Holiday Performers

Raymond teens Emily Algeo and Emily Gagne were two of seven young ladies to volunteer their voices and perform at The Studio for the Living Arts’ “Nutcracker” on Dec. 13 at the Windham Performing Arts Center at the Windham High School. The girls opened the show with “Deck the Halls” and also provided the angel voices during the Snow Scene. The scene itself is beautiful with the sparkles of more than 20 girls on stage at once with snow lightly falling on the stage, but the added voices from the choir was the perfect touch.

CenterStage dancers Brianna Warren and Emily Tugaw also were part of the performance. All the young ladies rehearsed many hours for the two shows.

Raymond Republicans Meeting

Raymond Republicans will come together on Wednesday, Jan. 21, from 7-9 p.m. at the Jordan-Small Middle School to meet on a variety of issues. They plan to celebrate the recent election success and then set a course for continued local success over the next year. We are asking Raymond Republicans to join them as we chart our course. Agenda and more information to come in the upcoming weeks.

Jeans for Teens

Windham High School students are collecting gently used jeans to support “Jeans for Teens.” All jeans are donated to homeless teens throughout the United States. To make a donation, simply drop the jeans at the high school, give them to one of our local Raymond high-schoolers to bring to school or drop at CenterStage in Raymond. CenterStage is open Monday-Thursday from 4-8 p.m. or Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon. There will be a drop-off box in the waiting area.

2015 Brochure

Work will begin soon on the upcoming 2015 Raymond Brochure that will be published in the spring. It will be the fourth annual edition and has been very well received in the past. It will include information about Raymond as well as ads and listings for Raymond businesses. The goal of the brochure is to promote Raymond not only as a growing business and residential community, but also to encourage and help direct more consumers to patronize Raymond businesses.

The 2014 edition was expanded to include more local businesses than previous editions. The diversity and number of businesses and services in Raymond is impressive. The participation of all of the advertisers and those who placed listings is appreciated and enables the project to continue.

The Raymond Revitalization Committee that heads the project voted to move ahead with the 2015 brochure at their November meeting. Ellie

Stengel of Custom Designed Graphics in Windham will be coordinating the project again. If you advertised or placed a listing in 2014, you will be contacted for your renewal. If you would like advertising or other information, please contact Ellie directly at cdg1@fairpoint.net or by calling 892-5994.

Raymond Village Library

• Winter hours: The library will be closing at 5 p.m. on Sundays, beginning Dec. 8, during the winter months. The library hours will be as follows: Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. If in doubt, call the library at 655-4283.

• Winter Weather: Whether we like it or not, winter is coming. Remember, in case of inclement weather, please call ahead as the library may be closed. If the Raymond schools are closed or delayed, then story time for that day will be canceled; however, the library may still be open.

• Boyds Bear Raffle: Raffle tickets are being sold on a beautiful Collectible Boyds Holiday Bear. This handsome guy stands 16 inches high and is in its original box with a stand included. His name is Omega and he is carrying a baby bear called Alpha. This astounding animal is no longer available in stores, so this is a wonderful opportunity to either add to an existing collection or begin one. Even if you are not a collector, once you see this bodacious bear, you will want to have him to add to your holiday decorations.

• Keep in Touch: Do you enjoy being up to date on what is happening? It’s so easy to keep up with all that is going on at the Raymond Village Library. Simply like their Facebook page. If you do not belong to Facebook, you can easily access it by typing in www.facebook.com/RaymondVillage Library. It is kept current and has lots of pictures of library activities. Another way to keep in touch with the Raymond Village Library’s news is to receive the e-newsletter, direct to your computer, once a month. If you do not already receive it, be sure to ask to have your email address added to the list, the next time you are in the library. That way you will be among the first to know what new programs are going to be available at the library. There is a lot going on at your library, so don’t miss it!

• Story Time December Hours: There will be no story times the weeks of Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. The children’s programs will resume on Jan. 6 at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call the library at 655-4283.

• Author of the Month: Andriana Trigiani is the featured author of December. She is beloved by readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Best known for her sweeping Big Stone Gap trilogy, other favorites are: “Lucia, Lucia,” “Very Valentine” and “Brava Valentine.” Her most recent novel is “The Shoemakers Wife.” These are all available at the library. For an entertaining, well-written story, try out a new author and ask for her books when you come into the library.

Performing Saturday at Windham High School were students, from left, Anna Giroux, Libby McBride, Ellie Josephson, Emily Gagne, Emily Algeo, Mary Thompson and Samantha Barry.