PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Probus Club of Aroostook held their monthly meeting in the Reed Commons Building at Northern Maine Community College on May l5.
Dave Maxcy, president, called the meeting to order and Dana Crory introduced the guest speaker, Andrew D. Perry.
Perry has been the program director for the Presque Isle Recreation and Parks Department since November 2017. He is also a certified Special Olympics coach in both basketball and Nordic skiing. He said he has a keen interest in providing a wide range of sports and other activities for all the youth in the Presque Isle area.
According to Perry, the latest and newest project is the splash pad, which has been an overwhelming success, along with a playground with complete equipment next door. There is a baseball field (with lights) on Bishop’s Island for ages K-high school as well as co-ed men’s and ladies’ softball leagues in full use. The rec department also has baseball, basketball, soccer, track and field, hiking, kayaking, and skiing.
All use of the recreation building is free Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Perry said the recreation department is part of NMCRA (Northern Maine Community Recreation Association). In this way they all Aroostook communities can often participate and co-ordinate many of their activities taking place. A bus from SAD 1 is sometimes used to transport kids if needed.
Besides the youth, the center provides functions for seniors: a music jam every Wednesday afternoon from 12 to 3 p.m., Tai Chi for strength and balance every Tuesday for one hour, a luncheon by the Aroostook Agency on Aging for $3, and new, a ballroom dance class in the fall. The walking track is free in the gym.
The recreation building does have rooms to rent for birthday parties, showers, award ceremonies and receptions. The Mantle Lake Pavilion is also available to rent for functions.
Plans are being made for additional parking, said Perry, which is sorely needed as the recreation building and surrounding grounds are being fully occupied.
Additionally, The Forum is part of the department and they are always looking for ways to use it for a variety of functions.
In other business, Janet Snow gave a reading from the collection, 101 A Things to do Before You Die. Today she shared the essays: Don’t Wait Idly and Don’t Put too much Faith in Polls.
