Old Eleven to play After Hours at library

The Friends of South Portland Public Library will host its next After Hours Concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. The concert will feature Old Eleven, a traditional bluegrass, Maine-style band. The Main Library is located at 482 Broadway in South Portland. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Old Eleven makes its brand of bluegrass music with reverence, wit and top-shelf musicianship honed from years of picking in living rooms, festival campfires and stages from Maine and beyond. The group draws deeply from the bluegrass well, rendering songs by the elder statesmen from Bill Monroe to Jimmy Martin, while also delivering new twists on traditional tunes and a repertoire of finely honed original material. Old Eleven’s warm three-part harmonies and blazing instrumental work are the cornerstones of the band’s unique and impassioned rendering of bluegrass music, straight from Maine.

About the Members Ted DeMille (guitar, vocals) lends his powerful voice and remarkable original tunes to Old Eleven. A prolific songwriter, Ted’s songs have been recorded by several national bluegrass artists and he has taught the art of songwriting in workshops around New England. Ted’s long career in the Maine bluegrass world has seen him play in some of the state’s most beloved groups, including North Star and Erica Brown & the Bluegrass Connection.

Chris Dombrowski (bass) has been playing bluegrass bass since he turned 15. Chris’ musical path wound through New York, the Carolinas and North Florida before arriving in Maine in 1990. He’s provided the anchor for a variety of bands, from traditional bluegrass groups to more contemporary jazz-influenced acoustic groups. Chris has played in many New England bluegrass bands including The Oakhurst Boys, The Fogg Brothers, and Wide Open Spaces.

Eli Gilbert (banjo, vocals) is a recent graduate of the bluegrass studies program at East Tennessee State University, and spent several years studying jazz at Johns Hopkins University.

He’s toured with groups such as Jeff Brown & Still Lonesome and Laura Orshaw & The New Velvet Band. When he’s not playing with Old Eleven, Eli holds down banjo duties in the touring band Dreamcatcher and teaches at 317 Main Street Community Music Center in Yarmouth, Maine.

Lincoln Meyers (guitar, vocals) is an award-winning guitarist whose 30-year career has seen him touring with national acts such as Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen and The April Verch Band and being featured on the cover of Flatpicking Guitar magazine. Lincoln currently teaches guitar at 317 Main Street Community Music Center in Yarmouth, Maine.

Taylor Smith (mandolin, vocals) fell in love with bluegrass more than 20 years ago after borrowing a Hot Rize cassette tape. He put his guitar back in the case, picked up a mandolin and has spent the intervening years digging deeply into the instrument and the history of the music. Taylor also plays with Portland bluegrass stalwarts Cumberland Crossing and has been a member of a number of Maine-based bands, including the Saccarappa Boys and Cribstone Bridge.

The event is being held outside usual hours of operation and regular library services will not be available during the event.

Library to host’Red Ribbon’ author

Author Nancy Freund Bills will be at South Portland’s Main Library on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m. to discuss her debut memoir, “The Red Ribbon: A Memoir of Lightning and Rebuilding After Loss” as part of the Author Talk series. “The Red Ribbon” was selected as one of Kirkus’ Best Indie Biographies and Memoirs of 2019.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. For more information, call 767-7660, ext 2.

Legion Post plans seafood chowder dinner

American Legion Post 35 will host a seafood chowder supper 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1. The cost is $8 for adults. Children younger than 5 admitted free. Legion Post 35 is located at 413 Broadway in South Portland.

SMCC announces fall semester dean’s list

Southern Maine Community College announced that nearly 1,300 students have made the 2019 fall semester dean’s list.

They include:

Cape Elizabeth: Deborah Allen, Samantha Bengs, Mary Boyle, Brandon Bursley, Adam Collins, Ryan Connolly, Anika Cook, Joy Drzewiecki, Brady Eavenson, Erika Gildard, Alex Goodwin, Anna Hayes, Rachael Herst, Nathanael Lavallee, Abigail McFarland, David Plummer, Michael Redman, Dana Schauf, Lauren Soucy, Ella Trout, Andrew Whynot, Matthew Yim.

Scarborough: Ian Allard, Sean Arsenault, Erika Berry, Sabrina Blackie, Adam Brown, Romee Caron, Zachary Carriero, Melodie Coates, Leah De Cesare, Nicholas DeGrinney, Casey Dillon, Jillian Gagnon, Nicholas Giroux, Robert Gondolfo, Juan Gonzalez, Arden Goodwin, Marissa Hanna, Kathleen Hodge, James Kacer, Jeremiah Karass, Nathaniel Kinney, Elizabeth Kohler, Lindsey Ladd, Pu Luu, Vanessa Mathews, Suzanne McLaughlin, Emily McNally, Andrea Mendoza, Embry O’Leary, Amira Oul, McKenzie Richard, Sarah Rose, Christine Small, Alison Smith, Olivia Tapley, Kamala Thorp, Matthew Toohey, Meredith Treat, Alexandra Twomey, Theoharis Vocal, Katelyn Willis, Ryan Woodward.

South Portland: Noor Al Dulaimi, Ali Alhameedi, Lindsey Ayre, Caleb Balser, Curtis Begin, Fredor Bihizi, Damian Blanchard-McIntosh, Vanessa Bodman, Amanda Bouchard, Carolyn Breau, Jessamyn Brewer, Christopher Brown, Jordan Burnell, Paul Campos, Nicole Caston-Waly, Jerry Chann, Abigail Chase, Suwigya Chaudhary, Natalie Cliff, Jamie Cobb, Elizabeth Collins, Cody Corbett, Thomas Cornelison, Randall Delaware, Alexander Diaz, James DiBiase, Melissa DuBois, Charles Elwell, Mariana Fernandez, Melody Fish, Madigan Fitzgerald, Christopher Foulke, Kaelyn Galipeau, Cassidy Gonneville, Kaitlyn Gonneville, Sara Groshens, Thomas Guignard, Taylor Gustin, Jacob Hackett, Eliza Hellier, Aisha Hill, Jill Hutchison, Alain Icoyitungiye, Gladys Irakoze, Nana Kanjinga, Olivia Kierstead, Santana King, Molly Lara, Jason Lesaldo, Ai Ling Li, Julienne Loeber, Dilyse Lorello, Maureen Lorello, Ian Lukas, Heather Lundin, Lauren Lusardi, Adam Mangiafico, Wendy Manning, Tanya Martin, Tatianna Matos, Patrick McCartan, Noah McHugh, Isabella McMullan, Lydia McMullan, Aliaksandra Meta, Aleksandra Milinovic, Linda Muhimpundu, Gabriel Muir, Michelle Muniz, Darien Nappi, Margaret Nason, Simon Neufeld, Adam Neveu, Ernest Nijimbere, Callie O’Brien, Maryssa O’Neil, Danny Olembo, Rachel Parent, Makennah Pelletier, Jacob Poole, Fazel Qaney, Heliane Quiteke, William Ramos, Caryan Reid-Ulysse, Jesse Reynolds, Justin Saulle, Ingrid Silver, Mathew Silvius-I’Aboni, Jeffrey Sirois, Delphinia Skinner, Katherine Snyder, Ruby Stanton, Bienvenu Suka, Stephanie Taylor, Kevin Thompson, Amy Tran, Ngoc Tran, Thuy Truong, Samuel Ufitikirezi, Fatuma Uwimana, Alexa Ward, Kaylee Whitten, Tianna Wilcox, Elliot Yates, Courtney Yount, Rebekah Zellers, Emily Zografos.

Church plans bean supper

Peoples United Methodist Church will host a bean supper 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18. The church is located at 310 Broadway in South Portland.

The supper menu includes homemade casseroles, baked beans, salads and pies. The venue is handicapped accessible. For more information, call 767-3572 or email doreentgay@gmail.com.

Tri City Chorus seeks singers

The Tri City Community Chorus invites any singers interested in joining, to an orientation on Monday evening, Jan. 20 between 6 and 8 p.m. It will be at the Masonic Hall, third floor of the Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution, 252 Main St., Saco. Entrance and parking in the rear. Rehearsals are Monday nights from 6:45 to 9 p.m.  beginning Jan. 27 until the spring concert on June 6.

To schedule an appointment or for more information, call director Wesley Raines at 475-7582 or email wmraines@comcast.net.

Sen. Millett returns to Augusta for new legislative session

Sen. Rebecca Millett, D-Cape Elizabeth, returned to Augusta on last week for the start of the second regular session of the 129th Legislature. After hearing from constituents, Sen. Millett plans to continue to focus on ensuring children in Maine have access to a great education, expanding access to affordable health care, and tackling the climate crisis.

“We had a very successful first session, making progress on many key issues,” said Sen. Millett. “Our work is never done, however, and I look forward to continuing to take on the issues that affect Mainers now and will affect our future generations.”

During the second session, lawmakers will consider governor’s bills, carry-over bills and other bills deemed emergency in nature as outlined by the Maine Constitution. All new bills submitted for consideration must be approved by the bipartisan Legislative Council, which comprises legislative leadership in both the House and Senate. The statutory date of adjournment for the shorter second session is April 15.

Sen. Millett has introduced the following bills in the new legislative session:

· LD 1984, “An Act to Eliminate Waiting Lists for Home and Community-based Services for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, Brain Injury and Other Related Conditions.”

· LD 1915, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Environmental Protection to Evaluate Emissions from Heated Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tanks.”

· LD 1988, “An Act to Prohibit the Distribution of Deceptive Images or Audio or Video Recordings with the Intent to Influence the Outcome of an Election.”

· LD 1914, “An Act to Provide a Sales Tax Exemption for Textbooks.”

· LR 3126, “An Act to Remove from the Calculation of the Cost of Education the Maine Public Employees Retirement System State Employee and Teacher Plan Unfunded Actuarial Liability.”

· LR 2675, “An Act to Enact Restrictions on Electronic Smoking Devices.”

Sen. Millett is serving her fourth term in the Senate. She serves as the Senate chair of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

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