One-Act Festival performance March 4

The Yarmouth High School Playmakers will present a public performance of their Maine One-Act Festival entry, “Epic Proportions,” a comedy set in the 1930s, Wednesday, March 4. The 8 p.m. performance at the Yarmouth Performing Arts Center, 286 West Elm St., will be preceded by a free cake and tea reception starting at 7 p.m. Show tickets are $5 at the door.

YHS sophomore earns spot in poetry finals

Ella Werner, 15, a sophomore representing Yarmouth High School, has placed in the top 5 of the Poetry Out Loud Southern Region Finals and will compete in the Maine state finals on March 11 at the Waterville Opera House. Only 10 high school representatives have the opportunity to compete for the state title. Students at regional and state competitions must recite three poems while being judged on accuracy, understanding, complexity of the poem and use of voice and body.

After multiple rounds to win her high school title, Werner rose to the top of the southern Maine field of 22 mostly junior and senior students by choosing poems with a high degree of difficulty and delivering them with poise and confidence. Her English teacher, Marita O’Neill, coached her for the competition and was there to support her during the regionals event. All students in Yarmouth High School participate in Poetry Out Loud each year.

“I have a huge respect and love for the English language. This is a rare chance to celebrate the spoken word and great poets. I feel so fortunate that Yarmouth High School has Poetry Out Loud as an integral part of language arts and I am honored to represent them. I am so grateful to Ms. O’Neill for her support,” Werner said.

Werner will recite “Life Cycle of Common Man,” by Howard Nemerov; “Monet Refuses the Operation,” by Lisel Mueller; and “As Kingfishers Catch Fire,” by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

She is the daughter of Jonas and Kate Werner of Freeport.

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition supported by the Poetry Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts and administered at the state level by the Maine Arts Commission.

Busy week at library

• A Story and Craft program for children in Grades 1 and 2 will be held Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Registration is required. Register at the Circulation Desk or contact Judy at jbabin@yarmouthlibrary.org.

• The library will host a Maker Space Open House Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Come drop in and play with a variety of crafts and activities in the new Maker Space.

• Maine Poetry Express is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. “Whistle-Stop Readings of Maine Poetry by Maine People,” a project from the Office of the Maine Poet Laureate, will be conducted by Mary Dowd. Featured poets include Megan Grumbling, Wesley McNair and David Sloan, with special guests Phil Clifford, Janice Cooper, John Cunniff, Judy Kennedy, David Kitchen and Joe Legere. The event is sponsored by Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and the Maine Arts Commission.

• The novel, “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult, is the Merrill Memorial Library Readers Circle selection this month. The discussion group will meet at the library on Thursday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.

New school budget topic of meeting

The Yarmouth School Committee will discuss the proposed 2015-2016 school budget at an upcoming meeting on Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. at the Log Cabin Meeting Room on Main Street.

Recycling panel seeks members

Residents interested in recycling and concerned about the cost of trash disposal, as well as interested

in food composting and want to see more of this material removed from the waste stream, may want to join the Recycling Committee. There are three openings on the volunteer committee, which meets the second Thursday of the month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Community Room. Applications are available on the town website, www.yarmouth.me.us.

Parking ban

The all-night, on-street parking ban is in effect through April 15. This is an effort to keep the streets clear for snow removal. According to the police department, all-night parking is defined as parking for more than one hour between midnight and 6 a.m. This applies to all public streets within the town.

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