BRUNSWICK, MAINE – Downeast Energy & Building Supply will be giving away heating oil on February 9. Downeast, a third-generation, family-owned business, will host an open house at its building supply store at 18 Spring Street on February 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 pm. Every hour, there will be a drawing for $200 worth of heating oil along with many other giveaways and Captain Puffin will be on hand to greet children. Downeast Energy & Building Supply is also working with the Family Crisis Services and asking people to bring in their old cell phones and donate them to the organization. The phones will be recycled and given to domestic violence victims.

“We are excited about the opportunity to give back to the community by offering the heating oil drawing and to also help the Family Crisis Services,” says Betsy Morrell, vice president of Downeast Energy & Building Supply. “Downeast Energy has been in the kitchen design business for many years and this will also be a day when we invite people to come in and meet our experienced kitchen designers who can help plan their exciting and new kitchens. “

Steve Edmondson, the Domestic Violence Investigator for the Sagadahoc County District Attorney’s Office and partner with Family Crisis Services on this project added, “This cell phone program has been instrumental in helping many domestic violence victims when in trouble. We appreciate Downeast Energy & Building Supply participating in the program and bringing attention to this serious problem in Maine.”

For the cell phone drop off there are a few things people should know:

• Working cell phones preferred
• Please bring wall chargers
• Please delete all personal information from the data storage including phone book and call log

If you have any questions about the cell phone donation please contact Troy Pattison at Downeast Energy & Building Supply at 207-319-1219.

The company has launched its new Web site www.downeastkitchens.com to better serve their customers.

About Downeast Energy & Building Supply
Downeast Energy and Building Supply has 13 offices in southern and central Maine and Dover, NH, and a building supply store and lumber yard in Brunswick, Maine. For more information, please visit www.downeastenergy.com.

The Animal House welcomes back renowned local photographer Ronn Orenstein for a very special event: Valentine’s Pet Photos. Photographer Orenstein will be on-hand to photograph people and their pets on Saturday, February 2nd from 11am-3pm. Families and their well-behaved, leashed pets are invited to participate. Dogs and their people have a very special bond. Celebrate the love with a Valentine’s photo!

As with the Photos with Santa Paws, photographer Orenstein has graciously agreed to waive the sitting fee, and charge only for the photos. Customers will have a choice of Valentine’s backgrounds, and can order photos at the time of the event. To view some of Ronn’s previous work, please visit his website at: www.ronnorenstein.com

In lieu of a sitting fee, The Animal House asks that people bring in items for The Lincoln County Animal Shelter, to assist them with the housing of the Somerville puppy mill seizure. Bowls, toys, Wellness canned food and small kibble dry food have been requested by the shelter. These items are all available for purchase at The Animal House, and gently-used items are also welcome.

The next scheduled event at The Animal House is on Sat., February 9th and will feature Safe Harbor Chesapeake Bay Retriever Rescue at the Adoption Center.

The Animal House, which specializes in healthy food and supplies for dogs and cats, is located at 372 Main Street in Damariscotta. For more information, please call 563-5595 or email: info@theanimalhouse.net.

PRmaine is 96% back online. Because of a server crash that happened on Sunday, we lost a little bit of data. I apologize of any inconvenience our site outage may have caused. The crash was unexpected and the host believes no data will be recovered.

NOTE:
If you signed up for an account or posted a press release recently you may need to re-register or repost.

I will try and recover and repost as much  data as I can find, and will keep you updated when the site is 100% restored.

Thanks for your continued support,
Calvin Gilbert, Owner

PORTLAND, ME: Dr. David J. Stuchiner, Chairman of the Iris Network’s Board of Directors, announced Wednesday the appointment of James E. Phipps as the new President/CEO of The Iris Network.

Mr. Phipps comes to The Iris Network having served 18 years on the organization’s Board of Directors, most recently as its former Chairman. Prior to his arrival at the Iris Network, Mr. Phipps was an attorney and partner at the Portland-based law firm Preti, Flaherty, LLP. For over 20 years, Mr. Phipps has been representing nonprofit organizations in areas such as rehabilitation, health care, education, and transportation, with assistance in Medicare compliance and nonprofit tax issues.

Mr. Phipps is a graduate of Florida State University. He earned a joint MBA/Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Maine State Bar Association. Mr. Phipps lives on Chebeague Island, ME with his wife and two daughters.

“The Search Committee was impressed by Mr. Phipps’ long history of dedication to the Iris Network and to the visually impaired and blind community of Maine,” said Nancy Hawes, Board Member and Chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “As a leading attorney in the state of Maine representing nonprofits, Mr. Phipps will help guide the organization toward accomplishing its mission to serve as a resource for people across Maine with vision loss.”

Mr. Phipps will begin his duties as President /CEO in March 2008.

The Iris Network serves as a state wide resource and catalyst for people who are visually impaired or blind so they can attain their determined level of independence and integration into the community. Headquartered in Portland, the Iris Network has outreach offices in Bangor, Brewer, Ellsworth, Houlton, Lewiston and Saco.

Visit www.theiris.org for more information.

“A grieving father uses a celestial visitor’s mystical powers to travel back in time and prevent his son’s death, only to discover the consequences of altering past events.” The preceding premise is from Willows Way, an inspirational science-fiction thriller from New England-based producers Kevin and Raffaele DiBacco. The 83-minute feature film was shot exclusively in coastal Maine over a six-week period between mid-June and early-August 2007, for a budget under $100,000. Under the newly formed DiBacco Films, Kevin and Raffaele began planning Willows Way in September of 2006. Over the next six months, they assembled a crew that included an award-winning Director of Photography and individuals who had interned at the renowned New York University, and on such Hollywood productions as Passions and Empire Falls. Upon securing the crew positions, the DiBacco brothers shifted their focus to the casting process. Over the course of the two-day auditions, which took place in late April, Kevin and Raffaele recruited the talent that was to become the inhabitants of Willows Way. It included Emmy-award winner Bill Humphreys, and individuals whose television and film projects included The Game Plan, The Bronx is Burning, Sydney White, Twenty-One, Goodwill Hunting, and Trauma: Life in the ER. Currently, the DiBacco brothers are working to garner such national and international recognition for Willows Way. They hope to build on their previous successes in the entertainment industry, which had included producing nationally recognized music videos, award-winning short films, and media content for cable and independent television. With their first feature film slated for worldwide distribution by Sherman Oaks-based York Entertainment in April of 2008, Kevin and Raffaele are currently setting their sights on their next film project - a sequel entitled Willows Way 2: Al’ael’s Revenge.