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.

After-hours

The Bryan County News will be hosting a Business After Hours Thursday in the Richmond Hill/Bryan County Chamber office from 5:30-7 p.m. Door prizes include more than $1,500 worth of free advertising and subscriptions. Appetizers will be catered by Love's Seafood and drinks will be from Jeff's Beverages. The event is open to Chamber members and members of the community interested in attending. For more information, call Mindy or Jessica at 756-2668. To RSVP, call the Chamber office at 756-3444.

Education forum

An Education Policy Forum is being held for local school board candidates and state legislative candidates, hosted by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and the Georgia School Boards Association. The event will be Thursday from 12:30-4:45 p.m. at the Savannah Technical College.

There is no cost and registration is available by visiting www.gsba.com and clicking on "Online Registration." The registration form is also available on the Georgia Partnership site at www.gpee.org and can be faxed to 404-223-2299.

YMCA teen bash

The Richmond Hill YMCA Teen Summer Bash is Friday from 5-8 p.m. in the Rec Gym. There will be music, games and refreshments and all teens are invited to come have fun while building leadership skills. The emcee will be Kenya Cabine from E93 Jamz and DJ Johnny Cline.

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.

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.

Benefit concert

Everyone is invited to spend an evening with Stewart & Winfield to benefit America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. The benefit concert will feature the band with their "y’all-ternative" blend of harmony-driven, roots rock music on Saturday, June 28 at the SCAD Trustees Theatre, 216 E. Broughton Street in Savannah. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert will be from 8-10 p.m. Advance tickets are $15, available at www.helpendhunder.org, or at the SCAD box office at 525-5050. Tickets will be $20 at the door the day of the show.

Poker Run

On Saturday, the Red Knights Motorcycle Club will be holding the "Ride for Victory," a charitable Poker Run to benefit NASCAR racer Kyle Petty’s charities, specifically Victory Junction Gang Camp. The "Ride for Victory" will start at Renegade Classics in Richmond Hill (I-95 at exit 90) and end at Augie’s Pub in Pooler.

There will be door prizes, live music, "The Ballistic Eagle" jet motorcycle and prizes for the best and worst hand. The event is open to all motorcycles, cars and trucks. Registration is from 9-11 a.m., $15 for the first hand and $5 for each additional hand. Please call 756-6841 with any further questions.

The donation check from the Red Knights Motorcycle Club will be presented to Kyle and Patty Petty when they arrive in Savannah on July 19 with the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. For more information about the Ride Across America, visit www.kylepettycharityride.com.

Fairytale camp

Energy Oasis announces their first summer camp, "A Knight’s Tale." The camp will give kids a chance to step into their very own fairytale and become the prince or princesses they always knew they could be. There will be games like kiss the frog, bob for good and bad apples, if the shoe fits and many more others, all based on fairytales as well as arts and crafts and other activities. At the end of the week, there will be a tea party and everyone will get a goodie bag as a reward for their hard work.

The camp will be held at Energy Oasis June 30-July 2 from 9:30 a.m.-noon. To register your child, call 756-5865 or stop by Energy Oasis.

Beach Week

Beginning Monday, June 30, Jekyll, St. Simons and Tybee Island beach-goers will have the opportunity to learn more about the natural wonders of the beach when Georgia’s Coastal Ark visits these three popular beach destinations for the 3rd annual "Beach Week 2008."

Beach Week events are scheduled Monday, June 30 on St. Simons at the old Coast Guard Station beach access area; Tuesday, July 1 at North Beach on Tybee Island; Wednesday, July 2 on Jekyll Island at the Bathhouse Pavilion area near the Conference Center; and Thursday, July 3 on St. Simons at the old Coast Guard Station beach access area. Hours at all locations will be 10 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, call 264-7218.

Meet the artists

The Hospice Savannah Art Gallery, located at 1352 Eisenhower Drive, presents the palette knife paintings of David Ryden and ceramics by potter Neil Austing during July and August.

Meet the artists at their opening reception, Thursday, July 10 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

A portion of all sales will benefit Hospice Savannah; Inc. For more information, contact Beth Logan at 355-2289.

WIC comments

The Georgia Department of Human Resources Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) will hold its annual public comment period July 14-25. Georgians are invited to comment on the program and suggest ways to improve WIC services.

Written comments can be mailed to the Division of Public Health, WIC Branch, 2 Peachtree St. NW, Ste. 10.463, Atlanta, GA 30303 and emailed comments can be sent to WIComments@dhr.state.ga.us.

For more information about Georgia’s WIC program, please call 1-800-228-9173 or visit: http://health.state.ga.us/programs/wic/index.asp.

Driving course

It’s never too late to polish up on your driving skills. That’s why Magnolia Manor on the Coast is hosting the AARP "Driver’s Safety Program" for all persons age 50 or older on July 17 and 18, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The cost for the class is $10, payable on the day of the class. For more information, call 756-4300 or visit www.magnoliamanor.com.

Family Festival

The Richmond Hill Recreation Association’s Family Festival will be Saturday, July 5 from noon-10 p.m. at J.F. Gregory Park with free admission and parking for everyone. Starting at 10 a.m., there will be the Miss RHRA Pageant followed by a silent auction. There will be barbecue starting at noon and there will be two Paul Bunyan shows with times TBA. At 5 p.m., Richmond Hill Idol will start with a special appearance from Stephanie Edwards, who was in the top 24 of season six’s American Idol. There will be crafts, entertainment, events, vendors, displays, rides and activities for kids of all ages.

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 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.

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 Saturday from 2 to 8 p.m. in Rousakis Plaza, River Street. The event 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.

For more information contact Morenike Clarke, 408.3024 ext. 6009 or mclarke@savannahtech.edu.

Free for military

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

Service members and veterans and their immediate families will be granted free admission to each of the Telfair’s three sites. 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, call 790.8864 or visit www.telfair.org/militaryappreciationday.com.