October 15, 2018

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Voter deadline to register to vote is extended to October 17

for the 2018 General Election.

Hurricane Michael came through in a rush but exited in time for the town to bounce back.  What a successful BINGO night was had and enjoyed by so many.  The hot dogs with or without homemade chili were perfectly grilled by the Ridge Spring Monetta Athletic Booster Club and the desserts were plentiful and delicious.  The games were varied and the prizes wonderful.  What a wonderful night for all.

The Town's scarecrows got their faces and clothes washed thanks to the hurricane.  The banners still look great and the decorations are in tack.  The lights in the trees are solar powered and showed  up too.

Three local Farms helped to make the Country Store work again this year, Titan Farms, Watsonia and Clayton Rawls Farms.   Without their donations there would be no Country Store. Thank you!!!!

 Sponsored by Bank's Drugs, the Cake, Pie, and Cookie Contest was at the Fire Station. Winners of the Pie contest were first  - Karen Jones, second - Janet Rodgers, third place - Avery Watson.  Layer cake winners were first - Lib Cumbee, second  - Bonnie Fulghum, third - Peggy Hallman.  Pie winners were first - Lib Cumbee, second - Mrs. Rick Havird, third- Marlene Kenner. Cookies and cupcake winners were first - Alyssa Derrick, Joshua Wise, third - Teagan Fulghum. Each won a ribbon and prize money again furnished by Bank's Drugs.  What a success.

Also on Friday night, there was a Tour of Mexico through music and authentic foods, dancing, and live music.  I even ate a corn on a stick with mayonaise and Mexican cheese.  It was delicious too.  Then there was the rice milk.  It was good too.   The dancing, music and food was perfect way to end the day. 

The bar-be-que cooking began Friday night and the samples went on sale around 11:00.  There were 19 contestants and all but 12 one pound containers were left  at 2:30 PM.  The winners were announced at 2:00.  First place was CBF Que and their flag will fly at the gazebo for a year, second place was JTs BBQ, and third place was Pimp My Pig.  More next week about the ribs. 

Tim Miller was to have been the grand Marshall but because of the hurricane and its aftermath, WIS scheduled him to work Saturday morning.  I did see Batman and many others during the parade.

Yon Family Farms will hold their Fall Bull Sale on October 27 beginning at 10:00 AM.  There will be lots of trailers driving though Ridge Spring on the way put t the farm on Highway 392.  There is an amazing mural on the side of the barn, too.
Friends of Ridge Spring, FORS, will meet this Thursday at 5:30 at Town Hall.  We will be making plans for our holiday season that is fast approaching.  Come  join us.
Spann Church in Ward will have its 14th annual singing on Sunday, October 28, at 3:00 pm.  A time for refreshments and fellowship will follow.  All are welcome. For more information phone 803-430-1314.

Art Center of Ridge Spring: Classes:

Stained Glass- Vernon Robinson, instructor Friday and Saturday, Oct 19^th and 20^th 10-4.  Students will make a 8 x 10 suncatcher.  Mr. Robinson is very crafted in his skills.  Class will be very small so spots are limited.  Cost is $250 (50%  due  at sign up.)  Contact AARS or contact kedrynevans@gmail.com , (910)583-2219 or Vernon Robinson (803)640-4527 for details of how to become a part of this class.

Gourds-Joanne Crouch, instructor Thursday, Oct 25^th from 6:30-8:30 Make an heirloom that will be used for fall seasons for years to come.  This gourd is a simple addition to your fall and Thanksgiving décor.  Cost is $35 and includes the gourd, stains, and sealer to complete the project. 

Location:  Ridge Spring Art Center Hwy. 23 108 Maintenance Shop Circle, Ridge Spring SC  29129.  Located behind the Ridge Spring Art Center.  Make checks payable to AARS.

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

Ridge Spring Farmers' Market will start back up this coming Saturday.  Leonard Bell will be there and those greens will start coming in soon. Who knows who may be joining him on the plaza.

I was invited to participate in the First Annual Principal of the Day Program at Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary School. The day started at 7:00 AM with a meeting of the School Improvement Council. Using the agenda, I opened the meeting and then turned the floor over to Mrs. Herlong. The meeting began with discussion of their safety initiative and the locks that have been replaced on doors due to security issues. The locks could cost up to $800.00 each. Also covered were the planning of a career fair, the coalition with Dr. Alford to build partnerships in the community to promote health, finance and education, and elementary school students getting a fresh fruit and vegetable snack 2 - 3 days a week from our local farms as part of a grant received from the SC Department of Education.
The school will participate in the Ridge Spring Harvest Festival parade and have a booth promoting literacy. Literacy Night will be held November 15 from 5:00 to 6:30 at the elementary school. Security Federal will be there to introduce the Looney Tunes program. It allows students to open a savings account with as little as $5.00 with the written approval of the parents. Then, a Security Federal representative will come to the school once a week and allow deposits with as little as a nickel. Every school in the Aiken school district has a literacy night to explain reading levels of students to parents. Even though I was a math and science teacher, you could not do either subject if you could not read on the level I was teaching, which was 6th grade. Students have to be helped early to succeed later.
After visiting the library and reading A Pet for Fly Guy, we joined the Literacy Coach, Ms. Monique Smalls, in her Guided Reading training session with teachers. I learned so much. To start with, the SC Read to Succeed law states that third grade students need to be reading on a third grade level or be retained. RSM identified 15 students last year that would need extra help to become fluent readers. The screening tests are given at the beginning, middle and end of the year. By Christmas of last year, three students continued to need intensive support in reading. There was a rigorous camp offered in the summer to help them become stronger readers and to pass a test called Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), and all three did. RSM Elementary School has several intervention programs in place to assist students in catching up in math and reading. Several initials or acronyms were bandied about at the training, and I found out what they mean. KWL is a strategy that can be used to help students learn how to ask and answer questions about text. K stands for "what do I already know", W is "what do I wonder, and L is "what have I learned". These are keys to help students learn and comprehend while reading independently. There are also three ways for teachers to figure out how to analyze reading records that are taken when students read aloud to the teacher.  MSV - meaning, structure, and visual. One more acronym - there is LLI which means Leveled Literacy Intervention.
I was so impressed with the teachers Mrs. Herlong and I observed in their classrooms. RSME includes K4 through fifth grade, and it runs well for all. We have been so fortunate to have this school in our community.

Josie Rodgers

Congratulations to our friends at Log Creek Timber for being awarded the 2018 Timber Harvesting Business of the Year! We are very proud of Tim Williams, Martha Sanders, and Reg Williams and their entire crew!

RSM High: The Trojans suffered a loss to rival Wagener Salley last Friday. However, it was still a night of celebration honoring the seniors. Football players are Jarquez Davis, Brendon Frazier, Johnnie Freeman, Randy Gonzales, Davon Harrison, Kobe Jones, Nyzabriian Jones, Jonathan Middlebrooks, Kelson Palmer, David Parsons, Jason Robinson, Jason Rodgers, & Jerry Tyler. Senior cheerleaders are Kaylah Ginyard & Alexis Gray. Senior band members include Cheyenne Hartley, Kelsey Moore, Brianna Sheppard, & Alex Timmerman.

On Oct. 16, Jostens will be on campus to take a $60 deposit for class rings. The actual ring ceremony will take place on April 22 at 9:00 am. On Nov. 8, the school will honor veterans with a Veterans Day Program.

FAFSA Night on Oct. 18 at 6 pm in the Media Center. Aiken Technical College's financial aid team will be here to assist students and families with filling out the FAFSA.  Light refreshments will be served. You can sign up by visiting our webpage or call the main office at the high school.

On Nov.7, Jenna Beauregard, NCAA Compliance Officer from USC-Aiken will be presenting on NCAA eligibility requirements at 6:00 pm in the media center. This event is open to any RSM High School student who is interested in playing college athletics and their family.

The RSM High Teacher Cadet along with Williston & MVHS visited USC-A last week complete with a visit to the Children’s Center on-campus daycare (favorite part!), and a tour of dorms, the SAC, and the library. The Cadets had their college IDs made and enjoyed meeting each other. Brendon Frazier represented RSM quite well! We even stopped by JD Lever on the way home to set up our connection with their students and teachers.

Harriet's Garden Tips: Cooler weather has finally arrived.  Now we can start planning which shrubs we want to move or buy and then plant.   You can sow seeds of Coriander(cilantro), dill, and parsley directly into the ground.  Lettuce, spinach, and radishes can be gown now. Get those bulbs in the ground.  If you want to treat them as perennials, you might need to fertilize them with a slow release fertilizer as you plant them. Then fertilize them after they bloom for then they will be working on storing food for next year.  If you want rose hips, stop deadheading your roses and remove petals with your hand to allow the rose hips to form which helps  trigger winter dormancy.

REMINDERS

October 18: Friends of Ridge Spring Meeting at 5:30

October 27: Yon Family Farms Bull Sales

October 28: Spann Church annual singing at 3:00

November 10: BS Troop flag burning ceremony

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