Community members, friends and family of Brooks resident Melinda Boon and her husband, Bruce Boon, are providing encouragement and support as the couple waits and prays for the recovery of her son, 19-year-old Daniel “Danny” Boudreau of Manchester, N.H.

According to an article in the Feb. 1 edition of The Union Leader & Sunday News, Boudreau, who dropped out of Manchester Memorial High School, “finally had his life on track.”

Working in construction, Boudreau planned to return to the Manchester School of Technology and obtain his high school diploma.

But just one week before he was to return to school, Boudreau’s life was changed drastically.

According to the newspaper, Boudreau was the victim of a stabbing at 1:15 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, on a Manchester street.

“Three of his friends, one of them with his hand pressed tight over the stab wound to try and stop the massive flow of blood, decided not to wait for an ambulance and rushed him to Elliot Hospital in a car,” the newspaper reported.

But by the time they got him there, his sister Tanya Boudreau reported, Boudreau had lost “12 of his 14 pints of blood.”

Melinda Boon said the stab wound to her son’s stomach “sliced through two ribs, sliced a kidney in half, and caused massive injuries to his diaphragm.”

He remains hospitalized, on life support, in the intensive care unit at Elliot Hospital in Manchester.

In a sedated coma, he has lost one kidney and is on a ventilator.

“We’re waiting for his lungs to bounce back,” his mother said. “His whole body went into trauma, but because he survived he now has a 50-50 chance of making it.”

Initially, she said, “he had a 90 percent chance of not making it.”

Boudreau could remain in intensive care “for weeks or months,” his mother said, “and then he will have to undergo rehabilitation.

“He won’t be out for some time,” she said, and unfortunately, he is without health insurance.

To help defray the expenses of his hospitalization, community members are sponsoring a benefit potluck dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at the Varney Memorial Building in Brooks.

The suggested donation is $5 for adults and $3 for children, but any other donations will be appreciated.

“It will be an Irish meal,” Boon said of the benefit to which “everybody in town” is making contributions.

In addition to the meal, gift certificates and other items will be raffled off to raise funds for the young stabbing victim.

The Boon family is very grateful for the support of their friends and neighbors and appreciates offers of help and encouragement.

If you cannot attend the benefit, donations can be made out to the Daniel Boudreau Benefit Fund and mailed to the Brooks Manor Assisted Living Facility, 20 York St., P.O. Box 38, Brooks 04821.

For information on how you can help the family through this difficult time, call 722-3440.

The Bangor Daily News has received word that Beatrice Nickerson of Bridgewater will celebrate her 90th birthday Saturday, March 16.

The Monticello native is a former resident of Portage Lake.

Her daughter Molly White of Bridgewater writes that her mother “would welcome a shower of cards from cherished old friends and new.”

You can send birthday greetings to Beatrice Nickerson by writing her at 16 Wicklow Place, Bridgewater 04735.

Bud and Ellen Grant of Orrington want readers to know that “the Greater Bangor area has a true gem” in New Hermon Mountain, a local ski area owned by Bill and Marlene Whitcomb of Prospect.

“While it cannot compete with the larger areas for size and number of trails and the advantages they provide,” the Grants do not believe “that the larger areas can come close to the dedication and genuine caring for creating a pleasurable winter environment for the public … which the Whitcombs and their staff have consistently displayed.”

For 13 years, the Grants have been guides for the Blind and Visually Impaired Ski Program at New Hermon Mountain.

During that time, they have “consistently noticed the improvements made to the facility.”

Earlier this month, the Grants and their skiers participated in the “the first-ever Special Olympics” held at New Hermon Mountain.

“Given the peculiar weather we’ve had recently,” the Grants wrote, “we were clearly wondering what would greet us for conditions on the slopes, once we got our skiers out.”

But they needn’t have worried.

“It was obvious that the Whitcombs and staff had been diligently grooming the icy conditions into something ski-able, and while [the conditions] weren’t ideal, all went perfect,” according to the Grants.

Later, the couple noted, “even more grooming had been done so that the participants could have a smooth run on their slalom and downhill events.”

And while they are sad that “there will be no more skiing for the season,” the Grants want readers to know that “the memories of such caring individuals … will last throughout the year.”

And for that the Grants say “thank you!” to Bill and Marlene Whitcomb.

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