Special guests cut the ribbon to officially open the playground at Raymond Elementary and Jordan Small Middle schools. Courtesy photo
Playground premieres
Students at Raymond Elementary School and Jordan Small Middle school gathered Sept. 3 to celebrate their new playground, a project six years in the making.
Attending the playground opening ceremony were guests from the Maine National Guard 262nd Engineering Company, which played a significant role in developing the land, former Vice Principal Deb Hutchinson, current Vice Principal Beth Peavey, project coordinator Alissa Messer, Casco Bay District Executive of the Boy Scouts of America Christian Aresenault and, representing RSU 14, Superintendent Chris Howell, Director of Facilities Bill Hansen and School Board members.
The playground, with a significantly larger playing field, has a climbing apparatus thanks to the generosity of kindergarten teacher Stephen Seymour and his wife, and a sandbox and sand table created and installed by Alec Brooks for his Eagle Scout project. Declan Danzig is working on a playground storage shed for his Eagle Scout project as well.
McDermott memorial gazebo
McDermott
A new gazebo honoring volunteers at Raymond Village Library will be dedicated to the memory of longtime community member and volunteer Betty McDermott at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21. Scout Jamie Lucko of Raymond built the gazebo as a part of his journey to become an Eagle Scout. He selected the library for his project based on his memories of storytime there, he says, and he worked for over a year to raise the funds and obtain sponsors. The volunteer memorial being named in McDermott’s honor will serve to memorialize her and all those who have dedicated many hours to the library.
Sound the alarm
Raymond residents are eligible for free smoke alarms through an American Red Cross Program that to date has saved at least 627 lives nationwide. Residents can request an appointment for free smoke alarm installation by visiting SoundTheAlarm.org/Maine or by calling 874-1192 and choosing option 3. The Red Cross, the Raymond Fire and Rescue Department and Age Friendly Raymond are working together to perform the installations on Sept. 28.
Transportation forum
Rep. Jessica Fay, D-Raymond, will moderate a Transportation Community Forum at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Public Safety Building. Hosted by Age Friendly Raymond, the panel of transportation and age-friendly experts will focus on the town’s transportation needs as revealed in the the organization’s community survey. If you need transportation, call 655-2222 for a ride. The Raymond Public Safety Building is located at 1443 Roosevelt Trail, Raymond.
New PTO officers
A new PTO Board of Directors is ready to start making plans for the year. This year’s board members are President Sibyl Brooke, Raymonschoolspto@gmail.com; Vice President Kaela Gonzalez, Kaelagonzalez@yahoo.com; Secretary Mandy Lynn, Mandyladd333@gmail.com and Treasurer Karlie Rouzer, Karlie.rouzer@gmail.com.
Meetings are held at 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Jordan Small Middle School library. Any schedule changes will be posted on the group’s Facebook page, Raymond Maine Schools, PTO.
Alissa Messer can be contacted at alissamesser@gmail.com.
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