May 23, 2013

Ashland, Ashland, say it ain’t so! Don’t sacrifice the Firehouse Theater for storage space! Roseanne Shalf once wrote about the history of the leadership of the Arts and Activities Center, and how during the years when all that the Board of Directors could focus on was finding the money to repair the furnace, that they lost membership and interest. Don’t lose the culture for the sake of budget or convenience. The Firehouse Theater is a valuable thing– both for the movies that it shows and the space that it provides for performances. Ashland needs that.

I have a really great way for you and your family to remember what Memorial Day is all about. Bring them out to march from the Ashland Library to Woodland Cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony and the playing of Taps. The march begins at 12:30 p.m. at the Library (201 S. Railroad Avenue, Ashland). For more information, please call (804) 763-9584.

Congratulations to Rodney Bardwell, who was recently awarded the Marilyn J. Gibbs Dedicated Service Award for outstanding service to and in support of the mission of Randolph-Macon College! All those who know Rodney know how hard he works as the Director of Residence Life and Housing at R-MC. Well done, Dir. Bardwell.

If your daughter is crazy about softball, then you really have to sign her up for Coach Kevin Proffitt’s Randolph-Macon Softball Camp this June. Dates are June 24 through the 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. You can call Coach Proffitt at (804) 752-3611 for more information, or access a registration form online at www.rmc.edu. Go to the “Athletics” page, then “softball,” and click on the “camp information” tab.

What makes this camp such a great opportunity is that Coach Proffitt has been awarded the Hugh Stephens Coach of the Year award from Randolph-Macon for the second year in a row! He is really an extraordinary coach.

Do you have a little girl who loves her American Girl dolls? Mark your calendar for June 1, and bring your daughter to the Ashland Library for an American Girl movie and activities. The fun begins at 10 a.m. This event has been wildly popular– don’t miss it!

For now, it looks as though the town may have dodged the cicada mess. Their chirping is decidedly different from the August cicadas that sing to us during the heat of summer. From far-off, they sound like a muffled car alarm; it is a shrill screech that is both unnerving and somewhat reminiscent of a horror movie soundtrack. Hopefully they will crawl back in their holes sometime soon.

Call or email me with your Ashland news: (804) 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com. Support the arts in Ashland!