School Happenings

Fall is a busy time at Jordan-Small Middle School! Congratulations to the girls and boys soccer teams and the cross-country teams. All three teams had many successes and demonstrated the qualities of good sportsmanship we expect. A big thank-you to all the coaches who volunteer their time and to Thomas Gumble for the roadrunner design on the soccer field for the last game against Oak Hill. The teams played in style!

On Oct. 31, students in grades 6 & 8 will be doing Community Service projects from about 9:15 to 10:45. They still have openings for projects. Please contact Mr. Crockett if you are interested in taking a crew of four or more students, or know of an organization or individual who might be. JSMS will have their annual Fall Festival activities for all students beginning at 11:45. A reminder it will not be a picnic lunch this year and regular lunch will be served.

A major eighth-grade fundraising event, called Octoberfest, will occur on Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Raymond Village Church. This event raised in the neighborhood of $1,000 for the eighth grade last year! Please come join the fun where you can play games and relays, have your face painted, enjoy a burger or something sweet. They still need the help of all students and parents to make this event successful this year. Parents can help out by providing: Face Painting kits, tattoos, plain donuts, apples, pumpkins, “table talk” pies hamburgers & buns, hot dogs & buns, condiments, plates, napkins, individually wrapped baked goods and small bags of chips. Please email Brenda Caouette if you can help with any of the above at brenda.caouette@gmail.com.

JSMS is again doing the coupon book fundraising project. The books cost $10 and have great coupons/deals to local businesses such as The Good Life Market, our local homemade doughnut shop, CenterStage Dance and more! Please get in touch with a JSMS student or call 655-4743 to pre order a book today. The goal is to sell 400!

JSMS is starting an Explorer Club. The club is open to students in grades 6, 7 and 8 and will focus on environmental and sustainable practices such as growing vegetables, solar energy, conservation, geology/land use, etc. An organizational meeting for parents and students will be held at JSMS on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.

Ski Program

It’s that time of year again. Time to register for the Raymond Rec ski program. Forms are available on the Town of Raymond Website- Raymond Rec Association page. For more information, contact the Program Director of the Raymond Elementary School ski program/Friday Ski program: Gail Troiano at 749-6308; or JSMS ski program: Shannon Nassa at 650-4526.

Halloween Treats

Each year, the residents in the Raymond Village area receive up to 400 trick-or-treaters on Halloween. The Raymond Village Library helps out by collecting goodies, which will be distributed to the neighborhood. We ask the generous patrons to donate whatever treats they can, to placate the “little goblins.” Please bring your donations into the library, by Sunday, Oct. 26, so they can be passed out in time. In this way we continue to be the wonderful community that we all appreciate and enjoy being part of.

Raymond Lions Club

As fall arrives and the Raymond Lions Club gears up for a new year, they thought it was time to reintroduce themselves to the community and review some of the exciting projects they have been working on.

Lions Club International is the largest service organization in the world with 1.3 million members and clubs in 202 countries and geographic areas worldwide. Lions are dedicated to meeting their community’s needs, with our major global initiative serving the blind and visually impaired.

What has your local Lions Club done to make a positive contribution to the community we live and work in? In the 2013-2014 year, they gave over $2,500 in scholarships to Raymond residents to further their education. The program is funded solely from the bottles that are left in the two town deposit boxes, located on Route 302 and at the town hall. Two blood drives were held, they hosted a Candidates Night, helped local residents in need fund necessary eyeglasses, made financial contributions to the Raymond Village Library, the Raymond Food Pantry, Raymond Baseball, and the Raymond Beautification committee.

In addition to making an annual donation to the Veterans’ Park fund, a small but dedicated group of Lions hang and take down the flags you see at each streetlight in Raymond. Although the town has a small fund for maintenance of existing flags and purchase of new ones, the flags themselves require repair, storage and hardware. This is a project the Lions took on three years ago and are proud to continue.

The Raymond Lions have held rousing Bingo games for the residents of Levy Lane and have provided the beautiful plants that welcome visitors at the front door. Plans are being made to expand these social events to include card games and crafts. The Lions have donated money to the Holiday Helper program and had a wrapping party at Levy Lane, providing beautifully wrapped gifts for Raymond residents in need. In conjunction with the Library, a revolving collection of large print books have been given to Levy Lane as well.

One of their favorite projects, again with the assistance of the Raymond Village Library, is the annual tree lighting, held the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. Patti Gordon and her chorus continue to come out every year, regardless of the weather, and help welcome us all into the holiday season.

On a larger scale, the Lions make financial contributions to the Iris Network in Portland. The Iris Network assists visually impaired folks with adaptive equipment, balance programs and more. If you or someone you know is visually impaired, please contact these fine folks. Annual contributions are made to The Good Shepard Food Bank, Maine Agency on Aging specifically for the Meals on Wheels program, Lions District 41 Blind Bowlers programs and Laurie’s Kids, which holds holiday parties for intellectually challenged Maine residents.

On a national and international level, they support various Lions recovery projects when disaster strikes.

This is quite a list! How many people does it take to accomplish all this and have a little fun at the same time? While some Lions clubs boast membership rosters of 30, 40 or even 100 members, the Raymond Lions Club is made up of less than 10 members. Their ranks have been as low as five. The members are your neighbors, your friends, the people you see in the grocery store and recognize but are not sure from where. The Raymond Lions meet twice a month from September to June. Some attend every meeting while some of us can only make four or five a year. Some are working and some retired. Politics or religion is not discussed. The annual dues are affordable and they wear their vest with pride, although they admit they are not the prettiest of attire!

Why not visit one of the club meetings? Whether you’re thinking about volunteering some time to a worthy cause or just curious about what they do, they’ll be happy to welcome you at a meeting and are always looking for new members, new ideas and new projects.

If you’re interested in helping make positive changes in the community that you live in, please call club President Kathi Anderson at 655-3635 or email at kokokathi.a@gmail.com for information about upcoming meetings.

Nail Trim Clinic

Are you able to bathe your own dog but loathe the thought of trimming their nails or never seem to make an appointment to drop off your dog? Dog Gone Grooming located at 1311 Roosevelt Trail in Raymond will be offering a walk-in nail trim clinic on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. No appointment necessary, first come first serve basis. Cost for the clinic is $10 cash or check. For more information, contact Dog Gone Grooming at 899-9315.

The design of a roadrunner at midfield on the Jordan-Small Middle School field shows off the mascot of Raymond, designed by Thomas Gumble.