Church welcomes pastor

The Rev. Petra Smyth is the new leader of the Raymond Village Community Church, effective Monday, June 1.

The Rev. Petra Smyth is the new pastor at Raymond Village Community Church. Courtesy photo

Smyth has 10 years of church and pastoral leadership experience. She began her career in clinical pastoral education at Maine Medical Center and received a Master of Divinity degree at Bangor Theological Seminary. Smyth says she looks forward “to serving the congregation with joy.”

She replaces the Rev. Nancy Foran, who retired this spring after more than 14 years with the church.

“We are excited to enter this phase of our church life under (Smyth’s) leadership and guidance. Community involvement will continue to be a strong trademark of our church,” said church moderator Tom Wiley.

Raymond Village Community Church worships through Maine Conference, United Church of Christ. For more information, visit the church website at rvccme.org, or contact Wile at Twiley2@maine.rr.com or 650-3474.

Tassel Top closed

Although the trails and beach were open earlier to provide a place to enjoy the outdoors during the pandemic orders, Tassel Top Park is now temporarily closed for its annual preparation for the season. Work is being done to ensure the park will be compliant and follow all guidelines for reopening set by the state. A date has not yet been set for reopening. You will be able to find reopening plans on: Facebook.com/tasseltoppark or at raymondmaine.org.

All other town owned public places such as Raymond Beach and Veterans Memorial Park are open. Visitors must practice 6-foot social distancing. Playground equipment and picnic tables are off limits because they are not being sanitized after each use and pose a risk of spreading COVID-19.

Town office to open

The Town Office will reopen to the public June 2 with normal business hours and some procedural changes in  accordance with the state  CDC and OSHA.

When arriving at the Town Office call  655-4742 ext. 124 to receive directions on how to proceed based upon the services needed. Only two people will be allowed in the customer service area at one time unless more people are required to complete a transaction or the individuals are related to each other; online services should be used whenever possible.

Signs will be installed with instruction about the new procedures.

Information and updates are available via the town’s electronic sign, website, Facebook and the RoadRunner newsletter.

Fish free

This weekend, May 30-31 is Free Fishing Weekend in Maine. On Saturday and Sunday, anyone (except those whose license has been suspended or revoked) may fish in the state without a license. All other laws and regulations apply. For more information: maine.gov/ifw/fishing-boating/fishing/fishing-resources/index.html.

Alissa Messer can be contacted at alissamesser@gmail.com.