Annual Tree Lighting

It is time again to light up the Town Christmas Tree and surrounding ones at 2 p.m. on Nov. 25. Special guests will include emcee Donnie Carroll, Elyse Doyle, and the Gray-New Gloucester High School Chorus. There will be wagon rides, Red Hat Ladies milling around, hot chocolate, cookies and our special guest will arrive on the big, red fire truck.

Annual Turkey Beano

An annual Turkey Beano will take place at the American Legion Gray Post No. 86 on Route 100 in Gray on Monday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. There will be 22 turkeys, sealed tickets, four early bird games and a refreshment counter. The hall is handicapped accessible.

Holiday Fair

The annual Holly Fair will be held at the First Congregational Church Parish House behind McDonald’s Restaurant in Gray on Nov. 17, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Pennell Institute, Time for a New Look

SAD 15 and the town of Gray have signed the papers and the Pennell Institute is now in the hands of the taxpayers of Gray. Over the last several years, studies have been done and committees have explored possible uses for this beautiful Italianate building in Gray Village.

At various times, it’s been considered as a possible solution to a civic space need, as a museum, library, town office, and town offices combined with SAD 15 superintendent’s offices, none of which came to fruition. And the culprit was the years necessary to resolve ownership of the Pennell Instiute and the legal clarification of the trust that accompanies it.

At a recent Community Economic Development Committee meeting (of which I’m a member), Councilor Tracy Scheckel offered an observation that one way to think about Pennell might be to ask what the highest and best use of the Pennell building would be. Starting from that place, the committee now being formed can start with a fresh look at the building and its future. If you’re interested in serving on that commitee you can download an application form from the town Web site, www.graymaine.org.

At this time I plan to serve on the committee and it looks like this will be a wonderful opportunity to look at Pennell in a new light, with an open mind as to possibilities. The committee needs new members who have an interest in learning or experience in community economic development who will understand the issues and be able to project community needs into the future.

There are several source documents related to Pennell and its recent history. Having lived through it, I wasn’t so interested in the past political history of the building, now that it’s settled once and for all, but if you happen to be, go to the town and school department Web sites and search through the minutes. The Sewall Report is available at the Gray Town Office, and the May 2007 Supreme Court decision may be read online at http://tinyurl.com/37gohm.

The Pennell Institute was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. A newspaper article quoted historical society volunteer Jean Szendrei, “The acceptance statement declared that the ‘Institute is one of the most highly stylized academy buildings in Maine.'”

How does Pennell Institute compare to similar Maine historic preservation projects? Take a quick look through the facilities survey published by the The Maine Arts Commission in 2005. The statewide identified need was $337,080,867. Pennell Institute is listed in need of historic preservation and the amount is cited as $689,700. The source for the figure isn’t available. Statewide project amounts range from $200 to $20 million. The report is available online here: mainearts.maine.gov/organizations/newcentury/FacilitiesSurvey.pdf.

Of course money will be an issue in planning for Pennell’s future, but back in the day it wasn’t anything to sneeze at either. The building was constructed at an initial cost of $20,000 and dedicated in 1876. About 120 students were enrolled with the Gray students enjoying free tuition, others paid between $5-8 per term. The first teachers were paid $10 a week and the principal brought home a whopping $75 a month.

When benefactor Henry Pennell died in 1884, the school building and $25,000 were bequeathed to the town of Gray, along with the trust limitations. Ownership transferred to SAD 15 in the 1960s due to the Sinclair Act. Henry Pennell, by the way, was the town’s largest taxpayer at the time.

Because it’s listed on the Registry of National Historic Places, it’s possible that a variety of funding sources could be utilized to rehab the main building, including community development block grant funding.

Pennell is a grand old building and certainly deserves a chance at becoming a lively centerpiece for the Village Center.

G-NGBA Learns about E-Commerce

Marilyn Porcaro, executive secretary of the Gray-New Gloucester Business Association, reports that the association seminar on e-commerce Friday, Nov. 2 at The Pineland Visitors Center in New Gloucester, was a great success. The speaker was Larry Burningham from Transit ID. This seminar was sponsored by Androscoggin Bank, Transit ID and Pineland Farms. After the breakfast buffet, speaker Larry Burningham from Transit ID spoke about e-commerce, the buying and selling of products and services over the internet.

Transit ID is a group of marketing technology professionals whose number one job is to turn one-way communications into interactive relationships. Burningham went through many of the questions a business would want to ask itself before it got into e-commerce, and elaborated on opportunities and tools available for small businesses. The talk was very informative and sparked many questions from the businessmen and women.

Burningham said that e-commerce is a good marketing tool if correctly researched and maintained and, when combined with other types of marketing, can make your business very profitable.

Transit ID can be found at www.transitid.com or by calling (877) 772-6775. The business association’s next Breakfast Seminar is scheduled for Friday, March 7 and is rumored to be about identity theft, don’t be left out of this one! If you wish to be included in this event or become a member of the association, e-mail: mkp@gbamaine.org or call 657-2033.

Class of 2009 Care Highway

Gray-New Gloucester students recently attended an assembly with Chris Morrison, founder of Care Highway, an independent organization working on projects to improve the living conditions for the poorest communities in the world, in hopes of making positive changes for children.

Care Highway projects are selected based on practicality. Their humanitarian efforts are not influenced by governments, political factions, ideologies, economic interests or religious creeds.

In an effort to support Care Highway, students at Gray-New Gloucester High School are proudly taking part in an online auction. The Class of 2009 is auctioning a G-NG sweatshirt, along with other interesting items including a vacation package. The students are hoping that the community will help support the Care Highway. Visit their Web site at www.carehighway.org.

The auction runs until Dec. 1. Check out the site and bid often! If you have an item to donate you can let any student know or contact Mrs. Genovese in guidance. No item is too small.