They’re off to a terrific start, those Penobscot County gardeners who are participating in the University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s state-wide “Plant-a-Row for the Hungry” project.

Last year, Penobscot County led the state with 12,000 pounds of vegetables donated to local shelters and soup kitchens. Statewide, more than 50,000 pounds of fresh vegetables were donated through the program.

Through Tuesday, 10,212 pounds of vegetables have been harvested and donated to shelters and pantries since harvesting began in June, said master gardener Deb Armstrong of Bangor, coordinator of the project in Penobscot County.

With the program continuing through November, Armstrong has high hopes that this year’s Penobscot County harvest will greatly exceed that of last year.

If you didn’t sign up at the beginning of the growing season and still want to participate, you can do so.

Information on how to participate may be obtained by calling Armstrong at 947-5547 or extension educator Gleason Gray at the extension office in Bangor, 942-7396 or (800) 287-1485.

Asked how the totals are tabulated, Armstrong said gardeners “keep track of their own vegetables and where they take them. We send out a monthly tally sheet, and they send it back in to us.”

Although the Penobscot County total has surpassed 10,000 pounds, Armstrong wants to emphasize that “big donations” have accounted for much of that.

For example, “we picked 5,000 pounds of potatoes that were donated by the University of Maine,” she said, “and we have three or four community gardens that were started this year.”

The project is a joint effort of the Garden Writers Association of America, The UMaine Cooperative Extension and its master gardeners, and HGTV.

Armstrong is hopeful Penobscot County will maintain its top ranking in donations.

“It’s kind of a quiet competition,” she said, “but it would be nice to reach and exceed last year’s amount. It’s never too late to sign up.”

If you are wondering whether you missed the annual Penobscot Volunteer Fire Department Auction, the answer is no.

That event is being held later than usual this year because of work being done on the facility used for the fund-raiser.

The annual PVFD auction is 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Penobscot Elementary School. Funds raised will help with the organization’s effort to build a new firehouse.

Betty Briehl of Orland, whose husband, Fred Briehl, is a member of the department, said the auction will feature “lots of donated items, including some new items such as a Murray lawnmower and a Homelite weed-whacker.”

For those of you with an eye for the unusual, she said the auction also will offer “two huge boxes of African artifacts.”

And if you like fine-quality dining, be sure to get in on the bidding for restaurant gift certificates.

While you are at the auction, however, you won’t be hungry, because you can purchase hot dogs, soda, coffee and homemade cake.

Not only does the PVFD help protect the lives and property of its year-round and summer residents, but through its mutual-aid compact helps provide fire protection for Bucksport, Orland, Sedgwick, Brooksville, Castine and Blue Hill.

If you are unable to attend this auction but want to help the PVFD build a new firehouse, send a donation to PVFD in care of the town of Penobscot 04476.

This has been a sad summer for members of the Bangor Daily News family.

In June we lost one of our all-time favorite editorial cartoonists, Vic Runtz, a man with a wonderful wit and ready smile; one who always took the time to inquire about you and your family.

He loved his native Canada, and once I visited Prince Edward Island I understood why.

It is as beautiful as he promised.

In July our beloved “Railbird,” Kenny Ward, died. In August we lost not only a man who was in his era the heart of the city beat, but also a woman who made sure we all looked good in print.

Bob Taylor, former reporter and editor, was a Bangor Daily News institution and someone everyone could depend on to tell the news of the city as it was or, more accurately, as he saw it.

His humor, his institutional memory and his affection for his co-workers will always be remembered.

And then we learned of the unexpected death of former copy editor Lillian Sherwood, a spunky lady who worked carefully and considerately to make sure that what we wrote, and what you read, made sense and was expressed correctly.

She was a bright spot in the editorial department, and all who knew her were saddened by her death.

We have lost much this summer.

We have lost people who were not only great co-workers but friends, mentors and, to many at the NEWS, as close as any family member could be to us.

Those of us who knew them and had the opportunity to work with these special people are grateful for their presence among us.

They will be missed not only by those they loved and those who loved them, but by all who shared their lives.

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