In December of 2022, Habitat for Humanity York County purchased its own permanent home at 123 York St. in Kennebunk, just a stone’s throw from the facility it has rented for the past 10 years.

According to the organization’s Feb. 10 news release, “The new building will help Habitat for Humanity grow its housing impact in York County. The increased sales floor, visibility on Route 1 and stabilized expenses will all contribute toward increasing ReStore revenue to support the growth of Habitat for Humanity’s affordable homeownership and Aging in Place programs.”

“While it had been a longer term, strategic goal to own our building, we did not have plans to purchase a building in 2022,” said Executive Director Amy Nucci in an email. “We’re so grateful for the continued support of our volunteers, donors, homeowners, and advocates. This support allowed us to be bold in this moment and purchase the building.”

Habitat for Humanity partnered with Kennebunk Savings Bank to create a financing plan that fit Habitat for Humanity’s needs.
In early January, Habitat for Humanity volunteers were able to tour the new building.

“As we are constantly bursting at the seams, the opportunity to move into a larger facility is very exciting and presents lots of new opportunities and challenges,” said ReStore volunteer Jake Wolterbeek.

All proceeds from Kennebunk ReStore go directly to Habitat’s affordable housing mission here in York County. Habitat expects to transition into the new location in the spring of 2023. For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, visit www.habitatyorkcounty.org/123yorkstreet.

Kennebunk Free Library reveals March exhibit

The Speers Gallery at Kennebunk Free Library will present “It’s Never Too Late!,” an exhibition of botanical drawings and paintings by local resident Vera Piper. The exhibit runs March 1-31.

According to a Feb. 10 press release, “Vera Piper was born in 1940 in the hills of western Maryland where she spent her childhood exploring the mountain woods with her sister, and later chose a career as a micro-biologist. Looking at tiny plants and animals under a microscope led Vera to develop a deep appreciation for all of the beautiful forms found in nature. Although she had every plant identification book imaginable, she never thought she could learn draw the lovely plants she was collecting wherever she traveled.

“Piper finally took her first drawing class in 2000 at age 60 on a whim, but it remained a part-time hobby until she relocated to Maine in 2018 at age 78 to be closer to her family, and began to develop an interest in expanding her art education. In 2021 she began to take a few classes locally to explore sketching and watercolors.

“The exhibit in Speers Gallery is designed to show how, even in our 80s, we can continue to grow and change and take on new risks to express what we have nurtured through a lifetime. Piper hopes that sharing these drawings will inspire you to try your hand at something new, no matter your age.”

Piper will teach a class in botanical drawing at The Center in Lower Village Kennebunk this spring.

The public is invited to view the exhibit in the library’s Speers Gallery from March 1-31 at 112 Main St., Kennebunk, during regular library hours when the gallery is not in use for library programs. For more information, visit www.kennebunklibrary.org.

McGrath named to national academic team

Nine members of the Saint Michael’s College field hockey team qualified for the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Collegiate Division II National Academic Squad for this past fall, all registering the minimum 3.50 semester grade-point average.

The accolade, which previously required a 3.30 term GPA until this year, was earned by at least nine Purple Knights for the 13th straight season. Saint Michael’s tied American International College and Bentley University for seventh among 14 programs in the Northeast-10 Conference with its nine selections.

Among the team’s nine honorees was Samantha McGrath, of Kennebunk High School, who qualified during her rookie year.

UNH releases fall term dean’s list

The University of New Hampshire announced its dean’s list for the 2022 fall term. Students on the dean’s list include:

Arundel

Highest Honors: Samantha Underwood.

High Honors: Garon Woods.

Honors: Elizabeth Toshach.

Kennebunk

Highest Honors: Catherine Campbell, Rowan Pow, Emma Westley and Margaret Yemma.

High Honors: Kevin Finn, Alexa Leigh, Hannah Marquis and Jacob Towne.

Honors: Allie Bennett and Meghan Lynch.

Miles for Mills returns to Brunswick Landing

For the second year, the 12th annual Miles for Mills Memorial Day Weekend 5K, presented by New Balance Foundation, will be held Sunday, May 28, at Brunswick Landing, the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. The race will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 11 a.m.

Registration (www.milesformills.org) is $30 per person and registrants receive a T-shirt if signed up by April 1 (while supplies last); registration is $35 after April 1. Travis Mills Foundation fundraising incentives will be announced soon for those who raise funds above the registration fee.

“It was an incredible event last year and so many folks felt connected to this location because of its military history,” said U.S. Army SSG (Ret.) Travis Mills in a Feb. 9 news release.

The race was established and is named after Mills, who in 2012 set his backpack down on an IED, becoming one of five quadruple amputees from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan to survive his injuries. Since then, Mills has made it his mission to give back to other recalibrated veterans like himself, and their families. The doors to the Travis Mills Foundation Veterans Retreat opened in 2017 in Rome, in the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine, serving thousands of veterans and their families since then.

Proceeds from Miles for Mills, which last year raised approximately $135K, supports the seven programs offered at the foundation for veterans, their families and combat veterans and first responders with post-traumatic stress. The event will also include food, drinks, music, children’s activities, awards and an after-party at Flight Deck Brewing and Wild Oats.

The organization’s goal is to raise $200K at this year’s Miles for Mills 5K. For more information, contact Molly Lovell-Keely, communications and marketing manager, at molly@travismillsfoundation.org or 207-632-7475.

Astronomical society announces March 3 meeting

The Astronomical Society of Northern New England will hold its monthly meeting on Friday, March 3, at 7:30 p.m. at The New School in Kennebunk. A business meeting, also open to the public, commences at  7 p.m.. The New School is located at 38 York St.

At the meeting, the society will host a presentation by Ms. Lauren Rock. The feature of Rock’s talk will be the showing of the many astronomy photographs that she has taken. Rock is the owner of a tour company called Dynamic Escapes. She plans trips around the world, building the trips around a customer’s interests. She designs a custom itinerary, and arranges lodging, transportation, activities, and excursions.

Many of her trips involve astronomical sites and destinations, and the photographs she will be showing are from these astronomy-focused tours. She can be reached at laurenrock@dynamic-escapes.com, or 404-372-4303.

For more information about the society or its monthly meetings, visit www.ASNNE.org.

Graves Library announces upcoming events

With the help of Vice Admiral (ret.) George W. Emery, Graves Memorial Library will welcome Dr. Joshua Smith to the library on Saturday, March 18, at 2 p.m. for a discussion and book signing. The library is located at 18 Maine St., Kennebunkport.

According to a library news release, “Making Maine: Statehood and the War of 1812” is an innovative history of the war focusing on how it specifically affected what was then called the District of Maine. Drawing on archival materials from the United States, Britain, and Canada, Smith exposes the bitter experience of Maine’s citizens during that conflict as they endured multiple hardships, including starvation, burdensome taxation, smuggling, treason, and enemy occupation.

“War’s inherent miseries, along with a changing relationship between regional and national identities, gave rise to a statehood movement that rejected a Boston-centric worldview in favor of a broad American identity.”

Smith is the director of the American Merchant Marine Museum. He grew up on the coast of Maine and Cape Cod. He holds degrees from the University of St. Andrews, Maine Maritime Academy, East Carolina University, and the University of Maine. His other books include “Borderland Smuggling : Patriots, Loyalists and Illicit Trade in the Northeast 1783-1820” (University Press of Florida), which won the John Lyman Award in American Maritime History in 2007, and “Battle for the Bay : the Naval War of 1812.”

Copies of “Making Maine: Statehood and the War of 1812” will be available for purchase. For more information, call 207-967-2778 or visit www.graveslibrary.org.

Kids Winter Garden Club – Chestnuts: Children age 8 and older are invited to learn about chestnuts. Each child will get a chestnut with information on how to plant and grow it at home. The event features, stories, too. The class will be taught by Shelley Wigglesworth, Maine master gardener Wednesday, Feb. 22, 4 to 5 p.m. All supplies are provided. Preregistration is required.

Tech and Tea: Graves Memorial Public Library has staff available to help with technology. Extra tech help is also available on Thursdays from 2 to 4 p.m. At Tech and Tea on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 10 a.m., participants will learn about computer icon basics, what different icons mean, and how to use them.

Graves Library is located at 18 Maine St., Kennebunkport. For more information, call 967-2778 or visit www.graveslibrary.org.

History at Work roundtable series launched

The Brick Store Museum launches its History at Work roundtable series, focusing on the shared (but often different) experiences of those working in similar career fields. For the inaugural episode, Maine illustrators will join the table for a free-flowing discussion of their careers, artwork, and everything in between.

The program is in conjunction with the current exhibition, “The Great State of Illustration in Maine,” curated by Illustration Institute.

Roundtable guests include Scott Nash, Melissa Sweet, Chris van Dusen, and Rebekah Lowell. The discussion takes place virtually on Zoom. The Zoom roundtable will occur live on Friday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. Guests are invited to join the live discussion and purchase a takeout-dinner to go along with the program. The three-course dinner is catered by For the Love of Food & Drink. Menu selections are on the museum’s website.

The event is a fundraiser for the museum and the Illustration Institute, who will share the proceeds of all ticket sales.

Tickets for the event can be reserved at www.brickstoremuseum.org, and are $10 per person, $5 for members and donors (of either organization); or $30 with dinner included, $25 for members and donors (either organization).

The parallel exhibition, “The Great State of Illustration in Maine,” runs through Feb. 26 and makes the case that this is a Golden Age of Illustration in Maine, with more illustrators living in the state, either year-round or seasonally, than at any other time in history.

The exhibition is supported by the Davis Family Foundation, The Onion Foundation and the Perloff Family Foundation. The exhibition runs through February 2023. T museum is open six days per week and only closed Mondays.

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust announces officers and new board members

Kennebunkport Conservation Trust announced its 2023 officers, and introduced two new board members, Tim Fraser, and Tom Putnum.

Officer for 2023: Russ Grady, president; Dr. Pam Morgan, vice president; Dr. Christ Angelos, treasurer; Dr. Jerry Mullin, secretary; and Jenne James, at-large member. Fraser and Putnum will join incumbent trust board members Juliet Altham, Arnie Amoroso, Charles Buckley, Bud Danis, Karen Dombrowski, Joan Hull and Jenne James.

Tim Fraser is a graduate from business school at the University of New Hampshire. After college, Fraser co-founded and managed a business-based staffing group in Boston for over 25 years, before settling in Cape Porpoise full-time with his wife, Lee-Anne, a few years ago. With family ties to the area dating back decades, Fraser said he and his wife, along with their two adult children and their spouses enjoy biking, hiking and kayaking, with much of that time spent at Kennebunkport Conservation Trust property.

“One of my favorite walks is at Timber Island. I have camped on the islands in Cape Porpoise over the years, and most recently been part of the Island Steward team,” he said in an email.

In his spare time, Fraser enjoys woodworking, vegetable gardening, golfing, and spending time with his grandchildren.

Tom Putnam grew up in Kennebunk and attended Kennebunk public schools. He recently retired from a career as an educator and director of history museums. He lives in Cape Porpoise with his wife, Phyllis Wentworth, a native of Kennebunkport. In college, he majored in government and was certified as a social studies teacher. After year-long fellowships in Quebec, Canada, and Senegal, West Africa and earning his master’s in public administration, he taught high school for two years at Thornton Academy in Saco, before working with two federally funded Upward Bound programs helping low-income high school students from Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut be the first in their families to go to college.

In 1999, he was hired as the director of education at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum where he would work for 18 years, the last eight years as director. In 2018, he accepted a position as director of the Concord Museum which chronicles the role the town has played in the nation’s history from the first battle of the Revolutionary War to the rise of Transcendentalism. He and his wife, Phyllis, are parents of two adult children and have been longtime supporters of the trust.

“Our favorite trust properties to visit and explore are Cape and Vaughn islands, Emmons Preserve, and Timber Point,”  Putnam said in an email.

In his spare time, Putnam enjoys writing and teaching about pioneers in ecological thinking such as Henry David Thoreau and Rachel Carson.

For more information about Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, visit www.kporttrust.org.

St. David’s announces services

St. David’s Episcopal Church, Feb. 22, Ash Wednesday services:

7:30 a.m.: Holy Communion (traditional language) with Imposition of Ashes.

Noon: Holy Communion (contemporary language) with Imposition of Ashes.

4 p.m.: Children’s Ash Wednesday service.

7 p.m.: Holy Communion (contemporary language) with music and Imposition of Ashes.

St. David’s is located at 138 York St., Kennebunk, For more information, contact St. David’s at 985-3073.

Reform Physical Therapy launches Maine-based technology

Reform Physical Therapy, a Maine-owned independent practice, announced the addition of new 3D motion analysis to its available services, through a software platform from Maine-based startup, Kinotek.

“We couldn’t be more excited to add this new technology to our clinics,” said Jill Partridge, the sole owner and CEO of Reform, in a news release. “Our therapists already offer the highest quality therapy in Maine; this tool will serve to enhance communication with patients and referring providers. Coupled with our ONE-on-ONE treatment model, this technology will allow patients to better understand their own bodies and how they can improve their mobility and function.”

The company’s Kennebunk clinic is located in Lower Village at 169 Port Road.

According to the organization, many patients have already reaped the benefits of the technology which allows the physical therapists to view, pause, replay, and better analyze an individual’s movements. Reform Physical Therapy is anticipating that the new launch will increase patient awareness of the asymmetries or compensations within their own movements, which would otherwise go unnoticed. Kinotek’s 3D Motion Analysis Platform uses LiDAR technology to fully map a person’s movements from any angle across all 360 degrees, providing objective data quickly and accurately along with immersive visualizations.

“We are thrilled that Reform has embraced this technology,” said Joey Spitz, Kinotek chief operating officer, in an email. “We developed it specifically to support therapists like those at Reform who are always seeking to advance the impact of their work and enhance their relationship with patients.”

Kinotek 3D Motion Analysis Platform is an added service driven by patient and provider feedback. Both patients and referring physicians will benefit from the personal, and visual customized movement reports.

Founded in 2008, Reform Physical Therapy is one of Maine’s last remaining Maine-owned practices. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to treat the individual as a whole, not just the injury.

York County Audubon to host loon program

York County Audubon announced that it will host Dr. James Paruk, “one of the world’s experts on loons” for a Zoom program at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21.

According to a Feb. 3 news release from York County Audubon, “Paruk, professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s College, is considered one of the world’s experts on this species. Understanding the breeding and non-breeding ecology of the Common Loon has been one a life-long passion of his for decades. He has studied breeding loons in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Maine and non-breeding loons in California, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Maine. He spent seven years monitoring the health of a population of loons off the Louisiana coast in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”

Paruk is also the author of “Loon Lessons: Encounters with the Great Northern Diver.” In the Feb. 21 program, he’ll present the most current detailed account of what is known about loons, from their plumage and migration routes to how old they live and how long a pair stays together.

There’s no charge for the Zoom program, but advance registration is required at www.yorkcountyaudubon.org. After registering, a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting will be sent.

Former intelligence officers announce meeting date

The next meeting of Association of Former Intelligence Officers will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Kennebunk High School’s Economos Lecture Hall. The high school is located at 89 Fletcher St. in Kennebunk.

The meeting will feature Josh Gentry, who was a former intelligence analyst with the CIA and has written a book that concentrates on political activity of U.S. intelligence officers since 2016.

Gentry will address questions that relate directly to the changing political atmosphere within the intelligence agencies. The discussion will include present and long term implications of senior national decision makers including the president, the intelligence community, and the country.

For more information, email bobfiredome123@aol.com.

Kennebunk Land Trust schedules Snow Stroll

Kennebunk Land Trust is partnering with Boulangerie to offer the Snow Stroll event in conjunction with the Chamber of Comerce’s Paint the Town Red events. The stroll is scheduled for 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. Participants are encouraged to wear bright red outdoor clothes for a nature walk at Mousam River Wildlife Sanctuary. Attendees will receive a coupon to Boulangerie.

Participants meet at the trailhead of Mousam River Wildlife Sanctuary at the end of Water Street in Kennebunk and stroll over to Boulangerie afterward for a warm drink and snack.

For more information, visit www.kennebunklandtrust.org or register at https://snowstroll.eventbrite.com.

Concert features Four-hands piano

Three musicians hailing from Juilliard School of Music will bring songs and dances from faraway lands to Kennebunk. The concert will take place at First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and opens the 250th anniversary year of the historic building.

Chris Staknys, pianist and music director of First Parish, invited pianist Anna Han and cellist Leland Ko. The program includes songs and dances from Georgia, Turkey and Japan played by Han and Ko. The show will feature the four-hands piano Sonata by Mozart, played by Han and Staknys.

“Our guest musicians have full schedules this year,” Staknys said in a Feb. 6 news release. “We are so lucky to have them in Kennebunk.”

The concert will be seen both in-person and online. To register, visit uukennebunk.org/events. A donation of $15 is suggested.

Han is a laureate of many international competitions. She has performed with orchestras across the United States and England and has recorded on the Steinway and Sons label. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she won the Sterndale Bennett Prize. Currently living in Berlin, she is pursuing an artist diploma under the tutelage of Sir András Schiff and will perform this year in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Han is also producing a documentary about the effect that COVID had on a handful of classical musicians from around the world.

Ko has won many awards, including first prize at the 2021 Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition. Before earning a master’s at Juilliard, he directed Opus 21, a chamber music collective at Princeton. He has performed in many orchestras and venues across America’s East Coast and Europe.

Staknys, of Falmouth, also a Juilliard graduate, has appeared in major American and European cities including venues such as Carnegie Hall. He has won numerous competitions including first prize at the Steinway Society of Massachusetts Piano Competition. He has also been a vocal coach and has played for Opera Maine and the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory.

Pianist Anna Han and cellist Leland Ko will perform Friday, Feb. 24 at First Parish Church in Kennebunk.

Oldies Benefit Dance set for April 15

The next Rock n’ Roll Oldies Benefit Dance is scheduled for 7 p.m. to midnight, April 15 at the Biddeford Eagles Hall at 57 Birch St. Tickets are $10 and seating is limited.

For more information, purchase tickets or volunteer, call Bruce Martin at 207-284-4692.

Land trust releases Nature Walk schedule

Kennebunk Land Trust recently announced its 2023 Nature Walk schedule. The land trust invites participants to learn about nature and get outside. The first Saturday of each month, Kennebunk Land Trust will host a nature walk on a different preserve following a different theme. Patrons can visit a local preserve and enjoy nature in all seasons.

The walks are led by Maine Guide, Master Naturalist, and environmental educator at Wells Reserve at Laudholm, Linda Littlefield Grenfell.

Littlefield Grenfell will take participants on a walk while sharing her knowledge and asking questions about the flora, fauna, and general wonderment of nature.

The walks are held from 10 to 11:30 a.m., and are free of charge. Donations are accepted. The yearly walk schedule is subject to change with notice.

· March 4 – For All Forever Preserve. Theme: Birds

· April 1 – Oxbow Preserve. Theme: Trees

· May 6 – Mousam River Wildlife Sanctuary. Theme: Vernal Pools

· June 3 – Butler Preserve. Theme: Water

· July 1 – For All Forever Preserve. Theme: Wildflowers

· Aug. 5 – Hope Cemetery and Woods. Theme: Trees in Summer

· Sept. 2 – Sea Road Preserve. Theme: Bugs/Ferns

· Oct. 7 – Mousam River Wildlife Sanctuary

· Nov. 4 – Butler Preserve. Theme: Geology

· Dec. 2 – For All Forever Preserve. Theme: Winter Weeds

For more information, email sandy@kennebunklandtrust.org or call 207-985-8734.

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