Trio graduate from nursing program in Topsham

Three students graduated from Merrymeeting’s Certified Nursing Assistant program in a ceremony held Feb. 28 at the adult education center in Topsham.

Lindsay Easterling, Megan Keller and Kayla Smith completed their coursework and clinical rotations on Feb. 12. They entered the ranks of certified health care professionals after passing the state exam.

The class was led by Margot Kovach, who spoke of the close bond the small class developed over the 19 weeks of the course. There are some advantages, Kovach said, such as opportunities to visit the medical-surgical unit at Mid Coast-Parkview Health, where larger classes are too big to unobtrusively observe care.

Official certificates and a gift of gold scissors were presented by Kovach, and Diana McCain, director of Merrymeeting Adult Ed.

For more information about Merrymeeting’s academic and enrichment classes, visit merrymeeting.org or call 729-7323.

Brunswick innkeeper celebrates debut novel

Brunswick-based author James Hornor has released his first novel, “Victoria Falls,” the story of James Monroe, a sophisticated American professional on a mission for The World Bank in Africa during the early 1990s. Set in Africa and India, Monroe’s journey leads to a series of failed relationships that reveal the dark, enigmatic recesses of his complex personality and eventually land him in a hellhole prison in Bombay. 

Kate Egan, editor of “The Hunger Games” trilogy, calls Hornor’s debut “A suspenseful, complex, and sensitive novel, a mid-life coming of age.”

James Hornor is an educator, writer and speaker. A former examiner for the International Baccalaureate and consultant to the AFREA Division of The World Bank, Hornor now owns and operates The Brunswick Inn. Hornor also teaches English composition at Southern Maine Community College; he has taught both film and literature. 

“Victoria Falls” is being published by Green Writers Press.

Hires, promotions, appointments

Spring Harbor Hospital, a division of Maine Behavioral Healthcare, has hired Dr. Cathleen Small as the director of Behavioral Services and Spring Harbor Academy.

Small is a child psychologist and behavior analyst who was on the faculty at the Kennedy Krieger Institute of Johns Hopkins University for six years. She is a graduate of Bowdoin College, earned a special education teaching degree from Northeastern University and trained in behavior analysis and psychology at the University of Kansas.

Alie DiCarlo of Topsham has been promoted to vice president at Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution. DiCarlo came to SBSI in 2005 as the assistant compliance officer and has been the Learning & Development manager since 2008. DiCarlo works in Saco.

Margot Kovach, instructor of Merrymeeting Adult Education’s Certified Nursing Assistant Program, celebrates the graduation of Megan Keller, left, and Lindsay Easterling on Feb. 28.

Hornor