LEWISTON – Trial and Error will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, in the Lewiston Public Library conference room. It is a nonprofit organization seeking a retrial for Dennis Dechaine. Those wanting more information should call Heidi Masselli at 783-5203.

Arts Commission

GARDINER – New England Foundation for the Arts Director Rebecca Blunk will speak about the foundation’s programs at the Maine Arts Commission’s meeting from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 25, at Johnson Hall.

Blunk will give an overview of the foundation’s programs and how they may help Maine artists and communities.

Agency staff and committee members will discuss the various programs of the commission. After the meeting, members, staff and other meeting attendees are invited to tour the Colby College Museum of Art.

The public is welcome to attend the meeting and may contribute public comment from 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. To RSVP or for a copy of the agenda, contact Rebekah Leadbetter at 287-6571 or rebekah.leadbetter@maine.gov. For more information on the commission, visit www.MaineArts.com.

Grange event

AUGUSTA – The Community Service Committee of the Maine State Grange will hold a Community Service Conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at State Grange Headquarters, 146 State St. Presentations by major statewide community service organizations will be given throughout the day, including the Red Cross, Catholic Charities of Maine, Food Pantries of Maine and Maine Veterans’ Homes.

The event is free and open to the public. Door prizes will be drawn every hour and a noon meal will be provided. A full schedule of events is available online at http://www.mainestategrange.org/community_service.html or by calling Maine State Grange headquarters at 1-800-464-3421.

Genealogy topic

PORTLAND – The eighth New England Regional Genealogical Conference will be held from March 31 to April 3 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay. The theme is “New England Crossroads 2005.”

Tony Burroughs will speak on “The Six Phases of African American Genealogy” and “The Digital Office”; Cyndi Howells, “Evaluating Web Sites” and “Planting Family: Your Family Tree Online”; Elizabeth Shown Mills, “The Identity Crisis: Right Name, Wrong Man? Wrong Name, Right Man?” and “Finding Females: Wives, Mothers, Daughters, Sisters and Paramours”; and Craig Scott, “Settled Accounts: The New England Experience in Federal Records” and “Putting Ink of Paper: Getting Your Genealogical Material Published.”

Burroughs and Mills will be the speakers at the two conference banquets: Burroughs on “Becoming A Better Genealogist” and Mills on “Discovering Forgotten People: The Story Behind Isles of Canes.”

More than 40 additional speakers are slated at the three-day conference. Program details can be found at www.NERGC.org or call 609-924-9742.

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