Members of the public are invited to bring their cats and join the fun at the eighth annual Cat Show beginning with registration at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, March 17, at the Belfast Armory on Route 1.

The show gets under way at 10 a.m., and features a live remote with radio station KISS 94.5.

A fund-raiser for the Waldo County Humane Society, last year’s event attracted nearly 75 entries and brought in nearly $1,000 to the Society’s treasury, reported WCHS president Barry Hodge.

Cat lovers of all ages are encouraged to enter the friendly competition that includes a “CATegory” for every cat, with 16 placement categories awarded for first, second, third and participant.

Ribbons also are awarded in four fun categories that include Heaviest Cat, Longest Tail, Biggest Paws and Oldest Cat.

Finally, a Purebred and Mixed Breeds cat will each have the opportunity to win the coveted Best in Show ribbon.

Celebrity judges, including Sharon Rose of WCHS-TV in Portland and Ric Tyler of WBLZ-2 in Bangor, will choose winners.

Hodge said that filling in as judges for Rep. John Baldacci, who had a conflicting engagement, will be his wife and son, Karen and Jack Baldacci of Bangor, who are no strangers to the show, having attended previous ones and participated in a few.

For your information, the “CATegories” include Black, White, Black and White, Calico, Maine Coon, Gray, Gray and White, Himalayan, Persian, Siamese, Tiger, Tortoiseshell, Yellow, Yellow and White, Exotic Breeds and Kittens, all colors and all breeds.

Needless to say, all cats are welcome.

This year, thanks to the generosity of local merchants, those who attend the show will find a variety of items, including the unique, up for bid in a silent auction.

Vendors also will be present, and people will be staffing information booths.

Weaver’s Bakery of Belfast will provide food at the Cat Show.

Among the services that WCHS offers, and this fund-raiser will help support, are providing financial assistance to those who are unable to afford the cost of having their pet spayed or neutered; assistance with veterinary costs for emergency aid to an injured pet; and free rabies clinics in Waldo County.

The entry fee is $5 for the handler and the cat, and $3 for spectators.

This show is sure to be great fun, and it’s all for a great cause.

A St. Patrick’s Day dinner and dance, sponsored by the Skowhegan-Madison Elks Lodge Veterans Remembrance Committee, is planned for Saturday, March 17, at the Elks Lodge, 11 Silver St. in Skowhegan.

The evening begins with a corned beef and cabbage dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. and is followed by the dance, which lasts until midnight.

Music will be provided by Sounds Express.

Tickets are just $12 per couple for the dinner and dance, and $3 per person for the dance only.

Mike Lange reports that all proceeds from the event will benefit the Volunteer Services coffee fund at the Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center at Togus.

The Skowhegan-Madison Lodge of Elks traditionally has been host to a dinner and bingo game for VA patients three or four times a year.

However, new hospital travel restrictions and regulations mean those activities will most likely be terminated, according to Remembrance Committee co-chairman Frank Jelinski.

Since the Lodge has long been a strong supporter of the VA hospital, the committee decided the fund will be used to help keep the 100-cup coffeemaker brewing in the waiting room of the hospital.

And, if this event is successful, Jelinski reports, other activities will be planned to continue the Lodge’s support of the veteran’s facility.

Each year, the Pine Tree Chapter of the Retired Officers Association awards two $1,000 scholarships to outstanding cadets or midshipmen enrolled in a ROTC or NROTC unit in our geographic area.

These scholarships are named in honor of Civil War hero Maj. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain.

A $500 scholarship is awarded by the widow or widower of a deceased individual who would, if living, be eligible for ROA membership.

This year’s scholarships were awarded during a February meeting of the Pine Tree Chapter, which was held in Bangor.

University of Maine ROTC Cadet Eric Dos Santos was the recipient of the Chamberlain Scholarship first-year award, and Maine Maritime Academy NROTC Midshipman Ryan Pierce received the next-to-last-year scholarship.

Josephine Ross, widow of Cmdr. Albert Ross of the U.S. Navy, presented the Widow-Widowers award to Gaberial Allen, a recent graduate of Hampden Academy and grandson of Marion Greaves, widow of Maj. Donald Greaves.

Outgoing chapter president Col. William Deering presided over the meeting, which was adjourned by the incoming president, Capt. William Taylor.

Among those participating in the event was Col. Donald Strout, retired U.S. Air Force member.

Strout, who helped launch the chapter in 1979, served as its president in 1981 and 1982 and installed Taylor as the chapter’s new president.

Membership in the ROA Pine Tree Chapter is open to all retired military officers living in this area.

For more information about the ROA, and this chapter, call Deering at 942-6482.

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