Bangor

Alan Stubbs exhibit

“Reflections,” an exhibit by photographer Alan Stubbs, is on display this month in the foyer, inside the side entrance on the first floor of City Hall.

“Alan’s work offers us perspective on downtown that we may not have found on our own,” explained Sally Bates, a development officer for the city. “He chooses his subjects based on their visual appeal to him at that moment in time.”

Stubbs explored alleyways, upper stories and watery reflections to find subject matter.

Bates pointed out also that he “embraced the surprises and accidents that he found when he developed the photos. We have deliberately not captioned the work, and invite you to give a name to, or guess at, the location of each.” A list for comments is available on the windowsill across the foyer.

Automated book renewal

Have you ever had an incredibly busy day become worse when you discover that your library book is due that day? Dial 942-6616, Bangor Public Library’s new, automated telephone renewal system.

The operator will ask for your library card number. Enter the numbers using your phone keypad. An automated voice will tell you what book you have checked out and will ask if you want it renewed. It will then give you the new date the book is due to be returned.

The renewal service, made possible by a grant from Maine InfoNet, a statewide library network, can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Night of Latin rhythms

The Hispanic community of the Greater Bangor area, inspired by the folk festival last summer, is holding a night of salsa and Latin rhythms from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, Feb. 8, at the Campus Center, Husson College.

Dance lessons – salsa, merengue, bolero, cha-cha, etc. – will be offered from 7 to 8 p.m. Music will be provided by DJ Pie Perez. The cost is $7 for adults and $4 for students. Admission is free to Husson students and a guest. For information, call Maria Baeza at 942-2230, or Maria Leyro at 862-2138.

Grant for Big Red

Big Red Redemption Center, a return outlet for recyclable bottles and cans operated by Community Health and Counseling Services, has received a $7,500 grant from the Robert N. Haskell and Gladys M. Stetson Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.

The grant will support the transition of Big Red from a subsidized business into one that is self-supporting. Big Red, in its 20th year of operation, offers customer services for the general public in a friendly environment, including a drive-up area for easy unloading and a lobby area where returnables are processed quickly. It is located at 12 Barker St.

Big Red also has established nonprofit accounts that benefit local agencies. The redemption center participates in fund-raising bottle drives. For information, call 990-2267.

The Maine Community Foundation works in partnership with charitably minded individuals to strengthen Maine communities. For information, call (877) 700-6800 or visit www.mainecf.org.

Hampden

Learning center grant

Hampden’s Town Council has voted to pledge $25,000 over five years to help build the Challenger Learning Center of Maine. The funds will be taken from the Host Community Benefit money contributed by Pine Tree Landfill and will not use tax dollars.

Mayor Rick Briggs hopes that Hampden’s contribution will encourage other communities to support the Challenger Learning Center, which provides simulated space missions for middle school pupils.

“The efforts of all communities in the region working together will make each community stronger and improve the quality of life,” he said. “The residents and students of Hampden and the surrounding region will benefit from this project.”

Town manager Susan Lessard believes the center will help cultivate other educational and business opportunities.

The Challenger Learning Center is being built in Bangor at the former Dow Air Force Base theater.

DARE spaghetti supper

The spaghetti supper sponsored Feb. 1 by the Hampden DARE Parent Committee was a success. More than $1,000 was raised toward the committee’s goal of $2,000 for books, supplies, T-shirts, incentives and the June DARE graduation.

Contributions continue to be accepted by DARE Parent Committee, P.O. Box 698, Hampden, Maine 04444.

Old Town

Youth bowling

The Old Town Recreation Department is accepting registration for youth bowling for kindergarten through fifth grade. The program will meet 4-5:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 6-April 10, at Old Town Bowling Lanes on Center Street. The cost until Feb. 28 is $20 for residents, $30 for others. Registrations received after that date will be $25 for residents, $35 for others.

The program offers children the opportunity to learn and enjoy bowling in a fun, self-paced environment. Participants gain basic knowledge of rules, scorekeeping and techniques. Parents are urged to help with lane management and scorekeeping. Space is limited.

Registration forms may be picked up at the Old Town Recreation Department. Completed forms may be mailed to Old Town Recreation Department, 150 Brunswick St., Old Town 04468. For information, call 827-3961 or e-mail otrec@old-town.org.

Hot Shot state tournament

The Maine Recreation Parks Association Hot Shot Eastern Regional in Bangor finished up on Feb. 1.

The Eastern Regional winners and runners-up will advance to the state finals, to be held Saturday, Feb. 22, at Old Town High School. They will compete against the winners and runners-up of four other regions around the state of Maine.

Eastern Regional results are:

Girls Division: ages 9-10, winner, Brittany Avery, Old Town, 40 points; runner-up, Sarah Babin, Brewer, 37 points.

Ages 11-12, Jenna King, Old Town, 82 points; runner-up: Ali Botello, Brewer, 61 points.

Ages 13-15, Elizabeth Cote, Brewer, 66 points.

Boys Division: ages 9-10, Kyle Savage, Bangor, 98 points; runner-up: Cody Veilleux, Bangor, 88 points.

Ages 11-12: Chris Folsom, Bangor, 86 points; runner-up: Josh Turcotte, Bangor, 74 points.

Ages 13-15: Corey Lacadie, Milford, 86 points; runner-up: Justin Turcotte, Bangor, 77 points.

The Maine Recreation Parks Association Hot Shot competition is a basketball skills event for youth ages 9-18 years of age. MRPA Hotshot involves shooting from five “hot spots” marked on one end of the basketball court. The competition tests speed, shooting, dribbling and rebounding ability.

Orono

Title IX talk

Joan Hult, a longtime advocate of, and participant in, women’s sports at the college level, will present “Women in Sport: Title IX and the End of the Big Chill,” at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12, in the Bangor Lounge of the Memorial Union at the University of Maine. Thirty-one years after the groundbreaking legislation to require gender equity in all educational institutions receiving funds from the federal government was passed, Title IX is being reviewed by a federal commission which may propose to revise the law.

Hult, professor emerita of kinesiology and women’s studies at the University of Maryland, has served as a consultant for several women’s sports history documentaries, including “Dare to Compete – Women in the Struggle to Compete,” and to the National Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

She has coached almost every women’s sport and was an officer and member of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women from its beginning in 1971 until 1982 when it became part of the NCAA.

She also played semi-pro softball in Gary, Ind. She will reflect on what the law has meant to women as athletes and as coaches.

Her talk is part of the University of Maine’s Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program’s spring lunch series.