Culpeper church selling used dresses
Mountain View Community Church in Culpeper will hold a used prom/bridesmaid dress sale starting Saturday.
The church has collected about 100 dresses and accessories and is still accepting donations. All dresses will be sold for $10 each at the Digital Caffeine Coffee Shop on Davis Street. Sale times and dates are from 9:30 a.m.-noon on Saturday and on April 10, and 6-8 p.m. on March 31 and April 15.
All proceeds will go to Mountain View's community care fund. For more information, call Jeanie Raven at 540/423-4443.
Flower sale will help Culpeper library
The Friends of the Culpeper County Library will hold its annual pansy sale in front of the library on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m.
Pansies and other flowers are grown locally at Ebenezer Heights Greenhouse. Pansies will cost $3 for a packet of six and $16 for a flat of 36.
All proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Library, which supports the library in numerous ways.
Water company will pay Caroline more
The State Corporation Commission ordered the Ladysmith Water Co. to pay Caroline County nearly $20,000 more towards a $123,000 overdue water bill.
Those orders came on Tuesday, just two weeks after the SCC ordered the water company that serves the residents of the Lake Caroline community to pay $75,000.
The county has been providing water to that community since April 2009. However, it had not been paid since September 2009 until the first SCC order was issued, said County Administrator Percy Ashcraft.
Lake Caroline residents feared they would lose water after Caroline issued a termination of service notice to the water company on Feb. 22 after continued late notices remained unpaid, Ashcraft said. Residents had been paying their monthly bills to the company on time.
The SCC's most recent order directs that $19,949.80 must be paid by April 15. If paid, the total amount received by the county under the SCC's orders would be close to $95,000.
Ashcraft said he is hopeful that they will be able to resolve all remaining payment issues with the Company and anticipates receiving timely payments from the company for water service in the future.
--Portsia Smith
Bowling fundraiser scheduled by clinic
The Free Clinic of Culpeper will hold a bowling fundraiser at the Mountain Run Bowling Center (Culpeper Towne Center) on Saturday, March 27, from noon until 5 p.m.
The event will be held to raise money for the clinic and to honor Dr. Amauri Gonzalez for his dedicated service to the organization.
The cost will be $50 per bowler (including shoes and refreshments) with a minimum of four bowlers per team.
Bowling times available include noon to 1:30 p.m, 1:30 to 3 p.m. and 3:30 to 5 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.
Child care for children age 4 to 10 is also available at no cost to bowlers.
Participants can opt to be a Diamond Sponsor for a $500 donation, which will include a team of four bowlers, signage and advertising recognition.
Registration ends Thursday, March 18. For more information contact Norma Dunwody at 540/825-2252.
--Donnie Johnston
One-act play festival presents awards
Stage Door Productions' "Third Annual One Act Play Festival" was held in February, featuring 10 unpublished plays by playwrights from across the country.
The event also featured 10 directors and more than 30 actors.
The judges selected the following award winners.
Best Play: First place, "The Third Time: by Steph-en Peirick; second place, "Breathing Water Instead of Air," by Tira Palmquist; third place, "Feeding Time at the Human House," by David Wiener.
Best performance by an actor: Josh Pastell.
Best performance by an actress: Lisa Martus, Amanda Miller, Esther Servais.
Best performance in a supporting role by an actor: Jake Cundiff, Trip Lloyd.
Best performance in a supporting role by an actress: Barbara Cochran, Linda Nesbitt.
Audience favorite: "Skipper," by Robert Beiderman.
John Smith voyage subject of lecture
Joel Dunn of The Conservation Fund will present a lecture on the Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail on March 31 at Menokin.
The presentation is set for 5 p.m. Menokin, a national historic landmark and the home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, is located near Warsaw.
Dunn will discuss Smith's 1607-09 voyages of exploration in the Chesapeake Bay. The lecture is part of Menokin's 2010 speaker series.
Housing coalition needs volunteers
The Central Virginia Housing Coalition needs volunteers on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. until noon to help with the Lend-A-Hand Program.
The program offers financial assistance and counseling for people having trouble meeting their mortgage and rental needs. Training is provided. The group also needs volunteers to help organize and take inventory of the maintenance warehouse. To volunteer, call 540/604-9943, ext. 32 or e-maillbarnett@centralvahous ing.org.
Hospice agency offers bereavement groups
Hospice Support Care, which has provided service in the Fredericksburg region for 30 years, is providing two bereavement programs.
Kids Helping Kids is a group for youngsters ages 5-12. It meets bimonthly to help children express and process their feelings. In addition, the youngsters can participate in Camp Rainbow, an annual weekend retreat in May for grieving children.
Teens Helping Teens is a group for teens age 13 through seniors in high school who have lost a loved one. It meets bimonthly with facilitators who guide discussions and activities that encourage teens to share as they build friendships and create new positive memories.
Hospice Support Care is a Rappahannock United Way agency funded by private donations, various grants, the Magnolia Thrift Shop, and proceeds from special events such as the annual Magnolia Ball, set for April 10 this year at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.
For information on programs, call 540/361-7071 or visit hospicesupport care.org.
Five DAR members attend state meet
Five members of the Susannah Chandler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution attended the recent 114th Virginia DAR State Conference in Richmond.
Chapter Regent Judith Lamasure and member Charlene Trueman attended the Bell Tower at Capitol Square dedication.
First vice regent Linda Sutphin, registrar Kerry Gryczynski and past regent Martha Sukites also participated in the conference.
On Sunday morning of the conference, Sukites was installed as District VI treasurer. The chapter won 10 awards recognizing work in promoting patriotism and historic preservation.
Writers sponsoring poetry celebration
The Riverside Writers of Fredericksburg are sponsoring the eighth annual Celebration of Poetry on Saturday at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg.
The event is slated from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is free. All participants will have an opportunity to read their own original poetry during the "open-mike" and "poetry slam" portions of the program.
The guest speaker will be Jeremy Larochelle from the University of Mary Washington. He will speak on "(Re)Writing the Jungle: Perspectives on Nature in Recent Amazonian Poetry."
A buffet, deli-style luncheon will be available at a cost of $10. Payment in advance is necessary.
For information, call Larry Tuner at 540/710-2518 or Joe Metz at 540/582-9745.
LOW Fire, Rescue elects leadership
The Lake of the Woods Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company has new leadership.
Larry Eiben is now the president of the nine-member board of directors, succeeding Tom Cornell. Rick Hopper is vice president and will automatically succeed Eiben next year.
Also on the board are Tim Bettendorf, who was elected fire chief succeeding Bruce Willets, and Benny Taylor, who was re-elected rescue captain.
Other board members include treasurer Bob Schwab, secretary Hank Altman, and directors-at-large Joe Argenzio, Bud Moody and Janet Yeager.
Orange County Administrator Jill Jordan installed the nine at a banquet at the LOW Clubhouse in early March.
Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, was the featured speaker at the banquet.
Battlefield friends host dinner, auction
Friends of Wilderness Battlefield will host the 8th annual dinner and auction on Saturday, May 1, at the Daniel Technology Center at Germanna Community College in Culpeper.
Tickets are available at special prices until March 31. Tickets are $35 per person or $250 for a table of eight.
As of April 1, tickets will cost $50 per person or $400 for a table.
The annual auction is the group's major fundraising event. Funds raised this year will support the Ellwood Manor Restoration Project.
Fredericksburg teens win Bland contest
Two teenagers from the Fredericksburg area won top honors in the recent Bland Music Contest sponsored by the Lake of the Woods Lions Club.
Soprano Megan Buhmann, 17, a student at Massaponax High School, won first place in vocal competition for the second straight year.
Pianist Ryan Feng, 14, of Fredericksburg,who is a student at Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax, took first place in instrumental competition. Both advanced to a Lions zone competition today at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Madison at 2 p.m. Winners there will compete in a district contest at James Madison University in Harrisonburg.
The final, state-level competition is set for the Lions of Virginia Convention in May in Roanoke.
The Lions Club of Virginia established the Bland Music Scholarship program in 1948 to promote educational opportunities for musically talented youth of middle- and high-school age.
Extension service sets landscape course
The 2010 Home Landscape Course for the Gardening Novice will be held on Thursdays between April 1 and May 27 at the Virginia Cooperative Extension Stafford County office in the Rowser Building at 1739 Jefferson Davis Highway.
Hours are 6:30-8:30 p.m. The course is open to the public, but space is limited.
The course will provide basic gardening information for homeowners and gardening novices. It consists of nine two-hour sessions with topics including soils and fertilizers, annuals and perennials, woody ornamental identification, turf maintenance, composting, plant insect pests, plant diseases, and proper planting, pruning and mulching.
The cost is $70, which includes the course manual.
For a registration form or information, call 540/658-8000 or e-mail
Email: gmussey@vt.edu.