For folks in Greater Bangor-Brewer to enjoy “the biggest and best fireworks in the state” on the Fourth of July, reports Marla Saliba, every penny will count, and you can help.

Under the direction of Saliba and the Bangor 4th of July Corp., plans are for holiday festivities to begin with the traditional Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast from 6 to 10 a.m. Friday, July 4, at the Brewer Auditorium.

Helping to get the day off to a happy and tasty start will be members of the Bangor Breakfast and Bangor Noontime Kiwanis clubs.

A 3K Family Road Race is on the agenda, along with the parade, which begins at 10:45 on Acme Road in Brewer.

Individuals interested in participating in the Family Road Race should register with Dave Torey at 581-3372.

Organizations, groups or individuals who want to enter the parade need to call Doug Hollingsworth at 262-2181.

Saliba also announced that the city of Brewer “is sponsoring the parade this year, and the Bangor Lumberjacks” will be the parade grand marshals.

For the area to have a terrific fireworks display, however, your contributions are needed.

“WABI, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, will be sponsoring the fireworks and matching dollar for dollar what we can raise,” Saliba explained.

“So the more we raise, the bigger the fireworks display.”

Saliba said the Chamberlain Bridge will be closed at 6:30 p.m. for the fireworks on the Fourth, and that your $1 admission to watch the fireworks, from the bridge, will “help pay for the day’s events.”

For more information about contributing to the fireworks display, or other aspects of the Greater Bangor-Brewer Fourth of July celebration, call Saliba at work, 942-4029, or at home, 989-5304.

Donations, of any amount, to help support this celebration can be sent to Bangor 4th of July Corp., c/o Marla Saliba, 46 North Main St., Brewer 04412.

Spruce Run, the domestic violence project serving Penobscot County, is offering a Spruce Run Group, “About Domestic Abuse” beginning on Tuesday, June 2.

During eight sessions, the group will meet twice a week at Spruce Run’s Resource Center in Bangor.

The program is for those who have felt physical or emotional hurt by another individual and will include information on patterns of abuse, why abuse happens, survival skills and healthy relationships.

To sign up, or receive more information, call (800) 863-9909.

The Summer Solstice Festival is 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21, on Main Street in Rockland.

The Downtown Rockland Events Committee is sponsoring the event, and is seeking volunteers to help with all aspects of the festival from setting up to cleaning up.

For your assistance, you will receive a free Summer Solstice T-shirt and the grateful appreciation of festival organizers.

If you can assist with this festival, call Judith Oster at Caravans, 594-0293.

Portage camp owner and New Jersey resident Betty Terres wrote the Bangor Daily News with a suggestion for those who remember the late Nick Curtis, owner and operator of Crooked Tree Lodge in Portage Lake.

Curtis was 50 when he died suddenly last September, Terres wrote.

She explained that a friend of Curtis, Gary Gallupe, “who now resides between Florida and Maryland,” established an educational trust fund for Curtis’ daughter, Tanisha.

“Nick would have celebrated his 51st birthday” on Monday, June 2, Terres wrote.

“There would be no better way to honor Nick, on his birthday, than by contributing to the LMM Trust Fund for his daughter.”

Checks can be made payable to LMM Trust Fund for Tanisha and mailed to Norstate Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 523, Ashland 04732.

On behalf of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 391, President Darryl Parker extends thanks not only to members of that organization but also to their “caring customers who donated food to the 2003 NALC Food Drive on Saturday, May 10,” he wrote.

Parker said this year’s total of collected food was 65,589 pounds, an increase of 5,606 pounds from last year. Branch 391 represents 18 communities in central and eastern Maine.

Including post offices without city letter carriers, the number of participating post offices reporting to Branch 391 for this drive was 46.

Parker also extended his appreciation for the support offered by United Way of Eastern Maine, the Maine AFL-CIO, the Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council, the local media, Bangor Mayor Nichi Farnham and Gov. John Baldacci.

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