America’s 2nd Harvest will be providing us with another mobile food pantry on April 15th. Forms will be available at the REC center beginning March 22nd and will be due back by April 7th. You must meet income requirements set forth by The Emergency Food Assistance Program to receive food. You will be given a time to pick up your food when you turn in your form. If you have any questions, please give us a call.
We will be hosting our annual Easter Egg Hunt at Kingsland Lions Park this year! The Hunt is scheduled for March 27th at 10:00am. Kids ages 10 and under are invited. We will be giving out prizes too! Everyone will need to meet under the pavilion by the basketball court for instructions. Please give us a call if you have any questions.
The Camden County Public Library will host the Monthly Co-ed Book Discussion Group on Wednesday, March 24th at 4:30. The book discussions are held in the Library’s Community Room. All attendees must be eleven years or older.
The book selected for the discussion is Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz. This is the first book in the thrilling new Alex Rider Series. This book relates to a teenage audience.
The book begins with the mysterious death of Alex Rider’s uncle and questionable events that occur afterwards. Alex decides to investigate and is thrown into a world of espionage and evil. Alex receives help from British Intelligence and is recruited into M16.
The plot progresses realistically and allows readers to become lost in the world of gadgets and secrecy. Characters are imaginative and many people can relate to them. Mr. Horowitz paints a detailed picture of spies and secret operations.
There is a website www.alexrider.com that offers fans or interested parties the first chapters of each of the missions, contests, newsletters, and other interesting information. The 8th Novel in the Alex Riders Series was just released this year.
Copies of the book are available for extended check-out at the Library’s circulation desk. Refreshments will be served at the discussion meeting.
Joining thousands of private citizens, three elementary schools and a high school, St. Marys City Hall and St. Marys Middle School are launching recycling programs at their respective facilities.
Alex Kearns, Chair of St. Marys EarthKeepers, stated, “The St. Marys EarthKeepers congratulate City Hall and St. Marys Middle School on their recent decision to implement recycling programs. We are thrilled to have been able to assist them in their efforts. From the participation of our City’s leaders to the activities in our schools, our community is demonstrating its commitment to thoughtful environmental stewardship. The experience and knowledge that our students gain from these efforts ‘trickles upward’ to the adults and results in both greater awareness and positive change.”
St. Marys Middle School joins St. Marys Elementary School, Mary Lee Clark Elementary School, Sugarmill Elementary School and Camden County High School in helping to lead the way in educating our youth about environmental responsibility. Teachers and students at the schools have organized “green” groups” to promote recycling and other practices that contribute to our planet’s sustainability.
“With more than 1,200 students and a sizeable staff, St. Marys Middle School’s recycling program is sure to be highly effective,” Kearns said. “The EarthKeepers are most grateful to Advanced Disposal for their ongoing assistance and pro bono services in our schools.” Advanced Disposal is the contractor responsible for garbage collection and curbside recycling in St. Marys, Woodbine, and the County.
With a twice-the-national-average recycling compliance rate and the enthusiastic participation of students and now City Hall, St. Marys is rapidly earning a reputation for both civic involvement and environmental responsibility.
As part of the two-state, four-county St. Marys River Cleanup Celebration on March 20, the St. Marys EarthKeepers invite the public to join them in cleaning up the harbor and waterfront area in Downtown St. Marys.
After the cleanup, participants can attend a picnic at White Oak Plantation and receive their free tee-shirt.
Last year more than 1,000 participants cleaned the St. Marys River and its banks during the annual river cleanup, and the EarthKeepers team comprised more than 10% of those participants.
This year’s downtown cleanup will utilize boats of all sizes (including kayaks) and walkers to handle the marsh areas and streets. According to EarthKeepers organizer Barbara Ryan, the trash that you see in our streets inevitably winds up in our water systems.
“Wind and rain carry the trash into our tributaries and river and into our aquatic ecosystems ultimately threatening all marine life,” Ryan said. “Dolphins and fish often mistake the trash for food and ingest it making for a deadly scenario, especially in the case of plastic bags.”
Last year nearly 60,000 pounds of trash were removed from our waterways and banks during the River Cleanup.
The St. Marys EarthKeepers ask all those who are interested to call 912-729-1103 so forms can be prepared for admittance to White Oak, then meet the team at St. Marys Waterfront Park on Saturday, March 20, at 8:00 a.m.
Those with rubber boots are encouraged to wear them for marsh cleanup. Gloves will be provided.
Bunnies, Rabbits and Lambs are often associated with Easter because most babies of the animals are born in spring around Easter time. In celebration of Easter this year the Camden County Public Library will host a “Bunny Towel Craft” on Thursday, March 25th at 4:30pm in the Community Room. Participants will make a cloth bunny using a dish towel.
The class is free and open to the public. We welcome adults and children, but request that all children be 12 years of age or older. Please sign-up for the class at the Circulation Desk in the library or call (912) 729-3741.
St Marys Earthkeepers honor Rolf Rawl of St Marys with new bench on fishing pier
Rolf Rawl loved the Georgia Bulldogs, and he loved St. Marys. When he passed away in 2008, he left a hole in the hearts of the many people who were drawn to his hearty laugh and laissez faire disposition. To honor his memory, the St. Marys EarthKeepers and friends of Rawl have constructed a bench in his memory at the end of the fishing pier at St. Marys’ Waterfront.
“He would have appreciated this,” said Jerry Brandon, a fellow UGA alumnus and close friend of Rawl’s. “I think he would enjoy knowing that people could sit here and watch the sunset or cast a line into the water.”
Cindy Deen, another close friend of Rawl, said, “So many people loved him so much. Rolf is missed every day, and we still share laughs remembering how he so often lit up a room.”
In addition to the St. Marys EarthKeepers efforts, materials were donated by Farmers & Builders, and construction services were donated by Frank Woods of R&W Construction and Sammy Brooks.
“This stuff don’t bother me,” was Rawl’s often refrain when life got hard, even during the final days of his long battle with cancer.
The newly installed pier is located at the end of the fishing pier at the waterfront park and is the perfect spot to sit quietly with your thoughts, witness Coastal Georgia’s stunning sunrises and sunsets, or simply enjoy the natural beauty of the St. Marys Harbor.
A nuclear pipeline welder has hooked a winner. Joseph Bezy, a resident of Kingsland, is one of two players each to win a $29,921 jackpot prize from matching all five winning numbers in the Feb. 17 Fantasy 5 drawing.
“I’m in shock. I’m still in shock,” said Bezy, 55. “It’s like getting struck by lightning.”
He discovered his lottery win on the Georgia Lottery’s Web site. Winning numbers from the Feb. 17 drawing were: 2-15-20-33-37. The second winning jackpot prize was purchased in Alto.
ABC Food Mart, located at 100 May Creek Drive in Kingsland, sold the winning ticket.
“I started hollering for the wife to come and read what I was reading because I wasn’t sure if I was reading it right,” he said of his wife, Doris. “I took her to dinner to celebrate.”
The couple anticipate paying off bills and sharing the remainder of the prize with their children and grandchildren.
Georgia Lottery retailers selling winning Fantasy 5 jackpot tickets receive a retailer incentive bonus of $2,000. The retailer incentive bonus increases by $2,000 each time Fantasy 5 rolls. If more than one winning jackpot ticket is sold, the retailers selling the winning jackpot tickets will share the bonus. ABC Food Mart will receive a $1,000 retailer incentive bonus.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11.4 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program. More than 1.2 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.
Including early St. Marys, GA departure for Sail with the Filmmakers 2010
Cumberland Sound Ferry Announces Revised Schedules for Sail With the Filmmakers to Accommodate Screenings as part of Amelia Island Film Festival 2010!
February 25 – March 1, 2010 – The Cumberland Sound Ferry has revised its official schedule (including an early 9 a.m. St. Marys, Ga departure) for Friday, February 26th and Saturday, February 27th, 2010 to accommodate longer screenings in this year’s Amelia Island Film Festival. Schedule changes will allow passengers to view longer screenings without missing the full day of Sailing With The Filmmakers.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Choose from the following Fernandina Beach departures:
10 a.m.; 2 p.m.; 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Choose from the following St. Marys, GA departures:
9 a.m.; 11 a.m.; 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Choose from the following Fernandina Beach departures:
10 a.m. ; 1:30 p.m.; 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Choose from the followinig St. Marys, GA departures:
9:00 a.m.; 11 a.m.; 2:30 p.m.; and 5:30 p.m.
Upon arrival in St. Marys, GA, passengers will be greeted with a reception sponsored by the St. Marys Film Society.
In partnership with the Cumberland Sound Ferry, Amelia Island Film Festival is focused on exposing filmmakers to the rich history, unique landscapes and memorable experiences that make northeast Florida and southeast Georgia such an enchanting place to visit and make films in the future.
To purchase tickets for this screening, a festival pass, or for ferry tickets for Sail With The Filmmakers aboard the Cumberland Sound Ferry contact Lori Hoerl, Director of Marketing and Operations, Amelia River Cruises, at 904-491-7617 or via email at lorbell1@aol.com. Tickets for the filmmakers sail are $22 roundtrip (20% of proceeds to be returned to Amelia Island Film Festival for future events). Tickets for screenings and the festival are structured according to the type of pass purchased. Call or email for prices.
www.ameliarivercruises.com
www.ameliaislandfilmfestival.org
FAMILY-FRIENDLY MARDI GRAS ON FEBRUARY 13 IN ST. MARYS, GEORGIA
Children’s rock wall climbing and baby strollers will be just as much a part of the St. Marys Mardi Gras festival as are the iconic beads and masks. Presented by the St. Marys Downtown Merchants Association, the 16th Annual Mardi Gras Festival and Parade will showcase decorated floats and dazzling costumes designed around this year’s theme “Romance Through the Ages.” Festival organizers said that the festival has always been family-oriented, contrary to its more famous counterpart in New Orleans.
“St. Marys is a family kind of town,” said Roger Rillo, President the St. Marys Downtown Merchants Association. “We’ve orchestrated a parade and festival that will appeal to all ages making sure there are plenty of activities for the younger set.”
A 10 a.m. parade will launch the festival followed by a full day of entertainment, arts and crafts, and amusements, all lining the St. Marys waterfront and the main street that runs through the historic district.
When the sun goes down and the lights come up, adults will continue the celebration at the Mardi Gras Ball where a new King and Queen are chosen each year. Prizes will be awarded for costumes that best depict the “Romance” theme, and dance music will be provided by one of the region’s most sought after bands, A Touch of Grey.
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Street festival with amusements that include the world’s
tallest inflatable slide, bungee jumping, a climbing wall,
a trackless train, and numerous arts and crafts displays
10 a.m. Parade with lots of floats, costumes, and bead throwing
12 noon All-day entertainment begins at waterfront stage
7 p.m. Mardi Gras Costume Ball at J’s Restaurant & British Pub
Tickets for the ball are available at the St. Marys Welcome Center and Once Upon a Bookseller in Downtown St. Marys. Beads are also available at the bookstore on days leading up to the festival.
For more information, call 912-882-7350 or 912-552-0072.
