Loon Echo Trek

While I hate to see summer end, I welcome my favorite month of the year, September. This is the perfect time for hiking and biking and we couldn’t possibly live in a better place to do both. The 12th annual Loon Echo Trek will take place on Saturday, Sept. 15, and is always a wonderful day. It’s not too late to join so register today. Choose between 25-, 50- and 100-mile rides over quiet, scenic country roads or opt for the 6 mile hike over Pleasant Mountain. All trekkers are treated to a barbecue lunch, free beer, free massages and a high performance T-shirt. Besides a great day spent outside with friends, you will be contributing to Loon Echo Land Trust’s efforts to preserve treasured land in our area such as Pleasant Mountain, Bald Pate Mountain and the newly saved Hacker’s Hill. I have done the Trek 10 times and have recruited countless friends. I hope you will consider joining us this year, too. To register, visit http://www.loonechotrek.org/.

Play at the Library

It’s time to hit the books again and for many students, that means a lot of reading and studying. For our youngest readers, however, it means fun. The Raymond Village Library will resume its storytimes beginning on Monday, Sept. 10 at 10:30 a.m. The Children’s Room at the Raymond Village Library will host a Baby/Toddler Playtime for an hour and this will be a special, informal gathering where babies and toddlers can share library books and toys and parents can meet other parents. The Children’s Room will be set up with books, interactive toys, puzzles, a playhouse and crawl-through tubes. We know our youngest readers do not care about schedules so registration is not required. Treat yourself and your child to a wonderful, fun time with other parents and youngsters every Monday at 10:30. For more information, call the library at 655-4283.

Golfing for Graduates

The 2013 Project Graduation golf tournament will be held on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. at the Naples Country Club. This is fun way for you to support the kids and enjoy an afternoon of golf. Put a team together and come join the fun. There will be prizes for longest drive, closest to the pin and lots of raffles. If you are not a golfer, there is an opportunity for you or your company to sponsor holes or provide raffle prizes or a small item distributed to each golfer. To enter a team, sponsor a hole or help with the tournament, please contact Jim Stewart at 730-1133 or jstewartpe@myfairpoint.net or Jim Cummings at 310-8818 or jimcummings111@gmail.com.

RVCC Rally Day

The Raymond Village Community Church will be holding a Rally Day on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. This will include Sunday School registration as well as the final session of their popular summer program, “Shake it Up Cafe?.” Reverend Nancy Foran asks, “Are you looking for a great place to raise a family, a place where the old and the young gather together, or a place where you and your children feel welcomed? Are you looking for a place where your children can have fun with other kids even as they learn about important values and how to figure out right from wrong? Then you are looking for the Raymond Village Community Church.”

RVCC provides infant and nursery care each Sunday as well as a play-oriented learning program for preschoolers and kindergartners. The Sunday School program for grades 1-4 begins with Old and New Testament Bible stories and explores how their themes relate to our lives today using art, music, cooking, science, drama, and other media. For youth in grades 5 through 8, they offer a youth group program that combines service projects, social activities, and a safe place to talk about beliefs and values.

If this sounds right for you, visit the church on Rally Day. Wherever you are on your life’s journey, you and your children are welcome at the Raymond Village Community Church. For more information, call the church office at 655-7749 or contact Foran at revnancy@rvccme.org.

Calling all Scouts

Don’t forget, Monday, Sept 10, is the place to be if you have a boy interested in Scouting. This year’s Games and Introduction Night will be held at Jordan-Small Middle School for new Scouts. Join the boys from Pack 800 and Troop 800 as they kick off the 2012-2013 Scouting year with a night of fun and games. All boys from first through fifth grade are welcome to go see what Scouting can offer. Pack 800 includes boys from Windham, Casco and Naples as well, so you will not want to miss this opportunity to meet new friends and learn all about Scouting while having fun. For more information, contact Adam Gaffen at adamgaffen@yahoo.com.

New Town Office Hours

I refuse to believe summer is winding down but with the cooler temperatures, kids heading back to school and shorter days, it’s inevitable. The summer hours at the town office have also ended and they are now open for business using winter hours. The Town Office will now be closed on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. They will be open with extended hours on Tuesdays, from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. and from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Stop in during those hours and don’t forget, auto registrations can be done online by visitinghttps://www1.maine.gov/online/bmv/rapid-renewal. For more information, you can reach the town office by calling 655-4742.