AUGUSTA -- Ronald Raymond could spend his retirement at the beach, or taking up a new hobby.

Instead, the Winslow man spends about 15 hours a week checking on Kennebec County's registered sex offenders.

"For me, it's about neighbors and families, and keeping them safe," he said.

Raymond, along with records officer Amy Havey and several business and individual program contributors, were recognized Tuesday at a county-sponsored luncheon.

Raymond, who officially retired from public service in 1992, has been the deputy in charge of sex-offender compliance checks since 2007, after Kennebec County Sheriff Randall Liberty appointed him to the post.

State law requires municipalities and counties to have some form of sex offender compliance, though additional funding is not provided and left in the hands of those counties, cities and towns.

Raymond does compliance checks on a volunteer basis. The resources he uses come from volunteers; the county does not receive funding, Liberty said.

Individuals and businesses who made the donations -- often in the form of a vehicle, car parts or labor -- were the ones who deserved all the recognition, Raymond said at the luncheon. Ten companies and individuals were honored for their contributions at Tuesday's luncheon.

Arbo's Towing and Repair in Waterville donated a Ford cruiser purchased from city of Waterville in October for Raymond to use after his van, also donated to the program, wore out.

Rick York from Motor Supply offered to donate car parts to fix the van and, later, paint for the cruiser.

Clint Sickwell of Mid-Maine Tech Center donated time to paint the cruiser.

The Winslow VFW Post Auxiliary and American Legion made financial donations, as did many private citizens. The funding has gone toward gas and maintenance of the cruiser.

"These are the people that allow us to continue doing what we need to do," Raymond said. "This county has a unique situation because I volunteer this position."

Raymond said other anonymous donations have helped.

"One example I can think of was a 17-year-old girl who anonymously brought in three $50 gas credit cards for me to fill the tank," Raymond said. "It's things like that which have made a difference for us."

The sex offender enforcement program is a collaboration between the Kennebec County Sheriff's Office and the Waterville Police Department.

There are 243 registered sex offenders in Kennebec County, at least 60 more than were registered seven months ago.

In other business, the swearing-in of Commissioner-elect Beverly Daggett -- and George Jabar II, who was re-elected -- will be noon Jan. 6, 2009, Administrator Robert Devlin said. Justice Joseph Jabar will preside. Daggett replaces Welsey Kieltyka, who stepped down after five terms on the panel.

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811 Ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com