Get Outdoors

As part of the "Get Outdoors" program, Fort McAllister State Historic Park is having a GO day today.

Everyone is invited to take in the whole outdoor experience and enjoy a day of excitement and fun, starting at 9:30 a.m. with a canoe trip down Redbird Creek. The boats will be departing at 10 a.m. from the park and will return around noon. At 2 p.m., there will be a musket firing demonstration, followed by a 4 p.m. hike of the Magnolia Nature Trail. At 8 p.m., there will be a campfire held at the Savage Island Campground. Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs, while the park will provide marshmallows for toasting. For more information, call the park at 727-2339.

Fort Morris

In honor of GO on June 14, Fort Morris in Midway will be presenting a special program entitled "Skirted Patriots: Roles of Women in the American Revolution" from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Fort Morris State Historic Site is located seven miles east of I-95, exit 76 in Sunbury, follow the brown Liberty Trail signs.

Absentee voting

The Courthouse Annex, located at 9930 Ford Avenue in Richmond Hill has been established as an additional site for the purpose of receiving absentee ballots and for the purpose of voting absentee ballots for the upcoming July 15 General Primary.

The office will be open June 27 and 30; July 1-3 and 7-11 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Government issued photo required. For additional information call 653-3859 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

All Bryan County polling places will be open for the election. For information, visit www.sos.state.ga.us. The Interactive voice response is accessible to voters by telephone through a toll free number, 1-888-265-1115.

Voting information

The deadline to register to vote to be eligible to cast a ballot in the July 15 general primary is Monday.

You can download and complete a voter registration application by visiting the 2008 Elections Center on the Secretary of State’s website: http://www.sos.ga.gov/elections/ElectionCenter08.htm.

Georgia law requires registered voters to show photo identification when voting in person. This photo identification requirement applies in the July 15 General Primary and all future elections. When voting absentee by mail, photo identification is not required.

Voters casting ballots in person, either through advance voting or on Election Day, will be required to show one of the following forms of acceptable photo ID when they vote: a Georgia driver’s license, even if expired; any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS); valid U.S. passport; valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state; valid U.S. military photo ID; or valid tribal photo ID.

Voters who do not have a form of identification listed above are eligible to receive a free Georgia Voter ID from their county elections office. Voters who have questions are encouraged to call the Georgia Secretary of State’s Voter ID Hotline at 877-725-9797 or visit www.GaPhotoID.com.

After-hours

The Bryan County News will be hosting a Business After Hours Thursday, June 19 in the Richmond Hill/Bryan County Chamber office from 5-7 p.m. Door prizes include more than $1,500 worth of free advertising and subscriptions. Appetizers will be catered by Love's Seafood. For more information, call Mindy or Jessica at 756-2668. To RSVP, call the Chamber office at 756-3444.

Volunteers needed

Each year hundreds of children in Chatham County are abused and neglected by those who are supposed to care for them. The Savannah/Chatham County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program is a catalyst for change, but they are in need of help in the form of volunteers.

New Volunteer Training will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 8-31 from 9 a.m.-noon at the United Way building located at 428 Bull Street in the 2nd floor conference room.

For more information or to register, please call the CASA office at 447-8908 or email info@savannahcasa.org.

Darien Chamber

The Darien-McIntosh County Chamber of Commerce will hold its Annual Chamber Dinner on Monday at the Pelican Point Restaurant in Crescent. The Keynote speaker will be Bobby Cremins, head basketball coach of the College of Charleston and the most winning coach in Georgia Tech history. Tickets are $40 -$50 and include the full seafood buffet and beverages and may be purchased in advanced at the Chamber office or 437-6684.

Help the Ogeechee

Twenty percent of all proceeds from the exhibition Impasto: New Paintings by Andy Cherewick and Hannah Jones at the 2CarGarage Contemporary Art Gallery will be donated to the local Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper organization.

The exhibition continues through June 30 at the Savannah gallery. 2CarGarage is located on Broughton Street above the Paris Market. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, noon-6 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, call 236-0221 or visit 2cargallery.com.

4th of July

Ft. McAllister State Historic Park’s annual July 4th Celebration will include a host of events throughout the day. Come celebrate our nation’s birthday with the troops of Fort McAllister, including cannon firings, musket firings, blacksmithing and historical games will run all day.

Musket firing starts at 10 a.m., old-fashioned fun and games (with sack races, egg tosses, tug-of-rope, etc.) will start at 11 a.m., cannon firings will happen at noon, followed by watermelon cutting and a seed spitting contest at 1 p.m. Wheelbarrow races and another musket firing will happen at 2 p.m., Civil War-style baseball will be at 3 p.m. with an icecream social after the game, and another cannon firing will be at 4 p.m.

Admission is required. Call 727-2339 for more information.

Volunteers sought

Hospice Savannah is looking for volunteers to participate in a focus group June 26th from 6-8 p.m. at Full Circle; A Center For Education and Grief Support located at 7212 Seawright Drive. Volunteers need to be unfamiliar with or have a very limited knowledge of hospice care and hospices services. Please contact Terri Lessnau at 629-1030.

Cheer camps

A Bryan County High School Mini Cheer camp will be held June 16-20, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Bryan County Middle School gym. This camp is available for upcoming Pre-k through 8th grade students. The cost is $50 and all participants will receive a t-shirt, certificate, and a trophy.

For more information, please call Hollis Hill at 312-0517.

The 2nd Annual Coastal Cheer Camp will be July 28-Aug. 1 from 8:30 a.m.-noon at the Richmond Hill High School, hosted by the RHHS Cheerleader Booster Club.

The camp will be for girls ages 4-13, conducted by RHHS varsity football/competition cheerleaders and coaches. Cheer camp is for ages 4-10 and the tryout clinic is for girls ages 11-13 with prep for school cheerleading tryouts. Early registration is before July 25 for $60, late registration is $75. Fees includes a t-shirt, cheer medal, pom-poms and a daily snack. All girls will have the opportunity to cheer before the start of a RHHS varsity football game next season.

For more information call 727-2794, 661-0072 or dauphinee1@aol.com with the subject line "cheer camp." Space is limited and early registration is encouraged.

Moving Wall

The Moving Wall (Vietnam Memorial) will be in Richmond Hill at J.F. Gregory Park Thursday, June 12, through Monday, June 16.

Ranger Camp

Ft. McAllister’s Junior Ranger Camp, for children ages 8–12, will be June 23-27 from 9 a.m. to noon. Junior Rangers will experience nature first-hand, exploring Georgia’s fascinating history while enjoying outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking Fort McAllister’s scenic trails as part of the GO (Get Outdoors) Georgia program. Cost is $50, call 727-2339 for more information.

Reading club

Join the Summer Reading Club at the Richmond Hill Library on Ford Avenue.

The club is designed for children ages 2-17. Each participant will receive a reading log to keep track of their reading and can earn prizes while "Catching the Reading Bug."

Catch the Reading Bug events will be held at the Richmond Hill High School on Wednesdays at 2 p.m., with programs for all ages.

Sponsors of the Summer Reading Programs and Club are the Board of Education, the Bryan County Library Board, Family Connection, Friends of the Richmond Hill Library, Georgia Public Library Service and Grassroots Arts Program.

Fiesta Latina

The third annual Fiesta Latina will highlight the diversity of Latino cultures on Sat., June 21 from 2 to 8 p.m. in Rousakis Plaza.

Savannah’s River Street will be transformed into a multi-sensory presentation of Latino cultures from the Americas and Caribbean. Live DJ’s and bands will tempt the crowd with the rhythms of Salsa, Merengüe and more, while regional dance troupes put those rhythms into motion. There will be arts and crafts and vendors will offer typical foods from their countries of origin.

Fiesta Latina is free and open to the public. For information, call 232-2032 or visit http://jorgetupac.googlepages.com/fiestalatina.

Free college

Returning soldiers and their families will have a new opportunity to begin or restart their academic careers thanks in part to OPERATION: Free College, a new outreach initiative offered by Savannah Technical College.

Beginning with the upcoming summer quarter, any soldier who can validate an overseas deployment (OIF) and his/her family members (dependents) will receive a fee-free application and, with the combination of tuition assistance and the HOPE Grant, free tuition. The Georgia HOPE program specifically recognizes the transient nature of military families and provides them immediate residency leading to in-state eligibility to receive funds for college enrollment.

Savannah Technical College will present information sessions on Tuesday afternoons at 2 p.m. in the Ft. Stewart Army Education Center Room 206. The first session will be June 17. The first program highlighted will be the Emergency Medical Technician program.

For more information on OPERATION: Free College contact Morenike Clarke, Enrollment and Retention Specialist for Liberty Campus, 408.3024 ext. 6009 or mclarke@savannahtech.edu.

Gray's Reef

NOAA’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for two positions representing charter/commercial fishing and university education on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Candidates will be selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying, community and professional affiliations, and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve three-year terms.

Applications are due July 15. To receive an application kit or for further information contact Becky Shortland at becky.shortland@noaa.gov, 598-2381, or by mail at 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411.

Free for military

The Telfair Museum of Art will hold a Military Appreciation Day Saturday, June 28 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

In recognition of the tremendous sacrifices military personnel and their families make for our country every day, the Telfair would like to offer a small token of gratitude by hosting a special celebration in their honor. Service members and veterans and their immediate families will be granted free admission to each of the Telfair’s three sites; the Telfair Academy, the Owens-Thomas House, and the Jepson Center for the Arts. Please bring military or veteran ID.

There will be live music and refreshments in Telfair Square, children's activities including face painting, kite decorating, card decorating to send to deployed soldiers, bubble-blowing, and a visit from Gnate the Gnat of the Sand Gnats and SCAD's Art the Bee.

For more information about Military Appreciation Day, call 790.8864 or visit www.telfair.org/militaryappreciationday.com.

Boating course

On June 21, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources will be offering a boating safety class. The class will be from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. with an hour for lunch. To attend, call the Demeries Creek office to sign up at 727-2111.