Briefs

ARUNDEL
Craftspeople wanted for Heritage Day
The Arundel Historical Society is seeking craftspeople for its annual Heritage Day, set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept.18 at Limerick Road and Route 111.
This annual event features a day of showcasing rural living, historical displays, a Civil War encampment, food, music, exhibits and more.
For details or an application form to participate, call Joanne at 985-3087 or visit info@arundelhistorical society.org.

BUXTON
Float needs elves for parade
The Buxton Toy Box is looking for children to play the part of Santa’s Elves on their float in the Buxton Community Parade on Saturday.
If you know children that could help, please have their parents call Buxton Toy Box founder, committee chair and chief elf Mia Dodge at 807-8816.

BIDDEFORD
Golf tournament open for sign-ups
Southern Maine Health Care (SMHC) is accepting sign-ups for its 27th annual golf tournament, this year being expanded to include two different dates and locales for participants to choose from: Sept. 9 at the Dunegrass Golf Club or Sept. 14 at the Cape Arundel Golf Club.
Golfers may register in teams of up to four, and are eligible to win prizes including pro shop gift cards and the coveted white lab coats for the top team. There are also contests including the Million Dollar Hole-in-One Shootout, hole-in-one, closest to the pin, longest drive, and a 50/50 raffle.
Businesses are invited to join the title sponsor, Spectrum Healthcare Partners, in support of the event with the newly expanded sponsorship package. Proceeds will benefit the Da Vinci surgical robot and its use in the bariatrics program at SMHC.
To register, visit smhc.org/golf. For questions about sponsorship please contact Suzanne Gagnon, coordinator of community relations, at 283-7234 or slgagnon@smhc.org.

CUMBERLAND
Sara Primo new head of Quaker school
Friends School of Portland (FSP) welcomed Sara Primo as its new Head of School on July 1. Primo joins the school as it celebrates 15 years of learning. She brings 19 years of experience in education, including 10 years at Germantown Friends School in Pennsylvania.
Primo has her bachelor of arts from Brown University in American civilization with an emphasis in immigrant literature and a masters in teaching from Brown University in secondary education. She has trained extensively in clerking and Quaker education at Pendle Hill, the Race Institute at Penn, The Transgender Training Institute, and has completed the Institute for New Heads through NAIS. At Germantown Friends School she taught English and launched a writing center for middle and high school students.
Her commitment to anti-racism work and her ability to engage fellow teachers and administrators will set the stage for a transformational future for the school. She has sought out and led working groups on confronting racism through Penn’s Race Institute, attended and participated in workshops that have deepened her Quaker commitment to social justice, and worked purposefully on curriculum that seeks to address systemic inequities.
Primo’s tenure as a teacher, leader, poet, and anti-racism educator at Germantown Friends School over the past decade is expected to help her grow FSP’s strong roots, grounding and deepening the school’s well-established identity.
For more details, go to friendsschoolportland.org.

DENMARK
Register now for youth puppet camp
Denmark Arts Center is accepting registrations for its free puppet camp for ages 7-14, to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 11-13 at Bicentennial Park, across from the Arts Center.
Join Boston’s most playful theatre ensemble, Liars & Believers, to learn the fundamentals of puppetry, improv, and clown. Participants will make their own puppet and go home with a nose to revisit creative things they learn here.
Camps will be held outside, rain or shine, and campers should come dressed for weather, bring their own snacks, lunch, water, sunscreen and bug spray. Pre-register online at denmarkarts.org/events.

ELLSWORTH
Volunteers needed for food delivery to cancer patients
Do you love to cook? Do you want to make life a little better for people in your community? If so, the folks at the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center are looking for new volunteer home cooks to prepare healthy meals from home for local people who are affected by cancer in the greater MDI and Ellsworth area.
All Home-Cooked Healing Meals Program recipients will receive meals at no charge for an eight-week period while they undergo treatment or are in recovery. The organic meals are prepared according to individual dietary needs and preferences with complete confidentiality. The cost of ingredients is covered by the program. Delivery of prepared meals will be coordinated so that a volunteer driver is delivering meals just once a week.
Since the program is serving potentially immunocompromised individuals, food safety is a top priority. All volunteer cooks will be required to become certified through Maine’s ServSafe program training free of charge. The deadline for volunteers to register is Aug. 21 by calling the center at 664-0339 or email Amy Kurman at akurman@bethwrightcancercenter.

ELLSWORTH/PORTLAND
Journalism funds award $335,000 to 16 students
The Guy P. Gannett Journalism Scholarship Fund and the Agnes Freyer Gibbs Scholarship Fund of the Maine Community Foundation have awarded $335,000 in scholarships to 16 Maine high school graduates.
New Gannett and Gibbs journalism scholarship recipients are Ella Anderson, Long Island; Ashley Allen, Yarmouth; Ryan Bell, Palmyra; Mark Fuller, Ellsworth; Logan Martin, Dover-Foxcroft; Kathleen Mcpherson, Kittery; Eliza Ramos, Bernard; Nic Roy, Old Orchard Beach; and John Terhune, Somerville. Renewing Gannett and Gibbs scholars are Abram Buehner, Newcastle; Jacob Ireland, Charleston; Madison Morin, Benton; Samuel Pausman, Falmouth; Ethan Snow, Brooksville; Kristen Waite, Turner; and Molly Whelan, Freeport.
A volunteer review committee selected the students based on demonstrated interest in journalism, excellence in academic performance, and financial need.
Applications for the 2022 Gannett and Gibbs scholarships will be available in January. Guidelines and a link to the online application can be found at mainecf.org.

PORTLAND
Peaks Island Fund awards $98,000 in grants
The Peaks Island Fund at the Maine Community Foundation has awarded a total of $98,125 in grants to eight nonprofit organizations that support the island community.
Grantees include:
• Arts at Greenwood Garden, to create a concert and performing arts series on Peaks Island, especially for residents who cannot easily access events off-island.
• Fifth Maine Regiment Museum, for operational support due to the continuing impact of the pandemic.
• Home Start, to complete the accessory dwelling unit and address a serious property maintenance problem in the organization’s existing house.
The Peaks Island Fund was created in 2004 and is sustained through the generosity of Peaks Island residents.
For more details, go to mainecf.org or contact Senior Program Officer Gloria Aponte C. at gaponteclarke@mainecf.org or 761-2440.

AARP awards grants to 8 organizations
AARP Maine announced that eight organizations will receive 2021 Community Challenge grants – part of the largest group of grantees to date with $3.2 million awarded among 244 organizations nationwide. Grantees will implement quick-action projects to promote livable communities by improving housing, transportation, public spaces, civic engagement, and connection with family, friends, and neighbors with an emphasis on the needs of the 50-plus. Many of this year’s awards support revitalizing communities adversely impacted by the pandemic and include a focus on diversity, inclusion, and disparities.
All projects are expected to be completed by Nov. 10. Here in Maine, projects that were funded include:
• The Congo Craftsmen, Bethel — Working with the six communities that are a part of the age-friendly initiative in the Bethel area, this project will construct and place benches to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors.
• Portland Downtown — For a project to use door murals and other techniques to create active, welcoming, and safe spaces in unused alleyways.
• The Age-Friendly Communities of the Lower Kennebec, Bath — The project places community chess sets and benches in downtown Bath and seeks to host an intergenerational chess tournament.
• Town of Sullivan — The project will build an accessible trail to encourage people of all ages to walk safely and enjoy nature.
• Town of Wayne — Working with their town government, the age-friendly team will install pedestrian crossing signs with flashing beacons to make walking safer for everyone.
• Age-Friendly Readfield — For a project to develop pedestrian pathways between the center of town at the library, beach, and food pantry and create a vibrant and socially engaged community.
• Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition of Maine, South Portland — For a project to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety by increasing crosswalk visibility and installing high visibility signage at selected crosswalks.
• Age-Friendly Freeport — To sponsor an accessible hot air balloon ride for people of all abilities to enjoy at a town-side festival.
For more details, go to aarp.org/communitychallenge.

MECA names director of admissions
Maine College of Art (MECA) has appointed Jen Campanaro as its director of admissions. In her new role, Campanaro is responsible for directing and overseeing all aspects of student recruitment.
“Jen’s expertise and enthusiasm for an art and design education will guide our admissions department as MECA continues to grow and attract talented students from across the country,” said President Laura Freid. “As we prepare to celebrate MECA’s 140th anniversary, I am confident that Jen’s leadership will help us attract students who will be art and design innovators and leaders in the coming years.”
For more than a decade, Campanaro has built a career around admissions leadership, advising, financial aid, and strategic recruitment for arts communities and nonprofits. She served both as director of admissions and director of youth enrollment at New York Film Academy after five years at her alma mater, Savannah College of Art and Design. More recently, as a recruiter for Smith & Wilkinson, Campanaro built relationships and managed New England-based clients in the nonprofit, community, and economic development sectors while identifying executive directors and other key leaders for these organizations.
“I am thrilled to join the talented group of creators, educators, and administrators at MECA who bring together and support the next generation of artists,” said Campanaro. “The MECA community exhibits a true passion for helping to develop young artists and designers and I am honored to be a part of its buzzing energy.”

RAYMOND
Author’s home seeks $15,000 to complete structural repairs
The three-year-long “Save the Hawthorne House!” fundraising campaign to repair serious structural damage to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s boyhood home is $15,000 short as it enters its final phase.
“Work on excavating the granite foundation has now begun and – from the looks of things – it’s a very good thing we began when we did,” said Abel Bates of the Hawthorne Community Association. “The foundation was even worse than we thought.”
Bates said the urgent repairs were launched July 18 by a team of local contractors and volunteers after it became clear that repairs to the house, built in 1812, could no longer wait.
Copp & Sons Building Movers lifted the building and Jason Copp will pour the new footings and foundation. Dave Blanchard removed the chimney and will excavate the old foundation, backfill, and re-seed. Larry Napolitano of Dirigo Masonry will block up to the correct height and position the granite veneer. Dale Plante of New England Specialty Stone will take care of the unused granite. Richard Bois will cut old granite so it can be reused. TC Hafford Basement Systems will handle inside repairs required of the front wall. And, a team of volunteers has cut and loaded timber for the floor supports.
Donations to help complete the work can be made online at hawthorneassoc.com or mail a check payable to “Hawthorne Community Association,” to P.O. Box 185, South Casco, ME 04077.
For more details, call Abel Bates at 318-7131 or email jbates4@maine.rr.com.

SOUTH PORTLAND
Resident receives annual LEARN award
Wreaths Across America (WAA) recognized South Portland resident Brayden “Brady” Kirk as the fourth recipient of the organization’s LEARN award during its annual Stem to Stone event recently.
This semi-annual award recognizes Kirks contributions to the Wreaths Across America mission. Over the past decade, he has traveled with the WAA escort to Arlington leading up to National Wreaths Across America Day.
Kirk, a 2021 graduate of South Portland High School, will be attending Southern Maine Community College in the fall for criminal justice, with the goal of becoming a police officer.
Wayne Hanson, WAA’s Chairman of the Board, and 13-year-old Miles Worcester, the inaugural recipient of this award, and grandson of WAA’s founders Morrill and Karen Worcester, presented Kirk with the award on July 24, at the 8th annual Stem to Stone event held in Columbia Falls, where the nonprofit is headquartered.
The award is made from the same marble used for the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery. His parents, Jennifer and Bill Kirk added, “We are so proud of the young man Brayden is becoming and it has been 100 percent Wreaths Across America’s influence for his decision of becoming a police officer. We are truly thankful for the opportunities WAA has created, not only for Brady, but our nation’s youth. He has said on numerous occasions he hopes when he is serving the community in the role of police officer that he hopes to be able to escort the convoy down to Arlington and bring it full circle, but until then, he will serve where he can make a difference.”
This year, National Wreaths Across America Day will be held Dec. 18. It is a free event, open to all people. For more information or to find a participating cemetery near you, please visit wreathsacrossamerica.org.

WELLS
Sign up for annual chili festival
The Wells Chamber of Commerce is seeking vendors and crafters to participate in its 20th annual Chili-Fest, set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 28 at the Wells Junior High campus on Route 1.
The cookoff, sanctioned by the International Chili Society, is among the last events available for “chiliheads” to qualify to compete in the World Championship which will be held this year on Sept. 17-19 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Entrants have come from as far away as Florida, Nevada and Illinois.
The Joe Harvey Invitational Cook-off will feature cooks in three categories: red chili, made with beef and red ripened chili peppers; green chili (verde) made with either chicken or pork and green chili peppers; or homestyle – traditional chili with beans. There will also be a youth homestyle division.
Cash prizes and plaques are given to the winners. Cooks will be bringing their chili to be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the “People’s Choice” competition with a $250 first prize. Ballots for “People’s Choice” are included in the “tasting kits” available for sale. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Wells Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Fund.
Vendors and crafters get free admission and parking.
For more details, to go wellschilifest.com.

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