February 15,  2019

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Quilting on the Ridge

March 8 and 9

The Town will be decked out in quilts.  Start at the Art Center,  108 Maintenance Building Circle (behind the Civic Center). And purchase a bag of Goodies for $5.00.  View the painting of a guilt block.  Visit the Civic Center where Creative Sewing Machine Center will have a long arm machine with sewing and quilting machines on display and a sewing machine as a door prize. The beautiful quilt made by Anne Curley is on display at the Security Federal Bank. The bank is located  at 636 E. Main Street.  Their phone number is 803.674.1165.  If the bank happens to be closed when you want to view the quilt, it is in plain sight for all to see.  The mailing address is

Juniper Restaurant: We will be in Charleston cooking at Southeastern Wildlife Exposition with Manchester Farms Quail and the The Lee Bros. this upcoming Saturday at 11am in the Certified South Carolina Tent! Come check us out. We will be cooking Quail & Dumplings

Josie Rodgers:

            Peach trees blooming? It’s not time! Our crazy SC weather brings all sorts of opportunity for funny memes. My favorite is the one in which SC experiences all 4 seasons in one week, sometimes in one day!

RMS High: The Beta Club and National English Honor Society inducted new members Monday night in a double ceremony. New NEHS members include Vy Bussey, Montana Hartley, Jonathan Huffman, McKenzie Kinard, Katelyn Kirk, Nyshayla Mathews, William Moyer, Jayda Putnam, Maria Renteral-Reyes, Kimberlee Rice, Jason Robinson, & Joel Yoho. New Beta members include Daijah Anderson, Nehemiah Blacks, Vy Bussey, Deonte Edwards, Jonathan Huffman, Mikenzie Kinard, Deonte Edwards, Montana Hartley, Maria Renteral-Reyes, Kimberlee Rice, Chelsey Ricker Jasmine Rico, Chelsey Ricker, Anna Thompson, Madison Wootton, & Joel Yoho. Presidents Austin Scott (Beta) and Kelson Palmer (NEHS) assisted with the induction as did the other officers: Morgan Berry, Beta VP; Johnathan Cumbee, Beta & NEHS secretary; and Symia Wilson, Beta & NEHS Historian. Sponsors Josie Rodgers and Kelly Bedenbaugh spoke, and the current members provided a wonderful spread of refreshments for the parents, inductees, and members.

My students have been talking about Valentine’s Day and wondering what to get for their sweethearts. Besides the traditional stuffed animals, roses, and candy, a sincere card or letter of love is a perfect (and economical!) choice. Stuffed animals tatter, roses wither, and candy gets eaten, but words on paper are sweet and lasting. According to Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18,” the written word can last forever: “As long as men can breathe and eyes can see/so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

I took nine of my Beta Club members to the SC Beta Club Convention at Myrtle Beach last weekend. I always get to see former colleagues who are sponsors. This past weekend was a first for me as one of my friend sponsors from Whitmire turned my eyes to another of their sponsors. I looked at her face and then her nametag. Oh my! She was one of my very first students my first year teaching at Whitmire! She’s 39 (made me feel old) and had her 16-year-old daughter at the convention. I was blown away at how this beautiful freshman I taught was now all grown up and teaching special education at her alma mater. Of course, I realize that it’s been 25 years since then, but in my mind, my students are all still young. It was a wonderful reunion.

RMS High: Nine Beta Club members traveled to Myrtle Beach last weekend for the SC state Beta Club convention. The club competed in the two-dimensional art (banner) competition and the portfolio (scrapbook) competition. Individuals competed in academic tests as well as visual and performing arts.  Jason Rodgers, senior, won 2^nd place in the visual arts painting competition with his painting “Reflections of Autumn.” This is the second year RSM has been honored with an award. After all the campaigning, students voted on state Beta officers, and winners were installed Sat night at the last general session. In addition, the finalists in Show Choir, Group Talent, and Solo/Duo/Trio Talent performed Friday and Saturday. The Betas enjoyed a dance after the last general session.

Six band students represented RS-M High at the 2019 Limestone College Honor Band Clinic in Gaffney Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The students rehearsed Thursday evening and Friday morning and afternoon with their respective bands, and the clinic concluded with an outstanding concert performed by the students on Friday evening. Band members included Chesley Cooper, Jonathan Cumbee, Kandon Hastings, Joanna Kaiser, Kelsey Moore, & Kyla Padgett.

            The following student athletes were named to the All State Class1A Football Team: Hayden Cherry, Trey Dean, and Collier Sullivan.

AARS (Kedryn Evans): Winter is almost over, and we are looking forward to opening back up to the public. We will reopen Mar. 1. Our hours will be Fri and Sat from 10 am to 2 pm. Check out our Facebook page, Art Association of Ridge Spring, to find out about upcoming events. One such event is Anne Hightower-Patterson’s class “Where Do I Go From Here?” on April 26-27 from 10-4 with an hour for lunch. Cost is $130. Students are to bring basic watercolor supplies (paints, brushes, paper). Students can also bring some of their work to be evaluated by Anne. Anne is an accomplished watercolorist with many award-winning works to her credit. Contact Joanne Crouch to register (joanne.crouch26@gmail.com).

RIDGE SPRING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH(Nanette Hughes):   February means Super Bowl AND Souper Collection! The month of February the Big Red Box will be collecting soup. Any kind, all kinds are appreciated. At the end of the month the soup will be distributed to local foods banks. Want to make a monetary donation? Send a check to the Church, on the FOR Line write soup and we will make sure it is designated for food banks. Another way to help: the Little Buckets are taking up money in support of favorite Super Bowl Team. Support donations will run until the end of the month so even if your Team didn’t win, you can still show support. Join us in this fun project and let’s fill the food bank shelves with soup. There is plenty of cold weather ahead.Service is at 11 a.m. unless other wised noted. Join us on Sunday for a praise filled message and fellowship. Don’t forget to ‘like’ us on Facebook.

Security Federal Bank Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9:00-12:00,  1:00-5:00, Wednesday 9:00-12:00.  If you need to contact them by mail, the mailing address is Post Office Box 810, Aiken, SC 29802

Review from David Marshall James:  "The Burglar" by Thomas Perry

   Thomas Perry has written more than 20 novels of suspense and mystery going back three decades, and his craftsmanship remains as reliable as a top-shelf brand.

   Perry's latest novel takes us to LaLa Land, but the singing and dancing are all offstage.  He focuses on Pasadena native Elle Stowell, but she's hardly of the privileged families generally associated with that burg.

   Rather, she's been raised by a pinching-- in the British sense-- grandmother who would have made a fair Fagan back in a Dickensian day.

   By the time our lens finds Elle, she's been on her own since age 14, when her grandmother died, and is now casing her specs in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and other such gated-villa Shangri-La's, robbing from the rich and making a decent (in the remunerative sense) living at it.

   Perry wastes no time adjusting the reader's mindset.  We cringe when she hears a creak.  We exhale with relief when she manages her latest B&E.  We almost cheer, "You go, girl!" when she stumbles upon the yellow-diamond, platinum-set necklace in a closet wall-safe.

   Dahlin', if you can't be bothered to leave the jewels in the vault while you're on extended vacay, well ... here comes Elle.  Besides which, she can only fence such high-end goods for ten cents on the dollar, and she has to drive over to Vegas to do that.

   Of course, Elle's personal payback for her life of crime is that she's constantly looking over her shoulder, but never as much as she needs be after she happens upon a grisly crime scene during one of her break-in's.

   Suddenly, she's being tracked, traced, and otherwise placed in the crosshairs, figuratively and literally.

   As Elle scurries around Southern California, swapping one rental car for another, she attempts to uncover who, exactly, are her pursuers and why, exactly, they are pursuing her. 

   That makes for some quality page-turning, courtesy of Perry, who scores another winner with this latest suspense novel.  And, should you know not of the author and his many works, you'll enjoy your latest discovery for quite some time.

Harriet's Garden Tips:  So much is blooming that it is  hard to believe.  A good rule of thumb is to prune after something has bloomed which is before next year's blooms are set. Plants have started showing up in the box stores.  Before you plant check on amount of sun, type of soil, and when does it bloom.  It is fun to have a mixed bed of flowers that seem to have blooms all season long.  It is too early to plant many vegetable seeds but you can plant beets, spinach, carrots, lettuce, snap peas, English peas, and many other vegetables that are considered spring plants. Get that rain gauge out and place in the garden to make sure you get at least an inch of water each week. 

REMINDERS

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

Fridays & Saturdays:  AARS hours 10:00-2:00 or by appt, free admission

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

Third Thursday: FORS at Town Hall at 5:30 PM

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

Security Bank Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9-12  1-5, Wed. 9-12

Ridge Spring Town Hall: Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, Sat. 8:30am - 12:00pm