Community News

Christmas In Shepherdstown

Shepherdstown kicks off the Christmas season with a series of events the Friday after Thanksgiving (November 23), including a bonfire, the lighting of the town tree, and the arrival of Santa. Events and activities will take place over the following two weekends and many shops will stay open late weekend evenings. The annual Christmas parade will be held on Saturday, December 1. Volunteers are needed to help with various facets of the celebration. If you would like to volunteer, contact Donn Marshall 264-0787 or leriot@aol.com. For a full listing of all events see the Christmas in Shepherdstown website at www.christmasinshepherdstown.com.

Charles Town Woman Establishes Fund to Honor Daughter

Just six week before her wedding, 25-year-old Desireé Shields of Charles Town was killed in an automobile accident. Two years later, her mother, Darlene Truman, has established a permanent endowment fund as a tribute to her life. The “donor advised” fund, created within the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, will benefit a wide range of local nonprofits, such as  the Shepherdstown Daycare Center, which Shields attended as a small child. Shields attended Shepherdstown Elementary and Junior High schools, and graduated from Shepherd College. If you would like to support the Desireé Shields Memorial Fund, contact the Community Foundation at 263-0353.

Old Charles Town Library Classics And Didgeridoo

The Old Charles Town Library book club, currently participating in The Big Read, will meet November 8 at 7 pm. Libraries around the country are currently participating in this program, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The Big Read provides people the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. Books included in the program are “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “My Àntonia,” “A Farewell to Arms,” “The Grapes of Wrath,” “The Joy Luck Club,” “Bless Me, Ultima,” “The Maltese Falcon,” “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter,” and “The Age of Innocence.” The public is welcome.

On November 13 at 7 pm, Alissa Harris will speak about the didgeridoo, a wind instrument of the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia. Harris will discuss the culture of the Aboriginals, how the instruments are made and how they work, and of course, play one.  For information, contact the Old Charles Town Library at 725-2208.

Adopt-a-shelf on the information highway

Have you ever wanted to adopt a segment of the highway but felt daunted by the task?  Well now you can satisfy your desire to get involved in your community on a more manageable level! The information highway at the Shepherdstown Public Library has a limited number of shelves up for adoption, just waiting to be straightened, dusted and alphabetically (or numerically) fine-tuned.  What’s involved?  Just show up once a week, at your convenience, sign up and tend your own personal section of the library. Your community will thank you for it, and so will your librarians!  Call 876-2783 or drop in to claim your own personal shelf!

Book Faire Draws Local, National Authors

Book lovers, authors, and aspiring writers will not want to miss the WV Book Faire in Martinsburg, Saturday, November 3. Now in its third year, the WV Book Faire features book-signings, discussion groups, workshops, book sales and other special activities for adults and children that celebrate the love of reading. Over 20 local and nationally recognized authors are scheduled to participate, including romance novelist Loraine Despres, who wrote the Who Shot JR? episode of Dallas; political author Allen H. Loughry II; young adult novelist Kathy Erskine; best-selling novelist Jillian Medoff; Anna Post, author for the Emily Post Institute and great great-granddaughter of etiquette expert Emily Post; and historical author James Nelson. Local author Victor Banis will be conducting his “So you want to be a writer” workshop, which had standing room only at the 2006 WV Book Faire.

One of the highlights of the WV Book Faire is the Author's Literacy Benefit Dinner, which raises money for literacy in the State of West Virginia. Tickets can be purchased at the Martinsburg-Berkeley County CVB and are $40 for adults, $20 for children. For a full schedule of events and information, visit www.wvbooks.org or call 264-8801 or 1-800-4WVA-FUN.

PVAS Hosts Wildlife Rescue Expert

Wildlife rescue expert Gretl Learned will be the featured speaker at the November meeting of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society, 7:00 pm Wednesday, November 14, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center. Learned is the founder and director of the nonprofit Fern Wildlife Refuge, located near Winchester, Va. She will talk about her work at the refuge, wildlife rehabilitation, and the importance of public education on habitat conservation. The program is free and open to the public. The Conservation Training Center is on Shepherd Grade Road, just north of Shepherdstown. The meeting will be held in the small auditorium (Room 151) of the Center's Instructional West Building. For information, contact Peter Smith, 876-1139 or pvsmith@frontiernet.net.

News From Shepherdstown Library

Come meet a bearded dragon lizard! Children ages 6 through 12 are invited to attend the After School Program on Wednesday, November 7 from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m. The lizard will be visiting the Children’s Department so kids can ask questions of the lizard’s owner, Karen Waugh. Would those spiked scales surrounding its throat really protect the lizard from predators? Since October visitors to the After School Program included a two-foot-long python and a cockatoo, kids who enjoy hearing funny or scary stories, and doing crafts and other activities may want to come by each Wednesday to join the fun.  

High School Book Club. “Rise Up Reading!” is the theme for this year’s Children’s Book Week, so families are encouraged to visit the library between Nov. 12 and Nov. 17 and pick up bookmarks and activity sheets. Children who get a library card that week will also receive a ruler. Books rule!

High School Book Club. On Saturday, November 17 from 11 a.m. 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.

Thanksgiving Hours. The Shepherdstown Library will be open on Wednesday, November 21 from 10 a.m. to noon, and then reopen on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 9 am. The following groups will not meet Nov. 21: Time For Twos, the Fantastic Reading Club, and the After School Program. For information, call the library, 876-2783.

Liars Line Up

The Friends of the Shepherdstown Library (FOSL) have selected storytellers who will compete for election as the town's Biggest Liar, November 6, at 8 pm in the Shepherdstown Men’s Club. All who attend the program, Lies and Tall Tales, will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite liar.

Storytellers will include Dabney Chapman, Jerry Cooperman, Mike Diesel, Laura First, Debora Harding, Jay Hurley and Carlos Niederhauser.  Ed Zahniser will be the Master of Ceremonies. Beer and wine will be available for a donation. All proceeds will support Shepherdstown Library programs. Admission will be $10. Tickets are currently on sale at the Library. Seating is limited, so advance purchases are recommended. For information, contact Edwinna Bernat, 876-8444 or edwinnab@citlink.net.