WELLS
Elementary school students perform in rodeo
Wells Elementary School students recently participated in a long tradition of holding a rodeo in conjunction with history class studies on the Oregon Trail and the pioneers who traveled its 2,000 miles from 1840 to 1860.

Local fiddler Keith Fletcher fields questions from Wells Elementary second-graders as part of an integrated studies program on the history of the Oregon Trail. REG BENNETT

Students were dressed in colorful western clothing including cowboy shirts, hats, and neckerchiefs. This year’s round-up featured a scaled-down version, with fewer students and no audience. Local fiddler Keith Fletcher provided music for the celebratory hoedowns, as he has been for more than 20 years. Students sat in a half-circle, listening to Fletcher play portions of a few other tunes including “Happy Acre Two-Step,” “Floppy Eared Mule,” and “Bach Solo Violin Sonata No.1.” He interspersed the songs with talk about music and the string instruments he brought with him: a violin and a large deep-sounding viola.
“For 21 years I’ve worked with our wonderful Wells teachers, Karen Taylor (music) and Kathy Calo (P.E.), and their ‘Rodeo’ program,” noted Fletcher on a recent Facebook post. “Both Karen and Kathy are retiring this year, so the string ends. But a generation of Wells and Ogunquit kids got to play and dance to fiddle music and learn about the Western migration, and Aaron Copland.”
The above-mentioned unit of study involves the school’s CORE teachers who together provide an educational blend of music, physical education, art, library, and explorations of the settlement of the American West.

CAPE ELIZABETH
St. Alban’s to host summer camp
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church is accepting registration for its week-long summer camp “Food Truck Party: On a Roll with God!” to be held from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 1-4 and from 4 to 6 p.m. Aug. 5 at the church, located at 885 Shore Road.
Each day will feature a food-related Bible story (the Main Course), accompanied by “Daily Specials” that include music, science experiments, cooking, creative arts and crafts, and outdoor fun and games.
The camp is geared toward children ages 4 through grade 6. Cost is $50 per child. The final day will feature a real food truck, Cape Elizabeth’s own Mainely Burgers.
To register or for more details, contact dfisher@stalbansmaine.org or call 799-4014, ext. 1003.

PORTLAND
Maine Historical Society announces new board 
Maine Historical Society (MHS) ended its 200th annual meeting June 4, announcing a new slate of officers, four new appointments to its 27-member Board of Trustees for 2022-23, and the winners of award recognitions for contributions to Maine history by distinguished community leaders and historians, and volunteer work by emerging historians.
Newly installed officers include Eileen F. Skinner of Falmouth as board chair; Michael J. Cianchette of Portland as first vice chair; Laura F. Sprague of Portland as second vice chair; Bob Greene of Minot as secretary; and Drew Swenson of Portland as treasurer.
New trustees include Michael Bourque and Krystal Williams, both of Portland, Frank Goodyear of Brunswick and Brent Hoots of Falmouth.
Trustees re-elected for second and third terms include Myron Beasley of Portland, Dennis Damon of Trenton, Steve Hewins of Rangeley, Robert Peacock of Eastport, Stephen Sears of Belgrade, Tim Woodcock of Bangor, Rusty Atwood of Gorham and Sandi Goolden of Yarmouth.
Additional trustees in service include Libby Christensen of Cumberland Center, Nancy Cline of Falmouth, Elizabeth Johnson of Kennebunkport, Tyler Judkins of Cumberland Foreside, Tom Platz of Auburn, Tobey Scott of Freeport, Candice Thornton Lee and Natalie Solotoff, both of Portland, Andy Verzosa of New Britain, Conn.; and Lee Webb of Camden.
History Award recipients include Donald Soctomah​ (Passamaquoddy) and Dr. Catherine M. Burns.
Soctomah received the Neal W. Allen, Jr. History Award for his outstanding contributions to the field of Maine history.​ The Tribal Historic Preservation officer for the Passamaquoddy, Soctomah is a historian, educator, author, filmmaker, and long-time MHS collaborator. During his tenure as Passamaquoddy Tribal Representative in the Maine Legislature, he passed laws that required Wabanaki history in the K-12 curriculum, protected Wabanaki archaeological sites, and removed offensive place names relating to Native people.
Burns received the James Phinney Baxter Award for best ​article in Vol. 54 of the ​Maine History Journal, co-published by MHS and the University of Maine.​ A historian, specializing in US history with a focus on Irish American identity, Burns wrote “’It May Be Questionable’: Granger v. Avery and the Redaction of Article X, Section 5 from the Maine Constitution.” Her article boldly explores the 1876 redaction of Maine’s obligations to Wabanaki communities from the state’s constitution, with its continued consequences and profound impact on these communities today.
Additionally, two emerging historians – Vivian Cunningham of Portland and Christian LaMontagne of Long Island – received the Elizabeth Ring Award for their volunteer service to MHS.
Cunningham, a Maine College of Art & Design student in the fashion program, volunteers many hours with MHS. She became a historic clothing intern for the major two-part exhibition “Northern Threads: Two Centuries of Dress at Maine Historical Society” that runs through Dec. 31. Cunningham hand-crafted several dozen mannequins, allowing historic garments to be well presented for the project. She is now on staff, supporting the Wadsworth-Longfellow House collections for the season.
LaMontagne began volunteering for MHS, preparing detailed data on architectural drawings for Maine Memory Network, then came on staff as Archival Technician for Phase 2 of an Architecture and Landscape Project (supported by the Maine Olmsted Alliance and Leon Levy Foundation) to catalogue architecture commissions to the digital database. LaMontagne’s exacting work is enabling improved public access to these growing MHS collections as they become available online. LaMontagne begins graduate studies this fall at USM’s Muskie School of Public Policy.
For more details, go to mainehistory.org or call 774-1822.

SANFORD/WELLS
YCCAC increasing bus service
The York County Community Action Corporation’s (YCCAC) Transportation program Orange Line bus service, that operates between Sanford and Wells, has increased services to run on an hourly schedule for most of the day, beginning at 6 a.m. Weekend services will run every two hours.
The Orange Line route also has been extended to Wells Beach for the summer. That rout now ends at Wells Plaza at Hannaford.
Additionally, the bus schedule has been updated to provide more consistent times for each of the Orange Line bus stops, that will be easier for riders to follow.
For more details, call 459-2932 or go to the YCCAC Transportation web page at https://yccac.org/transportation.

SOUTH PORTLAND
Foundation commits $170,000 to SMCC in support of scholarships
Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) announced that the Roger K. Williams Foundation has committed to donate $170,000 to create a scholarship in the name of the foundation’s founder and Sanford native Roger K. Williams.
The scholarship will provide financial assistance over numerous years, allowing many students to access higher education in applied technology, health sciences, and public safety degree programs.
Tom Williams, Roger’s nephew and co-trustee, said Roger created the foundation to help hardworking Mainers improve their lives and he was an advocate for furthering education. Roger had a long career in the U.S. Air Force before returning to Maine and buying land in Shapleigh. In 2011, he donated that land, now known as The Williams Town Park.
SMCC President Joe Cassidy said the scholarship supports the college’s mission of transforming the lives of students and the communities they serve.
“Applied technology, health sciences, and public safety are all areas with critical staffing needs and this scholarship will help place our students into the workforce, creating better futures all-around,” said Cassidy.
To be eligible for this scholarship, students must be Maine residents – with financial need – who are in good standing and enrolled in an applied technology, health sciences, or public safety degree program and demonstrate evidence of hard work, dedication, and fortitude.
Students interested in applying can contact the SMCC Foundation office at 207-741-5559 or foundation@smccME.edu.

PORTLAND
Insurer disburses $17,500 for students with injured parents to continue their studies
Four college students, whose parents suffered workplace injuries, will be able to continue their educations with help from MEMIC. MEMIC’s Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship Program recipients for 2022 are Janly James of Southampton, Pa.; Angel and Tyrone Thompson, of Eatonville, Fla.; and Emma Whitney of Surry.
James, winner of a $10,000 award, attends Lake Erie School of Osteopathic Medicine, in Erie, Pa., where she is engaged in graduate work to become a pharmacist; Angel and Tyrone Thompson will split a $5,000 award, with Angel Thompson attending Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., and Tyrone Thompson attending Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Fla.; and Whitney will use a $2,500 award to continue her studies at the University of Maine flagship in Orono.
James was completing her undergraduate degree in biology from Drexel University and applying for graduate school when she said her father was injured at work and “my life took a 180 degree turn.” Forced to start working during the pandemic as a nursing assistant up to 50 hours a week to support her family, James also was called for an active-duty mission with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
The Thompsons were sidelined when their father sustained a back injury at work while their mother battled rheumatoid arthritis. Their father regained employment with a different company in the same field, but with less pay, temporarily knocking college out of the family budget for both students.
Whitney was living at home to save money while studying at the University of Maine when her father injured his shoulder at work. She applied for a job at a retirement home as an activities assistant, and said being able to bring a smile to residents during the pandemic “helped me grow as an individual more than I ever expected it to.” It also drove her decision to pursue a career in speech pathology.
Founded in 2008, the Harvey Picker Horizon Scholarship Program aids the children and spouses of workers who have been seriously injured on the job. MEMIC has awarded more than $242,000 in scholarships since the program’s inception. To be eligible for the scholarship, the related injured worker must have been working for a MEMIC policyholder at the time of injury.
For more details, call 800-660-1306 and say “Horizon Scholarship” at the prompt, or visit memic.com/horizon.

SCARBOROUGH
Charity basketball event raises more than $50,000
The 28th annual C-U Swish-Out Childhood Cancer Challenge, organized and presented by Town & Country Federal Credit Union, was held virtually again this year due to uncertainty and a rise in COVID cases in the spring. The 3-on-3, month-long free throw competition raised more than $50,000 collected for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program.
Collectively, more than 30 teams competed in the competition. The top three teams in the adult division were: Riley’s Basketball of Gray, The Niners of Portland and Town & Country FCU’s For Three of Scarborough. The top team in the three Junior Divisions were: High School – Town & Country’s Nothing But Net of Portland; Middle School – Southern Maine Hoopsters of Saco; and Grades 5/6 – JAA of Falmouth and Gorham. To learn more, visit tcfcu.com.

ROCKPORT
Animal adoption center receives $10,000 grant
State Farm Agent January Peavey recently presented PAWS Animal Adoption Center with a $10,000 grant as part of the company’s Outstanding Community Engagement Program.
Peavey was one of 100 agents, from across the country, to be recognized for her community support and volunteerism. As a result, she selected PAWS to receive a $10,000 grant on behalf of State Farm.
Peavey said she was “thrilled beyond words” to be able to help PAWS mission. She served on the PAWS Board of Trustees for four years, was its treasurer for three years, and is now the incoming president. “PAWS does so much not only to help animals, but also supports the elderly and low-income pet owners in our communities through a variety of supportive care services and programs,” Peavey noted. “For example, we provide pet food and supplies assistance to those who can’t otherwise afford it and we offer affordable spaying and neutering to the community.
The grant funding will be used to support the PAWS Cares Community Wellness Program, ensuring low-income pet owners have access to affordable wellness and preventative care for their pets.
To learn more about PAWS please visit www.PAWSadoption.org.