PORTLAND

Water district offers copies of Sebago Lake calendar

Free copies of the Portland Water District’s 2018 Images of Sebago Lake calendar are available at the Customer Service office at 225 Douglass St. or the Sebago Lake Ecology Center at 1 White Rock Road in Standish.

Copies are limited to one per customer, while supplies last.

For more details, call 774-5961, ext. 3050, email mclements@pwd.org or go to http://www.pwd.org.

Bishop Deeley appoints chaplain for two hospitals

Bishop Robert Deeley of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland has appointed the Rev. Amandus Sway as chaplain to Maine Medical Center and Mercy Hospital.

Sway is the parochial vicar at the Parish of the Ascension of the Lord in Kittery, York and South Berwick.

Born in Rombo, Tanzania, Sway was ordained to the priesthood in 2001 at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Moshi, Tanzania. He served as an assistant priest at parishes in the Diocese of Kimberley in South Africa from 2003-15 and was a councilor and secretary for the zone of South Africa and Botswana from 2010-15. In 2015, Sway moved to the U.S. and participated in clinical pastoral education at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, also serving as a chaplain there. He was appointed the parochial vicar at the Parish of the Ascension of the Lord in 2016.

BELFAST

Actors’ studio gets grant for children’s theater camp

Midcoast Actors’ Studio has received a $4,000 grant from the Maine Arts Expansion Fund of the Maine Community Foundation to bring a summer musical-theater camp to local children in the Belfast region.

Midcoast Actors’ Studio was founded in 2012 and voted best theater in Waldo County in 2017.

The studio’s Summer Youth Musical Theater Junior Camp for ages 7-13 will run June 25-29 with “Seussical: Kids,” while the senior camp runs July 2-14 with “Sweeney Todd: School Edition.”

With offices in Ellsworth and Portland, the Maine Community Foundation works with donors to improve the quality of life for all Mainers. To learn more, visit www.mainecf.org.

For more information about Midcoast Actors’ Studio, visit midcoastactors.org.

RYE, N.H.

Science center telescope brings vistas 20 times closer

The Rye Lions Club recently donated a SeeCoast Mark I Telescope to the Seacoast Science Center. It will be installed on the seaside lawn of the center in Odiorne Point State Park this spring.

The telescope has an optical power of 20X, which allows objects to appear 20 times closer. It is ideal for long-distance viewing for points of interest in the Gulf of Maine, wildlife viewing and coastal birding.

Telescope viewing will be free to the public. It will bring four lighthouses (Portsmouth Harbor, Whaleback, Star Island and Boon Island) into clear view, as well as the mouth of the Piscataqua River, Wood Island, the Isles of Shoals and the Kittery shoreline.

The Seacoast Science Center is at Odiorne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd.

CAMDEN

Bank has given $220,000 to reduce homelessness

Camden National Bank has donated more than $220,000 to nearly 50 homeless shelters across three states over the past two years.

The bank launched the community-based, statewide hope@home program in 2015 to raise awareness of homelessness in Maine and to provide assistance to those in need. For every home financed through Camden National Bank, $100 is donated to a homeless shelter in the new homeowner’s community.

While rates of homelessness have climbed across the country, they are on a slight decline in Maine, according to data from the Statewide Homeless Council. The length of time that people in Maine remained homeless decreased 21 percent between 2016 to 2017.

Hospitality House, a family homeless shelter in Rockport, has received more than $10,000 from Camden National Bank’s program since it began.

“Thanks to this funding, we are able to repair a car, which keeps a client employed, or pay for an uninsured client who needs critical emotional or physical health services – it’s invaluable,” Hospitality House Executive Director Stephanie Primm said. “In winter, we always see an increase in the number of homeless families, so continued support from outside partners is critical to meeting these unfortunate demands.”

Primm attributes the spike in demand to seasonal job loss, a lack of affordable housing and steadily increasing housing costs.

BIDDEFORD

Entrepreneurs may apply for Pitch York County event

Think Tank Coworking will hold a second round of its Pitch York County event, with sessions on Jan. 16, Feb. 13 and March 13 at the Pepperell Mill Campus, 40 Main St.

The winner and runner-up from each of three monthly pitches will compete for a cash grand prize on April 17.

“Season One was a hit, looking forward to returning as sponsor for Season Two – we expect it will be a home run!” said Charles Petersen, president of Biddeford Savings Bank. Last year’s grand-prize winner was Surge Hydro, and the runner-up was Thrivant Health.

Each of the three monthly winners and second-place winners will receive $750 and $350, respectively. The finale Grand Prize winner will be awarded $1,200, and the runner-up will receive $400.

Entrepreneurs and small-business owners with less than $100,000 in annual revenue are eligible. There is no geographic restriction but consideration will be given to applicants who are interested in relocating or starting their business in Biddeford. Jurors will comprise entrepreneurs, banks, investors and law firms.

For more details, email PITCHYorkCounty@gmail.com or call 774-768-4465. To register, go to http://pitchyorkcounty.com/#schedule.

Hospital showers gifts on parents of 2018’s first baby

Rosalie Chilapa-Bello was Southern Maine Health Care’s first baby of the new year. Rosalie was delivered by Dr. Wayne White at 8:47 p.m. Jan. 1, weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces.

She is the daughter of Sierrah Herrick and Ivan Chilapa-Bello of Biddeford.

Rosalie’s parents received a gift basket, filled with items donated by SMHC, volunteers and community members, that included diapers; clothing; home safety items; bath items and bottles; bowls and spoons; books; sweaters; hats and mittens; burp cloths; a Boppy; an infant play mat; a stuffed bear from SMHC’s gift shop; a gift bag filled with books; clothing from Altrusa International, Biddeford Chapter; and a $50 gift card.

Rosalie, along with all other Maine babies born in 2018, will be eligible for a $500 grant through the Harold Alfond College Challenge to start a NextGen College Investing Plan account. For more information on the Harold Alfond College Challenge, call 800-228-3734 or visit www.500forbaby.org.