Military honors

AUGUSTA – Any person, active, National Guard or Reserve, who received an honorable discharge is eligible for military funeral honors.

The rendering of military funeral honors for Armed Forces veterans is a tribute that veterans and their families deserve and are entitled to. Section 578 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000 requires the Department of Defense to provide, upon request, military funeral honors for eligible veterans.

The program is in place and providing appropriate military funeral honors to veterans. Those who did not receive appropriate military funeral honors may also be honored.

Veterans, families of veterans, funeral directors and residents are encouraged to call 626-7822 or e-mail [email protected] for more information.

Help Audubon

FALMOUTH – Maine Audubon needs volunteers on weekdays from January through March to help lead one-and-a-half-hour nature explorations at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, Mast Landing Audubon Sanctuary in Freeport and Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary in West Bath.

Training will be from 9:30 a.m. to noon on Jan. 9, 10 and 12 at Gilsland Farm. Participation in all the training sessions is encouraged, but special arrangements can be made.

No previous knowledge or teaching experience is necessary to lead the explorations. Volunteers will learn teaching techniques, seasonal changes in plants and animals and general ecology. Most programs participants are school groups. In-depth internships are also available.

For more information or to arrange training, contact Linda Woodard at 781-2330, ext. 213, or [email protected]. For more information on Maine Audubon environmental education programs, trips and volunteer opportunities, call 781-2330 or visit www.maineaudubon.org.

Awards program

PORTLAND – Maine College of Art will present the regional program of the Scholastic Art Awards and Maine’s Congressional District Art Awards. The Scholastic Art program is a national competition for young artists in grades seven through 12 and is the longest running student recognition program for the visual arts in the United States.

This year’s competition brought 341 submissions from 287 young artists representing 11 middle schools and 36 high schools in Maine. The college will showcase the talents of the artists in the Porteous Building from Jan. 5 to 27. The building is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Gold key, silver key and merit award recipients will be announced at the awards ceremony at the Merrill Auditorium at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27. Local awards will include scholarships to MECA’s Early College and Saturday School programs. Gold recipients will go on to compete nationally for more than $1,000,000 in scholarships from the Scholastic Art Awards.