BRUNSWICK, ME – Maine State Music Theatre (MSMT) is thrilled to announce the return of its highly anticipated 2024 Annual Yard Sale. Scheduled for Saturday, April 27th, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM and Sunday, April 28th, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at 22 Elm Street, Brunswick, Maine, this event promises to be a treasure trove for seasoned thrift shoppers and bargain hunters alike.

Morgan Rodgers, Director of Development at MSMT, extends a warm invitation to all, emphasizing the significance of this event, stating, “This Yard Sale offers the perfect opportunity to support our organization while securing amazing deals. Our volunteers have spent the spring season meticulously cleaning, sorting, and pricing thousands of donated items, and every dollar spent directly supports MSMT.”

The excitement doesn’t stop there! Attendees can also plan to attend the Preview Night on Thursday, April 25th, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, offering an exclusive sneak peek at the treasures awaiting discovery for a nominal fee of $20.

Dane Whitlock, MSMT’s Director of Marketing and Communications, shares invaluable tips for maximizing your Yard Sale experience, emphasizing the importance of arriving early to secure the finest treasures. “Our dedicated enthusiasts know that the early bird catches the worm,” he says. “You can practically roll up with a truck and load it with everything you need to furnish a one-bedroom apartment – from bed frames to cookware, and even wall art.”

Reflecting on his own experience, Whitlock adds, “Last year’s Yard Sale was a goldmine for me, providing two sets of exquisite dishes, furniture pieces, and stylish lamps. For those eager to snag the hottest items, a $20 donation to MSMT grants early access.”

For more information, visit msmt.org/yard-sale.

GORHAM, ME — April 25th & 26th will mark a new chapter in the USM Dance program as faculty and guest choreographers bring back the annual Spring Dance Concert with original works inspired by themes of reclamation and renewal. 

The April event marks the first dance concert on the Russell Hall stage in over four years. USM Dance students will perform newly-devised contemporary works created over the course of the spring semester. USM Dance faculty Jessie Laurita-Spanglet and Maria Tzianabos and guest choreographers Scott McPheeters and Niki Cousineau of Biddeford-based Subcircle and Kimberly Schroeder, University of Delaware Dance faculty, have come together for a semester-long creative process to give students the opportunity to explore the choreographic process and grow as dance artists and creative thinkers.

For USM Dance faculty and dance concert producer, Jessie Laurita-Spanglet, the themes of reclamation and renewal are ideal for the return of the dance concert, “When we return to an old dance or a once-familiar piece of music or art, we reimagine it from a new perspective. Reclaiming requires stepping into the unknown and reframing what we thought we knew into something that will carry us into the future.”

The process of creating these pieces is rooted in collaboratively exploring a theme and seeing where it takes her students. “In my creative processes I often start with an idea and then I set about exploring the idea through movement with the dancers”, says Laurita-Spanglet. “I see the dances that I create as almost having a life of their own, and it is my job as the choreographer to listen intently, collaborate openly, and guide the process while also being open to the work moving in a direction that I did not initially intend.”  She sees the creative process as a type of physical investigation that intellectually and creatively challenges her students. And one that will, ultimately, make the dance concert worth the wait for audiences and dancers alike. “We are so excited to bring our dance students back onto the stage!”

The USM Spring Dance Concert runs April 25th & 26th at 7pm. All performances take place on the USM Gorham campus in historic Russell Hall. 

To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit USM Theatre online at https://usm.maine.edu/department-theatre/box-office-tickets/ or call the USM Theatre Box Office at (207) 780-5151. 

USM Spring Dance Concert

April 25th & 26th, 7pm

Choreographers: Subcircle: Scott McPheeters and Niki Cousineau; Jessie Laurita-Spanglet; Kimberly Schroeder; Maria Tzianabos 

Ticket Prices: $18 for Adults, $14 for USM Faculty/Staff/Alumni, $12 for Seniors 65+, $8 for Students/Youth

Those needing special accommodations to participate fully in this program, contact Janice Gardner at (207)780-5289 or janice.gardner@maine.edu. Hearing impaired: call USM’s telex / TDD number (207)780-5646

Audrey Bendel & Ellie Backman. Photo by Sarah Graff Photography

FALMOUTH, ME — University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host a Basics of Composting Workshop on Wednesday, May 1, from 5 – 7 p.m. at the UMaine Gardens at Tidewater Farm, 200 Presumpscot Point Road, Falmouth.

Aimed at those interested in turning food scraps and waste into nourishment for plants, this event will cover the basics of composting. Topics covered in the workshop include advantages of different compost feedstocks, best practices to build and maintain a healthy compost pile, and horticultural uses of finished compost. Participants will also learn about different small-scale composting set-ups, from bins to lobster traps to tumblers. By the end of the workshop, attendees should be able to compost wherever they live, whether it’s a farm, apartment or community garden. 

Space is limited. Registration is required at the event webpage. Program fee is offered on a sliding scale, $5-$15. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, visit the program website or contact Pamela Hargest, pamela.hargest@maine.edu, 207.949.4524.

YARMOUTH, ME – April marks National Safe Digging Month and Summit Natural Gas of Maine (Summit) urges customers to prioritize safety by calling 811 before starting any digging projects. It is critically important to contact 811 at least three working days before any digging projects. Calling 811 allows local utilities enough time to mark underground lines before a project begins.  You should not dig until you receive notification from all utilities that they have marked their underground facilities or that no underground facilities exist in your dig area. 

“Safety is our top priority at Summit, and a simple call to 811 a few days before a yard project can protect you, your family, and your community from damaging an underground utility line,” said Lizzy Reinholt, SVP of Corporate Affairs, Sustainability, and Marketing at Summit. “It is required by law that every digging project, no matter the size, requires you to contact 811 to make sure the underground utilities are safely marked before projects begin. This includes common projects like planting shrubs, landscaping or installing a new fence.”

When customers contact 811, local utility companies mark the approximate locations of buried lines in their yards, reducing the risk of injuries and service disruptions. It’s crucial to hand dig near marked lines and avoid using mechanized equipment to prevent damaging underground utilities.

Striking a single line can lead to costly repairs, outages, fines, injuries, and even fatalities. Projects such as installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree, or laying a patio require a free 811 request at least a few days prior to digging.

The depth of utility lines can vary due to erosion, previous projects, and uneven surfaces, making proper markings essential even for shallow digs. For more information on 811 and safe digging practices, visit www.811beforeyoudig.com or https://www.summitnaturalgasmaine.com/NaturalGasSafety.

AUGUSTA, ME – The Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) announced today that Maine Revenue Services, a bureau of DAFS, will extend the deadline to file Maine state taxes, for eight counties impacted by severe January storms, matching the recent Internal Revenue Service (IRS) federal tax extension deadline for Maine taxpayers until July 15, 2024. 

 On April 4, 2024, the IRS announced federal tax relief for individuals and businesses in certain Maine counties affected by severe storms and flooding that began on January 9, 2024 and designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington, and York counties, postponing various tax filing and payment deadlines to July 15, 2024.   

This extension is separate from an earlier IRS and Maine State tax filing deadline extension through June 17, 2024, in response to 10 FEMA designated Maine Counties as a result of December 2023 storms.  

Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and York counties were not included in the first IRS extension for filing through June 17, 2024 related to the December 2023 storms.?This new relief related to the January 2024 storms will extend certain filing and payment due dates for taxpayers in those counties through July 15, 2024.? For affected Maine taxpayers in these five counties, tax returns and final or estimated payments originally due on or after January 9, 2024, and before July 15, 2024 for Individual Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Fiduciary Income Tax (trusts and estates) and Franchise Tax are postponed to July 15, 2024.   

 Hancock, Waldo, and Washington counties did receive relief related to the December 2023 storms and already have an extension for certain filing and payments for Maine liabilities through June 17, 2024.?This extended relief related to the January 2024 storms will extend those deadlines out another month to July 15, 2024.  For affected Maine taxpayers in these three counties, tax returns and final or estimated payments originally due on or after December 17, 2023, and before July 15, 2024 for Individual Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Fiduciary Income Tax (trusts and estates) and Franchise Tax are postponed to July 15, 2024.    

In sum, taxes are due in the following Maine counties as indicated: 

April 17, 2024: Aroostook 

June 17, 2024: Androscoggin, Franklin, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset 

July 15, 2024: Cumberland, Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington, York 

 Any related penalties and interest will be abated through July 15, 2024 (Relief Period). Affected taxpayers are encouraged to file electronically. Affected taxpayers filing paper returns should write “MAINE FLOODING” across the top of their return. Affected taxpayers are still encouraged to make payments and file if they are able and prepared to do so before July 15, 2024. 

 Regardless of filing method, if any affected taxpayer receives a notice of assessment of penalties and/or interest for the Relief Period due to late returns or payments, please contact MRS immediately at income.tax@maine.gov (Income Tax programs) to request abatement.  

Payment and filing deadlines for all other Maine tax types, including Maine sales tax and income tax withholding, remain unchanged.  

Taxpayers with questions about special federal tax relief associated with federally declared disaster areas should contact the IRS at (866) 562-5227 or go to the IRS website at www.irs.gov. 

SCARBOROUGH, ME – Evergreen Credit Union’s upcoming Scarborough branch will open its doors on Saturday, April 20, 2024.

To celebrate the new location, there will be a ribbon cutting, beverages and treats on April 20 from 8:30am-12:30pm. Evergreen members may also step into the Evergreen Cash Cube to win Sea Dogs tickets, an exclusive tour of Winslow Homer’s art studio in Scarborough, movie tickets and more.

The team is looking forward to welcoming new and returning members. “We’re excited to serve more of southern Maine with the branch opening,” said Jason Lindstrom, Evergreen’s President/CEO. “We welcome those in the Scarborough and the surrounding area to check out our newest branch.”

Evergreen Credit Union is Maine’s 5th largest credit union, with over $550 million in assets and serving 6 counties in southern Maine. Their Scarborough branch will be their 6th location. To learn more about Evergreen, visit https://www.egcu.org.

Evergreen CU’s Scarborough branch, scheduled to open Saturday, April 20, 2024.

GORHAM, ME — Baxter Memorial Library is pleased to present a month of fantastic local authors, writing in a variety of genres.  Books are available to check out at the library, and will also be available to purchase at the events.  These and many other events are supported and sponsored by the Friends of Baxter Memorial Library! 

April 18, 6 pm: Cheryl Gillespie and Lisa Beecher: A Conversation on Mental Health

Cheryl and Lisa will present a unique look at mental health care, including treatment, stigma, and the toll on patients’ families, etc., from both an historical perspective to present day. Cheryl is the daughter of a young woman who experienced involuntary hospitalization after three suicide attempts and displaying paranoid behavior in the fall of 1948 in Augusta, Maine. She was diagnosed with what was then called dementia praecox, now called psychosis. Lisa is the wife of a retired police officer who has experienced psychotic breaks more recently in Portland, Maine. They hope to talk candidly with their audience about what is and isn’t available for the mentally ill. They also will touch on things such as societal stigma, differences in attitudes between men and women, need for more training of people who deal with those coping with mental illnesses, and anything else that comes up in the discussion.

April 25, 6pm: Ed Judd

Edward Judd, a resident of Auburn who taught music in Lisbon for 22 years, will give a talk on his book, View from the Podium. Judd was also a marching band staff member at Edward Little High School for 10 years, and taught music at the Hillview Center in Lewiston.

The book is a memoir tracing Judd’s 46 years as a music educator. Although Judd has been a high school music teacher for most of his career, the book also includes many of his experiences as a music teacher from elementary school through his time as Band Director at Holy Cross College. In addition, Judd, a former president of the Maine Music Educators Association, also relates his experiences in professional organizations as a leader on the state and regional levels. The book has been described as “heartfelt”, “illuminating”, and “an uplifting story told in a straightforward way”.

Copies of Judd’s book will be available, and he will autograph copies at the conclusion of the event.

May 1, 6 pm: Matt Cost (rescheduled from April 3)

Matt Cost, a.k.a. Matthew Langdon Cost, was a history major at Trinity College. He owned a mystery bookstore, a video store, and a gym, before serving a ten-year sentence as a junior high school teacher. In 2014 he was released and began writing. And that’s what he does. He writes histories and mysteries.

His Clay Wolfe/Port Essex series follows the highly lauded Mainely Mystery series by Cost. Acclaimed author Gerry Boyle selected the first in that series, Mainely Power, to be the Maine Humanities Council Read ME fiction book of the year.

Cost’s historical fiction titles include Love in a Time of Hate, about a young man from Maine fights for social equality in New Orleans after the Civil War while pursuing a serial killer, becoming enmeshed in voodoo, and falling in love; At Every Hazard, which traces Joshua Chamberlain’s evolution from an arrogant, overbearing professor to unwitting and unlikely hero and leader of men. Interwoven are subplots including the coming of age of his young orphaned aide, a complicated marriage, and of course, lots of rousing battle scenes; and I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution, a historically accurate novel detailing society, politics, war, and love in Cuba in the 1950s.

GORHAM, ME — The Casco Bay Wind Symphony invites you to their upcoming concert! A “Lord of the Rings” themed performance conducted by Dr. William Kinne has been scheduled for Sunday,  April 28 at 2:00 PM at the McCormack Performing Arts Center at Gorham High School.

This concert features Johan de Meij’s “Symphony No. 1 – ‘The Lord of the Rings’ ,” Omar Thomas’s “Caribana Afterparty,” Joel Puckett’s “A Lullaby for John,” Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture,” Percy Grainger’s “Molly on the Shore,” and Yukiko Nishimura’s “Summer Triangle” featuring our own Jason LaWind on alto saxophone.

Join our “Lord of the Rings” costume contest – a prize for the best “Lord of the Rings” garb!!!

Tickets:

Adults – $13 in Advance, $15 at the door; Seniors (65 +) – Pay what you can; Students / Kids – Free. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or on our website – cascobaywindsymphony.org

Hope to see you there!

GORHAM, ME — The Town of Gorham’s spring brush dates will be Saturday, 4/20 and Saturday, 5/4 8AM to 3PM at 80 Huston Road.

This event is for residents only, please no commercial drop off. No stumps will be accepted.

Leaves and grass clippings accepted in the designated area throughout the season. Please do not leave bags behind.

Maine Turnpike Authority’s plan puts Gorham at risk

I live in Gorham with my husband and our ten month old daughter. I love our town and our community; it has been such a special place to raise our daughter and I can’t wait to continue to watch her grow up here. I feel so lucky to live in Gorham and I’m writing to encourage more of my neighbors to speak up to help protect our beloved community from the Maine Turnpike Authority.

My daughter is the luckiest – she gets to grow up in a community with woods, streams, fields, farms, friends as neighbors, safe streets where she’ll learn how to ride her bike, and sidewalks where she’ll walk to school. I love walking on the trail by our home with her and trying to imagine how she sees it through her eyes: busy with green stuff in summer and crisp with white fluffy stuff in winter.

And I am the luckiest too – I get to ski and hike and ride bikes on trails all over town, buy vegetables and ice cream from local farms and shops in our downtown, and visit beautiful places all over Gorham with my baby – who turns every ordinary walk along a stream or a brook into a delightful, silly adventure. But the turnpike expansion puts that all at risk.

I am terrified of what Gorham will become if the Maine Turnpike Authority wins its fight against our community. The Gorham Divider would be an epic mistake that will change the character of Gorham forever – there will be no coming back from it.

Highways bring more speeding cars. More cars mean more parking lots. gas stations. strip malls. drab office buildings. drive-thrus. asphalt. smog. noise. When you build a highway through a place, it changes that place forever. You can’t ever get back what you lose: whether that’s someone’s home that they built with their bare hands, the 300-year-old family farm that we are fortunate enough to be at today, trout in the brook, quiet fields, or a quiet neighborhood.

Building a highway through Gorham means one thing: we lose Gorham as we know it. It is just not possible to build a turnpike through a rural and residential part of town and have the things we love about it remain. If we build a highway here just like the one at the Maine Mall, our community will look just like…the highway at the Maine Mall. But we already have a mall, and it’s over there, so let’s protect places over here that are special, meaningful, important, and beautiful.

Places matter, and Gorham is our place. What I think is that Gorham is full of families just like mine who also love what we love about this place, and there are many more who want to be here. I am excited about the ways our community is growing, but worried that the wrong kind of growth means more congestion. We have very real transportation challenges, and we need very real solutions. But the Maine Turnpike Authority’s plan is the wrong way to grow; it is a quarter billion dollar mistake that won’t solve our traffic problem, but will forever change this place – our place – for the worse.

Abby King

Gorham resident