No child should ever go hungry. But right now, one in five children in Maine don’t know where their next meal is coming from. 

While our biennial budget helps feed more hungry children in schools by eliminating the reduced-price lunch category and moving these kids to the free-lunch category, it can be hard for families to get nutritious food when schools are out for the summer.

I want to tell you about the Summer Food Service Program. Funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it helps fill the gap with free, nutritious meals for children and is available statewide in areas of need at sites like schools, nonprofit summer places, government agencies, faith-based organizations, and churches.

Razell Ward, Director of MSAD 52 Adult Education, was recently named Adult Education Administrator of the Year by the Maine Adult Education Association at their annual conference in Orono.

Ward has been active in adult education for over 18 years, first as a lead teacher for MSAD 52 Adult and Community Education and then for the past eight years as the MSAD52 director. She formerly worked as a social worker for various community agencies.

While the rest of the nation prepared to enjoy patriotic pyrotechnic displays on the Fourth of July, fans at Scarborough Downs were treated to fireworks of a different kind when driver David Ingraham turned in a stellar three-win performance en route to scoring the 7500th driving win of his career.

Community Little Theatre has announced the cast of the final production of its 79th season, the smash musical “Mamma Mia!” Featuring the music of pop supergroup ABBA, “Mamma Mia!” ran for over 14 years on Broadway, making it the ninth longest running show in Broadway history. 

The show’s music consists entirely of renditions of ABBA’s songs, including “Dancing Queen,” “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “The Winner Takes It All,” “Voulez-Vous,” “SOS,” and, of course, the title track.

Central Maine Community College student Zakiya Sheikh was recently selected to receive the Maine Community College System’s James McGowan Award.

McGowan retired last year as the director of the MCCS Center for Career Development. Given in recognition of his many years of service to Maine’s community colleges, the award is presented each year to a student at one of Maine’s seven community colleges who exemplifies a deep love of Maine, a desire to give back to one’s community in meaningful ways, and a commitment to lifelong learning. The award includes a $1,000 check.

In 1826, fifty years after we became united, free, and independent states, President Thomas Jefferson – shortly before his death – declared, “Let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”

As we celebrate Independence Day, we remember the rights our founding fathers sought to secure, the women and men who have served our nation, and the work we must still do to honor them.

Independence was not easily won, either on the battlefield or in Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed so many years ago.

Historian Garry Wills described this when he recounted the feelings of one of the founding fathers: “Adams, remarking the difficulty with which the resolution of independence was passed, said it was like getting thirteen clocks to strike at the same instant.”

The Woman’s Hospital Association recently presented Central Maine Medical Center with nearly $19,000 in support of special programs at their 132nd Annual Celebration. In operation since before an actual hospital was built in 1891, the WHA raises money every year in support of CMMC. Their gifts this year went to both long supported programs and new recipients. 

The Lisbon High School and Middle School baseball teams visited the Maine State House recently, where they were hosted by State Sen. Jeff Timberlake (r.) and State Rep. Rick Mason (l.). The Greyhounds’ high school team won the 2019 Class C State Championship, finishing the season with a 20-0 record.

The 2019 Bates Dance Festival will kick off on Thursday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. with a “Concerts on the Quad” concert-dance led by DJ Man-O-Wax and hip-hop dancers MaMa2. Taking place on the college’s Historic Quad at Campus Avenue and College Street, this free outdoor event will begin with 45 minutes of dance lessons followed by an hour of participatory dancing.

This hip-hop-themed weekend will continue with festival mainstage performances on Friday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m., and again on Sunday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m., when soul-roots musicians the Reminders will join the bill. In their mainstage performances, Man-O-Wax’s global-fusion sound will frame the Reminders’ socially conscious music and the high-energy movement of MaMa2 to create an immersive experience for all audiences. The festival beer garden will be open after Friday’s show.

The next luncheon of the Sampson Air Force Base Veterans Association will take place on Thursday, July 11 at noon at the Chickadee Restaurant in Lewiston. The speaker will be Jack Flowers, author of “Rat Six.” This informal monthly get-together for those who took basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in the 1940s and ’50s is open to all veterans and their guests. For more information, call 657-4909.