Posted: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 4:03 pm | Updated: 4:18 pm, Wed Jul 25, 2012.
Kate Irish Collins kcollins@keepmecurrent.com

SACO – More than 300 kids in bright yellow T-shirts “mobbed” the pedestrian bridge over Route 1 in Saco Tuesday morning, July 24, to kick-off a fundraising campaign to buy 25 bikes for the Saco Parks & Recreation program.

The goal is to raise $7,500 in order to buy the bicycles and related safety equipment, such as helmets, according to Justin Chenette a member of the Saco Bikes for Kids committee. Chenette is also running for the House District 134 seat this fall.

He said the bikes initiative is a collaboration between the Eastern Trail Alliance and the city of Saco with the goal of getting kids interested in using the trail and “putting those electronic devices down.”

“The next 250 years begin now and Saco’s kids are the bridge to get us there. So what better way to show support for our bright future than to celebrate Saco’s newest addition, the John R. Andrews Eastern Trail Bridge and fill it with kids and bikes?” said Bob Hamblen, president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, who is also Saco’s city planner.

This summer, Saco Parks & Recreation plans to incorporate the Eastern Trail into a variety of field trips, according to Kevin Lombard, program director at the city department.

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Saco youth campers use Eastern Trail to kick off bicycle fundraiser

By LIZ GOTTHELF, Staff Writer

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 12:06 PM EDT

SACO — On Tuesday morning, about 300 children in the city’s summer park and recreation camps, along with 90 staff members, all in bright yellow and pink shirts, crowded onto the John R. Andrews Eastern Trail pedestrian bridge. Cars honked as they passed below on Route 1.

The “kid mob” was a kick-off for the Saco Bikes for Kids campaign, a local effort to raise money for 25 bicycles and helmets for the city’s recreation program in its summer camps and after-school programs.

The effort is a way to promote the Eastern Trail, particularly among youth, and create enthusiasm for healthy lifestyles, said campaign organizers.

In honor of the city’s 250th anniversary, organizers are asking for donations from private individuals and local businesses in the amount of $2.50, $25 and $250. The goal is to raise $7,500 by September, said Justin Chenette, one of the campaign organizers.

Eastern Trail Alliance President and Saco City Planner Bob Hamblen said he had the idea to acquire bicycles for the city, after a similar program was initiated at Kennebunk Elementary School.

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by Kate Irish Collins kcollins@keepmecurrent.com

SACO – Bob Hamblen, Saco’s city planner and president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, recently received the Community Celebrity Award from Cabot Creamery, which has honored 40 people across the country with this special recognition.

As part of the award, Hamblen received a seven-day Alaskan cruise, which leaves from Seattle in early September. The other community celebrities will also be on board for what Hamblen referred to as an opportunity to “mix and mingle and swap ideas.”

He’s “pleased as punch” with the award, as well as “absolutely flattered and honored.”

Hamblen received a certificate of recognition on Saturday, July 7, in Portland as part of the Cabot Community Tour, which consisted of three bicyclists riding the entire East Coast Greenway trail from Florida to Maine.

Hamblen, and several others from the Eastern Trail Alliance, caught up with the through riders as they passed through Saco and escorted them up to Portland’s Payson Park for the end of their long journey.

Tony Barrett, a former trustee of the East Coast Greenway, who lives and works locally, nominated Hamblen for the Community Celebrity Award, and referred to him as  “truly the hidden hero of the Eastern Trail Alliance.”

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