Oxford County Senior Workgroup

PARIS – Valerie Cole from SeniorsPlus and Pastor Mary Beth Caffey of the Paris Hill Baptist Church are inviting all interested community members to join in the Oxford County Senior Workgroup discussion from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, March 30.

This is a new group whose mission is to identify the struggles and barriers that impact quality of life for seniors wanting nothing more than to remain independent at home. Together, and with ideas and input, the group will work toward identifying solutions that will help seniors age in place with the needed services and resources.

The meeting will be held at the South Paris Baptist Church, Paris Hill. Call SeniorsPlus at 1-800-427-1241 to reserve a seat.

Former CIA officer to discuss Mideast foreign policy

BETHEL — Retired CIA officer Ed Knox of Brunswick will present a talk, “Modern Mideast: Power and Politics,” at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in the McLaughlin Auditorium at Gould Academy.

Knox is a former history professor at Boston College and is the author of “The New Eastern Question.” During his 26-year career with the CIA, he lived and worked in Jordan, Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Japan and England.

Knox will explore the realities of power in the modern Mideast, including a discussion of ISIL and other extremist factions, from geographic, historic and cultural perspectives and probe the issue of why we are on a current losing streak militarily.

The program is part of the WMSC’s Down Home Maine series and is free and open to the public.

Brown Bag Lunch to focus on American society

BETHEL — The Western Mountains Senior College will sponsor a Brown Bag Lunch Discussion at the Bethel Inn Library from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 1.

Retired CIA officer Ed Knox of Brunswick will facilitate the program. Bring a lunch and join a dialogue centered on two over-arching questions about society: Who are we? What sort of people are we?

Participants will consider such questions as: What made America great? When did we begin to fear each other and the rest of the world? When did we last feel good as a nation and about ourselves? Why have we lost faith in education, infrastructure and government?

Knox is a former history professor at Boston College and is the author of “The New Eastern Question.” During his 26-year career with the CIA, he lived and worked in Jordan, Ivory Coast, Cyprus, Japan and England.

The discussion is free and open to the public, but if planning to attend, RSVP to Nancy Davis by Friday, March 27, in order to help with setting up the space: [email protected] or 381-1110.

Final talk in garden lecture series

PARIS — The final talk in the McLaughlin Garden lecture series will be on Wednesday, April 1, by Jessica Badone, proprietor of Allium Farm in Sumner.

Allium Farm is a nursery, florist and retailer specializing in sustainable designs for homes and landscapes. Badone’s topic will be “Designing with Perennials.” She will cover a wide variety of topics, including using native plants, edibles and garden troubleshooting.

The lecture is open to the public. It is free, but donations will be accepted to further the maintenance of the historic garden and buildings. Arrive at 3:30 p.m. for tea prior to the 4 p.m. lecture. The property is located at 97 Main St., South Paris.