October 1, 2018

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Harvest Festival Plans are in full gear.   Thursday night is BINGO, Friday night will be Mexican Celebration with Latino band, dancers, two cookers of authentic food.  This will be a celebration of the four regions of Mexico. Friday afternoon is the time to participate in the Cake, Pie and Cookie Contest at the Fire Station. Saturday will be full with the BBQ time, car show which will be held in the Civic Center Parking lot, vendors, parade, concessions, Country Store, Welcome Center games and more.  The grand marshal will be WIS TV weatherman Tim Miller. To get the applications go on line to the following address: www.ridgespringharvestfestival.com/participants-vendors  Click on participation forms and enter. 

If you are interested in purchasing a Whole Butt from any of the Bar-be-que participants it  must be purchased in advance.  There will be none sold on Saturday.  A whole butt will be $25.00.  The BBQ can be purchased the day of the contest for $8.00 a lb.  You can also go around with $1.00 tickets and get a 2 oz. cup for one ticket or 4 oz. cup with 2 tickets.  Hawaiian roles will be on sale if  you want to make a sandwich.

Ridge Spring Farmers' Market is still going on.  There were three vendors.  Leonard Bell with squash, corn, tomatoes, green scuppernongs.  Loris and Bobby Yonce had tomatoes, apples, and cabbage. Even Dennis Day was there with honey.  The greens will come in when it is a little colder.

Ridge Spring has been decorated for the Harvest Festival. Under the leadership of Donna Lybrand the decorating began. There were scarecrows that had been repainted by the Art Association, hay bales donated by Yon Family Farm were distributed, corn stalks donated by Sherald Rodgers,  the town's tractor pulled the wagon with Sherald enjoying driving, lights from years past and so much more. We had parents, teenagers, volunteers and all were working together.  Drive by and check it out.  Coming at dusk will show eerie lights in the trees, too.

Boy Scout Troop 555 and Pack 555 are collecting old, worn out American flags to retire. The troop and pack will be conducting a flag retirement ceremony on November 10 at 4:00 pm at the fire station. If you have a flag you would like to retire contact Melissa Stover mstover310@gmail.com or you can drop it off at Ridge Spring Baptist Church's fellowship hall on the 2nd and 4th Monday of the month at 7:00-8:00 pm

Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church : “HARVESTING FOR HIM” EVERYONE IS INVITED -  Fourth annual shoebox packing party will be held Sunday, October 7 beginning at 12:30 pm with lunch provided by LMM.  Packing Party starts at 1:15 pm and afterwards there will be  Games for the Kids at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church Fellowship Building.  To make sure we prepare enough food, please RSVP by signing the list on the narthex bulletin board or calling Donna Hatcher at 275-4839.  Grandparents, this is a wonderful event to attend with your grandchildren.  Social Ministry is providing soap, washcloths, toothbrushes, pencils, erasers, & pencil sharpeners for each box. Other items needed: crayons, coloring books, combs/brushes, underwear, socks, shirts, small toys, stuffed animals, small water bottles, eating utensils, single subject notebooks, writing paper, journals, hair accessories, flash lights w/extra batteries, dolls, sunglasses, colored pencils, etc. This ministry blesses children around the world with gift-filled shoeboxes that become opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Ridge Spring Town Hall is open on Saturdays.

A new shop will be opening next week, October 12 just in time for the Ridge Spring Harvest Festival.  It will be a clothing store with emphasis on plus sizes for men and women. 

Ridge Spring Art Center: Barbara M. Yon, Kedryn Evans and Jean Thomas  had a great time doing mosaic on the steps at the Art Center. One down, 2 to go. What a beautiful job. 

Josie Rodgers

RSM Elem: Day of Caring We would like to thank everyone who made donations, helped organize the event, and/or helped beautify our campus. Special thanks to Amick Farms, Candy Barnes, Lee & Callie Herlong, Mendi Tucker, Gene Bush, Robbie, Melissa, & Nora Cockrell, Tom & Judy Kopp, Steven, Thara, Braelynn, & Easton Crosby, Georgia Kinard, Fabiana Story, Amy Ciravolo, Tonya Rodgers, and Elias Rosales.

School Improvement Council Our new School Improvement Council parent representatives are Angie Gibson and Natasha Blacks. Congratulations and thank you for serving!

Summer Readers Congratulations to the following students for completing their summer reading requirements: Harper Rose Abney, Aaron Aimar, Connor Cockrell, Matthew Cockrell, Airehna Clark, Braelynn Crosby, Easton Crosby, McKinley Cumbee, Tyler Diaz, Justin Garcia, Damani Guest, Dylan Harris, Eli Hawkins, Olivia Hawkins, Zykiel Hope, Sophia Ildefonso, Deavione Jeffery, Taniylah Jeffery, Ya’lexia Jeffery, Amber Key, Anthony Key, Mia Kinard, Makenna Lipsey, Ta’Liyah Lott, Aiden Love, Jamirah Lites, Alayssia Lytes, Jaelyn Lytes, Makenya Mason, Ellis McDowell, Heaven McField, Zayden Murray, Gracie Myers, Nikilas Myers, Riley Nisbet, Ashley Pearson, Devonne Quattlebaum, Abigail Robinson, Daniel Robinson, Joseph Robinson, Tara Robinson, Jade Roccia, Natily Roccia, Tiffanie Roccia, Hailey Rodgers, Lacey Rodgers, Paisley Rodgers, Tyzai Smith, Daniel Toole, Alyssa Whitfield, Marcellus Wideman, McKinley Wideman, Jamiyah Williams, and Cameron Wingard.

RSM High: Officers and senior members of the Senior Beta Club and National English Honor Society presented a fun new project for the 4^th& 5^th graders at RSM Elem. Each early release Wed., these high school students will sponsor a one-hour Club Day with various group of the elem kids including Book Club, Poetry Club, Football Club, Baseball Club, Hula Hoop Club, Chess Club, Games Club, and Cheer Club.  In addition, health science students in Beta and NEHS will host a Health Science Club with hands-on activities teaching the kids about health, cleanliness, and nutrition. Elem students will have the opportunity to participate in 3 different clubs plus the health club. Representing RSM High were Kelson Palmer (NEHS President), Morgan Berry (Beta VP), Kaylah Guinyard, Brendon Frazier, Cheyenne Hartley, Johnathan Cumbee (Beta & NEHS secretary), Bailie Davis, Perla Hernandez, & Jonathan Middlebrooks. Club Day will begin Oct. 24, the next early release day. Many thanks to Kipp Palmer for the idea and to RSM High principal Mr. Blankenship and RSM Elem principal Callie Herlong for the support and enthusiasm.

RSM High Memorial Garden:  Great care was taken last spring to document every memorial stone located in the school’s little memorial garden and clean it up. Construction required the garden to be moved because this area will soon be part of a parking lot and football field, not where we want our special friends’ memorials to stay. During our most recent Day of Caring, these memorials were reverently placed in our beautiful courtyard while the stone benches were housed within until the new memorial garden is completed. When the construction of the new high school is completed (around Nov. 2019), school officials will work together to choose an appropriate place for this special memorial. Anyone with questions or concerns are welcome to contact RSM High and speak with principal Kyle Blankenship. Together, we will honor the memories of those lost while attending our school.  Our Trojan family remains strong and united in these situations. As always, the community is welcome to come help us with these types of projects and beautification endeavors.  

The Trojans football team traveled to Denmark-Olar and beat them 40-30. Next game is home vs Blackville-Hilda.

It’s Spirit Week at RSM High! Mon is Red, White, & Blue Day. Tues is Salad Dressing Day (ranch=cowboy, Italian=fancy, thousand island=Hawaiian, Caesar=togas, etc). Wednesday is Athlete vs Geek Day, and Throwback Thursday will require past decades garb. On Spirit Friday, everyone will wear school colors and show spirit at the biggest pep rally of the year full of class competitions (tug of war, dizzy bat, obstacle course, hula hoop, etc). The Trojans host Blackville at 7:30. Parking is still an issue, so come early and be prepared. 

RSM’s FFA has adopted Trojan Road from Highway 23 to Highway 1. Their efforts will make for a cleaner roadway, especially with construction and traffic diversion.

Speaking of traffic: Due to the recent construction on our campus, we have had some changes in our drop-off and pick-up route for car riders. Students who are car riders are to be picked up behind the high school in the courtyard loop. Please use the second driveway behind the mobile units to access the courtyard loop. Concerns? Please contact the school.

SRP Federal Credit Union has partnered with Aiken County Public Schools to create an affinity card program. As part of the program, SRP will set aside money each time a debit card in the program is used. That money will then be donated to the district, and is expected to amount to over $150,000 in revenue for the public schools. Help support the RSM Trojans by signing up for a card.

Harriet's Garden Tips:  Have you begun to see more and more bulbs for sale?  If purchased and not planted they need to be kept cool.  Temperatures higher than 70 degrees can damage the flower so here are some tips to protect them before you get them planted.  Store them in ventilated bags but not paper or plastic shopping bags.  You can add some peat, perlite, or vermiculite to protect them.  Bulbs can be stored for several weeks in a cool place such as a refrigerator drawer.  A vegetable crisper can be used but avoid storing bulbs in the same drawer as ripening fruit.   Since some bulbs are poisonous this storage method is not recommended for households with young children.   The best idea is to be prepared to plant them ASAP. I dug up some bulbs last year and left them out to dry.  I just remembered them, and they are so dried out that I had to throw them away.

REMINDERS

Oct. 7: Mt. Calvary Shoebox packing party

October 11: Harvest Festival Bingo

October 12: Cake and pie Contest judging and Mexican Night Celebration

October 13: BBQ galore, parade, games, rides, arts and crafts, car show, country            store, music  and more

Ridge Spring Library Hours: Mon. Tues. 9:00 - 12:00; Wed. Thurs. Closed;

            Fri. 10:00 - 4:00; Sat. 10:00 - 1:00.

Saluda Library Hours:  Mon/Wed 8:30 am-5 pm; Tues/Thurs 8:30 am – 6 pm; Fri 8:30    am – 5 pm; Sat closed

Ridge Spring Post Office hours:  Mon-Fri. 7:30 am – 11:30 am; Sat 9 – 10 am

Recycling Center Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 1-7; Sat 7-7; Sun 3-7; Tues/Thurs closed

Every Friday & Saturday:  AARS hours 10 – 4 or by appt, free admission

Every first Tuesday of the Month:  AARS meets at 6:30, 685-5783

Every 1^st Thursday:  Audibel Hearing Center in the back room of Bank

Every Friday:  Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings 7-8 pm at The Ridge Spring Library

Every 4^th Saturday:  The Helpful Hands Food/Clothing Bank