Lake Auburn fish hatchery is a delightful place to spend Sunday. It has many sparkling springs and shady pine groves. Thousands of salmon and trout are on exhibition.

• Within a few days cars will be run from Mechanic Falls straight through to Sabattus. The trip will be made in an hour and both villages will have an 11 o'clock car. Cars will leave Sabattus at 25 minutes past the hour, leaving Lewiston for Mechanic Falls at 10 minutes of the hour. The time of starting from Mechanic Falls will be the same.

The word gets around. Lewiston City Clerk Lucien Lebel, recipient of many awards and citations for his annual municipal report booklets, got a card yesterday from Honolulu. The director of the Legislative Reference Bureau of the University of Hawaii requested a copy of the latest edition of Lebel's reports and "please include our bureau on the mailing list to receive further editions."

PHILADELPHIA - Tim Tam's recovery from leg surgery was proceeding satisfactorily, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine reported Thursday. It said the Kentucky Derby winner spent a good night and was eating well and was taking light walking exercises.

A consultant to the staff of the Public Utilities Commission has recommended that the panel approve about $43 million of Central Maine Power Co.'s $53 million rate hike request.

SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON - Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, also is the lowest paid of the five astronauts aboard Flight Seven of the space shuttle.Ms. Ride, 32, is a civil service employee and receives an annual salary of $42,653. Dr. Norman Thagard, a 39 year-old physician, also is in civil service, but he is in a higher pay classification and earns $48,950 annually. The other three crewmen are all in the military and are paid according to their rank.