A documentary about the furor that followed Lewiston Mayor Larry Raymond’s letter last fall to the Somali community has been chosen for one of the country’s most prominent film festivals.

“The Letter,” directed by Ziad Hamzeh, will make its world premiere at the American Film Institute’s Los Angeles International Film Festival.

About 2,000 movies were submitted to the festival, of which 100 were chosen, said an AFI spokeswoman “The Letter” will be competing for the festival’s best documentary prize.

The choice has already given Hamzeh and his colleagues a boost over the last film, Lewiston-made “Shadow Glories.” That film lasted one week in New England theaters before it went to video.

The 17-year-old AFI festival has hosted Oscar-winning films and actors including Nicholas Cage and Michael Caine.

Following Raymond’s letter, white supremacists attempted to recruit new members in Lewiston, leading thousands of people to march in support of diversity.

– Daniel Hartill
‘God willing’

Hope helps. Just ask Walter Stevens Sr.

Sabattus people rallied around the lung cancer patient in late July. At a benefit dinner held at the American Legion on Island Road, roughly 250 townspeople donated $1,500 to Stevens to help pay his mounting bills.

“To me, it was amazing,” Stevens said. “It was like a load off my shoulders.”

On the night of the dinner, people with donations even came to the door of his residence up until 9:30 p.m. “I couldn’t believe it,” Stevens said. “I was surprised. I was shocked.”

“I thought it was great,” said Town Clerk Katie Doble, who organized the benefit. “He was ecstatic.”

Stevens got to know a lot of people in town by working at the Sabattus Transfer Station. The 58-year old worked for about 10 months at the Transfer Station before he had to stop work when he got sick.

He said that recently he had a week off from chemotherapy. “It felt like a vacation,” he said. He was scheduled to begin more chemo, though, on Aug. 20. “They knock me for a loop, those pills do,” Stevens said.

But the success of the benefit dinner has heartened him and his wife, Debbie. They would like to thank everybody who donated. “God willing,” things will work out, Stevens said.

– Seth Golden
Iron lungs

And the winner is . . . Principal O’Neill.

In its six-month principal challenge, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has announced that Lewiston High School Principal Patrick O’Neill has won the Month Two challenge.

The contest dares high school principals from Lewiston, South Portland, Saco, Cumberland, Bath and Standish to lead healthier lives and to teach their students how to do the same. Each month, principals are faced with a new challenge, such as exercising more, trying new activities or volunteering in the community.

Principals earn stars for creativity and effort and for getting their students involved. The principal with the most stars at the end of six months wins $2,500 to buy fitness equipment for his or her school.

In July, South Portland Principal Jeanne Crocker won the challenged to try something new. She visited the Portland Museum of Art with her daughter, joined a Hawaiian luau, took a helicopter tour and walked in a 5k fund-raiser.

In August, O’Neill took the most stars for a healthy lungs challenge. He went swimming, hiking and mountain biking. He took a beginning yoga class and played soccer with his dogs for more than 30 minutes. Using a pedometer, O’Neill calculated that he walked 37,000 steps per week.

Principals are already involved in the Month Three challenge: improving their strength and flexibility.

– Lindsay Tice


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