Chipper

Residents of Richmond Hill are invited to bring their trees to a drop off center located in J.F. Gregory Park on Saturday, Jan. 5 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Trees will be chipped into mulch or used as wildlife habitat. The mulch will be used for public beautification projects. Participants will receive a free dogwood seedling, while supplies last.

For more information you can visit the website at www.KeepGeorgiaBeautiful.org or call 1-800-CLEANUP. For more drop-off information contact Joy Lee at 756-6496.

FPU at FBCRH

Financial Peace University (FPU), the 13-week program taught by Dave Ramsey, will be taught in Richmond Hill at First Baptist Church Richmond Hill, beginning Sunday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m.. Contact Jim McNamee at 965-3166 or jim.mcnamee@gulfstream.com for more information or to register.

Volunteers needed

Would you like to share your memories, military or family stories with our patients?

Make your New Year’s resolution to volunteer a reality by becoming a friend to a Hospice Savannah Homecare or Hospice House patient and their family.

Special weekend training offered on the first two Saturdays in February (both sessions necessary), from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the Community Education Room, Hospice House, 1352 Eisenhower Drive, Savannah.Lunch provided.

For more information, contact Beth Logan, Volunteer Manager at 355-2289 or go to www.hospicesavannah.org

Garden Club

The Richmond Hill Garden Club will host author Robbie Williams at its January meeting. Ms. Williams lives in middle Georgia and is widely known as "the Flower Lady" for growing, selling and loving beautiful flowers. She will speak about her most recent book "A Few Flowers For My Soul."

The public is invited to join the Garden Club as they welcome Ms. Williams on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 10 a.m. at the Stephens Wetland Center in J. F. Gregory Park in downtown Richmond Hill. For more information call 727-2752 or 727-3219.

Reunion

The Windsor Forest High School graduating class of 1993 will be hosting a 15-year class reunion on Aug. 23, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Inn Midtown in Savannah. Please visit http://www.wfhsclassof1993.freeservers.com/ to view a class roster as well as reunion details. Please contact Dereka (Sears) Pullins for additional information at 220-3950. Teachers and faculty are welcome to participate.

Master naturalist

Are you interested in learning about the environment around you? If so, you may want to take the Master Naturalist course.

This program is an in-depth, environmental, educational program developed for people who wish to know, change and preserve the relationships between habitats and our ecosystems. The course subjects will include: Endangered Species, Forest Management, Wildlife Management, Birding, Agriculture, Water Quality, Marsh and Maritime Forests, Fish Management and many other critical issues. The Bryan, Chatham, and Effingham County Extension offices will be conducting the Coastal Georgia Master Naturalist Program.

The classes will start on March 19 and run through May 21 and will be held every Wednesday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. The meeting locations will be on pertinent sites in Coastal Georgia. Visit http://www.bryanextension.org/ for more information, an application and a schedule of the 2008 classes.

Cost of the program is $175 which will include all materials necessary for the course, plus several other manuals to make your learning experience more enjoyable and easier. This fee does not cover transportation. Fee for applicant’s spouse is $100. Only one set of books per couple.

The Coastal Georgia Master Naturalist Program is designed for those who love the outdoors or want to make a difference in the environment around you. This program is presented by the Coastal Georgia County Extension Offices.

Applications will be accepted by the Bryan County Extension office until Feb. 27. Class size is limited to 25 applicants. To receive an application or for more information, please call David Moulder at 653-2231 Bryan County Extension or e-mail dmoulder@uga.edu.

Code enforcement

Yard or garage sale signs are not to be attached to any utility poles, light poles or road signs of any type within the Richmond Hill city limits. Yard or garage sale signs are permitted as long as they are freestanding. The person having the sale must remove the signs as soon as the sale is finished.

In addition, the property near Sterling Creek Bridge on Hwy. 144 is a prohibited area with regard to the sale of vehicles and any other personal property. The area will be posted with signs regarding the prohibition. Violators will be cited.

For more information, call Code Enforcement Officer Charley Davis at 756-3592.

Turpentine

The Richmond Hill Historical Society is pleased to present a program on "When Turpentine Was King."

Colen and Bob Floyd will discuss the turpentine industry and how it affected Bryan County and the Coast of Georgia. Turpentine was a major industry in this part of Georgia and had a strong influence on the growth of the area.

The Floyds will bring tools and artifacts used in the early 20th century. The meeting and lecture will start at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 at the Wetlands Center in Gregory Park in Richmond Hill. The meetings are open at no charge to the general public. If you have questions or need directions please call the Historical Society Museum at 756-3697 or 756-2676.

Friends

The Friends of the Library are in desperate need of paper back books in the mystery, spy, adventure and romance genre. These paper backs have to be in good condition - no missing covers, torn or yellowed pages. The resale of these books benefits the Richmond Hill Public Library. All donations are tax free. Bring books to the Richmond Hill Library. Call 756-3580 for more information.

Yoga

Donna Moore will be instructing Yoga Classes at the Jacob Grant Community Center/Teen Center in Richmond Hill.

Classes will be held every Tuesday, starting Jan. 15, at 5:30 p.m. The classes will be free to the community. Please call 756-3828 for more information.

AL Post 27

American Legion Post 27, Richmond Hill, meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Chamber of Commerce office in the Brogdon-Speir Building. The executive board meets at 6 p.m. All vets are invited to attend, whether members or not, to see what the post does for Richmond Hill and soldiers overseas.

AL Post 164

American Legion Post 164, Pembroke, meets the second Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. The Ladies Auxiliary also meets at the same time.

The post is located on Highway 280 west, approximately ½ mile past Harvey’s on the right. All veterans are invited to attend. The Post is available to the community for use for family functions, etc. For more information call 653-4958 or 653-4933.

Grief support

Grief support meeting for parents who have lost a child meets every second Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Pembroke Christian Church, Hwy. 280. Call Gayle Sharpe, 653-2876, for further information.

Donations needed

Medical Equipment Transport Service is preparing to load a new container of donated medical equipment to ship to Cusco, Peru sometime in the next couple of weeks.

A new women’s clinic is in the process of being opened and they are in need of specialized OB/GYN equipment, as well as four laptop computers, four printers, a copy machine, a fax machine, a fridge/freezer (-20 degrees Celsius), two bookshelves, three file cabinets, two office desks and desk chairs, small office tables, patient chairs, 100 heating pads, two autoclaves/sterilizers and exam tables, lamps and stools.

Anyone interested in making a tax write-off donation can contact program Director Patti Victor at 713-4312 to schedule equipment transportation to their Savannah warehouse. METS is a program run by local Rotary 6920 district volunteers, including the Richmond Hill Rotary.

Voter info

Jan. 7 is the deadline for registering to vote to be eligible to vote in the Feb. 5, 2008 Presidential Preference Primary. Applications are available at the Voter Registration Office in Pembroke, Courthouse Annex and Tax Commissioners’ Office in Richmond Hill, and at City Hall, and the libraries in both Pembroke and Richmond Hill. Also, applications are available online at www.sos.state.ga.us.

The Secretary of State has established two ways to provide voters with immediate access to precinct and district information. The Poll Locator can be accessed through the Secretary of State’s web site at www.sos.state.ga.us. It requires entry of last name, first initial, and date of birth to obtain voter registration information. The Interactive Voice Response system is accessible to voters by telephone through a toll-free number, 1-888-265-1115. For more information, call the Voter Registration Office at 653-3859.

More voter info

Secretary of State Karen Handel reminds voters that they can request an absentee ballot for Georgia’s Presidential Preference Primary, which will be held statewide on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Voters can request an absentee ballot through Friday, Feb. 1. All absentee ballots must be received by the county registrar by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Photo identification is not required when voting by mail.

By state law, voters are not required to provide a reason when requesting an absentee ballot, which allows the voter to participate in an election without visiting a polling location. Instead, the ballot is mailed directly to the voter.

Voters can request an absentee ballot through two methods.

Download and complete the absentee ballot application form from the Secretary of State’s website: http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/. Return the completed form to your county elections office.

Contact your county elections office directly. Contact information for your county elections office can be found on the Secretary of State’s website: http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/.

Boot camp

Bottoms Up! Boot Camp, a 10-week group personal training program, is now taking registrations for the new year. Bottoms Up! Boot Camp is available exclusively at Non-Stop Fitness, 2641 US Hwy. 17 S. in Richmond Hill.

More information is available at www.shannonganun.com.