City woman to protect governor

A South Portland woman now heads up the unit protecting Gov. Paul LePage.

Sgt. Angela Kooistra of South Portland is now in charge of the Executive Protection Unit, which provides security for the governor. She is an 18-year Maine State Police veteran, serving several years as a detective in the criminal division.

Flu clinics planned

Saco-HomeHealth Visiting Nurses is hosting weekly clinics for children and adults at their Saco and Kennebunk offices with fun Halloween-themed prizes for kids.

The clinics will be held Sept. 26-Nov. 20 on Wednesdays 2-6 p.m. and Fridays 8-11:30 a.m. The offices are at 15 Industrial Park Road, Saco, and 72 Main St., Kennebunk.

Adults-only clinics will also be held at Scarborough Town Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 1-2 p.m., and at the Cape Elizabeth Fire Station on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2:30-4:30 p.m.

For additional clinic information, visit www.homehealth.org or call HomeHealth’s Flu Shot Hotline at 1-800-747-4FLU (4358). Medicare Part B, Aetna, Harvard Pilgrim, Martin’s Point and Anthem Blue Cross are accepted at clinics. Bring your insurance card. No one is denied vaccine due to inability to pay.

Planning meeting for city schools

The South Portland School Department will hold a public strategic planning forum from 6:30-8 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3, at the South Portland Community Center on Nelson Road.

The purpose of the meeting is to hear public input in the development of a 10-year comprehensive strategic plan directing school operations and educational programming. Feedback from students and department staff has already been gathered.

A pizza dinner will be held before the meeting at 6 p.m.

Senior events at community center

The South Portland Community Center has planned two senior events.

On Tuesday, Oct. 2, there will be a trip to the Fryeburg Fair, with departure at 8:15 a.m. The cost is $7 and pre-registration is required.

On Wednesday, Oct. 3, 1:30-3 p.m., there will be an informational seminar on unexpected skilled care. There will be light refreshments.

Call 767-7650 for more information.

Dunstan Corner construction under way

Work crews on Monday began conducting intersection improvement work at Dunstan Corner in Scarborough in a project that will disrupt traffic through the fall.

This project is located at the intersection of Route 1 with Payne Road, Broadturn Road and Pine Point Road, also known as Dunstan Corner.

The Payne Road will be relocated and reconstructed with work that includes excavation, paving, drainage work, curb replacement, traffic signal upgrades and water main replacements.

Traffic on Route 1 will have two lanes available in the northbound direction from 6-9 a.m., while two lanes of traffic will be maintained southbound from 3-6 p.m. One lane of traffic will be maintained at all times on Route 1. This work will generally take place during the daytime hours, while paving operations and other incidental work will take place during the overnight from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. Monday-Thursday with an occasional Sunday. There will be no night work on Friday or Saturday.

This $2.7 million project, performed by R.J. Grondin of Gorham, is aimed at improving traffic flow through the area and improving the safety of Route 1, as well as the intersections along the project route.

Crews will return in the spring with completion slated for mid-July 2013.

Cape student news

Julia Hewes, a resident of Cape Elizabeth, was among the close to 3,000 students from the University of Massachusetts Boston who made the spring 2012 dean’s list.

The following local students have been admitted to Carleton College as a member of the class of 2016: Jacob Wasserman of Cape Elizabeth, is the son of James Wasserman and Patricia Wasserman. Wasserman is a graduate of Cape Elizabeth High School. Camille Braun of Cape Elizabeth, is the daughter of Mark Braun and Margaret Swenson.

Strange events subject of Scarborough meeting

The monthly meeting of the Scarborough Historical Society will be held Wednesday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. A brief business meeting is held and followed by a presentation. This meeting is held at the society’s museum and meeting room located at 647 A Route 1 (adjacent to the Dunstan Fire Station). All monthly meetings are free to members of the public. However, donations are always welcomed. The presentation is about one hour in length.

Dr. Emerson “Tad” Baker will utilize information contained in his most recent book “The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft & Conflicts in Early New England.” Baker is a professor of history at Salem State College. While at the same time,Emerson is engaged in writing, preservation efforts and archaeologist. He will explain the events associated with some of the strange behaviors of early New England residents.

Scarborough grad completes basic training

Army National Guard Pfc. Brandon M. White has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

White is the son of Raymond White of Tenney Lane in Scarborough, and a 2008 graduate of Scarborough High School.

Bereavement group at Cancer Center

Scarborough resident Patricia Campbell lost her fiance? to prostate cancer in 2001. She spent three months in a haze looking for hope but finding none, before turning to South Portland’s Cancer Community Center, where she attended her first-ever support group.

“I sort of stumbled into this 8-week Bereavement Support Group and found magic,” she said in a press release from the Cancer Community Center. “These people understood my pain. They supported me and I supported them in our shared grief. The safety of the Cancer Community Center taught me how to walk this road without my partner. I went on to become a Buddy to people who have lost a loved one to cancer and I haven’t looked back.”

The Cancer Community Center (CCC) is inviting adults who have lost a loved one to cancer to participate in an eight-week Bereavement Support Group meeting Thursdays from 6-7:30 p.m. through Oct. 25. This group meets at the CCC, 778 Main St. (Route 1), South Portland. The group is open to newcomers on Sept. 13 and Sept. 20 but will be closed thereafter to ensure a feeling of connection and support from others who are grieving. The next group runs Nov. 8- Jan. 10.

Call the Cancer Community Center at 774-2200 or join the group on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. All groups are offered at no charge. Visit www.CancerCommunityCenter.org or call 774-2200 to learn more.

Workshops set for artists

Creative Portland has received a grant from the Quimby Family Foundation to launch a professional development series, in partnership with Maine College of Art and the Maine Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, designed specifically for professional artists.

The series will consist of 12 workshops held in MECA’s Osher Hall in Portland on the second Wednesday of every month from 6-9 p.m., beginning in October. Selected from a survey of artists this summer, topics will range from grant-writing and social media to contract law and business start-up basics. On Oct. 10, the inaugural session will cover the top-rated need identified on the survey by 79 of the 215 respondents: grant-writing skills for artists.

The cost will be $10 per session for participants and free to all MECA students and alumni. Registration is required for all attendees on Creative Portland’s website portlandarts.org.

In celebration of the Maine School Garden Network’s statewide open house Saturday, Sept. 29, the Wentworth School Community Garden in Scarborough will be open to the public from 10 a.m.-noon for student-led tours, food and garden-related activities, including presentations by Roger Doiron of Kitchen Gardeners International on season-extension techniques and successful garlic growing. Shown planting the garden this past spring are students in Karin Kelley’s grade 3-4 class, with scarecrow mascot “Edward Tulane.”