Low tide at sunset in moody March — Holmes Bay, Cutler/Whiting

The CCC is excited to announce a free, in-person training on April 12th: Substance Use and its Impacts, presented by Abby Frutchey, LMSW, LADC, CCS.  This training will explore substance use related stigma and how we each play a role in reducing this; the underpinnings of SUD, risk and protective factors; and resources to support recovery across communities.  This event will run from 9 am — 12:30 pm in the St Croix Lecture Hall at Washington County Community College, Calais. Staff from all CCC partner organizations are invited. Morning refreshments will be provided. CEUs from UMM will be available (bring $5 cash or check payable to UMM).  CCC will provide certificates for 3.5 contact hours.  Register here by 5 pm Friday, April 7th.

Cobscook Institute announces that registration is live for the annual Down East Spring Birding Festival, May 26th — 29th.  This event provides a unique birding experience during spring migration and the breeding season with four days of guided hikes, boat tours, and presentations, all led by local guides with local knowledge. The Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has named the Down East Spring Birding Festival one of the best in the country, and Yankee Magazine listed it as an Editor’s Choice event in 2014.  While birding, festival participants will enjoy the tranquility and great natural beauty of Down East Maine’s Cobscook Bay area. The region sports the greatest variety of habitats on the East Coast, including boreal and northern hardwood forests, bogs, fresh- and salt-water marshes, grassy and shrubby fields, streams and lakes, steep rugged headlands, extensive tidal flats, and coastal islands.

UMaine’s Collins Center for the Arts is bringing two jazz musicians to Machias on March 24 for a concert. The musicians are Camila Meza and Aaron Goldberg and the concert is free to the public, beginning at 7:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center. The Facebook event can be found here, and we ask that the public RSVP here.

The Tri-State Learning Collaborative on Aging asks for your help with an important upcoming event.  The Cabinet on Aging is hosting a virtual Listening Session on March 16th from 3:30 to 5:00 pm to gather input from older adults, family members, caregivers, advocates, service providers, and others on the Cabinet’s proposed goals and priorities for the coming years. Find additional information and registration link on the Cabinet on Aging’s website.  We need your help to spread the word, invite and encourage older people and caregivers in Maine, particularly those who are in need, or not getting care, or volunteering to help people to participate in the next Cabinet on Aging Listening Session.  Thank you for your support!

University of Maine Cooperative Extension is hosting a 5-week Eat Well Volunteer Training beginning May 9, 2023 at the Hancock County Extension Office, located at 63 Boggy Brook Road in Ellsworth. The training will meet weekly on Tuesdays from 10 am-1 pm until June 6, 2023. The $70.00 training fee covers food costs, training materials and the ServSafe Food Handler certification. More info here. This is like the cooking/ nutrition version of the Master Gardener Volunteer program. There is limited financial assistance available. To register for the course, please visit the Hancock County Eat Well Volunteer website by Wed., April 12, 2023. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact 207-667-8212 or leah.mccluskey@maine.edu.  Download a flyer to share.

The Machias CareerCenter is hosting an all-industry job fair on March 14th from 10 am — 1 pm. Industries represented include  Education, Management, Home Health, Dietary, Border Protection, Transportation, Hospitality, Seafood, Aquaculture, Construction, Social Services, Retail, Healthcare, Pest Control, Maintenance, and Landscaping. Check the Employer List. Send your questions to Machias.CareerCenter@maine.gov.  Sponsored By: CareerCenter, Eastern Maine Development Center, FedCap, Machias Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, and Vocational Rehabilitation.

Maine Seacoast Mission invites members of the Downeast community to learn more about the Mission Downeast Capital Campaign and construction project during an informational event on our Cherryfield campus on Thursday, March 16 from 5:30 pm to 7 pm. During this event, the public can learn more about how the project will transform the Cherryfield property into a more welcoming and useful space for the community. The heart of the project is the renovation of the existing administrative and food pantry building and the addition of a new wing which will house a new food pantry.  Tours will be conducted of the existing space and Mission staff will be on-hand to talk about the addition, building updates, and other planned improvements to the campus.  Learn more here.

It was hard, at first, for Jim Mangi to tell his wife what she wanted to hear.  Mangi’s wife, Kathleen, was beginning to lose her memory as a consequence of what turned out to be Alzheimer’s disease. Like other people in that situation, she sometimes slipped back into her past or became confused about her surroundings.  “At the beginning of the journey, I didn’t know any better than to tell the truth all the time,” says Mangi, now 74, who lives in Saline, Michigan.  Read more.  (From: AARP | Published: February 24, 2023)

The Maine Seacoast Mission’s Scholarship program provides scholarships for individuals entering trade, technical, two and four-year institutions.  Find out more in the Updates Section below.