Briefs

SOUTH BERWICK
Friends of the South Berwick Library get grant
The Friends of the South Berwick Library (FSBL) were the recipient of an August grant, in the amount of $7,318, from The Fabulous Find, a nonprofit resale boutique located in Kittery that distributes proceeds each month from selling donated items to deserving local organizations.
The FSBL raises funds to support and improve library services, bring attention to and stimulate use of library services and to promote cultural opportunities in the community. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the group hasn’t been able to carry out their normal fundraising activities, so the grant will assist them in offering free informative, cultural and entertaining programs to children and adults.
“We are so grateful to The Fabulous Find for this amazing gift, which underscores just how important public libraries are,” said FSBL President Jenifer Austin. “We also love the symbiotic relationship provided by The Fabulous Find: community members donate items that other community members buy, and the money goes back into the community to valuable services like the library. What a win-win! Thank you, Fabulous Find!”

PORTLAND
Senior companions needed in York, Cumberland counties
The Opportunity Alliance senior volunteers program is searching for new volunteers, age 55 and older, to become Senior Companions in Cumberland and York counties.
Senior Companions volunteer with housebound elders and isolated adults who need help to maintain their independence. Senior Companions may provide transportation to doctor’s appointments or other errands and provide companionship through outdoor visits and phone calls.
Qualified applicants, who volunteer at least 10 hours per week, receive a tax-free stipend, travel and meal reimbursements, and other benefits including monthly training. All benefits are tax-free and do not affect social security, SSI/SSDI, subsidized housing, food stamps, LIHEAP, or other programs.
To learn more about the Senior Companions program, visit opportunityalliance.org/senior-companion-program, email SCP@opportunityalliance.org, or call 207-773-0202.

RUMFORD
Veteran honored for service in two wars
Korean and Vietnam veteran Navy E-3 (retired) John R Hodgson Sr., was honored for service to his country during a special pinning ceremony Sept. 19 at his home in Rumford.
The event was coordinated by Androscoggin Home Health and Hospice, whose volunteer Paul Dupuis presided over the ceremony that recognized Hodgson, 86, who served his country both in the Army and the Navy.
Hodgson’s son John Jr., an Air Force veteran, pinned his father during the ceremony that was attended by family, friends and 14 veterans.

KENNEBUNK
Senior a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced that Kennebunk High School senior Sofie Dumas is among the semifinalists in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship program.
Dumas is among 16,000 semifinalists across the nation being recognized for their academic promise. She placed among the top 16,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2022 competition by taking the 2021 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. About 15,000 of those students are expected to advance to the finalist level in February.
Dumas and a high school official must now submit a detailed scholarship application, providing details about her academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. She also must write an essay.
“Becoming a semifinalist is a special time for Sofie, her family, and for Kennebunk High School,” said principal Jeremie Sirois. “I am proud of her and hope that she is chosen as a finalist. Sofie is an amazing young lady with a bright future.”

KENNEBUNKPORT
The Nonantum named one of best places to work
The Nonantum has been named to the Best Companies Group and the Maine State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management’s top 100 list of the Best Places to Work in Maine and the only hospitality group to make the list.
This marks The Nonatum’s sixth time receiving the award.

BOOTHBAY HARBOR
Church names new priest-in-charge
The Vestry of St. Columba’s Episcopal Church announced the selection of the Rev. Susan Kraus as its new priest-in-charge. Kraus began her affiliation with the church Friday.
Rev. Kraus will be the celebrant for four Sundays each month, with a supply priest officiating on the fifth Sunday as needed.
Rev. Kraus and her husband, Don, formerly from Edgecomb, live in Augusta.
For more details, contact Patty Colhoun, Senior Warden, at pccolhoun@gmail.com or call 350-9051.

GARDINER
Donations needed for Boys & Girls Club
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kennebec Valley (the Club) has launched a back-to-school donation drive to secure funds for their new clubhouse. The BGCKV is operating at 40 percent of its capacity due to the pandemic and current CDC and local guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
At the same time, the Club is making a push to raise the final $400,000 to open the new clubhouse as soon as possible. Staff and many supporters and volunteers from the community are working as hard as possible to raise the funds by Oct. 31.
As children head back to school and the Club welcomes children of all ages back for their programs from pre-school to teen center. The Club is currently in the final stretch of their $10 million “Great Futures” capital campaign for a new clubhouse, which will replace the 60-year-old building in Gardiner. Donors can contribute to the fundraising campaign online, by mail or in-person at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kennebec Valley at 14 Pray St., Gardiner, ME 04345.
As part of the “Great Futures” fundraising campaign, a focus of the Club is to raise funds to fully furnish the new clubhouse with the furniture, play and learning equipment to outfit each classroom. The full list of needed items is available in a virtual catalog at bit.ly/donatetobgckv. Funds raised will outfit each classroom once it is built, currently set for late August 2022.

STATEWIDE
ReTreeUS delivering over 4,000 seedlings to 15 schools
United Charitable, a nonprofit organization, has been awarded a 2021 USDA Farm to School Turnkey Grant through its fiscally sponsored program, ReTreeUS. This grant will enable ReTreeUS to support 10 schools throughout the state of Maine with ReTreeUS’ Back to School Garden program.
The program solves major issues confronting school gardens, especially summer maintenance, while increasing productivity to generate abundant harvests for cafeterias and maximizing garden learning opportunities. Garden-based lessons include decomposition, soil building, successional planting, and season extension.
ReTreeUS is delivering over 4,000 seedlings and garden support resources, utilizing funding from Hannaford and other sources to reach a total of 15 schools. The schools benefiting from the program include: Atwood Primary School, Auburn Middle School, Captain Albert Stevens School, Connors Elementary School, Ellsworth Middle School, Hollis Elementary School, Indian Township School, Lee Academy, Lewiston High School, Manchester School, Park Avenue Elementary School, Thomaston Grammar School, Walker Elementary School, Wentworth School and Williams Elementary School.
The grant is designed to involve students in the skill of becoming next generation gardeners. They will be trained in the steps of gardening – from planting seed to harvesting produce.
Collaborators on this effort include Maine Agriculture in the Classroom, Maine School Garden Network, and Independent Retailers Shared Services Cooperative. Seedlings were grown by Wolfe’s Neck Center and Mountain Heartbeet Farm.

AUBURN
City looking for perfect Christmas tree
City officials and the Auburn Public Works Department are seeking potential submissions for Auburn’s live Christmas tree to be set up in Festival Plaza this holiday season. The ideal tree will be an evergreen (spruce or fir), that is at least 25 feet tall and located in Auburn. The tree should be relatively “accessible” (not close power lines or other obstructions). The chosen tree will be removed and transported at no cost to the property owner.
Once in place, the tree will be decorated and be illuminated at 6 p.m. Dec. 4 at the city’s annual holiday parade, officially kicking off the holiday season in the downtown area.
Tree donors will be recognized through publicity and social media and will be invited to the lighting ceremony. The tree will remain at Festival Plaza throughout the holiday season.
Want to see if your tree can make the cut? Residents and property owners who wish to donate a tree are encouraged to visit auburnmaine.gov and tell us why your tree should be the winner. Entries are due by Oct. 22.

CAMDEN
Bank donates games, money to YMCAs
Camden National Bank recently gave a community donation of nearly 100 board games and $4,000 for local YMCAs serving children as part of its 2021 Employee Appreciation Week. The donations are being made on behalf of the bank’s employees, who are involved in bettering their local communities.
“In keeping with our event theme this year – ‘Game On!’ – we’re pleased to make a donation to our friends at organizations in Maine and New Hampshire so children in the kids’ programs can enjoy some of our favorite board games,” said Greg Dufour, president and CEO of Camden National Bank. “It was an honor recognizing our entire team last week, and the celebrations wouldn’t be complete without a token of our gratitude for amazing nonprofits that provide such critical community services.”
To learn more, go to camdennational.com/about/our-story/community-commitment.

Bank recognizes 13 employees with awards
Camden National Bank recently celebrated its 2021 Employee Appreciation event across more than 60 business locations, recognizing its 600 employees and awarding 13 of them for their commitment to customers, employees, and community. The bank’s 2021 Employee Award Winners include:
Officer of the Year – Suzanne Cifaldo, senior vice president, retail operations manager, Rockport; Employee of the Year – Stephanie Angelico, customer care expert, Rockport; CamdenCARE Award – Amy Pierce, senior relationship banker of Camden main office and Randy Cruz, vice president, business banking center manager of Damariscotta; Team Player Award – Lisa Wilson, facilities and purchasing associate of Rockport and Chris Abbott, vice president, business banker of Portland; Community Award – Kim Milton, retail lending assistant of Camden Square and Chris Rugullies, SVP, commercial banking market manager I of Auburn; Core Values Award – Ryan Ford, information security analyst II of Rockport and Christopher Proulx, officer, retail loan officer I of Belfast; CamdenCircle Award – Nick Michaud, IT systems administrator of Rockport and Audrey Klein-Leach, senior vice president, senior trust officer and relationship manager, Camden National Wealth Management at Camden main office; and the Bob Daigle Award for Achievement through Innovation to Charles Hamilton, vice president, deposit and payments assistant manager.

AUGUSTA
Executive committee names incoming president
Biddeford city manager James Bennett was selected to serve as the incoming president of the Maine Municipal Association Executive Committee for 2022 by members from across the state. Elaine Aloes, the Solon select board chair, was selected to serve as the vice president in 2022.
Bennett’s tenure begins Jan. 1, 2022, leading the 12-member committee that steers MMA operational and budgeting priorities. Aloes is in line to chair the 70-member Legislative Policy Committee before serving as the MMA president for 2023. Newcomer Justin Poirier, the Chebeague Island administrator, and former board member David Cyr, the Frenchville town manager, were elected to serve three-year terms, while current board member Melissa Doane, the Bradley town manager, was elected to serve a second three-year term.
Jim Gardner, the Easton town manager, will continue on the committee as the “immediate past president’” through December 2022.

ORONO
UMaine Extension 4-H dairy team brings home blue ribbons
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H welcomed four members of the state dairy team home after their successful event competitions at the Eastern States Exposition Sept. 17–18 in Springfield, Mass.
The multistate fair, known as the Big E, is an annual event that draws 4-H members from across the Northeast. UMaine Extension 4-H was represented in part by dairy team members Owen Brown of Exeter; Alexis Landry of Gorham; Jillian Sawyer of Limington; and Kat Leach of Arundel. Events included the 4-H dairy quiz bowl and two dairy cooking competitions, which involved creating grilled cheese sandwiches and extreme milkshake recipes.
The Maine 4-H dairy team took first place in the quiz bowl competition, with Leach named high-scoring junior and Sawyer named high-scoring senior in written exams. Brown, Landry and Sawyer also won first place in the grilled cheese sandwich competition. Brown and Leach took first place in the extreme milkshake competition for their entry using only Maine-made ingredients.
For more details, visit the Maine 4-H website.

SCARBOROUGH
Bank initiative helps combat student hunger
The Town & Country Federal Credit Union’s “Local Helping Local” initiative has raised nearly $3,500 to end student hunger.
The funds will be divided among the 31 school districts in Cumberland and York counties to support school backpack and/or school food pantry programs. Each of those checks will help individual schools to purchase approximately 400 meals for their students. Collectively, the contribution will provide more than 12,500 meals to students in both counties.
“We recognize there are still far too many students and their families, in each of the communities we serve, who don’t have enough to eat, especially after school hours and on weekends. These contributions will enable each district to choose how to best utilize the funds to maximize the impact on providing meals and food to students,” said David Libby, president and CEO of Town & Country FCU. “We know there are unique challenges in each district and, in addition to providing financial support, Town & Country is hoping this effort will increase awareness and support for such an important issue.”

BRUNSWICK
Temporary administrator named for parish
Bishop Robert Deeley announced that Monsignor René Mathieu has been appointed temporary administrator of All Saints Parish, that includes St. Charles Borromeo Church and St. John the Baptist Church, both of Brunswick; St. Mary Church of Bath; Our Lady Queen of Peace Church of Boothbay Harbor; St. Ambrose Church of Richmond; St. Patrick Church of Newcastle; and St. Katharine Drexel Church of Harpswell. Monsignor Mathieu succeeds Father Tom Murphy, who passed away on Sept. 20.
Monsignor Mathieu has served in parishes in Saco, Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach, Lyman, Auburn, Lewiston, and Caribou. He also has served as vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Portland and as a member of the Diocese of Portland’s Presbyteral Council.

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