Practicing social distancing, Gray Parks and Recreation Department staff members Nellie Levier, left, and Sarah Rodriguez flank New Gloucester Parks and Recreation Director Morgan Rocheleau at the Cole Farms parking lot in Gray during the May 4 GNG Mobile Food Drive. Photo by Patti Mikkelsen

GNG Mobile Food Drive

The recreation departments of New Gloucester and Gray launched their Mobile Food Drive. The drives are stationed at various locations in the community to collect food donations to help stock the shelves of both towns’ food pantries.

One of the most unique features of the food drive is that volunteers will come to you on Friday, May 8. If you want to contribute but don’t feel comfortable leaving home, schedule a pickup donation. Volunteers will stop by and pick your donation from your driveway. To schedule a pick up, call 657-2323 or complete an online form at forms.gle/vgmyKFmes7a9oDk99.

On Saturday, May 9, the food drive will be located at the Gray Hannaford, 130 Shaker Road, Gray, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you have any questions, contact New Gloucester’s Parks and Recreation Director Morgan Rocheleau at mrocheleau@newgloucester.com or 926-4126 ext. 231.

Municipal budget public hearing

The town’s budget committee will hold a public hearing to receive comment on the proposed FY21 municipal budget at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12, via Zoom. Those wishing to speak must send an email to Sharlene Myers at smyers@newgloucester.com, and the Zoom meeting information will be sent out to you beginning Monday, May 11. Those wishing to submit comments via email must also send them to Myers. All emails will be forwarded to the Budget Committee.

Budget Committee Chair Peter Bragdon is informing citizens that due to large shortfalls in revenue being projected, there are some significant cuts being considered. Some of them include:

• eliminating the parks and recreation director position either completely or being confined to overseeing a very minimum of programs
• reducing the planner position to part time
• reducing public works by one employee
• removing the battery-operated extrication tool from the fire and rescue department budget
• cutting the library’s operating hours by 10 hours per week, along with eliminating the assistant librarian’s position

Plant sale canceled

The annual Rooting for Democracy Plant Sale is a no-go for this June given all of the COVID-19 precautions required, according to Democratic Committee member Penny Hilton.

“If you have plants you were intending to divide and donate, let’s not let them go to waste,” Hilton said.

Her suggestion is to either set them aside somewhere in your yard to be available next year or to let her know and she will pick them up and install them in her nursery bed of other plants intended for next year’s plant sale. Contact her at 926-4004 or grummah34b@gmail.com.

Patti Mikkelsen can be contacted at mikks@maine.rr.com.