MARS HILL NEWS
by Tomi Henderson
The East Ridge Union Church in Mars Hill will hold a Youth Appreciation Sunday on May 19 at 10 a.m. They will recognize all their youth — from infants to college-age.
The Easton Wesleyan Puppet Ministry will be performing, as will 2013 Miss Mars Hill Kayla Cushman, who will sing “Redeemer.” A hotdog and hamburger barbecue will follow for all to enjoy.
Library news
If you would like to support the Walter T.A. Hansen Memorial Library, you can take your returnable cans and bottles to the local redemption center and let them know they are for the library. You can also call the library at 429-9625 to arrange for your returnables to be picked up.
The Library is planning on doing another tag sale on two weekends in June: the 14 and 15, and the 21 and 22. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. all four days. If you would like to donate items for this sale, please call the library. The library Board of Trustees is very thankful for all the support from the communities it serves.
Rotary Club
The Mars Hill Rotary Club met on Tuesday, April 30, at 6:30 a.m. at the Aroostook Health Center. The speakers were Old Town Rotarians Lindsay Turner and Stan Peterson. They spoke about Sarah’s House, a 6,700-square-foot facility being renovated on 95 acres in Brewer for individuals having to travel to the Lafayette Cancer Center for treatment. There is also room to add another 14 units at a future date. There are currently around 300 individuals treated daily at the Center. It is expected that every other man and every third woman will have cancer in their lifetime, so a facility of this type will be appreciated for years to come.
With treatments typically done five days a week for five to seven weeks, those in Maine that have to travel can find it very hard to handle — both physically and financially.
Sarah’s House will have nine rooms available — two of them handicapped-accessible — for people to stay in during the week. They would typically return home on the weekend. There will be a community kitchen, media room, quiet room and outdoor spaces for relaxation or walks.
Sarah’s House is named for Lindsay’s twin sister, Rotarian Sarah Robinson, who lost her battle with cancer in 2011. Sarah met many people during her treatments who were traveling hours each day for their own sessions. This created a great financial strain on them — having to spend money on food and hotels or choosing to travel many hours daily spending money on fuel, not to mention how tiring the travel time was. She wanted to find a way for those individuals to be able to stay in the area during the weeks of their treatments without it being a great financial strain and began talking about some kind of facility similar to the Ronald McDonald House.
There will be a suggested donation for staying at the facility, but people won’t be turned away if they can’t afford it. The Old Town Rotary Club has taken the lead on this project, pledging $400,000. They are now in the fund-raising phase of the project and hope to not only raise the money to renovate the building, but to have enough in reserve to set up an endowment fund for running the facility.
For more information about this project, contact Lindsay by sending an e-mail to sarahshouseofmaine@gmail.com or visit their website: 222.sarahshouseofmaine.org.
Rec news
Swimming lessons continue on Thursdays. Walking continues daily from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., as well as various adult activities in the evening.
Summer programming has been finalized, so please keep an eye out in your child’s backpack to get their copy. All students will receive one from school. It is full of programs, camps, clinics, pool and sports information for the summer.
Aroostook Health Center
Upcoming events for the week of May 8-14 include: Wednesday will have the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Wii Bowling at 9 a.m., Moving and Memories at 9:30 a.m. and Crossword Puzzles at 1:30 p.m. Thursday will feature the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m., Horse Racing at 1:30 p.m. and Bridgewater Full Gospel Assembly at 6:30 p.m. Friday will feature Music by Frankie Allen at 9:30 a.m. and Karaoke with Fireman Fred at 1:30 p.m. Saturday will feature the Mother’s Day Hat and Pie Social at 1:30 p.m. Sunday is Mother‘s Day. Monday starts Nursing Home Week and will be Orange Day. Ti will be making Wacky Waffles that morning and will also include Moving and Memories at 9:30 a.m., Karaoke with Larry and Larry at 1:30 p.m. and The All Star Dancers at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday will be Purple Day and will have the Beauty Parlor at 8:30 a.m., Bingo at 9:30 a.m. and Make Your Own Sundae at 1:30 p.m. All of these activities are subject to change. If you would like to volunteer to help with any of these activities, call Connie or Vicki at 768-4915.
Tomi Henderson is the correspondent for Mars Hill, Blaine, Bridgewater and Westfield. She can be reached at 429-9126 or e-mail tomihen@yahoo.com.
