SAD 64, three-year term.

. Road commissioner, one-year term.

Nomination papers are due back at the town office by April 5. The municipal election will be held May 20, and the annual town meeting May 21.

Winterport

Home care honor

Janet Harmon of Winterport was one of 13 personal service specialists honored recently at the Senior Spectrum home office in Augusta.

The employees, who work for BRIDGES, Senior Spectrum’s home care service, were recognized for excellent work attendance, accuracy, communication and care for their elderly clients.