Side by Each Brewery is excited to co-host a special event and benefit, “Under African Skies”, with WISE Zambia, a non-profit “born” in Maine. All profits from beer sales at the event will support WISE Zambia’s educational programming in the sub-Saharan nation’s Western Province. Bernie Vigna, well known locally for his African drumming, will perform on congas and balafon. A Silent Auction will feature Zambian crafts and paintings as well as items donated by local businesses and individuals. Stories and photos of the non-profit’s work will also be part of the evening. The event takes places November 21, 6 to 8 p.m.at Side by Each Brewery and Pinky D’s Poutine Factory located at 1110 Minot Avenue, Auburn. The event is open to all. Everyone is encouraged to bring friends, enjoy the evening and be inspired by the stories. 

Owner/brewer Matt Johannes says, “Giving back and supporting good causes has been one of our core values from the beginning, and we usually keep it focused locally, but WISE Zambia is such a great program and really important to key people involved in the brewery that we wanted to help.” 

The brewery is creating a beer especially for the occasion. Ben Low, Side by Each partner with Johannes, says, “We had originally planned to brew a beer inspired by ancient brewing when we got our hands on some Maine-grown and malted Egyptian barley, and then as the WISE event came together it made sense to make the beer entirely from ingredients available in Africa. Under African Skies is a fun project unlike anything brewed before, and most importantly, delicious for the drinker.” Pinky D’s Poutine Factory on the premises has a special menu offering planned featuring a favorite food from Zambia. 

WISE Zambia is a 501(c)(3) NGO working in the poorest region of Zambia. By providing educational and community development programs, the organization empowers vulnerable women and young people, with girls at risk of early childhood marriage being the major target of their support. The goal is to provide scholarships for every student to achieve the pinnacle of her dreams and abilities, which usually amounts to a 9 year commitment —5 years of secondary school and 4 in college, university or nursing school. In addition, WISE Zambia expects and inspires all its recipients to “give back” by volunteering and to “pay it forward”, guaranteeing the sustainability of its mission. 

Auburn resident, Joanne Bollinger, current Board President of WISE Zambia, says, “After 7 years being a part of this organization—and with 8 trips to the project—I’m constantly astounded at our growth and increasing impact, the recognition we are now receiving from government agencies, and the potential for community development that lies ahead! We are so grateful to be partnering with Side by Each and looking forward to a great night. With increased awareness of WISE Zambia’s work, which in the end, benefits Africa and eventually the world, we hope that our Maine community will come to understand the value of WISE Zambia’s mission.” 

The YWCA Central Maine is proud to announce the recipients of the 2019 Women of Achievement Awards. The Awards Selection Committee reviewed a remarkable pool of applicants this year in order to select the following recipients: Kristen Cloutier (Lee Young Leadership Award); Azenaide Pedro (Marcia Baxter Social Justice Award); Klara Tammany (Tonie Ramsey Service Award); Annette Wilson (Priscilla Gendron Legacy Award).

Kristen Cloutier: Kristen Cloutier is the Mayor of Lewiston and currently serves as the State Representative for House District 60. She previously served as Lewiston City Council President, representing Ward 5. Mayor Cloutier has supported various redevelopment projects and has been an advocate of public art and the role it can play in the economic development of Lewiston. Her council appointments have included representative to the Lewiston School Committee, chairwoman of the Immigrant and Refugee Integration and Policy Development Working Group, member of the Lewiston-Auburn Public Health Committee, member of the Androscoggin County Budget Committee, and member of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Government’s General Assembly. She is also a Class of 2015 alumna of Emerge Maine and was awarded its Rising Star Award in 2017 for her mentorship and support of women running for elected office. Mayor Cloutier resides in Lewiston.

Azenaide Pedro, or Lucy, as many people know her, studied Public Health in South Africa before moving to Lewiston, where she has been a shining leader for health in our community. In October 2018, she joined the Raise-Op Housing Cooperative as its new Cooperative Organizer, helping residents learn how to democratically manage and improve their housing, and working across different classes and cultures to solve challenges together. Lucy works every day to address issues of poverty, safe housing, food access, public safety, racial justice, and community building in the Tree Street neighborhood of Lewiston, the most racially diverse and economically impoverished neighborhood in the State of Maine. She works and volunteers for many organizations that promote social equity. Lucy works and lives in downtown Lewiston.

Klara Tammany: Klara Tammany has been Executive Director of The Center for Wisdom’s Women since 2009. The Center currently serves as a weekday drop-in center for women and has launched a social enterprise called “Herban Works.” The Center is expanding to meet the needs of women who are healing from trafficking/exploitation, addiction, and incarceration, often rooted in chronic trauma, through the residential community called “Sophia’s House,” slated to open in late 2019. Klara holds a MEd in religious education and post-master’s certificate in spirituality from Boston College, in addition to completing the Leadership Development Institute at the Maine Association of Non-Profits. She lives in Auburn. 

Annette Wilson: For the past 20 years, Annette Wilson has worked for the Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine. She spent nearly 13 years training and supporting prospective foster and adoptive parents across Maine; for the past 7 years, she has worked to develop curriculum to support child welfare caseworkers, supervisors, and other direct care workers. Annette has also been active in local school and community organizations for two decades. Last year she helped to coordinate the delivery of the Backpack Program, which supports families to reduce food insecurity across the community. Annette helped to shepherd the Lisbon community school PTO to register and receive non-profit status and was able to structure the non-profit to cover all Lisbon School parent groups. Annette has spearheaded many fundraising events for the past eight years for Lisbon schools that have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

We are also excited to announce that the 2019 Women of Achievement Awards Brunch will feature a keynote address from Noelle Chaddock. As Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at Bates College since June 2019, Noelle Chaddock works with colleagues to cultivate a welcoming, inclusive, equitable, and accessible campus community where faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members, and future constituents thrive and feel reflected and represented at Bates College. Noelle oversees the Office of Equity and Inclusion and supports the Office of Intercultural Education. Noelle previously served as associate provost at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee and inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the State University of New York at Cortland. Noelle holds a PhD in Philosophy from Binghamton University.

The YWCA invites all members of the community to join in celebrating the work of the honorees at the Women of Achievement Awards on Sunday, November 17 at the Hilton Garden Inn Auburn Riverwatch. Tickets to the Women of Achievement Awards Gala are $40 and available for sale now until the date of the event. All proceeds benefit the work of the YWCA in the greater Lewiston-Auburn community. Follow the link for ticket sales https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-of-achievement-awards-brunch-tickets-64607031370?aff=efbeventtix&fbclid=IwAR0PcvWNvjlkKf3O6NET-a1POxav0ZLqql7dGWASprvIktVubxeYYyqRzpk.

The Women of Achievement Awards Brunch is not only a uniquely powerful celebration of women leaders, it is also an opportunity for the community to come together in support of the YWCA’s work in Lewiston-Auburn. As our biggest fundraiser, funds raised through the event benefit our childcare and aquatics programming, the YWCA’s women’s empowerment programming, and the organization’s ongoing advocacy work for justice and equity in our community.

For more information about the event please contact the YWCA at 795-4050.

United Nations and international children’s rights groups have reported on the growing number of children living in state-run orphanages in Ukraine, due to the ongoing war with Russia and economic collapse. Now, families in Maine can directly impact some of these children by providing respite from war and poverty with a four-week Christmas visit to the US.

Host Ukraine is bringing more than 100 children from Ukrainian orphanages to family homes this holiday season. From December 16 to January 12, these kids will enjoy housing, food, and the love of a family for the holiday season. Maine resident Gina Stearman describes this program as “a reverse mission trip that your family and community can participate in.” The Stearman’s have opened their home to several Ukrainian orphans over the past three years, and share, “it’s been more of a blessing than we could have imagined seeing the transformation of these children during their time with us.”

Approximately 25 host families are still needed to avoid leaving any child behind. With a growing economic crisis and instability, orphanages are experiencing increases in the number of children abandoned to state care while budgets for food, medicine, clothing and other essentials continues to decline. The exact number of children in state care in Ukraine varies between government agencies, but it is estimated between 95,000 and 200,000 and is on the rise. Recent reports from UNICEF and Disability Rights International highlight the dangers children face in institutions. Hosting provides a way to change the life of one child, in a tangible way, and transforms them from a statistic to a person.

For more information on Host Ukraine or to obtain a hosting application, visit www.hostukraine.org or contact the representative listed above.

Skelton Taintor & Abbott attorney Amy Dieterich will present at the National Business Institute seminar, “Mini Law School for HR Professionals: A Comprehensive Primer on Labor and Employment Law.” The full-day seminar will take place on November 12 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bangor and provide a comprehensive primer on labor and employment law.

With employment-related litigation an ever-possible part of business life, employers must become well informed to proactively protect themselves. Compliance is crucial. The agenda is designed to be of value for attorneys, human resources professionals, accountants, business owners, and company executives. The seven sessions will bring attendees up to date on the fundamentals of human resources.

Attorneys, accountants and human resources professionals are able to earn continuing education credits and should check the NBI website for more information: www.nbi-sems.com 

Dieterich will present at three of the sessions: “Employee Handbooks and Policies in the 21st Century,” “Wage and Benefit Issues,” and “Other Employment Laws You Need to Know.”

Dieterich, a three-time New England Rising Stars honoree, is admitted to practice in the federal and state courts in both Maine and New York. Her practice areas include employment, labor, family law, commercial litigation, and municipal and government law. She represents individual clients and businesses in commercial disputes, employment and labor law matters, as well as litigation, arbitration and regulatory proceedings.

 Skelton Taintor & Abbott is one of Maine’s leading law firms serving individuals and businesses in litigation and general representation throughout northern New England for more than 150 years. The firm has been named in U.S. News-Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” in America. For more information, visit www.STA-Law.com or call 207.784.3200.

Tuesday’s Election Day. I hope everybody was able to go to the polls Tuesday and vote for your local elected officials, for your school budget, and for the transportation bond that’s on the ballot. 

On another topic, look, health care, we all know, saves lives. 

It shouldn’t be a luxury, or a privilege reserved for well to do people, yet more than 106,000 Maine people still do not have health insurance. 

That’s just unacceptable. Everyone gets sick. Everyone needs to go to the doctor sometimes. As Governor, my top priority is to ensure that every Maine person can see a doctor, get preventive care and afford critical prescription medications, be healthy, to join in the workforce, stay in the workforce, and care for their families. Affordable health insurance is vital to the strength of our economy and to our success as a state.

While Washington politicians have attacked the critical health care services that we rely on, Maine at the same time, has expanded Medicaid, known as MaineCare, and have allowed more than 40,000 people to sign up for health insurance under the MaineCare expansion to date.

One of those 40,000 is Kathy Stewart, a Waterville hairdresser. She has emphysema and she struggled to afford oxygen for many years before she finally got MaineCare coverage this year.

No person should live with the constant fear of becoming ill or perhaps even being unable to breathe because they can’t afford to see a doctor, can’t afford to fill their prescriptions, or can’t afford to receive life-saving care. Well like Kathy, now they don’t have to.

This session, in addition to expanding Medicaid, I also signed LD 1, “An Act to Protect Health Care Coverage for Maine Families.”

This legislation codified critical Affordable Care Act protections, like guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and a ban on lifetime and annual caps on coverage and allowing young adults up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ insurance, and coverage for essential health services such as ambulance services, prescription drugs, and pediatric care.

Our Administration has begun a statewide campaign—CoverME—to help Maine people, self-employed individuals, and small businesses understand all of their health insurance options and to sign up for the coverage they need. This campaign is funded by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant and not with state dollars.

Maine is pursuing a state-based marketplace to put the state—not the federal government—in the driver’s seat when it comes to health care, but you should know, that private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is available now to all Maine people.

The open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act plans began November 1 and goes until December 15 of this year. You can sign up for MaineCare insurance if you’re eligible at any time of the year.

If you need health insurance, I encourage you to visit www.CoverME.govto learn about what’s available for coverage options and to get enrolled in an affordable and an effective health care plan.

The City of Auburn, in collaboration with LA Arts, is pleased to announce the completion of the delightful new “Storywalk” project along Auburn’s beautiful Riverwalk. The project includes eight durable display cases installed along the Riverwalk. The cases, which can be found between Festival Plaza and Bonney Park, will showcase different “art and culture” pieces each month.

Residents and visitors of all ages are encouraged to take a monthly stroll along the Riverwalk to enjoy the displays. Storywalk will also be part of LA Arts’ annual Last Friday Art Walk each May-October.

Auburn’s Storywalk currently features a fun and spooky Halloween theme. Each display case contains a verse from a different piece of Halloween-inspired literature, along with title and author information, a fun fact, photos of the book covers, and one or two photo representations created by students at Edward Little High School.

In November, Auburn’s Storywalk will feature art and essays by Walton Elementary students about the importance of being thankful and giving back.

The Auburn Recreation Department will be organizing and changing the displays monthly. For more information, contact Auburn Recreation Director Sabrina Best at sbest@auburnmaine.gov or 333-6611.

 On Friday, October 18, the City of Auburn and Norway Savings Bank Arena, together with the Twin City Thunder NCDC and Premier hockey teams, hosted Hockey Fights Cancer Night with “Rock the Rink Pink.” Cancer patients, survivors and cancer charities were featured, while the Twin City Thunder (TCT) teams hosted the opponents on a “pink” colored ice surface. TCT co-owner Dan Hodge expressed that the “pink” colored ice “is something that no one else in the New England area is doing and will become part of our annual event.”

The evening served a tandem purpose: to educate and to raise money for two causes that hit close to home. Robin Wooster, who is battling breast cancer, is a local Emergency Medical Technician who dropped the ceremonial puck. Wooster was joined at center ice by her two children, who were flown to Maine to surprise her. “To be invited to drop the honorary puck at the game Friday night was simply an honor,” said Wooster. “But when I got to the game and was presented with a jersey from Camp Wekeela I felt like a rockstar! As I turned around and saw the beautiful faces of my children standing before me, it was surreal and so unexpected”.

Local youth hockey coach Jesse Robitaille of the Maine Gladiators is also fighting cancer and was recognized throughout the weekend. Fundraising efforts on Saturday netted nearly $10,000 to support the Robitaille family. 

Twin City Thunder players wore commemorative pink jerseys which were auctioned off during the game. All proceeds from the auction went to the Wooster and Robitaille families, along with $1 from each event ticket sold.

“On behalf of the Thunder organization, I would like to thank the entire staff at the NSBA, especially Rory Mushlin, who went above and beyond to make our second annual ‘Pink in the Rink’ event a huge success,” said Hodge. “The look on Robin’s face when she turned around to see her kids was one that I will never forget. For the night, hockey took a back seat to raising money to fight cancer.”

“It was extremely rewarding to host this event,” said Marc Gosselin, Executive Director of Community Partnerships & Sports Tourism for the City of Auburn. “We were excited to showcase our venue and our partnership with the Twin City Thunder. A night such as this unites the hockey community and hopefully inspires faith and courage for those who are living with, going through and moving past cancer.”

The next Twin City Thunder home game is November 22, as they face-off against the Utica Jr. Comets. Game time is at 7 p.m. at the Norway Savings Bank Arena. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.ticketreturn.com or by visiting the Norway Savings Bank Arena box office. 

The Twin City Thunder is a hockey organization that plays out of the United State Premier Hockey League (USPHL). Founded in 2012, the USPHL is comprised of 170 teams which are geographically diverse, ranging from the North to South to the Midwest. The Twin City Thunder has two teams, one that operates in the USPHL Premier Division and another in the USPHL’s National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC). The Twin City Thunder NCDC and Premier team are based at the beautiful Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn, Maine. 

Norway Savings Bank Arena (NSBA) is owned by the City of Auburn and is operated by the Department of Recreation and Sports Tourism. Built in 2013, NSBA is Maine’s first and only dual surface ice arena. NSBA is open year-round for hockey and is home to youth, high school, junior and college hockey programs. It also serves as an entertainment venue, hosting concerts, trade shows, expos and more. For more information, visit www.norwaysavingsbankarena.com

Maine Event Comedy presents the hilarious Johnny Ater at Craft Brew Underground, Friday, November 1 at 8 p.m. The show will also feature Jonathan Tillson, Chris Kinback, and Chris Fritz.

Whether he’s taking light-hearted swipes at himself and his fellow Mainers, or contorting his face into hilarious characters, Ater has left audiences laughing throughout New England and beyond since 2003. He’s performed at the Punchline in San Francisco, headlined the Maine Comedy Festival, and recently provided voice-over work for an Agren Appliance television campaign.

Tillson grew up just outside of Boston where he quickly developed an aversion to social norms and mainstream traditions. He tackles topics from the mundane to the absurd with dark twists and aloof charm. He’s performed at the Orpheum Theater, Comix at Mohegan Sun, and has worked with national headliners including Nick Dipaolo and Bobcat Goldthwait.

South Boston’s Kinback uses dry wit and deadpan delivery to make you laugh at subjects you never thought possible. He performs regularly at Laugh Boston and Nick’s Comedy Stop.

Portland’s Fritz performs throughout Maine and recently advanced to the semifinals in The Tightest Five contest.

The show is for ages 21-and-older; admission is pay-what-you-can. Craft Brew Underground is located at 34 Court Street in Auburn. It was voted the No. 1 Craft Beer Bar in Maine and offers more than 200 choices of craft beer, cider, and wine. For more information call/text (207) 513-0742 or email maineeventcomedy@gmail.com.

The annual Saint Dominic Academy Holiday Festival will be held on the Auburn campus of the school, located at 121 Gracelawn Avenue, on Saturday, November 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The festival will include over 80 local artisans and vendors, a bake sale, children’s games, raffles, and the opportunity to visit Santa. A festival kitchen will be open for breakfast and lunch and will feature lobster rolls and chicken pot pie. For more information, call the academy at (207) 782-6911.

The Holiday Festival at St. Dom’s is one of nearly 50 Christmas fairs and festivals scheduled for Maine parishes and schools in the coming months. These gatherings are wonderful opportunities to join with other members of the community as we prepare for Advent and Christmas, and they are valuable fundraisers that help support many ministries.

To view a list of Christmas fairs in the Diocese of Portland, visit www.portlanddiocese.org/christmas-fairs-2019.

The abuse of vulnerable Maine people, especially older citizens, is an insidious problem. Every year, more than 33,000 Maine people over the age of sixty are reportedly abused or exploited. Every year, between $10.5 million and $64 million in savings and assets are stolen from older Maine people through financial exploitation. Far too often, older citizens are alone and isolated, and they depend on only one or two people, sometimes family members, for their well-being and they are hesitant to ask for help. 

Elder abuse has no home in Maine. Eradicating abuse requires state government, law enforcement, aging organizations and financial professionals to work together to protect our seniors.

When I was District Attorney and later as Attorney General, I prosecuted many crimes against older Maine people and, in 2014, I convened a Task Force to combat financial exploitation of seniors. We made changes to judicial case management, to staffing, and to specialized training for law enforcement to ferret out abuse and investigate it in a streamlined fashion. And earlier this year, I signed into law “An Act to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation,” which requires certain professionals who suspect financial exploitation to report those concerns to the Office of Securities and to Adult Protective Services. 

These were all important steps, but I think we can do more to help protect Maine people and especially Maine seniors. We need to have a multi-agency, multi-sector response—get rid of the silos in communications—to keep older Maine people safe from abuse, neglect and all forms of exploitation. That’s why this week, I established by Executive Order the Elder Justice Coordinating Partnership.

That Partnership brings together many people and it’s the brainchild of Legal Services for the Elderly, the Elder Abuse Institute, the Long Term Care Ombudsman, the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging, the Coalition Against Sexual Assault, the Coalition to End Domestic Violence and it’s got support from the John T. Gorman Foundation. This is not going to cost public tax dollars, but this Partnership is important because it’s going to be formed of state agencies including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Public Safety and the Maine State Police and statewide organizations and nonprofits. They are going to develop the “Elder Justice Roadmap” in the coming months.

I look forward to the work of this Elder Justice Coordinating Partnership and, in the meantime, I look forward to strengthening our processes and actions and strengthening law enforcement—right now, the Department of the Attorney General is hiring a specialist in their investigations division to help train local police officers to ferret out financial exploitation. So, we’re doing everything we can, we’re not going to stop, until we put an end to elder abuse and neglect and financial exploitation.