News From Shepherdstown Library

Join the families marching down German Street in the annual “Christmas in Shepherdstown” parade on Saturday, December 1. Anyone whose children participate in the library’s programs is welcome. Families are invited to assemble on Church Street at 10 am (look for the “Lap Babies” banner) for the parade that begins at 11 am.

Birds of winter. What birds spend the winter in Shepherdstown? The library’s children’s department has two “Nature Explorer” backpacks that may be borrowed, thanks to the Potomac Valley Audubon Society’s executive director Kristin Alexander and environmental educator and PVAS volunteer Suzi Taylor. Funded by a grant from the Nora Roberts Foundation, each pack contains books, field guides, and a handbook of ideas for children’s activities. The bird kit contains binoculars and a birdsong “identiflier,” while the insect kit has a net, magnifying viewer, and “bug eye,” so both packs would be useful for homeschoolers yet interesting for all ages. PVAS hopes to continue to develop more packs on other topics.

High School Book Club. On Saturday, December 8 from 11 am to noon, the second floor of the Library will have a display of new graphic novels and other books for young adults. This monthly High School Book Club is a chance to hear what other teens have enjoyed reading.

Holiday Books. Although the Library’s fall programs for infants and teenagers will end on December 5, there will be dozens of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa books on display through Saturday, December 22.

Fins, Feathers and Friends. On Saturday, December 29 at 10:30 a.m. at the Train Station in Shepherdstown, children ages three and older are invited to attend a free “Fins, Feathers and Friends” program. Reptiles on hand will include a bearded dragon, gecko, and various snakes. 

No fines! The Shepherdstown Library will offer a fine-free grace period while it is closed from Monday, December 24 through Tuesday, January 1, so return any overdue items that week. The Library will reopen on Wednesday, January 2. Watch for announcements about registering in January for the Library’s spring programs for infants through teenagers. For information, call the Library at 876-2783.

Free Friday Night at the Movies

Larry Stevens and his wife Theresa had a novel idea: give local families the option to enjoy a night out at the movies without taking out a second mortgage. They found it frustrating to be forced to travel to Martinsburg, Winchester, or Leesburg just to see a movie. When you add the cost of getting there to refreshments and the price of admission, it’s almost impossible for some families to manage.

As pastor of The Journey Church, Stevens saw there was a way to provide a solution. Because The Journey already has its church service at Harpers Ferry Middle School on Sunday mornings, Stevens decided to donate and install a decent sound and video unit into the school’s auditorium. It was an outright gift, but one which now allows them to sponsor a movie night, called “Friday Night at the Movies,” for local residents.

You don’t have to be a member of The Journey to attend, and you won’t hear any sermonizing or feel a recruitment drive to join their church. “We live here. We like to go to movies and we don’t want to travel. It just seemed like the practical thing to do,” Stevens said.

“We wanted to give back to the community,” he added. “A church that doesn’t give back is just a club. I think that’s what we should be doing . . . trying to make the community better.”
Friday Night at the Movies is also affordable — it’s free. “We offer free popcorn, candy and sodas and show a film. We always have a giveaway. In November, we’re giving away an iPod,” said Stevens.

For October, the first month they held Friday Night at the Movies, the movie was “Night at the Museum.” November will feature “Ratatouille.” They plan to show one movie per month, on a Friday night, throughout the winter months when there isn’t a lot going on. “It’s an alternative way for people and families to spend time together,” Stevens said. To find out what’s playing, visit www.thejourneyonline.cc/extreme, or call 886-5793.

Jefferson Education Fund Wins Grant

With a functional illiteracy rate of 15 percent in Jefferson County, translating to 6,329 people, the Jefferson County Schools Education Foundation (JCSEF) has developed a reading assistance pilot program at the middle school level to address and improve reading deficiencies. To aid the success of this new program, the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation (EWVCF) has provided 50 percent of the total cost to subsidize the program. “Education is the most important gift we can provide our children,” said Henry Thomas, president of JCSEF. “This program could greatly improve a student’s reading skills and, with a successful first year, could expand to provide the same assistance to other schools and grade levels in Jefferson County and beyond. Thanks to the support of the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, we will make a difference.” To learn The Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, visit www.ewvcf.org or call (304) 264-0353.

Peacefest Concert Reprised

A Concert of Songs and Prayers will be reprised at the historic Presbyterian Meeting House in Shepherdstown (100 W. Washington St.), Sunday, December 2 at 4:00 pm. A previous PEACEFEST in October drew people of various religious and spiritual traditions together to sing and pray for peace in the spirit of St. Francis and this one promises the same. An opening concert of reggae, rock, jazz and folk music will be performed by community musicians including Don Oehser and “Singin’ the Bones,” Eric Avey, Ben Proudman, Ardyth Gilbertson, Terry Tucker, Todd Coyle, Steve Warner, Greg Lloyd, and Olivia Lloyd. Cam Millar along with others will present an original soundscape meditation preceding Eucharist. Kitty Clark and other dancers will portray a tale of mythic redemption through four movements.  For information, call 876-6466.

Get Outside, Winter Bird Counts

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society has set December 15 and January 6 as the dates for its annual Eastern Panhandle Christmas Bird Counts. The December 15 count will take place in the Charles Town area. The January 6 count will be in the Inwood area. These local-area counts are part of a Christmas Bird Count that has been conducted throughout the western hemisphere every year since 1900 under the auspices of the National Audubon Society. The purpose is to monitor the status and distribution of early-winter bird populations.

The data collected from this volunteer-based effort have been folded into what is now the longest-running database in ornithology, representing over 100 years of continuous information. This database is used to help spot trends in bird populations, which in turn can help identify shifts in environmental conditions. Currently, over 50,000 volunteers across the Americas participate in each year's count.

Both experienced and novice birders are welcome to join in this season's Eastern Panhandle counts. Novice volunteers will be teamed with those who have more experience. To register and/or to obtain more information, contact Bob Dean by telephone at 304-754-3042, or by e-mail at bobdean52@aol.com.

Shad Recovery NCTC

American shad were once one of the most important fish economically and ecologically to be found along the East Coast of the U.S., but were decimated by pollution, dams and overfishing.  Author, biologist, and educator Sandy Burk will present “Bringing Back the Fish of the Chesapeake Bay: A Rare Success Story” at the Byrd Auditorium at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, Thursday December 13, 2007 at 7:00 pm.

Burk will present a show based on her award-winning book Let the River Run Silver Again!  She will share the story of how one school—of over 50 schools that participated—worked with USFWS biologists and hatcheries and watermen to help restore shad to the Potomac River.  Shad eggs from their project area on the Potomac also are now helping repopulate shad in rivers around the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. The presentation will also cover the interesting history of our coastal fisheries including how East Coast shad ended up in huge numbers in the Columbia River and San Francisco Bay along the West Coast and the challenges facing the restoration of some of the largest fish in our rivers: the sturgeon. Burk will have her books for sale at the presentation. This series is co-sponsored by The Friends of the NCTC.  For information, visit http://training.fws.gov/history/publiclectures.html, or Mark Madison, 876-7276, or Mark_Madison@fws.gov.

Bow Wow Boogie Big Success

The Bow Wow Boogie, “Meow Too!” charitable fundraiser held at the Clarion Hotel Saturday, October 27, was a resounding success. More than 240 attendees helped raise about $55,000 to support two local animal welfare programs operated by the National Humane Education Society: The Briggs Animal Adoption Center and Spay Today located in Charles Town. Since it creation, BACC, in conjunction with NHES, has placed more than 2,000 dogs and cats in adoptive homes in 13 states and Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 1994, more than 23,000 cats and dogs have been sterilized through Spay ?Today’s low-cost services. Spay Today has 12 participating veterinarians in West Virginia and Virginia, and in 2007 assisted residents in 21 counties in six states to obtain low-cost sterilization services for companion animals.