Communities get grants to fight drugs

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick, Freeport, Harpswell and Pownal are listed among communities getting a share of more than $1 million in federal Drug-Free Communities Support Grants as announced by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree Wednesday.

The funds are awarded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and recipients will use the funds for a range of efforts including educating parents, increasing enforcement of underage drinking laws, increasing public awareness of the risks of substance abuse and enlisting educators in youth substance abuse prevention.

“I’m very proud of how Maine communities are working together to prevent substance abuse by young Mainers, and am glad that so many will receive federal funding to support those efforts,” Pingree said in a statement.

Brunswick and Harpswell will receive $125,000 in Access Health grants. Freeport and Pownal will also be awarded $125,000 in grants. In all, nine community coalitions across southern and Midcoast Maine will receive a total of $1.1 million to combat substance abuse.

Scout registration is Sunday

BATH — For the first time ever Bath’s local Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout and Venture Crew organizations will be on hand at a single information and registration session Sunday from 2- 4:30 p.m. at Library Park.

This is the first ever joint scouting recruitment event in the Bath area, designed to make it easier for families with multiple children of all ages to learn about these youth character-building organizations all at a single event.

Scouting is open to boys and girls from kindergarten to their 21st birthday. There will be many scouting oriented events taking place at Sunday’s free event and volunteers on hand to answer any questions.

Those attending will meet local volunteers and leaders for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, find out about ways you can volunteer with the organizations and learn about programming, travel and camping opportunities and other things the 2015-16 scouting season will offer.

For more information about Bath’s Boy Scouts, contact Steve Lunn at (207) 251-9080 or [email protected]. Cassie Tarbox can be contacted for more information about Longreach Girl Scouts at (207) 319-6155 or email her at [email protected].

The Library Park is located off Washington Street near Patten Free Library.

Geology walk in Bath

BATH — The Kennebec Estuary Land Trust will host novice geologists on Sunday to explore the geologic wonders of Thorne Head Preserve in Bath with Maine Master Naturalist Volunteer Denise Bluhm. Starting at 10 a.m. Sunday at the preserve trail kiosk, participants will traverse the preserve to discover examples of different geologic formations. The program is free and open to adults and children aged 10 and older. Register at www.kennebecestuary.org/kelts-summertime scene or call (207) 442- 8400.

Coastal Rotary hosting fundraiser

BATH — Brunswick Coastal Rotary is hosting its annual Feast to Feed from 5- 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Winter Street Center at 880 Washington St. in Bath. It will feature appetizers and desserts from local restaurants, cooks, and club members, a cash bar, free soft drinks, and entertainment from John Dennen the Singing Lobsterman. A live and silent auction will include hand-carved musical instruments, jewelry, gift certificates to local businesses, and specialty baskets. Admission is $15 per person and $25 per family, with children under 12 free.

Pickleball tournament is Saturday

BATH — The first ever annual Bath-Brunswick Picklefest tournament will be held Saturday at the Bath McMann Field tennis courts from 8 a.m. to noon.

The tournament will feature more than 70 players of all ages playing Pickleball in a round robin format and prizes for the winning teams. The proceeds from registrations will benefit the Bath YMCA summer camp scholarship fund. For more information, find Midcoast Maine Pickleball on Facebook.

Routhier Talk and book signing

BRUNSWICK — On Monday, Sept. 14, Pejepscot Historical will present a talk and book signing by Jessica Skwire Routhier on the 1851 panoramic painting of Pilgrim’s Progress. The talk will be at 7 p.m. at Curtis Memorial Library’s Morrell Meeting Room. Admission of $5 benefits Pejepscot Historical Society.

Routhier is co-author of “The Painters’ Panorama: Narrative, Art, and Faith in the Moving Panorama of Pilgrim’s Progress.” The “Moving Panorama of Pilgrim’s Progress” is an 8-foot by 800- foot painting that was created in 1851 and thought lost for a full century. Rediscovered in 1996 and fully restored in 2012, it illustrates John Bunyan’s book, “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”

Moving panoramas were a mid-19th century precursor to the motion picture, massive canvases that were scrolled across a stage and accompanied by a lecturer and music. One of only a handful that survive today, the “Moving Panorama of Pilgrim’s Progress” was one of the most important and popular moving panoramas of its day, with designs by rising luminaries of the Hudson River School of American landscape painting: Frederic Edwin Church, Jasper Cropsey, Daniel Huntington, and others.

Jessica Skwire Routhier helped manage the preservation and interpretation of the panorama during her tenure as director of Maine’s Saco Museum, where the panorama was displayed in 2012. She will detail the history of the panorama and sign copies of the book in which she and co-authors Kevin J. Avery and Thomas Hardiman, Jr. documented its story. Books will be available for purchase at the event.

For further details, visit www.pejepscothistorical.org or call (207) 729-6606.

Suicide prevention session

BRUNSWICK — A a Suicide Prevention lunch and learn session will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21 in Orion Hall Room 103 at Brunswick Landing. The training will provide an overview of suicide and suicide prevention including materials produced by the Maine Suicide Prevention Program.

The session is free and open to all students and the public. Anyone who needs or wants to understand the fundamentals of suicide prevention is invited and encouraged to attend.

Pre-registration is required and is available online at http://www.namimaine.org/events/Sessions.a spx?id=674379.

Big E bus available

TOPSHAM — The Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs is sponsoring a bus trip to the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 22 and still has seats available for anyone interested in visiting the event.

The Eastern States Exposition, also known as the Big E, runs from Sept. 18 to Oct. 4. It was founded by Joshua L. Brooks in 1916 to host the National Dairy Show, and began as the Eastern States Exposition in 1917. It is the largest fair in New England, and the only fair in the country that represents six states.

The highlight of the grounds is the Avenue of States which displays replicas of each of the New England States original statehouses. The Maine building was built in 1925 and cost $50,000. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is responsible for the operations and the management of the building.

A Cyr bus has been chartered for the event. The bus will pick up in several locations including right at the Topsham Fair Mall. The bus will arrive at the fair by 11 a.m. and depart at 5 p.m.

The cost for the bus is just $60 per person. For more information about the trip and to reserve your seat, call 729-1544 or email [email protected]. There is a $15 fair admission fee per person.

Bath receives firefighting grant

BATH — Three Maine fire departments — in Bath, Buxton and Westport Island — will receive a total of $456,989 in funding through the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant program to replace outdated and failing safety equipment.

Bath Fire Department will receive $163,810 for fire hose and breathing apparatus. Westport Island Volunteer Fire Department will receive $54,744 for firefighter turnout gear, a washer to clean contaminated gear, and an air refill station — currently, they must take air cylinders to a neighboring town to be refilled, which can take them out of service for a day or more.

“Every day, Maine firefighters put their lives on the line to protect public safety, but too many have to do so with failing protective gear that can be decades old.

Many communities simply can’t afford to replace it,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in a statement announcing the grants.