December 16,  2019

Ridge Spring News

Harriet Householder

Work has truly begun on the parking lot.  The dying oak trees have been removed and the pavement that I remember so many people tripping on during the Ridge Spring Famers Market.  A reminder that Leonard Bell will be there Saturday December 21 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon with collards, mustard greens turnips and sweet potatoes.  Pull out those family recipes.  My way of cooking collards was letting my mother-in-law Florence Householder cook them.  Now my daughter cooks them.  It skipped a generation.

Friends of Ridge Spring will meet December 19 at 5:30 at Town Hall.   Please attend and help continue support the progress that our town has been making over the years.

The Town of Ridge Spring and Spring4Life will continue the cat clinics in 2020. In a few short months we have sterilized 80 cats and will have far fewer kitten litters in 2020.  But,  we already know we have many more to go to be truly effective in humanely reducing our community cat over-populations. 

There has been a backlog and waiting list for available appointments for the low-cost spay or neuter with a rabies shot but with our next clinic date we will again be offering those services at $19 for Town of Ridge Spring residents and $39 for all other Saluda County residents.  There is a small up-charge if your cat is a house pet..   

Spring4Life is not a shelter.  It is a volunteer organization and we always need new volunteers.  If you are interested in volunteering or scheduling the sterilizing of your cat, please contact Laura at Spring4Life (803-522-0348) or Ridge Spring Town Hall.

ART ASSOCIATION OF RIDGE SPRING & GALLERY Searching for that perfect last- minute gift? We have lots to offer at the Art Center in Ridge Spring! Not only do we have wonderful art, Christmas decorations, jewelry and other beautiful items, we also offer gift cards that can go towards art or you can give someone you love a class at the Art Center! The new year is almost here and we have some great NEW classes to get your year off to a wonderful start! Check out all we have to offer and sign yourself (or someone you love!) up now while space is still available. Contact information for each class is below or you can always stop by the Art Center Fridays and Saturdays from 10am to 2pm. We are on Facebook and don’t forget to check out our website at http://ridgespringlovesart.weebly.com.

Pen Turning Class Saturday, January 11 & 25, 2020 10 AM - 11:30 AM, 12 PM - 1:30 PM, 1:30 PM - 3 PM One student per each hour & half session. Please email {Marlene_Sides@yahoo.com } or Call: 706-829- 4929 to book your session and directions. Cost: $35 [Includes all supplies to make a custom ink pen] Session will be held in Larry’s workshop. Teacher: Larry Sides Pen Turning Class Saturday, January 18, 2020 1:00 PM - 3 PM Instructor: Nick Watson Cost: $80 Includes all supplies. Session will be held in front of the Art Center of Ridge Spring in Nick’s travel workshop. To sign up: Message Joanne Crouch at (803) 480-0576 or by email joanne.crouch26@gmail.com or stop by the Art Center.

Exercise Class Are you ready to get in shape after the holidays? Well, here’s your chance. Beginning January 7, 2020 corrective/strengthening exercise sessions will be offered at the Art Center. These sessions will be presented by Marlene Sides, RN, CES. Marlene is a NASM certified personal fitness trainer and Registered Nurse. Prior to moving to Ridge Spring, Marlene owned and operated Redefining Fitness. She has additional certifications in corrective fitness for individuals with special physical/mobility needs. Sessions will be offered every Tuesday and Thursday beginning January 7th. Each session will last one hour and be customized to the health and fitness needs of each participant. Equipment for strengthening exercises provided. Drop-ins welcome to come see and join in! Place: Art Center Ridge Spring 108 Maintenance Building Circle Dates: January 7 and 9 January 14 and 16 January 21 and 23 January 28 and 30 Session One: 4 pm- 5 pm Session Two: 6 pm - 7 pm Fee: $5 per session Please email {Marlene_Sides@yahoo.com } or Call: 706-829-4929 to book your session and directions.

RIDGE SPRING UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: The Advent season is upon us and Pastor Ashley has given us the reason for the season with two outstanding Advent messages. Songs of praise, candles on the Advent wreath and the lovely Christmas tree really sets the mood.. If you drive on DuBose be sure and look at the Church. The nativity scene is set up right by the sign.. There will be NO church service December 29^th.  RSUMC is on Face Book. Visit our page, like us and keep up with the events and activities of the Church.

Josie Rodgers:

I can’t believe it’s less than a week until we celebrate the birth of Christ! I’ve been reading a chapter in Luke each night and will finish on Christmas Eve (24 chapters). What a great reminder not only of His birth but of his life and miracles and sufferings, all for me. All for you!

St. William Catholic Church celebrated last Sunday with an old-fashioned reading of the Christmas story and sing-a-long. Church members brought lots of homemade goodies and gifts, and there was a special visit from St. Nick himself. There is nothing like spending time with family and friends at church!

RS Baptist presented their cantata Sun night complete with adorable appearances by the children and a special cameo of Gracie Kelly as Mary. This annual event is always full of amazing music and special additions. Mildred Webb does a stupendous job of preparing the choir for these occasions. The church was decorated so beautifully with white Christmas trees and white sparkling garland and twinkling lights all around. It was perfect décor from the wedding the night before. Congratulations to Morgan Derrick & Hunter Harrelson who were married at RS Baptist Church last Saturday.

RSM Elem: A 4K Evening Program will be held from Jan. 27-Mar. 30, 2020, at RSME. This program is for students not already part of an Aiken County 4K program. To register or obtain more info, call 803-663-4204 or email ACPSD Coordinator of Early Learning Programs Ann Olsen at aolsen@acpsd.net. Only 120 slots are available throughout the county, so don’t wait.

RSM High: Last Friday, the Culture Club presented a Hispanic Heritage Celebration for middle and high school students. The guest speaker was our very own Spanish teacher, Mrs. Margaret Armendariz. She gave a little of her background with Hispanic culture as well as teaching. Club members presented history, poetry, songs, dances, and even a piñata demonstration. The finale was a line dance with invitations for other students and faculty to join in! Afterwards, club members and special guests, including parents) enjoyed cookies and hot cocoa in the library. Mrs. Casey Spire is the sponsor of the Culture Club as well as the ESL instructor for the mid and high school. Club officers include Nancy Lopez, president; Charity Elam, vice-president; & Lizbeth Figueroa-Gonzalez, secretary. The Culture Club includes students from all backgrounds and ethnicities.

Congratulations to football coach Brian Smith who was honored at the Carolina Panthers game on Sun., Dec. 15, as one of their High School Football Coaches of the Week. Coach even made it on the jumbo tron!

On Dec. 10, the English Honor Society sponsored Cookies and Stories with Mrs. Claus. A dear friend of Mrs. Josie Rodgers, Mrs. Claus flew to RSM to visit with the community’s children and take messages back to Santa. She walked around while the children enjoyed crafts, games, coloring, and snacks. Then she read Santa is Coming to the Carolinas and The Biggest, Best Snowman. The winner of the ornament number guessing contest was Reagan Holsomback. Each child received a giant Snoopy coloring book and a mini monster truck to take home. NEHS members as well as other student volunteers manned every station and spent time with the children. Almost 50 people were in attendance. The members already have big plans for next year’s event which will be at our new school!

The Beta Club & NEHS are sponsoring a food drive with a great incentive for the students. There will be two bins to fill with canned goods. One bin is for Coach Smith, and the other bin for Mr. Moots. The winner will receive a terrific prize: a pie in the face! Coach Smith suggested the loser have to shave his head, but Mr. “Hair” Moots was NOT on board with that incentive! Dr. Webb approved either reward; he & Coach Smith are already smoothly shaven on top! At any rate, we need canned goods to share with our local food bank. Send yours in and identify which person you’d like to have pied in the face!

The Beta Club is also sponsoring a coat drive. Please bring clean, gently used (or new!) coats and jackets of all sizes to the school or give to a Beta member. For more info, contact Josie Rodgers or Kelly Bedenbaugh. Let’s share the warmth this winter!

Review from David Marshall James:  "Nothing Ventured" by Jeffrey Archer

   "Spot on," "Right-o," and "Jolly good show" to this first novel in a new series by the much accomplished Jeffrey Archer.

   The author sets the clock back to the mid 1980s, in London, spotlighting up-and-coming detective William Warwick, whose family background should have taken him to Queen's Court, not Scotland Yard, as his father is a highly regarded Queen's Counselor amidst the bewigged and robed defenders of the laws of the realm.

   However, it's William's older sister, Grace, who makes Papa proud on that front, stepping up to the bar, as young William follows his heart's desire into the Metropolitan Police Force, walking a beat with an "old timer" mentor for two years before sitting his detective's exam.

   Because of his avocational and academic  background in art history, WW lands in the Art and Antiquities department at Scotland Yard, where the leading case, going on seven years, involves the theft of Rembrandt's most famous painting, The Syndics of the Clothmakers' Guild, from the Fitzmolean, a London museum given over to the Dutch Masters.

   Here, Archer plays a little loose with the facts; nevertheless, there is such a painting, and there is a Fitzmolean museum in London, yet the painting is actually on display in Amsterdam, along with masterpieces by other Dutch Masters.

   And we don't mean cigars, for those who treasure the memory of Rembrandt's Syndics on boxes of the onetime ubiquitous restaurant- and drugstore-counter feature.

   Naturally, WW is going to get in on the art heist, along with assorted other cases of less grandiose dimensions, including a fellow who's forging authorial autographs in allegedly signed first editions for antique bookstores, as well as a case of allegedly sunken historical treasure.

   Then, there's a murder allegedly committed by the father of someone who becomes close to WW in the course of his investigation of the Rembrandt, which makes for a smashing subplot.

   Archer keeps the action juggling on multiple fronts, never suffering a dull page.  For readers of well-versed novelists, Archer may not be a Dutch Master, but he's most definitely a master.  And you can peel the cellophane off that cigar and smoke it.

Harriet's Garden Tips:  The best way to prevent winter damage to shrubs is to select hardy species.  As you tinker with your landscape over the winter plan to consult publications and "google" sites like Clemson Extension that contain information on the climate zones for the shrubs you are interested in planting.  It is better to select cold-hardy species in the first place rather than attempt to protect tender plants later. 

REMINDERS

Jeannette Carr Memorial: 864.656.5896, www.clemson.edu/isupportcu, Jeannette        Carr Memorial, Annual Giving Office, 110 Daniel Drive, Clemson, SC 29631

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

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

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 Ridge Spring