Owl monitoring

FALMOUTH – Maine Audubon is seeking volunteers around the state to conduct early morning owl surveys for the Maine Owl Monitoring Project. Volunteers are needed on routes in Gorham, Limerick, Raymond, Freeport, Pownal, Boothbay, Livermore, Mount Vernon, Farmington, Mercer, Sidney, Jefferson, Camden, Waldo, Franklin, Deblois, Eustis and near Chamberlain Lake northwest of Baxter State Park.

All volunteers receive a CD and written training material to learn the nine owl species they may hear during the surveys, which are held from 1 to 5 a.m.

Each volunteer is assigned an established road route and on any night between now and April 15 will conduct a 13-minute survey at each of 10 points along the route.

Those interested in participating should contact Susan Gallo at 781-2330, ext. 216, or [email protected].

Teams needed

NEWRY – There’s still time to join Maine Handicapped Skiing’s 22nd annual Ski-A-Thon, Saturday, March 24, at Sunday River Ski Resort and the Sunday River Inn and Cross Country Ski Center. More than 700 skiers and riders will take to the slopes and trails to raise funds for Maine Handicapped Skiing, Maine’s largest year-round adaptive recreation program for adults and children with physical disabilities.

MHS is looking for team captains who will get a team of five people together and raise a minimum of $600 in pledges to participate. To learn more about the Ski-A-Thon, call 800-639-7770 or e-mail [email protected].

Each team member will receive a free lift ticket or trail pass, breakfast, lunch and dinner, an event T-shirt, a goodie bag, free 10-minute massages and dancing to the Blue Willow Band.

Fort lecture

AUGUSTA – Old Fort Western’s 20th annual winter lecture series will continue at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in the learning gallery, city hall, 16 Cony St., with the program, “After 1810: Fort Western Ownership and Occupancy.”

Old Fort Western Office and Information Coordinator Patti Violette will share recent research results about who owned, and more important, who occupied Fort Western’s main house after 1810. In particular, she’ll talk about the fort’s 19th-century tenement period, the interpretation of which the fort hopes to expand.

The full series schedule is available at www.oldfortwestern.org or by phoning 626-2385. Admission is free, and refreshments will be served. Donations to help cover series expenses are encouraged.

Trek volunteers

AUGUSTA – The American Lung Association of Maine is looking for volunteers to help with the Trek Across Maine cycling event. On June 15 to 17, more than 2,000 cyclists are expected to ride and help raise more than a million dollars.

Funds raised support lung health for all people in Maine. For more information about the association or to find out more about the Trek Across Maine, visit www.mainelung.org.

The trek will begin at Sunday River and end at Owls Head Transportation Museum. To register, go to http://www.mainelung.org/Events/Trek/trek_volunteers.asp.

Scholarships

PORTLAND – The Maine Educational Loan Authority, sponsor of The Maine Loan, announced that it is increasing its total scholarship awards to $10,000, by offering four $2,500 scholarships.

Students eligible for the scholarships are Maine residents planning to attend an institution of higher education in the United States or Canada or out-of-state students planning to attend a Maine college or university.

Applicants sign up at www.mela.net, and are entered into the random drawings. MELA will select two entries in July 2007 and two entries in January 2008.

For more information on the scholarship program, the Maine Loan or other MELA loan programs, call toll-free 1-800-922-6352 or visit www.mela.net.

Woodmen help

LEWISTON – Residents and organizations in Maine received $167,808 in fraternal assistance from Modern Woodmen of America in 2006. These dollars support the fraternal organization’s social and volunteer activities for local members and their communities.

Modern Woodmen members in Maine are organized into 23 local chapters called camps and 16 youth service clubs. Through the organization’s volunteer programs, camp and youth club members conduct service projects to meet the needs of their communities.

Among the projects conducted in 2006, area members purchased and assembled picnic tables for the Oxford Community Center in Harrison; donated food to the Ronald McDonald House in Portland; and landscaped around the town’s notice board in Richmond.

Modern Woodmen representatives donated 213 free youth educational programs to area schools and youth organizations.