WEST KENNEBUNK
Bird influx open for adoption
The Animal Welfare Society recently received a large and diverse assortment of birds looking for new homes.
Those wishing to adopt a bird may select from finches, doves, budgies; all about 1 year old and varying in size and colors.
Images of the birds can be found at the PetSmart satellite locations in Biddeford, Rochester, N.H., and Salem, N.H., or go to www.animalwelfaresociety.com for more information and directions to the stores.
BLUE HILL
Young composers honored
The Bagaduce Music Lending Library announced the results of its Young Composers Competition and Festival, which was held recently.
Twenty young composers from across Maine submitted original compositions for review by a team of judges that included Fred Goldrich, Beth Wiemann and Robert Bahr.
Cash prizes of $200, $125 and $75 were awarded to winners by age category.
Category I top three winners, respectively, for ages 7 to 13, were Logan Peters, 10, of Falmouth for “Hunting on a Full Moon” for piano; Cameron W. Stewart, 13, of Deer Isle, for “Untitled” for piano/keyboard; and Lila Pebble Hays, 9, of Brooklin, for “The Valley” for solo voice. Honorable mention was awarded to Silas Bartol, of Manchester, for “Ode to Joy and Variations” for organ.
Category II top three winners, respectively, for ages 14 through grade 12 were Hayden Stacki, of Westbrook, for “Rail Rider” for flute or Bb clarinet, bassoon, timpani, auxiliary percussion 1 and 2, and mallet percussion; Soren Nyhus, of Waterville, for “Passacaglia for violin I and II, viola, cello and piano; and Samantha Barry, of Windham, for “Prelude in C-sharp Minor” for piano. Honorable mention was awarded to Ruby Ramsay, of Hampden, for “Bienvenue” for SATB Chorus with piano accompaniment.
The competition is designed to offer a forum for Maine’s students to create new musical works and to develop their composing and notation skills while offering them valuable feedback from professional musicians.
For further information, call Martina Herries at 374-5454.
PORTLAND
Spurwink partners for seeds
Spurwink Services, a nonprofit that provides behavioral health and educational services across Maine, will partner with Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ Charitable Giving Committee to support its therapeutic gardening program at the Spurwink Day Treatment School in Chelsea.
The seed company, located in Winslow, will send a donation of requested seeds to the Chelsea Organic Garden project, where students with special needs will get involved in garden planning, preparation, seed ordering, planting, transplanting, harvesting and tracking yield.
The garden project is one of Spurwink’s many specialized programs supporting the well-being of family members of every age and skill set.
Priests assigned to midcoast
Bishop Robert P. Deeley announced the assignments of two new priests to the midcoast area, effective June 1.
The Rev. Robert C. Vaillancourt has been named pastor of St. Brendan the Navigator Parish (that includes Our Lady of Good Hope Church, Camden; St. Bernard Church, Rockland; St. Francis of Assisi Church, Belfast; St. Mary of the Isles Church, Islesboro; and Union Church, Vinalhaven).
A Lewiston native, Vaillancourt is a graduate of St. Dominic Regional High School, the University of Maine at Orono and St. Paul University in Ottawa. He was ordained in 1982 at St. Peter & Paul Parish in Lewiston and has served in several pastor and directing roles at parishes, including at St. Andre’s Parish of Biddeford, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish at Madawaska, the Christian Life Center at Upper Frenchville, the Diocese of Portland’s Youth Ministry program, St. Peter Parish at East Millinocket, Holy Family Parish at Old Town, St. Joseph Parish at Bridgton, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Mission at Fryeburg, St. Matthew Parish at Hampden, St. Gabriel Parish at Winterport, St. Teresa Parish at Brewer, St. John Vianney Parish at Fort Kent, and the Holy Savior Parish at Rumford and Bethel.
Vaillancourt also serves as a hospital chaplain to Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital, with weekend duties at the Parish of the Holy Eucharist in Falmouth.
The Rev. Paul G. Murray has been named administrator of Our Lady of the Lakes Parish (that includes Our Lady of the Lakes Church, Oquossoc; St. Luke Church, Rangeley; St. John Church, Stratton; Bell Chapel, base of Sugarloaf Mountain).
Murray attended Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Mass., Massachusetts Bay Community College, the Holy Apostles College & Seminary in Cromwell, Conn., and Saint John XXIII Seminary in Weston, Mass. Since being ordained to the priesthood in 2009 at Holy Family Church in Lewiston, Murray has served at Corpus Christi Parish at Waterville, Christ the King Parish at Skowhegan, St. Agnes Parish at Pittsfield, Our Lady of the Snows Parish at Dover-Foxcroft, and the Madonna House Community at Ontario, Canada.
As the residential care chaplain at the parishes of Immaculate Heart of Mary at Auburn and Prince of Peace at Lewiston, Murray serves the senior residential care institutions and provides coverage for emergencies at Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center as a backup to the regular chaplains when they are off duty. He also assists by celebrating selected Masses at parish churches.
SANFORD
Key Club members honored
Sanford High School Key Club members received two honors at the organization’s annual district convention at Springfield, Mass., held recently to recognize the achievements of individual Key Clubs from New England and Bermuda.
The Sanford students received awards for their dedication to community and service. They placed second in the Single Service Award, which honored organizational, awareness and execution efforts to put together a fundraiser benefitting a scholarship fund. The Local Publications Award was given for the monthly bulletins released by the club.
The club also gave $648.75 to the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute during the Parade of Checks.
TOPSHAM
Cancer Society seeks help
The American Cancer Society is seeking volunteers in the southern Maine area for its “Look Good Feel Better” program to provide cancer patients with hair and make-up tips to help them feel better about their appearance during treatment.
The two-hour workshops include a detailed description and demonstration of the 12-step skin care and makeup program; instruction on options relating to hair loss, use of wigs, turbans, scarves and nail care; and fashion suggestions on using flattering colors and shapes to camouflage areas of concern during cancer treatment. Each patient participant will receive a free kit of cosmetics, donated by the cosmetics industry, to use as tools to learn techniques during the program and to take home.
Volunteer professional cosmetologists, hairstylists, make-up artists, nail technicians and aestheticians are needed to offer group workshops and/or one-on-one consultations. Volunteers from the general public are needed to help the program run smoothly by organizing the event at host sites, promoting events, calling participants and providing assistance during the sessions.
The next certification training for this program is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at the Cancer Community Center in South Portland. The commitment is three to five hours per month. A four-hour certification class and a biennial refresher course also are required.
For more details, call 800-227-2345 or go to cancer.org/volunteer to register for the training or learn more.
SACO
Essay winners announced
The Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club announced winners of its essay contest for eighth-graders who attend school in Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach.
The first-place winners were Jillian Greenleaf, of Biddeford Middle School; Kaitlyn Cox, of Thornton Academy Middle School, Saco; Jade Kruczek, of Saco Middle School; Lizzie Owen, of Loranger Middle School, Old Orchard Beach; and McKenna Picard, of St. James School, Biddeford.
This year’s theme was “What the Word Family Means to Me,” which focuses on the students’ views of the importance of family life, their understanding, and appreciation of differences that exist with other families. The best essays are selected by the school’s faculty of teachers based on the established criteria: relevance to the topic, quality of composition, creativity, and grammatical and spelling accuracy.
First-place winners were invited to read their essays before an assembly of Rotarians, parents, school principals and teachers. Each was awarded a certificate of achievement along with a $100 prize.
Other prize winners, who received $50 or $25, respectively, for their second- and third-place essay submissions, were Michael Delorge and Claudia Janelle of Biddeford Middle School; Olivia Paradis and Lindsay Labrecque of Thornton Academy Middle School, Saco; Meghan McReynolds and Sadie Gray of Saco Middle School; Ana Pilioglos and Luke Knowles of Loranger Middle School, Old Orchard Beach; and Lydia Rue and Alison Violette of St. James School, Biddeford.
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