Happy Holidays

They say as we get older, time passes faster and while that cannot possibly be true, here we are at the close of another year and it seems like we were just celebrating the arrival of 2011. Where did that year go?

As I spend this final week of the year enjoying the holidays with my dearest friends and family, I will also spend time reflecting back on the past year. As always, it has been full of deepened friendships, fun adventures, met and unmet goals and plenty of victories and losses. There is no doubt that every year brings a lot of change, but plenty stays the same especially the goodness in people. I am filled with gratitude for the abundance of joy in my life. As we ring in the New Year, I wish all of you new and exciting adventures, the best of heath and deepening of meaningful friendships.

I also look forward to sharing the ongoings of our special little town with you for another year and hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.

A Beautiful ?Thank You

Have you noticed how festive Raymond looks with wreaths hanging from our lampposts as well as planters of boughs and berries placed throughout town? This is the result of the Seasonal Decorating Committee which is a partnership between the Beautification Committee and the Revitalization Committee for the purpose of strengthening the partnerships with businesses and providing visual reinforcement to residents and visitors that Raymond is open for business year-round.

Addressing the visual enhancement of the business corridor throughout the year will be a reminder that Raymond is a dynamic, thriving community all four seasons of the year. Seasonal decorating emotionally connects citizens to community and is a good marketing strategy for shops, restaurants and service industries. More commuters might take a second look and stop to shop, dine and utilize our services. A consistently pleasing visual aesthetic attracts entrepreneurs when they consider business locations, and a sense of community spirit welcomes families who are looking at real estate here.

While the committee foresees having decorative flags on the flagpoles during the times the American flags are not being displayed, this season they opted for wreaths which were made by Little River Flower Farm in Buxton and funded by the Raymond Shopping Center, Dunkin Donuts, Cafe? Sebago, Auto Werke, Island Cove Building and Development, Speedy Stop and Betty and Frank McDermott. Mark Accousti, owner of Speedy Stop was instrumental not only in contacting other business owners along the 302 corridor for donations for the project, but he also took time to help hang the wreaths. Raymond Hill Christmas Tree Farm donated the evergreen boughs that were used in the planters throughout town.

As they move forward with pursuing decorative flags, they welcome the participation of businesses, groups and individuals. If you would like to help, please contact Sharon Dobson at rdodson@maine.rr.com.

At the Library

A heart-felt thank you goes out to all who donated and bought baked goods at the Raymond Village Library’s annual bake sale held last week as well as those who have contributed to this year’s annual appeal. The library, which receives only partial funding from the town, relies on fundraisers like these to achieve its mission and the generosity and support of members in this community keep the library operating.

Dipping for Special Olympics

In just a few short days, a group of warm-hearted people will jump in the cold ocean to help others. Each year on New Year’s Day, Team Raymond, a team comprised of Raymond teachers and community members take the icy plunge into the Atlantic Ocean to benefit Special Olympics programs of Maine, an organization dear to my heart.

The mission of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities giving them opportunities to build self esteem, skills and friendships.

Last year, Team Raymond crushed their record by raising $5,240 and they hope to raise even more this year. This season, give a gift that will really make a difference in the lives of many people. Please join me and sponsor Team Raymond as they bravely take the plunge. Checks should be made payable to Special Olympics Maine and mailed to team captain John Keller at 22 Charlonate Drive, Gray, Maine 04039.

Math Meet

Jordan-Small Middle School hosted the 10th Annual Pine Tree League Math Meet in November, and there were 130 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from the area competing for top honors in the areas of arithmetic, geometry and team problem solving.

In each category, students were given a test consisting of five problems with varying degrees of difficulty. Medals were awarded to the top three individuals in each grade competition, and plaques were won by the top three teams at each grade level. The top three overall school winners were awarded cups to be put on display at their school and Jordan-Smal Middle School is proud to have a new first place cup for our display.

In the individual competitions, Danielle Meader placed second in the sixth grade, David Young placed first in seventh grade, Lexi Walker placed first in eighth grade and Jeff Pollard placed third for eighth grade. In the team competitions, JSMS tied for second place in sixth grade, won first place in seventh grade, and won second place in eighth grade. Congratulations to all our fine mathematicians.

Honor Roll

Jordan-Small Middle School, which recently changed its grading system and criteria for honor roll status, has completed the first trimester of the year, and congratulations are in order to the following students who made the honor roll:

Grade 5

High Honors: Hannah Gagne.

Honors: Hannah Bernier, Magdalene Bradford, Courtney Brown, Blake Colby, Nicholas Collins, Ryan Davis, Stratos Demakis, Colby Dionne, Haley Froisland, Laura Goodwin, Devon Griffeth, Madison McCune, Samantha Phinney, Richard Plummer, Victoria Schmader, Wade Stedt, Sophie Sangster, Alianah Timmons, Stearns Wallingford, Andrew Wing, and Tyler Woolston.

Honorable Effort: Danielle Gaudin, Benjamin Kisel, and Alexis Peet.

Grade 6

High Honors: Danielle Meader.

Honors: Walter Backman, Ian Emery-Shaw, Ben Folsom, Jessica Meyer, Robert Murray, Maggie Nunn, Nick Rose, Hannah Stogsdill, and Alex Wilkins.

Honorable Effort: Jack Bisson, Jillian Clark, Lauren Clark, Jake Conley, Ezra Davison, Hunter Dionne, Caitlyn Dyke, David Ferrante, Kora Hunter, Nora Laprise, Alaina Lewis, Tabitha Newquist, Holly Rose, Carleigh Steele, and Maegan Vierra.

Grade 7

Honors: Meagan Griffeth, Taylor Tibbetts, and David Young.

Honorable Effort: Ethan Barczak, Wyatt Barczak, MacKenzie Fish, John Gresh, Jaret Korzeniowski, Sophia Latham, Paige Pandora, Cameron Peavey, Devon Plummer, Derrike Richards, Kayla Saunders, Danielle Tardiff, and Eleanor Van Winkle.

Grade 8

Honors: Isabella Davis, Tayla Johnson, Sean Mains, Allie Pandora, Jeffrey Pollard, and Alexis Walker

Honorable Effort: Mary Brackett, Liam Flynn, Cecilia Hawes, Megan Knights, Dylan Koza, Anna Laprise, Lillian MacPherson, Gregory Meader, Maelah Nadeau, Bailey Nassa, Ryan Plummer, and Evan Taylor.

One of the many holiday planters in town greets residents and
guests as they enter Raymond. (Photo courtesy of Sharon Dobson)