Thank you, from Iraq
Marines from Company C of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion in Iraq were thrilled with valentines they’ve received from Lewiston’s Montello Elementary School.

With the help of the Lewiston-based company Geiger, students had raised money and sent the soldiers boxes of valentines plus phone cards so they could call home. The Marines received the cards Sunday.
“I wish you had been here to see their faces as we distributed the letters and phone cards. They were all truly overwhelmed,” Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey Duncan and 1st Sgt. J.A. Sutton wrote in a thank-you letter. The Marines called the gift “a pure thought of unselfishness; this was such a wonderful surprise to us all.”

The valentines are displayed on a “wall of fame for all to see,” they wrote. “On numerous occasions I have overheard the Marines talking about how much fun they had reading them.” The soldiers sent the thank-you letter, plus photos of themselves posing in front of the valentine wall, to Montello and to Geiger executive Peter Geiger.

Montello staff and students adopted the Marine unit after learning one of its members, Gunnery Sgt. Jeffrey Duncan, is the son of Claire Hackett of Lewiston, who works for Geiger.

The Marines said they’ll remember the kindness long past the holidays, and encouraged students to “continue to do well in school.”
— Bonnie Washuk

Blind horse named
After months of searching, Black Horse Farm in Auburn has finally come up with a name for its blind, black filly.
Apallonia.
“It means strength and wisdom. Jim thought of it. It is very pretty, like her, and suits her well,” wrote Lisa Bither in an e-mail. Bither owns the farm with her boyfriend, Jim Arthur.
Apallonia was born in August to a mare who was boarding at Black Horse Farm. The pregnancy was normal, and no one anticipated the birth defect that left the baby blind. Bither adopted the foal from the mare’s owner.
The filly had remained unnamed until recently.
“I have found that a lot of horse people are particular about naming their horses,” Bither wrote. “Horses are like our children. Parents put a lot of thought into choosing a name for their children. It is the same for us and our horses.”
Many readers suggested names for the filly after her story appeared in the Sun Journal in November. Bither and Arthur briefly considered “Radar,” in part for the horse’s uncanny ability to navigate her way around. But the name didn’t feel quite right.
Apallonia did.
The filly has been weaned from her mother and is doing well. She enjoys playing in the snow.
Apallonia’s progress can be tracked at www.blackhorsefarmmaine.com.
— Lindsay Tice

Warden in the right spot
RILEY TOWNSHIP — Maine Wardens are tasked with investigating all accidents involving snowmobiles. But on Wednesday morning, Warden Norm Lewis helped with a different type of sledding accident.

A girl on a sled was sliding down a hill in her front yard when she struck a tree, according to Deborah Turcotte, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Her mother called an ambulance, and was on the ground helping her daughter when Lewis just happened to drive by.
When he saw the woman in the yard, he stopped, thinking she was hurt. He then saw the girl. Lewis administered first aid until an ambulance arrived.

Paramedics decided the youngster didn’t need to be taken to a hospital. Lewis carried the girl back up the hill to her home.
— Terry Karkos

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