PORTLAND

THE MAINE WRITERS & Publishers Alliance named Jeremy Colson winner in the youth competition for poetry for his poem “Irrelevant Nonsense.” The judges called Colson’s poem “extraordinary,” said MWPA Executive Director Joshua Bodwell in a press release. The poem won out in a field of 66 entries, and he earned $200.

Fadumo Issack of Portland won the youth contest for nonfiction for her essay “Climbing Barefoot.” Her essay beat out 11 people to win the top prize of a scholarship valued at $500.

CAPE ELIZABETH

THE CAPE ELIZABETH Land Trust will hold the Tri for Preservation Sprint Triathlon and Aquabike, presented by Noyes, Hall & Allen Insurance, on Aug. 21.

The triathlon will begin at Crescent Beach State Park with a 500-yard ocean swim, a 14-mile, rolling bike course past scenic farmlands and marshlands and a well-marked 3.1-mile run along the shore of Crescent Beach toward Kettle Cove and back along Route 77.

Register at www.capelandtrust.org/triathlon/2011.

SOUTH WINDHAM

THE MAINE STATE SOCIETY for the Protection of Animals, the largest equine rescue and rehabilitation center in New England, has received a $50,000 operations grant from the Doree Taylor Charitable Foundation.

The grant will be used to help pay for care of the horses, cats, dogs and other animals at the MSSPA’s farm facilities.