PORTLAND
Seven teens named St. Timothy Award winners
Youth and adults in Maine who provide an exemplary model of living the gospel life are being recognized by the Diocese of Portland’s Office of Lifelong Faith Formation. St. Timothy Awards are given to high school juniors or seniors who exhibit Catholic morals and integrity, demonstrate gospel values through service to others, and display Christian leadership.
The winners for 2021, listed alphabetically by parish location, are Paul Bonner and Jude Mosher, both of Caribou; Emma Ardell and Zachary Conley, both of Houlton; Cecilia Guerra of Saco; Lauren Paradis of Saint Agatha; and Colby White of Wells.
Additionally, Theresa Griffin of St. Mary of the Visitation Parish in Houlton received a 2021 Companions on the Journey Award for demonstrating excellence, leadership, and commitment in service to youth ministry and helping guide young people in the faith.
WELLS
Annual Woodies car show accepting registrations
Registrations are being accepted for the 10th annual “Woodies in the Cove” Car Show, to be sponsored by the Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 14 at 974 Post Road, next to McDonald’s on Route 1. The show will be followed by a parade from the venue though Ogunquit and into Perkins Cove between 2 and 3 p.m.
The car show brings together Woodies from the model “A”s of the 1920s to the tin Woodies of the 1950s. This is one of the most-attended car shows on the East Coast and also is the largest fundraiser for the historical society. It’s free and open to the public. Donations are appreciated.
Vehicle registrants are for Woodies only with some additional unique and high-end cars also attending by invitation only. Trophies to be awarded in a variety of categories.
To sign-up, email Sonny Perkins at woodiesinthecove@gmail.com and supply a picture of your vehicle.
SOUTH FREEPORT
French School students bring home competition awards
The French School of Maine students recently competed in the National French Contest/Le Grand Concours, an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of the Teacher of French and held virtually this year. Grade 1 through 12 students from across the United States and abroad were invited to compete and were tested in written and spoken forms to determine their proficiency for comprehending and speak the French language.
Ten out of 12 French School students placed within the top 19 out of 1,587 students from around the nation and beyond in the Grade 1-6 division of the competition, with student Noa Piehl scoring highest overall and receiving the platinum medal and plaque. Other winners of the school included Isabelle Cummings and Divine Cimanuka, who won silver medals; Annika Hellstedt and Antoine Delaye, who won bronze medals. Honorable mentions for the school also went to Ferdinand Cimanuka, Gabrielle Cimanuka, Ry Langevin, Amelie Chardon, Beatrice Faunce, Sophie Lucas, and Amelia Betts.
NEWCASTLE
Table rentals available for craft show
The Second Congregational Church is taking reservations from local artisans who wish to rent a table to sell their goods at the upcoming, non-juried Craft Show, set from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 10 at the church parking area on the Damariscotta River.
Potential vendors should contact Anne Nord at 860-304-1130 or aknord@twc.com to reserve a space. Cost is $45 with an 8′ table, $35 without table supplied.
SOUTH PORTLAND
Land trust receives community outreach grant
South Portland Land Trust (SPLT) received a $12,500 grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation to support their outreach efforts with South Portland’s diverse communities. The grant, “Digging In: Engaging Diverse Communities in Conservation,” enables SPLT to build capacity to create meaningful opportunities to connect with community members typically excluded from conservation work.
As Maine’s fourth largest and third most diverse city, South Portland has historically been committed to open space preservation. However, it is not immune to the same challenges of many coastal communities, including ongoing development pressure and an increasingly limited number of parcels of undisturbed field, forest, wetlands, and watershed within city limits, many located along sensitive and historically mismanaged watersheds, like Long Creek, Trout Brook, and Barberry Creek.
For close to 35 years, SPLT has primarily worked “behind the scenes” to negotiate easements with the city, support and facilitate real estate transactions, and host clean-up events on their network of trails. However, a strategic planning process conducted in 2020 in collaboration with the National Park Service and Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative, highlighted the importance of building new pathways for community members to engage with SPLT’s work and mission beyond the day-to-day usage of SPLT properties.
Specifically the grant allows SPLT to create and host a series of workshops on working across culture and difference (open to all interested partners and land trusts); develop and host three community events on SPLT’s West End trails – all of which drain to the embattled Long Creek Watershed and are located less than a mile from South Portland’s largest and most diverse housing complexes at Redbank; support SPLT’s Program Coordinator in outreach efforts to these communities. Outreach materials, including maps, event flyers, etc., will be translated into French, Somali, and Portuguese.
SPLT will announce workshop and community event details later this summer. For more information, please reach out to Program Coordinator Michelle Smith at michelle@sopolandtrust.org.
RANGELEY
Heritage trust offers courtesy boat inspections
For the 19th year, Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust is conducting courtesy boat inspections at public boat launches in the Rangeley Lakes region. Since its inception, inspectors have educated more than 23,000 boaters and visitors to the region on the larger bodies of water including Cupsuptic, Mooselookmeguntic, Richardson, and Rangeley Lakes.
This years’ Maine Conservation Corps Environmental Steward is Hanz Berger of South Paris. Berger will be focusing on water quality monitoring. Conducting boat inspections at a public launch on the weekends, Mondays, and Tuesdays, Berger will keep office hours available to assist volunteers with collecting water clarity data and documenting aquatic plants. As the season progresses, he’ll be on the water testing clarity, purity, and patrolling for invasive plants with volunteers.
Invasive plants can be devastating to a waterbody and local economy. A tiny fragment or a single seed carried on a boat trailer or fishing gear can start an infestation. Invasive aquatic species are self-sustaining and can double in size within a single year, often outcompeting beneficial native plants.
Lake associations and shorefront owners are encouraged to connect with RLHT to learn more about preventing aquatic invaders by emailing headwaters@rlht.org.
ORONO
Spend Fridays on the farm with UMaine Extension 4-H
University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H is offering a new hands-on summer learning series focused on Maine agriculture for ages 12-18.
Participants in the four-session “4-H Fridays on the Farm” program will take a tour of each participating farm’s operations, gain hands-on experience and learn what different farms across the state contribute to the Maine food system. This is the first in a planned series of educational programs from the Maine 4-H Agricultural Leadership Ambassador Program.
The first session will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 16 at Mulberry Farms, 96 North Raymond Road, Raymond. MOFGA-certified Mulberry Farms specializes in organic fruits and vegetables. All sessions are scheduled 9 a.m.–noon.
Others visits include:
• Sustainable vegetable grower Rustic Roots Farm,120 Vipah Lane, Farmington on July 23.
• Seed potato developer Seed Pro Inc., 21 ME-159, Crystal on July 30.
• Tenth-generation dairy farm Brigeen Farms, 278 Upper Street, Turner on Aug. 6.
The series is free and includes materials; current 4-H enrollment is not required. Register for individual sessions on the program webpage.
For more details, call Sara Conant at 781-6099 or email sara.conant@maine.edu.
PORTLAND & ELLSWORTH
MaineCF committee awards over $70,000 in grants
The York County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation has awarded $71,154 in grants to 13 nonprofit organizations or communities.
Grant recipients include a $10,000 award to Fair Tide, Inc., of Kittery to expand a pilot program aimed at securing permanent, affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness; a $9,666 award to Table of Plenty of Berwick to continue serving guests at two locations with takeout meals versus sit-down meals due to the pandemic; an $8,000 grant to Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center of Biddeford to hire a grants/development staff person on a one-year contract to increase the grants/funding portfolio in order to supplement fundraising deficits from the pandemic; a $4,000 grant to Apex Youth Connection of Biddeford to connect, support, and stabilize youth through consistent adult and peer mentorship; a $3,998 grant to Caring Unlimited of Sanford to update and expand its mobile advocacy, increasing the availability and accessibility of critical domestic violence support services throughout York County; a $3,990 award to White Pine Programs of York to support nature experiences in partnership with community organizations supporting families of first responders, essential workers, and those affected by the global pandemic; a $3,500 grant to Age Friendly Saco to provide resources to develop a tri-community (Biddeford/Saco/Old Orchard Beach) “last mile” ride share program for older residents; and a $3,000 grant to Youth Full Maine of Biddeford to continue weekly curbside food distributions in several York County towns during the pandemic.
Grants of $5,000 each also were awarded to Biddeford Community Gardens to create gardens at Rotary Park; Carlisle Charitable Foundation of Kennebunk to provide an equine-based retreat for frontline healthcare workers to alleviate pandemic trauma for those most exposed and at risk for COVID-19; to bring advanced training related to diversity, equity, and inclusion to Heart of Biddeford board, staff, and working partners; to Kids Free To Grow of Kennebunk to provide a research-based, sexuality education and child abuse prevention curriculum to students, staff and parents for grades K-8; and to Pinetree Institute of Eliot to support the Greater Kennebunk Coordinated Response.
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