Pack 800 Pinewood Derby

After spending hours carving cars out of small blocks of wood, followed by sanding, painting and designing the cars, the Cub Scouts of Pack 800 are eager to let the races begin. This year’s Pinewood Derby is set for Saturday, Jan. 19 at Jordan Small Middle School and looks to be another exciting event.

The day will begin at 7:30 a.m. with the traditional pancake breakfast prepared by the Raymond Lions Club. While scouts are eating, registration and car inspections will take place to ensure they meet the specifications.

At 9:15, the excitement will be flowing as the races begin. A concession stand will be open all day, and the Girl Scouts have volunteered its babysitting services. The girls will provide activities, books, board games and coloring to entertain the younger siblings of the racers.

At the conclusion of the day, the top five finishers will be awarded trophies and will move on to the district competition to be held in April where they will compete against scout packs throughout southern Maine. The boys racing the three fastest cars from each age level will also be awarded trophies. A day of victories, close calls and disappointments, this annual event is a favorite amongst all Cub Scouts.

Seussical the Musical

The Jordan Small Middle School drama team has kicked off the season with the announcement of this year’s musical. After much anticipation by actors, stage crew and those of us who look forward to watching the production, we were delighted to hear that “Seussical Jr.” was selected as this year’s play.

Rehearsals have begun and for the next two months, a lot of time, energy and hard work will be devoted to the production. Under the direction of Marilee Dunklee, Mary Thorton and Patricia Feeney, the middle school play is always an impressive work of art. Mark your calendars for the first weekend in April; this is a show you will not want to miss.

PTO Replaces Books

The Raymond Parent Teacher Organization met this week and was overwhelmed with the effort some students put into a request for funding. Under the leadership of fourth-grade teacher Ann Stinehour, several of her students approached the PTO requesting funds to replace battered, falling apart books.

As part of the curriculum, the fourth graders study “Sign of the Beaver” each year, and these books have been read and reread. Recognizing the PTO’s primary focus is to enhance the cultural and educational experience of our students by providing support and funding, Stinehour approached PTO President Alizah Shriver and inquired about replacing the books. Although the current students have already read the book, they wanted to help in getting new books for future classes.

In an excellent presentation to the PTO, the students made posters and provided a monetary break down of the total costs for both soft and hard cover books. Additionally, the students did not ask for money to replace all 60 books; they limited the request to 20 books with a goal to explore other avenues to cover the rest. Having the students initiate the request for funding provided them with a valuable learning experience. A grant of $300 to purchase some of the new books was unanimously approved.

Weather or Not

Weather is a very popular subject watched and discussed by nearly everyone on a daily basis. This season’s weather has gone from record breaking snowfall to unbelievably warm temperatures. Back to back storms that dumped over a foot of snow on us were immediately followed by days with temperatures in the 50s. The recent warmth and torrential downpours melted most of the snow, brooks are running openly and it hardly looks like January in Maine. Weather is intriguing, but I do not watch it closely as I cannot change or control it; therefore, I do not want it to change or control me.

For the past several years, I have been repeatedly asked if I am “Carol from Raymond.” Having now spent nearly half my life in this town, technically, I suppose I am. However, the Carol from Raymond to whom they are referring is a weather watcher for a local television station.

Before forecasting the weather, the meteorologist provides current temperatures from weather watchers around the state. Raymond is one of the few towns that are featured, and the weather watchers name is Carol. Since writing this column, I have been asked more frequently if I am Carol from Raymond. There seems to be a perception that through my affiliation with the newspaper, I must have connections with the television stations as well.

I am not Carol from Raymond; in fact, the idea of me reporting on the weather is very humorous. Although I quickly check the weather forecast each morning, I am only remotely paying attention and still likely to continue living my life as my heart desires regardless if the forecast matches my plans. Cycling thousands of miles each summer, I return from many of my rides soaked from getting caught in the rain. I frequently reach the peak of a mountain and gaze into the fog, rain, snow or otherwise view restricting weather before heading back down.

In an attempt at justifying my frequent misguided judgments of the weather, I will say that if I checked the weather and knew it was going to be stormy, would it then be unwise to pursue my activities? It would then be obvious that I will climb mountains, ride bikes and ski on grass without concern of the weather because not doing so does not feel right to me.

Although being prepared is prudent, weather is not going to stop me from doing the things I enjoy. Furthermore, by not watching the weather, I can pretend I am surprised by the thundershower in which I joyfully find myself. While being blown over by gusting winds on the top of a mountain, I can simply proclaim I did not know it was going to be windy. As we approach the second month of winter and experience extreme changes in the weather, I hope you will not let its unpredictable behavior prevent you from behaving likewise.