TURNER — Town Manager Eva Leavitt is retiring after a quarter of a century of service and a reception in her honor is planned for Sunday.

It will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. July 1 at the BQMC hall on Route 219. All friends are invited.

Leavitt was elected town clerk in 1987 and retained the position when it was changed to appointed in 1990. At that time, Turner went from three to five selectmen and adopted the town manager form of government. Leavitt was appointed town manager in 2007.

She will be succeeded by Scott LaFlamme.

Leavitt said in addition to the natural beauty of the area and the availability of attractive home sites, the big draw has been the outstanding school system.

Under her leadership the town has put many services online so residents can access them at their convenience.

Many changes have taken place on Leavitt’s watch. The building boom necessitated appointment of a code enforcement officer in 1988. In 1989 the town hired its first full-time emergency medical technician to serve in the rescue department, which until then was all volunteers. Now, there are three full-time EMTs in addition to many volunteers.

In 1993, the Solid Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Center replaced the closed landfill. This year they added a public works director, Jack Moultrie, to supervise the Public Works Department, Transfer Station and Recycling Center.

Leavitt has been married to Peter Leavitt for 23 years. They are lifelong residents of Turner. They have two children and four grandchildren, all of whom live nearby.

While she intends to continue volunteering, she said she plans on spending more time with her family, especially the grandchildren.

She and her husband hope to spend more time at their camp in Grindstone and more time gardening. They have a garden and “put the excess out on a bench by the road for the neighbors to take,” she said. “Sometimes we find an unexpected gift of jam or something left for us where our surplus vegetables had been.”

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