Civic news listing

From staff reports
Published: July 4, 2008

The Shenandoah Valley Association of Insurance Women had, as guests at their June meeting, Annamarie Losh and her mother. Annamarie was selected as the winner of the group’s $500 scholarship. Losh plans to attend Mary Baldwin College and commute. The scholarship was presented at the Awards Banquet held at Stuarts Draft High School on May 30. The Association has awarded this scholarship since 2003 and it is awarded based on need, grades and other criteria. Applications are sent to each high school in the area from Lexington to Luray for seniors to apply for this scholarship. The Association selects the winner.
The Association will hold a bingo at the Churchville Fire Department on Nov. 7 to help finance the scholarship and other community projects.

Blue Ridge Community College is now accepting applications for arts and crafts vendors and concessioners for the 2008 Folk Arts Festival, which will take place on the Weyers Cave Campus Sept. 13-14. For more information or an application, call 453-2358 or http://www.brcc.edu/folkarts/.

Ten percent of Sunday sales at Pufferbellies in Staunton will benefit the Mental Health Association of Augusta. Pufferbellies is located at 15 W. Johnson St. in Staunton. The store features toys and books for children of all ages.

Attention all cat lovers far and wide! The cats of the Augusta Regional SPCA declare Saturday Independence Day. Come help them celebrate their liberation as they reduce their adoption fee. The United Cats of the Augusta Regional SPCA declare the follwing: no cat under 1 year old shall be eligible; all adopters must have an approved application; all adopters shall have in their possession proof of property ownership or the pet policy for a rental property, as well as current rabies certificates for all existing pets.
Come out and show your support for these fabulous felines and find a loyal and loving companion.
For more information, contact the Augusta Regional SPCA at 885-7722.

The 21st Annual Waynesboro and Fishersville Area Bead, Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show will be held Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, the event will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The show will be held at Augusta Expoland, located on Expo Road off Interstate 64, Exit 91, in Fishersville. Admission is $3 for a ticket that will be good for all three days. Children under the age of 16 will be admitted free of charge. The event is open to the public. Parking is free. There will be hourly door prizes and food available.

The Community Mediation Center is presenting a workshop on Group Facilitation Training. The seven-hour training will be held Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Harrisonburg. Meetings, teams and committees are an important part of modern work and community environments. This training is designed for people who wish to learn ways to run effective and efficient meetings through proven facilitation and conflict resolution skills. Strategies will be presented that involve planning and preparation, group involvement, issue identification and collaborative decision making. The cost is $175 and includes training materials. For more information, call the Community Mediation Center at 540-434-0059 or 1-800-653-0019.

Valley Women’s Connection of Greater Staunton Area will hold its “Creative Inspirations” luncheon on Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Holiday Inn Golf and Conference Center, 152 Fairway Lane, Staunton. Special feature will be artist Peg Sheridan of Staunton, who will display her vibrant silk, glass and watercolor paintings, demonstrating some of her painting techniques and offering creative inspiration. Guest speaker will be Tanya Villani from Bedford, former residential instructor/counselor in special education, who will tell about where she learned to stash the scary parts of life. Cost of luncheon is $14. Reservations are encouraged by July 4.  Call 540-885-7353 or 540-248-3059. Free child care is provided.

You are invited to a Women’s Day gathering on July 13 at 5 p.m. The guest speaker will be Missionary Terraine Miles of Fresh Annointing Cathedral of Richmond. There will be a special gift giveaway for a free spa day. Join the women at Steadfast Church of God in Christ on China Clay Road in Stuarts Draft. Everyone is welcome.

Nelson County Parks and Recreation Department will host men’s softball tournaments. Tournaments will be held on the following weekends: July 19-20, Aug. 16-17 and Sept. 27-28. The team fee is $200 per tournament due the Thursday before the tournament. Call for a registration packet. Round-robin format trophies will be given for first through fourth place. Call 263-7130 to register your team.

Shenandoah National Park will host “The Basics of Family Camping” seminar on July 19-20. Join them for a night under the stars in the Shenandoah National Park. Campers will gain hands-on experience in the basics of cooking, setting up a tent and applying “Leave No Trace” techniques. Park rangers and volunteers will demonstrate camping gear and provide tips on how to have a fun and safe outdoor family adventure. Tents, cooking equipment and food will be provided.
“The Basics of Family Camping” is $50 for one adult and one child age 5-12 years old. It is $10 for each additional family member. Reservations are required. Shenandoah National Park Association members will receive a 20 percent discount. To register, visit the Shenandoah National Park Web site at http://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/resource_seminars.htm. For more information, contact the Park’s education office at 540-999-3489.

A benefit concert will be held for Raphine Christian Church at the Spottswood Community Center on July 20 at 6 p.m. High on the Mountain Boys will perform. Join them to help neighbors and friends.

The annual Fitzgerald reunion will be held July 20 at the Montebello Firehouse. Bring your old photographs and a covered dish and drink to share in a potluck lunch, which begins at 12:30 p.m.
Call 943-3136 for further information.

The Valley Music Academy will sponsor Longaberger Basket Bingo at the Verona Fire House on July 20. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., with games to begin at 2 p.m. The event will feature 20 games, door prizes and raffles. Pre-sale tickets are four for $25 or three for $25 at the door. The deadline for obtaining pre-sale tickets is July 18 at 9 p.m. Hot dogs, pizza, potato chips, popcorn, desserts and drinks will be available.
For more information, or to get tickets, call Valley Music Academy at 942-8648 or e-mail . Visit the VMA on the Web at http://www.valleymusicacademy.org.

The American Red Cross will sponsor the following upcoming blood drives:
On July 25, at the Stuarts Draft Rescue Squad, from noon to 6 p.m.
On July 26, at the Staunton YMCA, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

A group of 18-20 high school students from Germany will arrive in the Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County communities on July 24 to get a jump start on their English language skills and to experience the American culture. The exchange students will attend a short term enrichment program, which will take place in Staunton July 28 to Aug. 22. The program is designed by local high school teachers. The program is sponsored by ASSE International/World Heritage, a nonprofit cultural exchange organization.
Volunteer host families are now being interviewed to welcome these students, ages 15-18, into their hearts and homes. All students bring their own spending money and are fully insured. You provide a separate bed and daily meals to your host daughter or son and arrange for transportation to and from the classroom on weekdays. Carpooling is available.
You may select your host daughter or son based on a complete profile that includes a photo collage by the student and a personal essay describing his or her interests, hobbies and personality.
For more information, contact Lori Pullen, area coordinator, at 337-4135, 480-9804 or . Transportation from Stuarts Draft to Staunton classes are available with the program coordinator until the van fills.

Crosby Stills and Nash has partnered with World Hunger Year to put food on the shelves of food banks that are serving America’s hungry. Concert-goers who attend shows during their upcoming tour of North America are asked to bring non-perishable food that will be collected by food bank representatives for distribution to those in need. Crosby Stills and Nash will perform on July 31 at the Charlottesville pavilion to benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Inc. For special benefit tickets to their concerts, please visit http://www.whyhunger.org.

Applications are now being received for campers for 2008 Camp Dragonfly, a weekend camp for grieving children and teens from 6-18. Camp will be held Sept. 27-28 at Camp Blue Ridge near Montebello.
Camp Dragonfly provides a caring, supportive environment where children and teens gather with their peers to share their experiences of grieving the death of someone they love. Campers can openly express their feelings without fear of being criticized. Through sharing and playing, campers realize their emotions are normal and that what is happening to them happens to others. Through generous contributions to AMC Hospice of the Shenandoah, the camp can be offered free of charge.
Applications are available on the Web site, http://www.campdragonfly.org, or by calling the hospice office at 932 or 332-4909. Deadlines for receipt of applications are: Return campers, July 31; new campers, Sept. 19; and volunteers, Aug. 17.
This is the 10th year for Camp Dragonfly, which has served 740 campers to date. Camp is administered by carefully-trained adult volunteers. Debbie Brown is camp director.
While the purpose of camp is serious, the activities are designed for fun as well. Activities include the ever-popular arts and crafts, music, out of door science projects, a creative memory center, team building, energetic ball games, swimming, visits from certified therapeutic dogs, and more. Perhaps the most favorite is the Saturday night memory bonfire when campers and volunteers share their fond memories of loved ones.
Registration for camp opens at 9 a.m. Saturday and closes after Sunday afternoon activities, with a lift-off of balloons bearing messages for loved ones remembered.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation now has a chapter in Staunton. The first meeting of B.O.N.E.S. will be held at the Staunton Public Library on Aug. 2, from 2-4 p.m. All are welcome. Come to share your experiences, make new friends and to support each other. Meetings are the first Saturday of each month. Call Dolores King at 885-2188.

The Community Mediation Center will present a workshop called “Mediation and Conflict Resolution and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Family Mediation.” The 40-hour training meets Virginia Supreme Court Certification Requirements and will be held Aug. 4-9 in Harrisonburg. This workshop combines the basic and family trainings. Mediation Conflict and Resolution is an experiential training in the principles of negotiation and conflict resolution; the mediation process; communication skills; and issues faced by mediators. The J&DR Family Mediation is designed for people who want to expand their skills and practice to include separation cases involving parenting issues such as custody, visitation and child support at the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court level. Each section may also be taken separately if prerequisites have been met. The cost of the training is $900. This includes the manual fees. For more information, contact the Community Mediation Center at 434-0059 or 1-800-653-0019.

The Augusta Regional Free Clinic will offer school physicals to the community for selected clinic dates during the summer. Physicals are at no cost to the patient and there is not an income eligibility screening process. This community service is being offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Appointments for school physicals will be set for Aug. 6, from 4-7 p.m. Another clinic day, or days, may be offered if there is a large waiting list.
Patients will be scheduled for a pre-screening visit prior to the actual physical appointment. During that initial visit, a parent should bring in valid Virginia identification, fill out a patient registration form and present the immunization record for copying. The physical appointment will be scheduled at this time.
Sports physicals will also be offered by appointment throughout the year on a space-available basis. These will be conducted by the nurse practitioner. This is also a two-visit process. The parent will need to present valid Virginia identification, fill out a patient registration form and schedule an appointment with the nurse practitioner. Parents will be given the standard four-page physical exam form to take home.
For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 332-5606 or 932-5606.
The Community Mediation Center will present a seven-hour workshop on “Communication and Conflict Resolution.” The training will be offered on Aug. 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Harrisonburg. This workshop is offered to promote improved communication and conflict resolution skills. This is a personal life skill, as well as having application in workplace situations. The workshop’s focus is on the prevention and successful resolution of conflicts involving the participants and others. The cost includes training materials and costs $175. CEU credits are available for this course. For more information concerning the workshop, please call the Community Mediation Center at 434-0059 or 1-800-653-0019.

Alpha Chi-ESA and the Blue Ridge District Council, consisting of both Alpha Chi and Beta Omicron, of Staunton, recently awarded $500 each in scholarships to local student, Keri Tillison. Tillison is a resident of Stuarts Draft and plans to attend Radford for her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. Each year, Alpha Chi and the BRDC each award $500 to a local student that applies. A student can apply for up to three different scholarships. If you have a senior, or know of a senior, that is interested in applying, contact Betty Allen at 337-2325.
Each year, Alpha Chi members make donations to their scholarship fund in an effort to keep this available for local students. This year, the group is undertaking a project in hopes of being able to raise enough funds to increase the scholarship amount from $500 to $1,000. They are partnering with the Shenandoah Valley Association of Insurance Women to complete a project called “Fairy Godmother’s Closet.” They are in the process of collecting clean, gently worn formal wear during the year. Next March, Alpha Chi will hold sales of these garments to raise funds. The group’s share of the proceeds will go toward the scholarship fund. Presently, they have collected 24 dresses, 1 tuxedo and several pairs of shoes for the sales. If you would like to donate your formal wear, you can call Debbie Frazier at 943-5907. Alpha Chi will make arrangements to have them picked up and they will store them until the dates of the sales.

Officers of Alpha Chi recently met at the home of Betty Allen, of Stuarts Draft, to make plans for their upcoming year. President Millie Simmons called the meeting to order. After which, they went over next year’s budget item by item. After much discussion, and taking into consideration the state of the economy, they came up with a budget that they will present to the membership at the September meeting for their approval. Plans for the year include: the 36th annual Math-a-thon; 22nd annual Baby Photo Contest; second annual Blood Drive for the American Red Cross; and the Halloween Party for the Boys and Girls Club.
New projects include Fairy Godmother’s Closet; Warm Welcomes, a project for newborns; and a Food Drive for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. They will host their dinner and auction again this year, on Oct. 18 at Smyrna Presbyterian Church, which benefits budgeted donations to the local community organizations. The second annual “Sweetheart Club,” a letter writing campaign, will take place from March to May. The funds derived from this project go to Special Love, based in Winchester. Special Love provides a camp for children with cancer, including their siblings and parents. Last year’s efforts raised $1,150. The goal for this year is $1,500.
The chapter will host a formal rush on Sept. 13, which will take place at the Hampton Inn in Fishersville, hoping to recruit new members. Alpha Chi members will again this year provide Christmas presents and food for needy families; dress teddy bears for the Salvation Army; and buy for Christmas Angels. Alpha Chi will partner with several businesses this year in an effort to increase the benefit to the community. Those business include Shenandoah Harley Davidson, Dominoes Pizza, the Shenandoah Association of Insurance Women, the American Red Cross, the Hampton Inn in Fishersville and the Edward Jones offices of Taysha Patterson, Roger Goodwin and Fields Soyars.