SCARBOROUGH
Kiwanis donate reusable bottles to schools

The Scarborough Kiwanis Club recently donated 300 reusable water bottles to the Scarborough Public Schools to ensure that every student has clean drinking water available during the school day.
Scarborough schools have shut down traditional water fountains at the schools to help prevent the spread of COVID but students have access to a few bottle refill stations.
The club also recently put together candy-filled firecrackers and delivered them to the Scarborough Public Safety building for distribution to all employees.
Members of the club meet from noon to 1 p.m. each Friday at Cowbell Wood-Fired Grill, 185 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough.
For more information, visit the club’s website at scarboroughkiwanis.org or contact club secretary Emma Clark at emmalclark3@gmail.com or 233-0778

ELLSWORTH & PORTLAND
Foundation offers scholarships for adult learning program
The Maine Community Foundation seeks applications to its Adult Learner Scholarship Fund which supports non-traditional students who want to change their lives for the better through education and training.
MaineCF offers two types of scholarships. A degree-seeking scholarship supports two- and four-year degree programs and certificate courses that fit into the regular calendar year. The application deadline for this scholarship is Sunday.
The second scholarship supports credential/certificate programs that last less than a full semester. These short-term scholarships have a rolling deadline of the first of each month.
Eligible applicants must be age 25 or older, work full-time, have dependents other than a spouse, or be financially independent, not have received a standard high school diploma, or delayed enrollment in college after high school for a reason other than a gap year activity.
Complete guidelines and application forms are available at mainecf.org. If you have questions, contact scholarship manager Liz Fickett at lfickett@mainecf.org.

ROCKPORT
Educational centers welcome apprentices 
Maine Coast Heritage Trust has been busy wrapping up harvest season projects at Aldermere Farm and Erickson Fields Preserve, two educational centers that help raise awareness and appreciation for land conservation and sustainable agriculture.
This past year, Liv Caron and Mimi Rebein were selected as 2020 Apprenticeship Program recipients, who were taught all facets of farming through paid apprenticeships at Erickson Fields and Aldermere Farm.
Rebein chose a 12-month apprenticeship to learn the operations of a beef cattle farm. She focused on how livestock foraging impacts carbon sequestration and took part in developing a pasture management plan utilizing intensive grazing practices.
Caron joined through MOFGA’s Farm Apprenticeship to study under Erickson Farm program manager Aaron Englander. At Erickson Fields she helped manage a small team, raising thousands of pounds of vegetables for hunger-relief agencies.
Local teens Zhenya Mikha, Charlie Moss, Curtis Bibber and Owen Cooper spent September through October gaining hands-on experience in sustainable agricultural practices as participants in the Teen Ag Crew Fall Internship. This part-time, paid opportunity teaches about the local food system – from food production, processing and distribution to consumption and waste management. The four teens helped to process a 4-acre garden at Erickson Fields that yielded more than 12,000 pounds of produce to benefit food pantries, a retirement home, and local restaurants.
The Teen Ag Crew also donated pumpkins to 30 families, who receive weekly deliveries of groceries from The Landing Place, a comprehensive youth program of Knox County Homeless Coalition.
Also, the Knox County Gleaners (KCG), MCHT staff and volunteers loaded 1,080 pounds of winter squash into AIO Food and Energy Assistance’s new root cellar in Rockland. AIO and KCG offered the storage space so the squash could be redistributed among food pantries in Knox County. The KCG has been volunteering at Erickson Fields on a weekly basis since June.
Applications for the 2021 Apprenticeship Program are now being accepted and interested applicants should email a cover letter and resume to aldermere@mcht.org.
For more details, call Aldermere’s office at 236-2739.

KENNEBUNKPORT
Church welcomes new pastor
South Congregational Church UCC Kennebunkport officially welcomed its new pastor, The Rev. Susan Townsley on Nov. 1.
Rev. Townsley is the associate conference minister for innovation, leadership and change with the Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ. In this role, she supports leadership development, creates “Blue Sky” spaces for creative, fun, and innovative thinking, and works to enhance the church’s capacity for change. Townsley has worked within the conference structure to improve vision-planning, using tools such as Theory of Change. She created the “Do the New” innovation grant to fund innovative ministry initiatives. She led the design and piloting of a program in which conference staff had extended experiences of a local church followed by an Appreciative Inquiry based invitation to innovation, called “Igniting Ministry Together.”
Townsley received a post-master’s certificate in Leadership and Change from the New School in New York in 2018. She is a PCC level certified professional coach; has training in executive, clergy, group, and general coaching techniques, and is trained in large group facilitation.
Townsley has co-pastored at the Talmadge Hill Community Church in Darien, Conn., and served the West Tokyo Union Church in Chofu, Japan. She previously worked as a coach and consultant to nonprofits and churches and has taught The History and Polity of the United Church of Christ at Yale Divinity School.
A graduate of Smith College and Harvard Divinity School, Townsley has been ordained for 27 years. She and husband Greg Davis have been married nearly 28 years. They have two adult children.

MANCHESTER
Dental task force recognized with award
The Maine Dental Association’s Re-Opening Task Force, a committee made up of a variety of dental professionals, has been recognized with the 2020 MDA President’s Award.
The task force, which was convened during the pandemic to establish a unified vision and comprehensive guidance for Maine dental offices to safely re-open, was acknowledged during a virtual business meeting of the MDA on Oct. 26.
The MDA President’s Award recognizes an individual or group who has made significant and meaningful contributions to the profession.
The task force is made up of a variety of dental professionals, including general dentists, specialists, hygienists, an infection control specialist, a dental assistant and faculty member, a dental practice manager, and a denturist. The committee has compiled the document “Establishing Safe Dental Care in the Era of COVID-19” for reference by Maine dental offices and continues to meet to make any needed modifications to the guidance.
These task force members include Cara Dionne, a dental hygienist and practice manager who works in Yarmouth; Dr. Michael Dowling, a pediatric dentist who practices in Yarmouth; Dr. Heather Keeling, who practices in Portland; Dr. David Kerr, who practices in Portland; Dr. Matthew Lawler, an oral surgeon who practices in South Portland; Dr. Christopher Murphy, an orthodontist who practices in Scarborough; and Dr. Stephen Tangredi, an endodontist who practices in South Portland.

STATEWIDE
Nonprofit accepting applications for student debt relief
The Harold Alfond Foundation and the Finance Authority of Maine are once again seeking applications for student loan debt relief for Maine residents who are employed by a Maine-based business in the STEM-related fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
Applications are now being accepted through Sunday. The Alfond Leaders program assists Maine employers in attracting and retaining talented STEM professionals by providing student loan debt relief of up to $60,000 per recipient.
Applicants must have a higher education degree or certificate, or be graduating by May 31, 2021 in order to apply during this current application collection period.
Applicants will be recruited from across the nation, and current Maine residents are eligible and encouraged to apply.
An Alfond Leaders Advisory Committee assists in the selection of applicants and recommends candidates. Applicants can apply by visiting AlfondLeaders.org.
Eligible applicants must be Maine residents or persons who will become Maine residents upon being hired by a Maine-based employer; employed, or who will be employed, by a Maine-based employer in a designated STEM occupation; must have outstanding student loan debt; must submit an application, including a written essay, an official college transcript and resume, a statement of intent to live and work in Maine for six years; an employment certification by a Maine-based employer; and disclosure of the amount, source, and terms of the student loan indebtedness.
Those selected to become Alfond Leaders will receive debt reduction payments made on their behalf, paid in two disbursements after three and six years respectively, of qualifying employment.
To learn more about the program or to apply, please visit alfondleaders.org.

SOUTH PORTLAND

Drug take-back event collects over 950 pounds
The South Portland Police Department, in partnership with the Volunteers in Police Service, collected 955 pounds of unwanted or unused prescription drugs recently at the annual Drug Drop-Off event.
Additionally, 12 bags of recyclables were collected. The police department was one of 4,587 drop off sites nationwide and one of 144 sites in the state to collect unwanted and unused prescription drugs.
The amount of drugs collected has steadily increased over the past three years as word of the program grows. Since 2018, close to 2,000 pounds of prescription drugs have been safely destroyed.
Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue. They can lead to accidental poisoning, misuse and overdose. Disposing of drugs properly saves lives and protects the environment.
Residents of South Portland are able to drop off unused or unwanted prescription drugs at the police station year round.

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