WELLS

Wells High School Principal Eileen Sheehy announced seniors Sarah Webb and Covey Dufort are the recipients of the 2019 National School Development Council (NSDC) Award for Academic Growth in Student Leadership and Learning.

Formed in 1969, the NSDC is, according to its website, “… a confederation of school study or development councils located across the country.”  Each year, NSDC acknowledges the positive contributions students make to their schools.  Recipients of this award exemplify admirable character and accomplishment and are positive role models for their student peers.

“Sarah and Covey are wonderful examples of the many positive ways students can influence a school,” commented Principal Sheehy.  “Their dedication to academics is commendable and their positive and enthusiastic presence is remarkable.”

 

Wells Junior High School recently recognized 12 Grade 5 students as Students of the Month for demonstrating the school’s core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, compassion and trustworthiness. Those students include Sahil Altaf, Mila Mustacka, Jesse Pullen, Livia DiDomenicantonio, Carys Ramsey, Ben Brown, Regan Bedell, Mattie Carpentier, Gauge Shepard, Connor Brown, Jason Noble and Kaitlyn Daly.

Principal Roland (AJ) Dufort said, “These are attributes that we want to see from our students each and every day. The fifth grade has been recognizing students for a number of years and it helps students to see that displaying our core values and modeling them daily pays dividends.  We are really lucky that we have such a large percentage of our students who set the bar for everyone to follow.”

FALMOUTH

Falmouth’s Senior Property Tax Assistance Program, now in its second year, grew substantially in 2019, serving 77 Falmouth residents, up from 29 applicants in 2018.

The Town Council increased the income threshold for participation in the program from $30,000 to $40,000 this year, allowing 18 residents to qualify for assistance this year who would not have been eligible last year. Three workshops were held this fall to assist residents with their applications and staff from the Town’s Finance Department met with several residents individually to help them with the necessary paperwork.

A budget of $50,000 was allocated for the program and $49,386 was paid out. Payments to participants were mailed the last week of October.

ROCKLAND

West Bay Rotary marked the success of a recent community service project benefiting Meals of Hope, when 121 volunteers showed up to pack 25,728 meals in just 70 minutes at the Elks Lodge. The packing site was completely cleaned and the meals on their way to food pantries in less than two hours.

Meals of Hope was founded by Naples Rotarian Steve Popper in 2007.  Bobbi Bird, a Rotarian and Meals of Hope worker, trained members of West Bay to lead the volunteers.  According to Bobbi, Meals of Hope recently surpassed 60 million meals packed.  Although she and others travel all over the country, the meals that are packed always stay locally.

The mission of Meals of Hope is “Communities coming together to end hunger.”  They have developed five meals with added vitamins, minerals and proteins to supplement an unbalanced diet.  The cost is 25 cents per meal.  West Bay Rotary committed a portion of the money needed and raised the rest of the money through donations from club members, other Rotary clubs, and members of the community who donated by check or by credit card on their website.

At the suggestion of Meals of Hope, West Bay Rotary decided to pack two popular meals:  pasta and tomato sauce and macaroni and cheese.  Each bag packed holds six meals and each box holds 32 bags.  A total of 134 boxes were packed and distributed:  20 boxes to Salvation Army, 60 boxes to AIO Food Pantry in Rockland, 52 boxes to Bread for the Journey Food Pantry in Warren and two boxes to Camden Area Christian Food Pantry in Camden.  Many of the boxes taken to the food pantries in Rockland and Warren will be distributed to other local food pantries.

Although the event was led by West Bay Rotary, it was a collaborative effort, with members of the Camden and Rockland Rotary clubs and the Midcoast Interact Club participating along with a large number of community members, who heard about the event and volunteered.  One such volunteer said “I couldn’t afford to donate to help, but I love that I could come and help in other ways.”

West Bay Rotary can be reached at westbayrotaryinfo@gmail.com.  For club information or to make a donation, go to https://www.westbayrotaryofmaine.org/.

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