Feed ME 5K walk/run a big success for local food pantries

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by Eric W. Austin

The China Team starts the race!

It was overcast and chilly, with the threat of rain in the air, but that didn’t stop 180 brave souls from joining the Feed ME 5K Walk/Run event this past Saturday morning.

The charity event took place in Augusta at Capitol Park, and was part of the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger, which has raised more than $7.2 million since 1990. All funds raised are directly distributed to 33 food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, Meals on Wheels and backpack programs in Kennebec and Somerset counties. The event was co-sponsored by eight different businesses from across Central Maine.

The Feed ME 5K race was the first event of the year in the MCU’s Campaign for Ending Hunger. Last year the campaign set a new record, raising nearly $675,000 for local charities.

The China Food Pantry and the Vassalboro Food Station Pantry both sent teams to participate. The teams were led by Ann Austin, of China, and Cindy Ferland, of Vassalboro, and included among them eight teenagers who gave up their Saturday in an effort to end hunger in Maine!

“It was amazing to see so many people turn out to support their local food pantries!” Ferland said, beaming and breathless after finishing the three-mile walk.

For more information or to donate, please contact the China Food Pantry at 968-2421, or the Vassalboro Food Station Pantry at 873-7375.

China Food Pantry team

China Food Pantry Team: (left to right) Cat Durant, Abigail Maxwell, Caley Pillow, Madeline Durant, Eric Austin (and Jazmine & Tiny), Andrew Maxwell, James Maxwell, and Ann Austin.

 

Vassalboro Food Station Pantry team

Vassalboro Food Station Pantry team: (left to right) Mary White, Tina Siglinger & baby, Diane Bailey (& Midget), Cindy Ferland, Cindy Denico, Alexis Haskell, Caitlyn Denico, not pictured: LouAnn Davis, Cheryl & Dave Sherwood

 

CORRECTION: Zumba-thon

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In the caption under the Zumba-thon photo on page 6 of the April 27, 2017, issue of The Town Line, it should have stated the Zumba-thon is annually sponsored by the Madison American Legion Auxiliary, Unit #39. It was an editing error

BBBS plan Putt for Cass fundraiser

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Colby Charette, right, Cassidy Charette’s brother and now “Big Brother” and mentor to his “Little” Harrison Quimby, get ready to “Putt 4 Cass” at Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream & Mini Golf, in Waterville May 20, to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine. To register, sponsor or volunteer, contact monica@bbbsmidmaine.org. Contributed photo

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine will celebrate the life of Cassidy Charette by raising money and awareness for local youth mentoring programs at a mini golf fundraiser “Putt 4 Cass” on Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream & Mini Golf, in Waterville. (Rain date May 21.) Cassidy was a junior at Messaonskee High School when she was killed in a hayride accident October 11, 2014. Since her passing, her school and its surrounding communities continue to find ways to honor and remember the teen whose passion was helping others through community service.

Cassidy was a volunteer for BBBS of Mid-Maine and advocated for a school-based mentoring program at her high school. When it wasn’t available, she asked to mentor a child each week at the Alfond Youth Center, completed training and was just two weeks shy of meeting her first “Little Sister.” In her honor, BBBS of Mid-Maine created three new BBBS school-based programs. Two of those programs pair Messalonskee high school mentors (Bigs) with youth facing adversity (Littles) at Atwood Primary and Williams Elementary schools, in Oakland. A third program was launched last year at the Boys/Girls Club and YMCA at Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, where each week kids in the after school care program meet one-on-one with high school “Bigs” from Messalonskee, Winslow, Waterville and Lawrence high schools.

“Helping others, especially children, was Cassidy’s passion,” said Monica Wilcox Charette, Cassidy’s mother and event coordinator. “These special mentoring programs will support hundreds of local kids, give high school students the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in a child’s life, and will honor Cassidy for years to come.”

The new mini golf event replaces “Bowl for Cassidy’s Sake,” a successful bowling fundraiser that in the last two years raised $80,000 for local BBBS programs. This year, schools, athletic teams, service groups and businesses are invited to form mini golf teams of four players, choose their preferred time to golf, register online (or call to register) and raise funds for local mentoring programs, then join the community May 20 to “Putt 4 Cass.”

The event will include course challenges with prizes, music, food, and ShineOnCass T-shirts for team fundraising. “Putt 4 Cass” is sponsored by Aetna, Fabian Oil, Golden Pond Wealth Management, Hammond Lumber, Mainely Trusses, New Balance, Smile Solutions, and Gifford’s Famous Ice Cream. Additional sponsoring opportunities are available, including hole sponsorships on the course.

To register a team, sponsor, volunteer, or for more information, call 314-6996, email monica@bbbsmidmaine.org or visit http://www.bbbsmidmaine.org.

Violette earns academic merit scholarship to Delaware Valley University

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Delaware Valley University, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, congratulates the recipients of the University’s top three merit-based Admission scholarships:

Nathan Violette, of Oakland, has been selected for an academic merit scholarship to Delaware Valley University.

DelVal awards admission merit scholarships to high-achieving high school students based on GPA and test scores.

Winslow High School second quarter honors

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SENIORS

High honors: Jenna Goss, Adrienne Lakey and Samuel Lambrecht. Honors: Benjamine Abbott, Michael Ayer, Danielle Berard, Melody Chapman, Mariah Cruz, Cathryn Fyfe, Adam Green, Sierra Harmon, Wyatt Hughes, Ciara LeClair, Edilene McCaslin, Cmeron Morrison, Joshua Olin, Samantha Pomerleau, Courtney Pomeroy, Tyler Sheets, Benjamin Smith, Paige Smith, Raymond Spaulding, Morgan Theriault, Ava Toothill, Elizabeth Turner and Joshua Veilleux. Honorable Mention: Carter Bradford, Jacob Clark, Grace Drummond, Nathan Gagnon, Susan Grant, Katelynn Larsen, Bethanie Lovely, Emily Manocchio, Avery Mills, Jenna Pelletier, Lisa Robinson, Faith Rogers, Jamie Sears, Samantha Washburn and Hope Winkin.

JUNIORS

High honors: Devon Gleason. Honors: Andrew Beckwith, Andrew Bolduc, Marissa Carpenter, Devin Carter, Cierra Clyde, Hannah Crayton, Dakota Cunningham, Alyssa Currie, Logan Denis, Jacob DeRaps, Ashley Dineen, Brandon Dineen, Jade Freeman, Broghan Gagnon, Natalie Greene, Roy Greenleaf, Sarah Guimond, Bryce Hillier, Olyvia Kelley, Jacob Krshner, Jake Lapierre, Brenna Martin, Kathleen McCowan, Nicholas Morris, Liz Nadeau, Alexa Petrovic, Garrett Pooler, Christine Quirion, Bailey Robbins, Kirstie Rogers, Lidia Santos, Carmen Smith, Sarah Stevens, Marcel Swiercz, Joshua Vashon, Haley Ward and Michael Wildes. Honorable Mention: Haylee Barrett, Christopher Bouti, Cory Briggs, Emily Coates, Colby Cote, Cassandra Demers, Arnold Maroney, Tyler Martin, Cassie McCaslin, Olivia Moody, Jackson Morneault, Alister Piccini, Madison Roy and Mackenzie Small.

SOPHOMORES

High honors: Sara Doughty, Arianna Hatt, Emily Robertson, Elyse St. Pierre and Jacob Witham. Honors: Maddie Beckwirth, Maeghan Bernard, Adam Bickford, Suzanne Bryan, Elizabeth Farnham, Noah Gagne, Jared Goss, Kyle Gurney, Lily Harriett, Mackenzy Labrie, Isaac Lambrecht, Weslee Littlefield, Grace Paradis, Anna Pellerin, Mikayla Reynolds, Katie St. Amand, Nicholas Tiner, Paige Trask, Desiree Veilleux, Cameron Winslow and Amber Worthley. Honorable Mention: Shawn Bryan, Alyssa Burbank, Kyle Camire, Devin Daigneault, Izaak Gajowski, Emily Glidden, Joshua Gordon, Alexander Jason, Justin LaFlamme, Andrew Mattingly, Anna Petrovic, Cheyenne Raymond, Sean Staton, Haley Twitchell, Dacota Waldie, Ely Yang and Sebastian York.

FRESHMEN

High honors: Katie Doughty, Brennan Dunton, Cameron Goodwin, Jacob Huesers, Wesley O’Neal, Carrie Selwood, Mallory Sheridan and Grace Smith. Honors: Savannah Adams, Kathryn Bailey, Rylee Batey, Devin Bettencourt, Logan Bolduc, Eri Booth, Sebastin Bouchard, Silver Clukey, Alexander Demers, Micah Dickson, Hannah Dugal, Isaiah Goldsmith, John Hankey Aaron Harmon, Gabrielle Hatt, Sadie Irza, Kaelyn Lakey, Juliann Lapierre, Riley Loftus, Caleb Mills, Christopher Mills, Madison Morin, Elena O’Hara, Madalyn Phillips, Justice Picard, Colby Pomeroy, Kristen Rancourt and Kasaundra Reynolds. Honorble Mention: Teagon Baros, Cameron Brockway, Brielle Carter, Gabriella Chambers, Abigail Cochran, Brady Corson, Ronan Drummond, Isaiah Gidney, Ross Hughes, Savannah Joler, Haylee Morse, Mariah Morrison, Shaylie Morrison, Cora Mushero, Skylar Nye, Jillian Pion, Jackson Reynolds, Gage Vaughan, Abigail Washburn and Abigail Wright.

Over 100 local Special Olympians set for games in Skowhegan on May 5

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Special Olympics Maine Area events are underway across the state. Local Special Olympics programs have been or are soon to be participating in area track and field events at the local levels as they prepare for the state Summer Games. The Special Olympics Maine state summer games will take place June 9 – 11 at the University of Maine at Orono this year. Over 1,500 Special Olympic Maine athletes, both children and adults, are expected to compete at this year’s event.

Prior to the state games, athletes must participate in local games to get times, distances, and ability levels which will help put them into appropriate divisions at the state level competition. The Somerset County Area Spring Games have been a longstanding tradition that our athletes look forward to each year. Each year, we have over 100 athletes registered to compete in our track and field events with over 50 volunteers in support of them. We thank all the local volunteers and coaches who have pulled together in support of our efforts. A special thanks to Skowhegan Area High School for letting us use their space. The opening ceremonies are accompanied by the SAHS Band. SAHS’ track and field coaches and athletes and SAHS Jobs for Maine Graduates student volunteers provide guidance throughout the day, ensuring proper tracking of times and distances. The Lion’s Club provides the almost 200 lunches hot off the grill. Several local emergency responders are available to aid and safety for all attendees.

Special Olympics Maine is a year-round sports training and competition program for children and adults who have intellectual disabilities. In Maine, they serve over 4,000 athletes.

For more information about the Somerset County Area Spring Games, please contact Maxine Briggs-Buzzell, Somerset & Upper Kennebec County Area manager at 207-293-4577 or Kim Garland, Somerset Area Spring Games coordinator at 207-566-5766.

For more information on Special Olympics Maine please visit www.somaine.org or call 207-879-0489 or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsMaine.

Zumba-thon for veterans a success

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The Zumba-Thon for Veterans was held on April 21 at Madison Junior High School to benefit the programs for veterans at Togus. More than $1,100 was raised which will be donated to the programs such as the VA/VS which includes keeping the supply closet of comfort items for every veteran who is admitted, coffee and newspapers in the waiting room, gifts at Christmas and other activities. Below, the nine instructors who conducted the zumba-thon, from left to right, Christine Marie, Hillary White, Lisa Berry, Allison Marcoux, Tiara Nile, organizer, Lisa Doyon, Denise Delorie and Suzanne Lamb.

Contributed photos

Program on invasive plants set in Unity

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On Wednesday, May 10, ecologist Aleta McKeage, of Belfast, will present on invasive plants, one of the primary threats to environmental health that we face today. Invasive plants take over natural areas, crowding out native species and changing wildlife habitats. We will learn which plants present the worst problems in our area, how to identify them, what they do to the ecosystem, and most importantly, how we can control them.  We will observe striking examples of invasive plant infestations as well as successful control management that is being employed to combat invasive plants locally.

McKeage specializes in land stewardship and restoration integrated with outreach and community building. She is an expert in invasive plant biology and control and restoration of native plant communities in natural areas as well as human-influenced landscapes.

The talk is part of the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust’s monthly speaker series, “Restoring Connections to Place,” featuring a wide variety of conservation topics of interest to Maine. The programs are free and open to the public at 6:30 p.m., the second Wednesday of every month at the café, 93 Main, located at 93 Main St., Unity.

University of New Hampshire’s dean’s list for the fall 2016 semester

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The following students have been named to the dean’s list at the University of New Hampshire, in Durham, New Hampshire, for the fall 2016 semester.

Bayleigh Logan, of Augusta, honors; Michaela Hinckley-Gordon, of Benton, highest honors; Kyle McLain, of Fairfield, high honors; Carly LaRochelle, of Fairfield, high honors; Jessica Hosea, of Oakland, highest honors; Hannah Duperry, of Oakland, highest honors; Taylor Ferguson, of Sidney, high honors; Kelly McCormac, of South China, highest honors; Adam Bovie, of Vassalboro, high honors; Kellie Bolduc, of Waterville, high honors; Luke Violette, of Waterville, highest honors; Sarah Wildes, of Winslow, highest honors.

 

Benton resident Abigail King returns following intensive research project

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Abigail King, left, of Benton, with a fellow student, who participated in the Assessing Sustainable Bio-construction Alternatives program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, at the Cajas National Park, in Ecuador.
Contributed photo

Abigail King of Benton, a member of the class of 2018 majoring in civil engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in Worcester, Massachusetts, was a member of a student team that recently completed an intense, hands-on research project in Ecuador. The project was titled Assessing Sustainable Bio-construction Alternatives. In their project outline, the students wrote, “Our goal was to cooperate with the Azuay Prefecture, San Rafael administration, and community members to contribute to sustainable bio-construction designs that are locally appropriate to the parish of San Rafael. We incorporated a human-centered design approach to this project to ensure desirability, feasibility, and viability of our materials assessment.”

At WPI, all undergraduates are required to complete a research-driven, professional-level project that applies science and technology to addresses an important societal need or issue. About two-thirds of students complete a project at one of the university’s more than 40 off-campus project centers, which are located around the world. A signature element of the innovative undergraduate experience at WPI, the project-based curriculum offers students the opportunity to apply their scientific and technical knowledge to develop thoughtful solutions to real problems that affect the quality of people’s lives-and make a difference before they graduate.

“The WPI project-based curriculum’s focus on global studies brings students out of the classroom and their comfort zones and into the global community to apply their knowledge to solve real problems,” said Professor Kent Rissmiller, interim dean of the WPI Interdisciplinary and Global Studies Division. “Students are immersed in all aspects of a different culture, from the way people live and work to the values they hold to the foods they eat-all valuable perspectives for surviving and thriving in today’s global marketplace. They also learn the meaning and magic of teamwork; make a real and meaningful difference in their host community; and gain a competitive edge for any resume, or graduate or professional school application.”