Run for Your Life in Camden

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First responders host first-ever 
Emergency Service Challenge adventure race
Camden, Maine - It will be gritty and it will be tough. On May 25 – rain or shine – Ragged Mountain in Camden, Maine will come alive with the first-ever Run for Your Life Emergency Service Challenge, a contest of physical and mental stamina for individuals and teams attempting to conquer a mountain obstacle course.
The race is sponsored by Emergency Service Challenge, a group of firefighters and paramedics who are creatively recruiting a new generation of motivated firefighters, law enforcement personnel and EMTs, and bringing new life to first responder agencies of Maine.A first for the region, the Run for Your Life is a collaborative project of Camden First Aid Association, Hope Fire Department and Camden Fire Department. “The ‘Run for Your Life Challenge’ is a fun, energetic way to increase awareness of the need for citizens to be actively engaged in providing emergency services to our communities” said Camden Fire Chief Chris Farley. “We are challenging participants to push themselves mentally and physically, and we are promoting involvement in local fire departments, ambulance services, and law enforcement agencies.”The Challenge is an endurance trial, inspired by many of the actual situations encountered by firefighters, EMS, and law enforcement. Participants will be faced with obstacle after obstacle outside the realm of everyday experience, forging team-building skills and camaraderie as they progress through the course.Are you ready for it? Absolutely. The event is geared for those who possess a love of the outdoors, a sense of humor, and a desire to give back to the communities in which they live.A family friendly experience for participants of all skill levels, the Challenge consists of a series of more than 10 mental and physical hurdles over a 5k course, integrating mountain running, rope swings, icy plunges, barbed wire, and fire. With obstacles such as, “Blazing Forearms,” “Bucket Brigade,” “Rescue Sandy,” “Highrise Hell,” the event promises an invigorating exercise in teamwork and fitness.The course makes ample use of the Ragged Mountain Recreation Area and its Camden Snow Bowl, the loops and descents of newly-built ski and bike trails, and Hosmer Pond.  After crossing the finish line, participants and support teams will be celebrating the day's challenge, camaraderie and festivities.Register now for the Run for Your Life Emergency Service Challenge. Visit the Challenge websiteor friend us on Facebook to keep up with the latest Challenge news. Email us for more information, info@emergencychallenge.org, or call, 207-236-7950.Sign up now; registration is limited. Come to Ragged Mountain, where you will be run ragged… and love every minute of it.

Diabetes Support Group

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Bangor, Maine - The St. Joseph Diabetes and Nutrition Center sponsors a free diabetes support group. The group meets the first Wednesday of March, April, May, September, October and November from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Willette Conference Center, Building 1, St. Joseph Healthcare Park, 900 Broadway in Bangor.

Meetings are facilitated by a Certified Diabetes Educator. The March meeting, Wednesday, March 6, will feature Marian Benner MD of the St. Joseph Hyperbaric and Wound Care Center. She will speak about diabetic ulcers and skin care.

Group members share tips on diabetes management. The public is invited. For more information, contact St. Joseph Healthcare’s Diabetes and Nutrition Center at 907-1836.

WAGNER’S PARSIFAL TO BE NEXT LIVE FROM THE MET IN HD AT LINCOLN THEATER MARCH 2

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Damariscotta, Maine - Richard Wagner’s final opera, the mystical tale of temptation and salvation, Parsifal, will be the next Live from the Met in HD broadcast at the Lincoln Theater on March 2 at noon (note the earlier start time).

The new production by François Girard features international star tenor, Jonas Kaufmann as Parsifal the “pure fool” who embarks on a quest to save the leader of the Knights of the Holy Grail.  Girard, who is making his Met debut with this production, is acclaimed as a director of both film and opera; he is known for Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and The Red Violin. He notes, “Parsifal is not just an opera—it’s a mission. At the end of his life, Wagner was trying to reconcile all the aspects of his spirituality. It’s a sacred piece in the history of music.”

Daniele Gatti, the Music Director of the French National Orchestra, makes his Live in HD debut.

The cast also includes Katarina Dalayman as the time-traveling temptress, Kundry, who longs for redemption; Peter Mattei Amfortas, the corrupted leader of the Grail Knights, and René Pape (2010’s Boris Godunov) as the wise old knight Gurnemanz. Evgeny Nititin is the magician Klingsor.

Although Wagner called Parsifal a "stage consecrating festival play", and requested that it only be performed in his Festspielhaus at Bayreuth, The Met produced the U.S. premiere on Christmas Eve in 1903.  Because the opera focuses on both the Holy Grail and the spear that stabbed Christ’s side during the crucifixion it often is performed during religious holiday seasons, particularly Easter.

Opening night reviews by the Associated Press included ““A Parsifal to treasure, elevated to the highest musical level by the solemnity and sweep of Daniele Gatti's conducting and the dedication of a dream cast of singing actors”.

Tickets for this and other Live from the Met in HD are available from the Lincoln Theater.  Tickets are $24 adult, $22 senior with $2 discount for members. Youth 18 and under are $5.

The next Live from the Met in HD performance will be Riccardo Zandonai’s rarely-performed verismo opera, Francescca da Rimini on March 16 at noon.

Jennifer Lawrence Celebration of "Silver Linings Playbook" Lovely

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Los Angeles, California - Actress Jennifer Lawrence, 22, of "Silver Linings Playbook" looked lovely in a white and black dress as she attended the Vanity Fair, Barneys New York and The Weinstein Company celebration of "Silver Linings Playbook" in support of The Glenholme School on February 20, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.

Jennifer Shrader Lawrence who was born on August 15th, 1990 is an American actress. Her first major role was as a lead cast member on TBS' The Bill Engvall Show (2007–2009) and she subsequently appeared in the independent films The Burning Plain (2008) and Winter's Bone (2010), for which she received nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Satellite Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. At age 20, she was the second-youngest actress ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. At age 22, her performance as a recovering sex addict in the romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012) earned her the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and a second Academy Award nomination, amongst other accolades, making her the youngest person ever to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Actress.

Lawrence is also known for playing Raven Darkhölme/Mystique in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class. In 2012, she achieved international recognition starring as the heroine Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, an adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel of the same name. Her performance in the film garnered her notable critical praise and marked her as the highest-grossing action heroine of all time. Lawrence's performances thus far have prompted Rolling Stone to call her "the most talented young actress in America".

Photographs Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images North America

Coast Guard Crews Save 5 Fishermen 100 Miles Off Nantucket

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BOSTON — Coast Guard rescue crews assisted five people aboard a sinking fishing vessel approximately 100 miles southeast of Nantucket, Mass., at approximately 3:45 a.m., Thursday.

Watchstanders from the Sector Southeastern New England Command Center received a distress call from the 80-foot fishing vessel Megan-Marie at approximately 6:40 p.m., Wednesday. The vessel reported they were taking on water with five people on board.

The fishing vessel Megan-Marie had all the required safety gear as well as dewatering pumps, but the pumps were not keeping up with the flooding.

A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-144 Ocean Sentry crew, a Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City C-130 Hercules crew, the Coast Guard Cutter Seneca and the Coast Guard Cutter Flying Fish were launched to assist.

Additionally, a NAVTEX message was broadcasted requesting vessels in the area to assist if possible.

The air station's newest aircraft, the HC-144 Ocean Sentry, was the first to arrive on scene with the vessel. They established communications and delivered two dewatering pumps. Weather conditions were reportedly 10 to 14-foot seas and 25-knot winds.

The C-130 Hercules crew dropped an additional pump which allowed the Megan-Marie crew to control the flooding and identify the source.

The source of the flooding is a hole located under the engine block, making it impossible to patch or secure underway.

The Seneca and the Flying Fish are escorting the Megan-Marie and her crew safely to their homeport of New Bedford, Mass. They will remain with the vessel to ensure issues like fuel or flooding create more safety risks.

“The new HC-144 Ocean Sentry out of Air Station Cape Cod has only been standing the watch a few weeks and this was a major search and rescue response," said Lt. Joe Klinker, 1st Coast Guard District public affairs officer. "To get supplies to that crew, in those conditions... once these fishermen get back into port and see their families, it will be a true testament to how important that search and rescue mission is."

The HC-144A also has operational flexibility, with a rear ramp that allows crews to quickly reconfigure the aircraft for varied missions such as command and control, medical evacuation or passenger transport. With an endurance of more than 10 hours, this fixed-wing, turbo-prop aircraft has an extensive sensor capability that helps the Coast Guard fulfill its maritime patrol, drug and migrant interdiction, disaster response, and search and rescue missions more effectively.

Laura Whitmore BRIT Awards Arrival Gorgeous

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London, England - Irish Presenter Laura Whitmore, 27, looked gorgeous in a silvery dress as she arrives at the BRIT Awards 2013 held at 02 Arena on February 20, 2013 in London, England. Laura Whitmore is an Irish presenter on British television for MTV Europe. Whitmore was born in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. Her parents split up when she was three. She has two half brothers.

Laura attended St Patricks Primary School and Loreto Bray Secondary School until she was 18 years old. She then went on to study journalism in Dublin City University (DCU), with a semester abroad at Boston University USA.
 Photographs Credit: Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images Europe & Gf/Bauer Griffin

Lewiston Councilor Wins "Just Do It" Bicycle Coalition Award‏

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Lewiston, Maine - Lewiston City Councilor Craig Saddlemire is the recent recipient of the Just Do It award by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.  Nominated by Auburn Mayor Jonathan LaBonte, Saddlemire was touted as an active advocate for effective non-motorized and public transportation options, to include the development of a Lewiston-Auburn Bike-Ped Committee.

Upon hearing of his selection for the award, Saddlemire responded, "It feels good to receive recognition for my efforts, but there are many other hardworking volunteers and staff in both Lewiston and Auburn who have been critical to the progress of the LA Bike-Ped Committee.  I think the Just Do It award really belongs to all of us in L-A."

In his nomination, LaBonte stated, “I came to know Craig before I ran for Mayor and have respected his passion for building a sustainable city.  Now, as Mayor of Auburn, it has been exciting to have an energetic visionary like Craig as a partner on the east side of the Androscoggin with a laser focus on the importance of building a walkable and bikeable Lewiston-Auburn.”

Saddlemire is a Lewiston filmmaker who likes to ride!  He is an alumnus of the first class of the Coalition’s Community Spokes Program and has continued to hone his advocacy efforts in and around the Lewiston-Auburn area.  Since taking office as a City Councilor in 2012, Saddlemire has worked tirelessly to create the
Bike-Ped Committee.  His leadership and grassroots advocacy were essential to building support for the committee’s creation and momentum around efforts such as a multimodal Complete Streets Policy and advocating for a more robust update of a regional bike-ped plan.  A graduate of Bates College, Lewiston, Saddlemire has also championed strong local resident involvement in planning and led the creation of The Visible Community to create a voice for downtown Lewiston residents in shaping the future of their neighborhoods.

Bicycle Coalition of Maine Executive Director Nancy Grant adds “Craig doesn’t do anything half-heartedly. When he joined our Community Spokes Team, he did it with the intention of making his advocacy a major focus of his life. He is always thoughtful, collaborative and ambitious.”

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine was established in 1992 and serves as the statewide voice of cyclists by leading the effort to make Maine better for biking.  The Coalition serves as a clearinghouse for information and resources about biking/walking in Maine; supports bike-friendly laws at the state & federal level and helps ensure they are enforced; teaches bike and pedestrian safety to children and adults; facilitates successful events such as the Great Maine Bike Swap, the Women’s Ride, and the Maine Lobster Ride & Roll; trains local advocates to make Maine cities and towns more bike-friendly; promotes bicycling in Maine; and educates drivers about how to share the road with cyclists.