Hail to the Chief

The town of Gray’s municipal offices will be closed Monday, Feb. 17, in honor of President’s Day.

Almost Ready

The Gray Public Library final closure days will be Friday, Feb. 28, through Monday, March 10. They will be doing the final reorganization of the library at this time. The library will reopen on Tuesday, March 11, at 10 a.m. The book drop will be checked so you may return items while they are closed.

Please feel free to call the library with questions or concerns at 657-4110.

Local Author

Debi Emmon, a Gray resident, has had her second romance novel hit Amazon and other booksellers in November 2013. Her novels are available mostly online, as they’re what are considered “trade paperbacks,” so they have a finer paper and cost a little more than the “pulp paperbacks.”

Debi Emmons’ first published novel, “Night of the Tiger,” came out in 1999. Her character, Tanya, was an alias for Teresanna Montesallo, a young woman who was able to identify the man who beat her mother to death, a man she was so sure meant to kill her that she ran from him. And when she met Kyle Benton, a long-haul truck driver, in a New York strip club while she was in the makeup of “The Lady Tigre,” a tiger/woman hybrid, Tanya was starting to believe that the man she was so frightened of had given up the chase.

Her newest publication, “The Tiger’s Cub,” is a sequel, jumping back into the lives of Kyle Benton and Teresanna Montesallo Benton, living in Kyle’s hometown of Greenville, 14 years after the end of the first book. Their eldest child, a boy named Chase, is just starting high school, and, like his father, Chase has been schooled in martial arts. With that brief introduction to the intense young title character, the story jumps forward almost six more years, when Chase is an adult, following in his father’s footsteps by driving a long-haul truck. After making a delivery in New Orleans, Chase visits a friend and become involved with two damsels in distress.

Come and meet author Debi Emmons at The Portland Public Library’s Local Author Series talk in Meeting Room 5, from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28. The library is located at 5 Monument Way, Portland. You can call 871-1700 for more information.

The author can also be reached for further questions through her own website, The Northern Bard (http://galadriel_emmons.tripod.com), which offers the poems that Ms. Emmons used to publish.

Play Ball

Registration is now open for the GNG Little League. Check out to the new website, www.GNGLittleLeague.com and use the new registration system. Registration ends March 1. Please get signed up by the deadline.

Check it Out

Some Open House dates for the Fall 2014 Admissions at Fiddlehead School of Arts and Science’s Public Charter School will be Monday: Feb. 24 at 9:30 a.m., or Wednesday: Feb. 26 at 6 p.m.

Find out more about this new choice for education. For more information, check out www.fiddleheadschool.org or call 657-2244.

Eat Out Tonight

A public supper of baked beans, casseroles, salads, beverages, homemade breads and desserts will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 5 p.m. The First Congregational Church at Route 115 in Gray will be hosting this event. The cost to attend is: Adults – $8, under 12 – $4. The space is handicapped accessible. For more information contact 657-4279, day of supper 657-3279.

February Fun

February Vacation Camp will be Feb. 18 through 21 at the Newbegin Gym and will offer morning enrichment classes and afternoons field trips to area destinations. Vacation Camp is limited to children in grades K-6, with a minimum of 12 participants required. A healthy snack and lunch must be packed daily (no soda is allowed).

Gymnastic Lessons, Cheer Tumbling, Horseback Riding Lessons, Men’s 35-plus Basketball League, Adult Pick-up Basketball and Zumba for Kids all starting soon. Check out www.grayrec.com for more information.

Skating Away

PEP Up Health Patriot Pennell Ice Rink is now open, sunrise to sunset daily. Stick-and-Puck-only hours are Thursdays 2-5 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon. All other hours are recreational skating only. The ice rink is located behind the Henry Pennell Municipal Building at 24 Main St. in Gray. It is free of charge thanks to a Pep Grant received by GNG Wellness Committee at the end of last year. Come and use the rink at your leisure. Please bring your own skates. For more information call Gray Recreation Department at 657-2323 or go to www.grayrec.com.

PEP Up

Gray Recreation will be hosting another event at the ice rink this Saturday, Feb. 15, from 5-8 p.m. Come skate under the lights, complete with music, a warming fire, hot cocoa and more. As always, there is no charge to use the public rink.

Gets No Better

The Gray SnoWolves Snowmobile Club has been out packing and panning the trails and all trails are open and in good shape thanks to some fresh snow. You can buy a local trail map at Big Apple on Route 100 and Circle K on Route 26.

The next meeting for the 2013-14 season is on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m., at the State Police Barracks on Route 26. For more information, go to wwwgraysnowolves.com.

Winter Wonderland

Visit Libby Hill Forest Trails’ close-to-home free facility with 6 miles of groomed X-C trails and 2.3 miles of wilderness snowshoe trails. Watch for information on the Annual Winterfest. For more information, go to www.libbyhull.org/.

Patriot Mascot

If you drive on Raymond Rd. in Gray by Wilkes Beach on Crystal Lake you have probably noticed the old Patriot mascot “literally” hanging out there. If you guess the correct month, day and exact time of the Mascot’s plunge (most likely during ice-out in the spring) you will win the 50-50 prize. You can purchase chances now from your local Patriot Parent representative, Gray Parks and Rec. office or Jess ‘n Nic’s Pizzeria and Pub through March 15 for $5 each or three for $10.

The following weekend the 1st Annual Crystal Lake “ICE OUT”Polar Plunge will be held, where everyone can run into the frigid waters of Crystal Lake right after the ice goes out. The theme is “Patriotic,” so prizes will be given for the best Patriotic Team and best single Patriot. The single person who collects the largest amount of money pledges will be the first in the lake in 2014. To sign up go to: http://www.crowdrise.com/PatriotPolarPlunge and begin to ask everyone to pledge you for this event. All proceeds go to GNG Patriot Parents PTO.

Kathleen Harvey, Sumner Field, Bruce Beasley, Aaron Talon, Deborah Cabana, Kiaran McCormack, Tina Martell, Anne Rowe, Steve Nickerson and Dean Bennett cut the ribbon for the new Gray-New Gloucester ice rink, located behind the Gray Town Hall. A raffle is being conducted seeking guesses from community members when this old Patriot mascot will fall into the water of Crystal Lake during spring thaw.