Would you like to write for Bryan County’s community newspaper? If you like to meet people, attend community events and write about life in beautiful Bryan County, we need to talk. Some writing or journalism experience preferred. Send resume or email Jeff Whitten at jwhitten@bryancountynews.net.

The family and friends of Emma Carrol will hold a vigil on Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at Little Salem Holiness Church on Hwy. 280 in Groveland. Carroll has been missing since July 18. The public is invited.

The Bryan County Board of Education will hold a third and final public hearing on its proposed millage rate increase at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5 at the BoE office in Pembroke. A called meeting will follow at 7 p.m.

Broadway in Savannah

Irving Berlin’s I Love A Piano comes to the Johnny Mercer Theatre for one performance only Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. The musical, part of the ‘Broadway in Savannah’ series, spans over seven decades of American History as seen through the insightful and earnest eyes of Irving Berlin. Tickets, starting at $28, are on sale at the Johnny Mercer Theatre box office, online at www.savannahcivic.com or charged by phone at 651-6556.

The Richmond Hill Garden Club's annual Pumpkin Patch will be held Saturday, Oct. 3 at J.F. Gregory Park from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. under the pavilion, rain or shine.

The Garden Club members will be selling pumpkins of all sizes, beautiful mums, bales of straw, corn stalks, and other Halloween decorating accessories. The club will also have the Fish Pond where youngsters can "net" a prize, a bean bag throw, face painting and balloon animals.

The Garden Club invites everyone to come out and enjoy browsing the patch. Bring your camera for pictures with "Mrs. Pumpkin." For more information, please call 727-5801.

The Obadiah Cribbs family reunion will be held Sunday, Oct. 4 at the Old Fellowship Baptist Church in Stilson. Lunch will be served at 1 p.m. For more information call 912-823-9825.

The Purvis family reunion is Oct. 4 at the Senior Citizen Building, 24 W. Bacon St., Pembroke. Lunch will be served at 1 p.m. Please bring a covered dish and come enjoy the old stories.

Descendants of John Morgan Futch and Nancy Crosby Futch will hold the 62nd reunion on Oct. 18 at the Smith Family Reunion Center located on Seed Tick Road off Hwy. 119 North near Pembroke. A basket lunch will be served at 1 p.m. For more information call Charlene Butler at 912-653-2474.

On Saturday, Oct. 3, St. Anne’s Catholic Church will be holding a community flea market in the church parking lot from 8 a.m to 2 p.m. Reserve your space for $15, or $20 for a space with a table and two chairs. You keep the proceeds from the sale. Proceeds from the sale of the spaces will go to help offset the cost of a bus for the youth group pilgrimage to Washington D.C. for the March for Life in January.

Fort McAllister State Historic Park will hold a candle lantern tour on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 7-8 p.m. The cost is $5 for adults, $3.50 for children. Civil War soldiers will be going through their nightly duties. No flashlights or camera flashes will be allowed. For more information call 727-2339.

Department of Driver Services (DDS) has scheduled four furlough days in accordance with a July 22, 2009 directive from the Office of Planning and Budget (OPB).

All DDS customer service centers and administrative offices throughout the state will be closed on the following days:

Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009

Friday, Dec. 18, 2009

Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010

DDS reminds customers that many transactions including initiating a change of address or replacing a lost license can be done online at www.dds.ga.gov.

Adult line dancing Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m. at Richmond Hill Recreation on Timber Trail. Free. For more information call 756-4075.

A lunch and learn sponsored by South Bryan County Recreation is Tuesday, Oct. 6, noon-2 p.m. at Richmond Hill Recreation Gym. Cpl Susan Willis with the Richmond Hill Police Department will speak about scam awareness. There will also be a thrifty shopper discount discussion and coupon swap. RSVP by Oct. 5 to 756-4075

The 24th FMCO Family Readiness Group and South Bryan County Recreation are looking for students (and adults) who would like to learn the Thriller dance and video tape the performance to send to deployed soldiers in Iraq. Community service hours are available for practices and the performance. Practices will be held Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Richmond Hill Recreation Gym. Come join the fun. For more information, call Kay at 756-4075.

Coastal Critter Care will host its first annual ‘Howloween’ Costume Contest on Saturday, Oct. 24 to benefit the Pembroke Animal Shelter.

To enter bring any of the following: dog or cat food, bowls, blankets, treats, toys, litter, leashes, collars, etc. (all items and proceeds will be donated to the shelter). Arrive at 11 a.m. to pre-register; contest starts at 11:30 a.m. (rain date: Oct. 31).

Trophies will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. There will be gift baskets and prizes also awarded for best behaved and most ‘boo-tiful’. Come on out and have some doggone fun and strut your mutt to help some animals in need and meet adoptable pets that need forever homes. This fundraising event will take place at the Coastal Critter Care parking lot, 215 Main Street in Pembroke.

St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church is offering another incredible dress sale. Prom dresses, cocktail dresses, ball gowns, all new and at incredible prices. This sale will be held at Rice Creek subdivision clubhouse, located on Hwy. 21 approximately two miles west of I-95, exit 109 off I-95. The subdivision is located on the left. The sale is Saturday, Oct. 3 from 1-6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 4 from 2-5 p.m.

The Coastal Georgia Area Community Action Authority will be distributing USDA surplus commodity foods to eligible area residents on Sept. 29-30.

Any household whose total gross income is less than the state established poverty guidelines for the appropriate household size is eligible. Please bring your ID. Persons picking up food are requested to bring a bag or box container. Anyone picking up food for someone else must present a completed and signed authorization form for each household; hand written notes will not be accepted. The forms must be current. Food may be picked up for a maximum of two households, including the household of the person making the pickup. New authorization forms (dated 5/03) may be picked up from the Community Services Center at 135 North College Street in Pembroke. The forms will not be available at the distribution sites and old authorization forms will not be accepted.

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, Coastal GA Area CAA, Inc. is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, handicap or disability. Food will be distributed from the following sites:

Wednesday, Sept. 30 ONLY -- 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at J. Dixie Harn Community Center, 91 Lanier Street, Pembroke.

For more information, call Carolyn Frasier at 653-4993.

The Dolphin Project needs volunteers. The group is an all-volunteer, non-profit research and education organization which has been studying dolphins in the estuarine waters off the Georgia Coast and Calibogue Sound for over 20 years. The Dolphin Project invites you to attend a program on coastal Bottlenose dolphins and a research training workshop on Saturday, Nov. 7 from 9-11 a.m. at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Solms Hall, Room 108. No reservations necessary. For more information go to www.thedolphinproject.org or contact Peach Hubbard at 727-3177 or GAdolphin@comcast.net

The Bryan County Fire Department will hold its annual Public Safety Day on Saturday Oct. 10 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Publix in Richmond Hill. This event brings all public service agencies from the surrounding community to display and demonstrate their special apparatus and equipment. There will be activities for children and adults including demonstrations, games and interactive learning. The South Bryan Firefighter’s Association Auxiliary will also hold a silent auction to raise funds for the Fire Department.

Richmond Hill Pharmacy will be holding their Sixth Annual Health Fair on Friday, Oct. 9 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. They are located in Towne Center at 2409 Highway 17 in Richmond Hill.

Free blood pressure and glucose testing will be offered, along with flu vaccinations for $25 and Cholesterol testing (HDL and LDL) for $25. Medicare patients, bring your card and we will bill Medicare on your behalf. Pneumonia vaccinations will be available for $35. People over 65 years of age and others at high risk for pneumonia are advised to have the vaccine once every five years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Health Fair coincides with the 24th annual "Talk about Prescriptions Month" whose theme for 2009 is "Communication is Key." Richmond Hill Pharmacy’s staff will be available throughout the fair to answer prescription questions, as well as questions about dietary supplements and over the counter medications. For more information about "Talk about Prescription Month", visit www.talkaboutrx.org.

For more information, visit www.richmondhillpharmacy.com

On Saturday, Oct. 3 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. the Richmond Hill Historical Society will sponsor a guided trolley tour of the Ford Plantation. The tour will begin at the Richmond Hill Museum. From the Museum you will be taken, by trolley car, into the Plantation. Guests will be able to enjoy the historical sights. Tour guides will discuss the history of the area and look forward to any questions you might have. Following the tour you will be returned to the Richmond Hill Museum for a reception with refreshments. Tickets costs $30 for members and $35 for non-members. Seating is limited. Please call the Richmond Hill Museum at 912-727-1002 for more information.

The Richmond Hill Transition Council will meet on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Anne Holy Family Hall on Highway 144 in Richmond Hill. The church is located in front of Richmond Hill Elementary School. The council will discuss issues related to the successful transition of students with disabilities from secondary school to the world of work, job training, technical college, and/or university. Everyone is welcome. The council will be nominating officers and accepting new members.

The Pembroke First Baptist Church LOL Youth Group is having their first "Great Pumpkin Patch" fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. on the church lawn. Pumpkins of all sizes will be available for purchase. Also, there will be a moonwalk and other kids’ games. Everyone is invited to come out, and be ready to take pictures! For more information, please call 653-4952.

Love dolphins? The Dolphin Project invites you to attend their quarterly dinner meeting on Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at The Shellhouse Restaurant (Exit 94-Rt 204 off I-95) Come learn about this wonderful all-volunteer group which has been studying dolphins in the estuarine waters off the Georgia Coast and Calibogue Sound for over 20 years. You can order off the menu with separate checks. Brian Balmer will be the speaker for the evening, giving an update on his research of the endangered dolphins in the contaminated waters of Brunswick and Sapelo. For reservations email: gadolphin@comcast.net or call Peach:912-727-3177

The Bryan County Sheriff's Department, Pembroke Police Department and Richmond Hill Police Department, along with the Bryan County Drug Free Coalition, are sponsoring an essay and art contest for National Red Ribbon Week, Oct. 23-31. The contest is for children. For more information call Cpl. Susan Willis at 756-5645 or Bill Collins at 653-5258.

The Clothes Line, 392 South Main in Pembroke is having a super summer sale through Sept. 30; all summer clothing.

Fill a bag for $2 and get two pairs of shoes free. Open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.