On Saturday, October 21, Ducks Unlimited Kennebec Valley Chapter will host its annual fundraiser. The festivities will kick off at 5:30 p.m. with a dinner at 7 p.m., at Le Club Calumet, on West River Road, in Augusta. Tickets are available by contacting Barry Mower at 207-623-2758 or George Diplock at 207-623-2947.

Raffles, live and silent auctions will go on all night with multiple gun raffles all to be drawn that night. Collectible artwork, decoys, sculpture, and waterfowl-related items will be offered as well as the works of many local artists.

“We like to see new faces at our events along with many current members,” said DU’s Senior Regional Director Bill Brown. “This particular chapter was ranked among the top 5 in the state of Maine in 2016 and really knows how to host a banquet. It’s a great place for the general public to learn about the conservation work Ducks Unlimited conducts (not only in the U.S., but also in Canada and Mexico) while mingling with a great group of people.”

Melissa Petersen of Augusta, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology during commencement ceremonies on May 21, 2017, at the University of Vermont, in Burlington, Vermont.

After learning that the Palermo Community Garden and the Frizzell residence had been cut off from their water supply, Orin Anderson, of Augusta, built a plywood box to haul 100 gallons of water from his house to Palermo. Anderson has been a long time friend of Connie Bellet and Phillip Frizzell, who care for the Community Garden. “We help each other out,” said Anderson. “That’s what friends are for.”

Anderson has a woodworking shop in his home, so he built a crate and sealed it up, and then installed a hose fitting so the water could be fed into Frizzell’s garden hose and drained out by gravity feed from the back of Anderson’s pickup.

“It takes about an hour or so to water the raised beds in the back garden,” said Frizzell. With the help of frequent rains, the garden beds seem to be thriving. Another friend, who was doing some work for Frizzell, brought over two large rain barrels, which store rooftop runoff in between rainstorms. These are used for flushing the toilets at the Community Center as well as the Frizzell home. The Living Communities Foundation, which runs the Community Center, is presently asking for funds to drill a well on Foundation property. Costs are estimated to be around $10,000, as other wells nearby have been over 400 feet deep. The LCF is a registered nonprofit and donations are tax-deductible.

Lasell College recently named Benjamin Allen of Augusta, to the Lasell College dean’s list for the Spring 2017 semester, in Newton, Massachusetts.
Allen, whose major is sports management, is a member of the class of 2019.

by Central Maine Photography Reporter/Writer Jessica Laliberte

A sea of red, white and blue fills the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Augusta, as thousands of flags adorn the graves of soldiers buried in the cemetery. This is the 11th year of the event. The ceremony featured music from the Public Safety Pipes and Drum Corp, the singing of the National Anthem, prayer by a local deacon, and brief remarks from Maine Governor Paul LePage.

Hundreds of volunteers including Scouts, veterans, civilians and other civic groups joined forces to place a flag on the grave of every soldier buried in the cemetery, about 15,000 in total, on Saturday, May 27.

As the volunteers dispersed to the graves with flags in hand, the bagpipes playing Amazing Grace echoed in the chilly morning air.

The flags were purchased through donations. According to Donald Simoneau, a past state commander and organizer of the event, about 750 veterans die each year and are buried at the Maine Veterans Cemetery.

If you would like to donate you can make checks payable to the American Legion “Grave Flag Program,” P.O. Box 900, Waterville, ME 04901.