Diane Sturgeon named SBA district director for Maine
The U.S. Small Business Administration has named
Diane Sturgeon district director of its Maine District Office. Sturgeon has worked for the SBA for nine years in the Maine office and most recently served as deputy district director. She joined the SBA in 2012 as a lender relations specialist and has more than 10 years of banking experience, having worked in a variety of roles for both community and national lenders. A graduate of the University of Maine with a degree in secondary education, Sturgeon has also completed the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders Fundamentals Diploma Program. Sturgeon succeeds Amy Bassett, who held the position from January 2017 until December 2020.
Brian Lee at Maine Medical Partners in otolaryngology in Biddeford,
Heidi Miller at Maine Medical Partners in the Casco Bay surgical care unit,
Eric Shurtleff at Maine Medical Partners in the division of acute care surgery, and
Josh Vaughn at Maine Medical Partners in orthopedics and sports medicine, a division of orthopedic trauma and fracture care.
Landry/French Construction in Scarborough hired
Bert Kiesow as project development executive. Kiesow has 25 years of experience in construction management.
Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth hired
Michele Camarco as vice president of finance and CFO. Camarco was previously director of finance and operations at Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity Inc. in Indianapolis.
Nature is truly an amazing force. Whether plants or animals, Ole Mom Nature has an incredible ability and drive to survive. The February snow and ice are just a memory for most. New growth brings hope.
Among the millions of brown leaves, green shoots are starting to appear everywhere. And they aren’t on just the hardy plants. A dear friend gave me a pencil cactus several years ago. Although I brought it inside, I feared I didn’t do so early enough, because all of its little limbs were brown and brittle.
However, when I began to trim back the brown limbs, I saw two little shoots coming up from the dirt. Today, I saw a third one. My gift survived, as did the little Sweet Olive Tree next door, the Asian Jasmine along my driveway, and the Star Jasmine on my trellis. I used to think of rose bushes as fragile, but not any longer. They started sprouting new growth shortly after the snow melted. I am still hopeful that my ferns show me green leaves soon.
As the 10-year anniversary of the Bastrop County Complex Fire approaches this fall, the county’s long term recovery team has announced its plans to memorialize the fire and the lingering effects of it, both positive and negative.
Sheila Lowe, the executive director of the Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Team, told the Bastrop County Commissioners Court on Monday that programming will include community events, a golf tournament and a special magazine highlighting the stories of heroes and survivors from the fire.
“Because (the) Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Team was born out of that historic event, we thought that it’d be only fitting that we lead in the commemoration of it,” Lowe told the court.
While Bastrop County residents were left largely on their own by the county to contend with last week s harsh winter weather conditions and utility outages, Pastor Roland Nava left the doors to his ministry wide open for those in need of a warm place to rest.
Nava is the pastor at In The Streets Hands Up High Ministry, at 987 Texas 95 N in Bastrop.
When outside temperatures dip below freezing, the ministry which also provides an emergency family shelter for people experiencing homelessness with children and housing for veterans experiencing homelessness offers a “Shelter of Grace” for those who need warmth.