Harrington North Gorham Library speaker

Author Joe Harrington will present a program on the history of rock ‘n’ roll and its impact on American culture at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the North Gorham Public Library, 2 Standish Neck Road.

Author of “Sonic Cool: The Life and Death of Rock n’ Roll,” Harrington teaches at Portland Adult Education and has written extensively on rock music.

For more information call 892-2575.

Land Trust walk at Randall Orchards

Presumpscot Regional Land Trust is hosting its annual meeting and outdoor family walk on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Randall Orchards, 1 Randall Road, Standish.

The program is as follows:

9-9:45 a.m.: Refreshments, introductory presentation, land trust business meeting; 9:45-10 a.m. – overview of land trust programs in 2011-2012;

10-10:45 a.m.: Randall Orchard protection effort presentation; 10:45-11 a.m. – Q&A; 11-11:15 a.m. refreshments;11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.- guided walk on the Randall property.

Apple picking and the farmstand will be open. For more information about the Randall conservation effort in Standish and Gorham, contact Tania at prlandtrust@yahoo.com

School enrollment up

Dennis Libby, School Committee chairman, reported last week to the Town Council that enrollment on Sept. 3 was 2,698. It represents an increase of 38 students, from 2,660 students, last year.

Insects USM exhibit

The Art Gallery on the Gorham campus at the University of Southern Maine is hosting its first exhibition of the season, “Engaging Insects: Artists and Scientists,” displaying the myriad ways in which artists and scientists work with insects.

The exhibit opens on Thursday, Sept.22 and continues through Thursday, Nov.10, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m., Tuesdays-Fridays; 1-5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays; opening reception: 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 22.

The show is curated by Kim Grant, associate professor of art, and Carolyn Eyler, director of exhibitions and programs. Wiewers will see that insects are not only visually fascinating, they also raise provocative questions about our relations to the world around us.

The exhibit features the work of nine artists and scientists from around the nation including several science faculty researchers from the University of Southern Maine.

A roundtable discussion will be 4:15-5:45 p.m., on Thursday, Sept. 22, in the Art Gallery, Gorham.

Art Talk with visiting artist Nina Katchadourian will be at 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 23, in Burnham Lounge, Robie Andrews Hall, Gorham. Katchadourian exhibits internationally and uses photography, video, installation, and graphic art in her unorthodox encounters with insects in this exhibit.

All of the following events associated with the exhibition are free and open to the public. For more information, call Eyler at 780-5008.

Drives to aid hungry

The Key Club sponsors a food drive next week at the high school to benefit Gorham Food Pantry and Gorham residents later this month can skip a meal to help feed the needy.

Gorham High School students can take donated items to their homerooms at any time during the week of Monday, Sept. 19.

In an informational statement released by Dede Perkins, executive director of Gorham Business Exchange, a national hunger relief charity has selected September for a national campaign to generate awareness of hunger. The need is apparent in Gorham, where 240 families depend on the Gorham Food Pantry to help with their monthly groceries, according to the statement.

The pantry needs include soups, spaghetti sauce, canned vegetables, rice (preferably instant white), tuna and jelly. These items can be taken to the Gorham Food Pantry building in St. Anne’s parking lot and left in the large chest on the porch.

Residents are asked to “Skip a Meal – Feed a Neighbor” on Wednesday, Sept.28, in recognition of the issue of hunger in Maine. Gorham residents are encouraged to donate what they would have spent on this meal to the Gorham Food Pantry, P.O. Box 547, Gorham, Me., 04038.

U.S. taxpayer debt

The Bureau of Public Debt reported on Sept. 8 that the U.S. public debt was $14,685,550,385,913.19.