The following excerpts are from The South Portlander, a daily blog by Linda Hersey, South Portland reporter for The Current. Find it at www.southportlander.com:

(Posted Oct. 6)

Here is a press release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland about a priest who is leaving Holy Cross.

Fr. Michael P. Gendreau has requested a leave of absence in order to discern his future in priestly ministry. Bishop Richard Malone is supporting Father Gendreau’s decision and the leave will become effective on November 1, 2008. Fr. Gendreau, who is currently the pastor of Holy Cross and St. John parishes, South Portland, made the announcement to his parishioners over the weekend.

“My discernment process did not end with my ordination,” explained Gendreau. “I firmly believe that God continues to call us – our task is to listen intensely to the stirrings and groaning of the spirit within us as we seek to understand more fully what God wants for us and what God wants of us.

“Through prayer and with the help of a spiritual director and counselor I have reached the conclusion that, in order to continue the discernment process, I must take a leave from priestly ministry.”

Fr. Gendreau has been taking business management courses and will continue during his leave.

Msgr. Michael Henchal has been appointed administrator for the parishes (in addition to his current assignments) to become effective November 1, and the diocese is working on a more permanent arrangement for South Portland. Msgr. Henchal will be assisted by Fr. Donald McAllister, retired.

Background: Fr. Michael P. Gendreau was born in Edmundston, New Brunswick in August of 1960. He attended St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland and earned his M.A. in Theology. His first assignment was at SS. Peter and Paul, Lewiston in July of 1990. In 1994, he was named a parochial vicar of St. John, Bangor. In 1995, he was named pastor of St. Agatha Parish, St. Agatha as well as St. Joseph Parish, Sinclair. In 2000, he became pastor of St. Mary Parish, Augusta. In July of 2004 he was granted a sabbatical to discern whether to continue in priestly ministry. In November of that year, he returned and was named pastor of St. John and Holy Cross Parishes, South Portland.

Msgr. Michael Henchal is the pastor of St. Bartholomew, Cape Elizabeth and administrator of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Scarborough.

Oil tank design winner to be named

The winner of the international paint-the-oil-tank competition will be announced Wednesday (after Curren deadline). The Maine Center for Creativity has issued the following press release:

WHAT: The Maine Center for Creativity (MCC) will announce the winner of its Art All Around international design competition. The winner’s artwork will be painted on 16 oil tanks at the Sprague Energy Corp. tank farm in South Portland.

The Art All Around winner was chosen from 560 entries received from 73 countries and nearly every U.S. state. A nine-person international panel of judges narrowed the field to five, with each receiving a $7,500 cash award plus a stipend to travel to Maine in August for public presentations. In addition to having his or her artwork painted on the most visible tanks at the Sprague tank farm, the winner will also be awarded a $20,000 prize.

WHO: The Art All Around winner; Greg Boulos, president, Maine Center for Creativity board of directors; Pat Eltman, director, Maine Office of Tourism; Burt Russell, vice president, operations, Sprague Energy Corp.; James Gailey, city manager, City of South Portland; Edward J. Suslovic, mayor, City of Portland; Mark Bessire, director, Bates College Museum of Art;

Jean Maginnis, executive director, Maine Center for Creativity.

WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008, 10 a.m.

WHERE: Mercy Hospital Lobby

175 Fore River Parkway Portland.

Special collection day planned for old medicines

If you have unused or expired medicines but aren’t sure what to do with them, a special collection day for disposal will be held on Oct. 18, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Community Center.

CASA, a local substance-abuse council, is leading the effort, with the help of area police and pharmacists. The goal is to get the unwanted medications out of homes and safely dispose of them, said Maureen Belanger, CASA treasurer. The drugs can be as common as an old bottle of Pepto-Bismol or narcotics, such as prescription painkillers. Drugs may range from veterinary medicines to prescription pills that a family member did not finish. She said doctors traditionally advised patients to flush old medicines down the toilet, but that practice pollutes groundwater.

Police from South Portland and Cape Elizabeth will take the pills, inhalers, syringes and liquid medicines to an incinerator.

The collection day is free to the public and is being organized by volunteers.

(Posted Oct. 3)

McCain: A made-in-Maine election?

UPDATE: New media reports offer further information on how Maine figures in the McCain strategy. “Everything that happens in Ohio will be happening in Maine,” Jim Barnett, McCain’s New England campaign manager, told the Lewiston Sun Journal. “There are very likely scenarios where if either New Hampshire or Maine were to be won by John McCain it could either put the electoral count in a tie or tip the balance in his favor. There are scenarios where just the one electoral vote in Maine’s 2nd District could make the difference.”

While much emphasis has been placed on the idea of McCain picking up the 2nd District electoral vote, the campaign says it is aiming for more, the Journal reports. “We are not writing off the 1st District by any stretch; we think we are competitive statewide and the polling that we’ve seen has shown us that it’s a very competitive race all around,” Barnett told the Journal.

ORIGINAL POST: John McCain has given up the ship in Michigan and is shifting those resources to…. Maine! As most locals know, McCain chose the new POW museum in South Portland for a campaign stop. It was his first visit to Maine after clinching the GOP bid for president. Those warm vibes – and some political strategizing – may have convinced the McCain camp that he will have more sway with voters here.

Under the headline “Maine Might Matter,” Maine Politics reports that McCain’s political director, “Mike DuHaime, told reporters on a conference call three hours before debate time that the campaign plans an aggressive front in Maine, a solidly Democratic state that gets virtually no attention in presidential races. The sudden attention to Maine, which is getting some of the staff McCain is moving out of Michigan, reflects what a squeaker McCain expects.”