Vacation fun

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, come to the Gray Public Library for a fun evening when the Poland Stage Troupe stops by to perform “The Complete Works of Wm. Shakespeare, Abridged.” Perfect for all ages, this event is free and open to all. On Wednesday, Feb. 22, there will be a showing of the movie “Breaking Dawn” at 5:30 p.m. and on Thursday, Feb. 23, a showing of the movie “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” takes place at 1 p.m.

Please contact the library at 657-4110 or stop by the Circulation Desk at the Gray Public Library, Hancock Street, in Gray for details.

More fun

February Vacation Camp, Feb. 21-24, will be held at Newbegin Gym and will offer two or three morning enrichment classes and in the afternoons will be offering field trips to area destinations. Children will be supervised by two or three summer day camp counselors as well as a staff person from the Gray Recreation Department. Call 657-2323 or go to www.graymaine.org for more information on this and other fun things to do.

Fun for mom

Ladies Night at Fiddleheads Center for Art and Science will be Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 6-9 p.m. There will be a sampling of some fun classes, you can throw a pot on the wheel, do some painting, learn how to make an egg roll or play a game.

Bring your favorite game, some food to share and BYOB. Just $10 bucks will cover the night and all proceeds go to the center’s scholarship program. Space is limited to 30 participants. Call 657-2244 or register online at www.fiddleheadcenter.org.

Next budget workshop

The next budget workshop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Feb. 27. The agenda will contain: Budget Review of Building and Grounds, Community Development, Code Enforcement and Assessor. For more information, www.graymaine.org or 657-3339.

Calling all kindergarten and preschool children

Russell Elementary School registration for kindergarten and preschool students for fall of 2012 is beginning. All parents living in Gray, who have a child who will be 4 or 5 years old on or before Oct. 15 are being asked to call the James W. Russell Elementary School office to register. Please call Connie at 657-9620 (7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.) or email: cholland@msad15.org.

Play ball early

This year we will be dusting off the equipment early with spring training clinics offered during February break. You must register with GLL to participate, this includes payment, submission of registration form and medical release paperwork. Parents, if you are interested in helping out you must also fill out the volunteer application with a copy of your driver’s license. Social Security numbers are mandatory and your paperwork must be reviewed and entered by our safety officer prior to being able to help us out.

Go to www.graylittleleague.org for more info and forms. Questions regarding registration? Please email us at graymainell@aol.com or contact our Player Agent, Rachael Shufelt, at 650-3559.

Go out for supper

The First Congregational Church of Gray on Route 115 will be serving baked beans, casseroles, salads, homemade breads, desserts and beverages on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 5 p.m. Cost is $8 for adults, under 12, is $4.

The facilities are handicapped accessible. For more information, contact 657-4279, day of supper 657-3279.

Polar plunge

Sign up to plunge or sponsor a plunger at the 2012 Crystal Lake Ice Fishing Derby Patriot Polar Plunge Saturday, Feb. 25 (rescheduled date), at 2 p.m.

This freezin’ fundraising event will benefit Patriot Parents Enrichment Initiatives, the USO and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Just launch this link www.firstgiving.com/patriotpolarplunge/patriot-polar-plunge and either sign up to plunge or scroll down to “Sponsors”and then click on “View All” to the right to sponsor someone brave enough to take the plunge. Click on a name to launch their sites and you can read a little about them.

The goal of this year’s Patriot Polar Plunge is to raise $10,000. FMI, www.crystallakederby.com.

Go GNG

Tuesday, Feb. 7, was the last regular season alpine slalom for the G-NG girls, all of whom are competing for Ski Meister – an award for the best all-around skier in alpine slalom and giant slalom and Nordic classic and skate. Kaelyn Woods and Keaton McEvoy are defending champs for 1st and 2nd place respectively. Tuesday’s alpine race at Shawnee Peak found Keaton McEvoy in 4th place, Emma Woods in 9th and Melody Larson in 30th. On Wednesday, the Nordic teams skied a classic race at Farmington’s Titcomb Mountain. G-NG’s Kaelyn Woods placed 1st, Keaton McEvoy placed 3rd and Emma Woods 9th. All G-NG girls placed in the top 19 places.

For the boys, Ben Rogers took 2nd followed by Alex Cobb in 12th and John Phillips in 15th. Overall, G-NG girls took 2nd place and Boys 3rd in the event. Thursday, Feb. 9’s skate race was the last regular season race for G-NG Middle School. Nordic was held at Pineland in New Gloucester. It proved to be a very productive race for G-NG as the girls took 1st place overall lead by Kaelyn Woods 1st, Keaton McEvoy 3rd and Emma Woods 6th, and the boys team took 2nd place lead by Ben Rogers in 1st, Alex Cobb 8th, and John Phillips 9th.

Tuesday, Feb. 14, will bring the CCC Alpine Festival at Shawnee Peak, the Maine Junior Ski League Alpine Championships on Thursday followed by the Maine Junior Ski League Nordic Championships at Starks Hill in Fryeburg on Saturday, Feb. 18, marking the end to the middle school race season.

Winterfun

On Sunday, March 4 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., a celebration of Winterfest, a day of outdoor events for all ages, will be held at Libby Hill Forest at the end of Libby Hill Road in Gray.

Cross-country ski races start off the day at 10 a.m. For a $5 donation, you can enter a 1.5K or 10K race. A snowshoe tour will leave at 11 a.m., followed by a showshoe run at noon. Eastern Mountain Sports will have snowshoes and cross country ski gear to try and there will be beginner lessons for skiing. There will also be a snow-sculpting contest and sledding contest for kids. The fastest and most creative sleds will be judged. Donations are accepted to offset costs for grooming that also includes a new snowmobile that we had to purchase to continue to keep trails groomed. See us for more information at www.libbyhill.org.

Rep. Graham ?to run again

Rep. Anne Graham announces that she is running for re-election to the Maine House of Representatives. Graham was elected in 2010 to represent House District 109 representing Gray, North Yarmouth and Pownal.

Graham successfully gained unanimous passage of three bills during her freshman year in the State House. The first bill prohibits drivers of large trucks from methadone use, the second bill reforms health insurance payments to make them more affordable and the delivery of services more effective and the third bill encouraged all high school students to learn CPR and the use of automatic defibrillators. This bill also passed the House and the Senate unanimously but was vetoed by the governor.

Graham has been actively involved in health insurance reform and an active member of the Moderate Caucus while finding solutions to our current budget shortfall has been Graham’s major concern thus far in the second half of the 125th legislature.

Graham will be collecting signatures to get on the ballot during the next couple months. Graham will also be running as a Clean Election candidate so she will be gathering $5 donations to qualify. Rep. Graham can be reached at apg1@maine.rr.com or 846-0049 with questions or comments.

The Gray-New Gloucester Middle School Nordic team wrap up their
season this weekend. (Courtesy photo)