School conference

FREEPORT – Merriconeag Waldorf School will host the 2006 annual conference of the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America on July 29 to Aug. 2. More than 300 teachers and representatives from Waldorf schools around the world are expected to attend.

The theme, “From Idea to Ideal: Building a Waldorf Community,” will be carried throughout the five-day event with lectures, workshops and artistic activities.

The conference will begin on Saturday evening with a keynote address by Christof Wiechert, leader of the Pedagogical Section of the Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.

The Goetheanum is the international center for activities aimed at fostering Waldorf education.

Founded in 1984, Merriconeag Waldorf School, with a pre-kindergarten through grade eight enrollment of 240 students, is the largest of four Waldorf schools in Maine and will expand to include high school grades in September 2007.

Pain workshop

SOUTH PORTLAND – “Chronic Pain,” a workshop about how one can manage pain associated with a cancer diagnosis, will be offered from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2, at the Cancer Community Center, 778 Main St.

August is National Pain Awareness Month and in recognition, the center has invited oncology nurse and pain management expert Janice Reynolds to speak about how people can find support and better manage their pain.

Center programs are offered free to adults living with cancer, their families and friends. For more information, call 774-2200 or visit www.cancercommunitycenter.org.

Community day

AUGUSTA – The Community Service Committee of the Maine State Grange is sponsoring a Community Service Day from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, at State Grange Headquarters, 146 State St.

Participants will meet at headquarters and travel to the Bread of Life Homeless Shelter to assist with a community service project. Beginning at 10 a.m. back at headquarters, presentations will be made by community groups on such topics as community gardens, cemetery restoration, humane society and the Salvation Army. Lunch will be served at noon, with donations being accepted.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 778-5845 or e-mail communityservice@mainestategrange.org.

Arabic culture

ROCKLAND – Arabic instructor Driss El Bouabidi will hold a Saturday, Aug. 5, workshop on “Getting Acquainted with Arabic Language and Culture” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Penobscot School. All are welcome.

Students will be introduced to Darija Al Maghribia (Moroccan Arabic) through a comparison to classical Arabic. With a focus on the spoken dialect of Dariha, participants will learn basic greetings and polite expressions, including how to ask for directions and the time.

Driss will talk about some of the customs and traditions that family members and friends follow in Morocco.

For program details, contact Driss El Bouabidi at drisselbouabidi@hotmail.com or 323-1906. Preregistration is required and the workshop fee is $45. For scholarship details and application and to register, call 594-1084. For more information about the school, visit www.languagelearning.org.

Marin reunion

TOPSHAM – Up to 500 descendants of Thomas and Phoebe Marin will gather for the first official family reunion on Friday through Sunday, Aug. 11 to 13, at the home of Liz and Bill Kinsman on the Coulombe property, 567 Meadow Road.

In April 1914, Thomas and Phoebe Marin were married in Aroostook County (Wallagrass). By 1937 they had 18 children.

Marin died of a brain tumor two months before his youngest child was born. Phoebe Marin raised the kids, ran the potato farm and knitted thousands of slippers for all her children, grandchildren and great-grandchild.

For more information, contact Kim Cook at kimcook61@yahoo.com pr call 910-793-0326 or 910-228-1598; Patrick Deprey at birddeprey@insightbb.com or 502-228-1401; or Liz Kinsman at kinsman@suscom-maine.net at 725-2825.

Tree farm day

EDDINGTON – The public is invited to attend the 2006 Tree Farm Field Day at Timberdoodle Tree Farm from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26. Sponsored by the Maine Tree Farm Committee, Maine’s Outstanding Tree Farmers of 2006, Malcolm and Dorothy Coulter, will host a day of activities at their farm, 192 Merrill Road.

There will be pre-commercial harvests, thinning, examples for enhancing property for wildlife, demonstrations for grafting wild apple trees, vernal pools and a portable sawmill in operation.

Admission is free and lunch will be available for $10. Reservations may be made for lunch in advance by contacting Julie Agri at the Maine Tree Foundation, 621-9872, or sending $10 per person to Maine Tree Foundation, PO Box 5470, Augusta, ME 04332.

Society raffle

TOPSHAM – The American Cancer Society’s annual raffle first prize is a new 2006 Corvette, with red exterior, black trim interior, six-speed automatic, and CD-MP3 player.

Second prize is $1,000 cash and third prize is $500 cash. The drawing will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at Strong Chevrolet in Damariscotta. Tickets will be sold for $100 each and may be purchased by calling Melissa Cushman at the American Cancer Society office, 800-ACS-2345 or 373-3723. Funds raised support the American Cancer Society.

Camp pledge

CASCO – Camp Sunshine has announced that Hancock Lumber, the Carol J. and K. David Hancock Charitable Trust, Carol Hancock and Alison and Kevin Hancock, have each pledged $25,000 for a combined commitment of $100,000 to the nonprofit organization to help expand its program assisting families of seriously ill children on a year-round basis.

Camp Sunshine provides a vacation at no charge to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

The board of directors recently embarked upon a $14.5 million endowment campaign. Combined with other commitments received to date, the donation from Hancock Lumber and the Hancock Family brings the total raised to $5.2 million.

For more information about Camp Sunshine’s programs and to learn more about volunteering or making a donation, visit www.campsunshine.org, or call 655-3800.

Allanach reunion

CANTON – The 16th reunion of descendants of Christopher and Eva Allanach was held at the home of Betty York recently with 55 members and two guests present.

President Betty York presided over the business meeting. The following officers were re-elected: president, York; vice president, Dana Carlton; and secretary-treasurer, Joyce Carlton.

William Hatch III was the youngest in attendance; Lois Gordon of Livermore was the senior member. Ronald Allanach of New Westminister, British Columbia, Canada, traveled the most miles.

There were three marriages and three new births reported during the past year. Members voted to hold the 2007 reunion at the same place on July 14. A potluck dinner was held at noon.

Family members attended from Augusta, Canton, Cumberland Center, East Sumner, Farmington, Greene, Hartford, Livermore, Livermore Falls, Mexico, New Gloucester, North Jay, Peru, Rumford, Wells, West Paris, West Sumner and Wilton; and Naperville, Ill.; Salorburg, Pa.; and New Westminister, B.C., Canada. Two guests were from Deltona, Fla.

Ride raises funds

AUGUSTA – The Maine Elks Association held its annual “Owie Box” motorcycle ride for children in the Maine Children’s Cancer Program on July 22. The event attracted 115 motorcycle enthusiasts, who raised a record total of $21,600, exceeding last year’s record by more than $7,500.

The event raised money for the cancer program and its “Owie Box” program, which provides toys and other items for children who undergo painful procedures at the clinic.

The ride began at the Augusta Elks Lodge and followed a route that took the riders through central Maine and southern Maine before arriving at the program headquarters in Scarborough. The riders stopped at the Brunswick Elks Lodge, where additional riders joined the procession.

Riders toured the facility then returned to the Augusta Elks Lodge, where they were provided with a meal and live entertainment by the lodge.

Ends campaign

CONCORD, N.H, – Concord Group Insurance Cos. recently concluded a public service campaign in Maine high schools. The company offered a free DVD and teacher’s workbook on “Understanding Car Crashes, Its Basic Physics” to all high school science departments.

More than 60 science teachers responded and received the program produced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org). The program teaches the energy and momentum science facts of a car crash and the benefits of using car restraints in easy to understand, real-life situations.

Through high schools’ participation in this program, new drivers can learn the “physics facts” of speed and the use of restraint systems.

Agricultural tour

AUGUSTA – The Maine State Grange is sponsoring an agricultural bus tour of farms in Androscoggin and Cumberland counties Thursday and Friday, Sept. 7 and 8.

Highlights of the trip will include a tour of Pineland Farm, Chipman Farm, Bell Farm, Brigeen Farm, Ricker Hill Orchards, Maine Quality Eggs of New England and Nezinscot Farm.

The cost is $100 a person and includes three meals, tours and one night’s lodging (double occupancy). The cost for day travelers is $50 a person. Reservations and full advance payment are required and must be made by Saturday, Aug. 5.

Make checks payable to the Maine State Grange and mail along with name, address, phone number and roommate name to: Maine State Grange, 146 State St, Augusta ME 04330. A trip itinerary is available at mainestategrange.org or by calling 1-800-464-3421.

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