Doiron to speak at land trust

Roger Doiron will speak at the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust annual meeting. The 27th annual event will take place Sunday, Nov. 4, from 6-8 p.m., at the Inn by the Sea, 40 Bowery Beach Road.

Roger Doiron is the founder and director of Kitchen Gardeners International. Under Doiron’s leadership, KGI gained national prominence as the grand prize winner of the “On Day One” which resulted the re-creation of a kitchen garden at the White House.

Doiron is an advocate of small-scale local farming for its personal and societal restorative health benefits.

Admission to the event is free for members and is limited to the first 100 people to register. Non-members registering will be asked to provide a modest donation to the land trust. The event will include a cash bar and light refreshments.

Reservations for members and non-members are required by calling 767-6054 or emailing info@capelandtrust.org.

Scarborough clerk honored

Scarborough Town Clerk Tody Justice has been named this year’s winner of the Lorraine M. Fleury Award, named for Maine’s longtime state director of elections and given to recognize those who make “a significant contribution to the election process and who exemplify the qualities of fairness, experience, knowledge and service.”

The announcement was made at the Maine Secretary of State’s 2012 Elections Conference, held Sept. 26-27 in Carrabasset Valley.

“It’s long-overdue recognition for a tireless public servant,” said Town Manager Tom Hall on Monday, noting that, “until recently, Scarborough ran the single-largest polling place in the state.”

“It’s a wonderful honor for sure,” said Justice. “I was totally surprised. But, I do love my elections.”

Cape Elizabeth honors Fort Williams architect

Cape Elizabeth has named local landscape architect John Mitchell its citizen of the year.

Last week, Mitchell was recognized as the 24th recipient of the Ralph T. Gould Award, created in 1986 to honor the philanthropy of Gould, a noted musician who died in 1994 at age 93.

Mitchell, a Cape resident for 35 years, owns Mitchell & Associates in Portland, which created the current master plan for Fort Williams Park.

Mitchell’s relationship with the celebrated facility goes back to 1976, when he prepared the initial concept design for a new park entrance road, bypassing dilapidated garages that then existed on site and putting on display instead a sweeping vista of the Portland Harbor shipping channel.

More recently, Mitchell volunteered time as a design consultant for the first phase of the Fort Williams Park arboretum. He also helped design landscaping for the park’s group picnic shelter, designed the interpretive signs at Cape Elizabeth’s Great Pond and drew up the plans used to build the popular Shore Road Pathway, which officially opened last week.

“John was hired for a number of municipal projects, but always has done much more than any hours he ever billed to the town. He must have walked Shore Road ten times to find the best layout for the path,” said Town Planner Maureen O’Meara.

Town Council Chairman Sara Lennon, who presenting the award, pointed out that Mitchell also helped Cape Elizabeth formulate standards for construction that formed the basis of the town center zone.

“His vision has created some of the character in our community most enjoyed by local residents,” said Lennon.