Randolph Walker sends us this information about Roanoke County parks and rec offering keyboard and guitar classes (which he’ll be teaching):

Keyboard, Guitar Classes Forming

If you’ve ever wanted to learn keyboard or guitar, taking a class at your local Parks and Recreation Department is a great way to do it. It’s economical and the cameraderie makes this an especially fun way to learn. You will need an instrument to bring to class (guitar or portable keyboard). Class size ranges from 6 to 10.

Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism
Brambleton Center
Cost for these 8 week classes is $51. Class length is 75 minutes. County residents can register starting March 1st if registering by E-connect (www.RoanokeCountyParks.com), March 2nd by calling 772-PLAY. Non-county residents can register March 5. Questions, call Parks and Rec at 772-PLAY or call me at 588-5826.

Guitar for Beginners (age 14+)
Choose either:
Tuesdays, 9-10:15 am, Mar 17-May 5
Thursdays, 6:15-7:30 pm, Mar 19-May 7

Guitar for Intermediate Level (age 14+)
Must have taken one of my beginner classes, or have studied approximately 2 months and be able to play about a half dozen chords.
Choose either:
Wednesdays, 9-10:15 am, Mar 18-May 6
Thursdays, 7:45-9 pm, Mar 19-May 7

Guitar Lessons for Youth and Teens (age 8-14)
Tuesdays, 6:15-7:30 pm, Mar 17-May 12

Beginning Keyboard (14+)
Learn how to read music! Purchase of method book required ($12.50).
Mondays, 6:15-7:30 pm, Mar 16-May 4.

As everyone has noticed, we keep getting a glimpse of Springtime weather and it’s nice. But how about take advantage of those nice days by caving or mountain biking? And if those things don’t interest you, take a computer class or decorating class. All of these things and more are available to you through the Roanoke County Parks, Recreation, & Tourism. Check out some of the events and programs that will be offered in the next few weeks. And sign up now! Read more »

Girl Scout Sara Clark, a ninth grader at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, identified a need to improve public education for fire safety while performing community service with Roanoke County Fire and Rescue. To meet that need, she developed and implemented a new fire safety public education program. In doing so, Sara has earned the Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can achieve.

During a four month period, Sara attended workshops to better educate herself on fire safety and prevention.  She also gathered materials to use in her presentations and developed teaching materials such as a skit to teach children about the right and wrong things to do in a fire.

After assembling a public education team called The Firehouse Five, Sara presented her fire safety presentation to the public with the help of her team and a public educator.

At the conclusion of her project, she was given the honor to attend the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp.

With the Silver Award, the project is just one facet of the comprehensive achievement program.  Sara recently completed all requirements for the prestigious award.

The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others.  The first four requirements of the Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement.  A girl must be 11 or going into sixth grade to begin work on these initial steps.  When the first four requirements are completed, a girl who is 12 years old or going into the seventh grade may undertake the Silver Award project.  She must complete her project by age 14 or before the start of tenth grade.

Sara, 15, is the daughter of Debbie and William Clark of Roanoke. She is a member of Girl Scout Troop 546/1912 of Trefoil service unit, part of Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council. Her troop leaders are Deirdre Rea and her mother, Debbie Clark, both of Roanoke. Her project advisors are Brian Clingenpeel and Lynn Hudson.

Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council is a leadership program for girls that develops life skills in business, science, and technology; provides adventures and challenges in sports, the environment, and the great outdoors; and encourages girls to give back to their communities through service projects conducted locally, across the United States, and internationally.

Radford University School of Nursing is holding a health fair on Saturday, March 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Valley Community Church, located at 5000 Carriage Drive, right behind the McDonald’s at Oak Grove.

Blood pressure checks, blood glucose, cholesterol readings and bone density testing will be available for those who are interested.  Mari Mengarelli will also be present to do some Chinese medicine and Virginia Weisz will do Reiki. The Daniel’s Institute of Massage & the Healing Arts will also be present with a massage therapist.

Girl Scout Alice Perrin, a tenth grader at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke, collaborated with the Mill Mountain Zoo to educate others on wildlife and species at risk. In doing so, she has earned the Silver Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Cadette can achieve.

With numerous new animals arriving to the zoo, Alice saw a need for new informational displays. Working with Mill Mountain Zoo Director and General Curator David Orndorff, she spent seven months researching the new zoo animals and compiling information on each. The information she compiled, will be printed on placards that will be permanently placed at each animal’s habitat.

With the Silver Award, the project is just one facet of the comprehensive achievement program.  Alice recently completed all requirements for the prestigious award.

The Girl Scout Silver Award represents a girl’s accomplishments in Girl Scouting and her community as she grows and works to improve her life and the lives of others.  The first four requirements of the Silver Award help girls build skills, explore careers, gain leadership skills, and make a commitment to self-improvement.  A girl must be 11 or going into sixth grade to begin work on these initial steps.  When the first four requirements are completed, a girl who is 12 years old or going into the seventh grade may undertake the Silver Award project.  She must complete her project by age 14 or before the start of tenth grade.

Alice, 15, is the daughter of Sophie and James Perrin of Boones Mill. She is a member of Girl Scout Troop 542/1912 of Trefoil service unit, part of Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council. Her troop leader is Debbie Clark of Roanoke. Her project advisor is Deirdre Rea of Roanoke.

Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council is a leadership program for girls that develops life skills in business, science, and technology; provides adventures and challenges in sports, the environment, and the great outdoors; and encourages girls to give back to their communities through service projects conducted locally, across the United States, and internationally.

-Submitted by: Cyndi Young-Preston

Geetu Sarkar, publicity coordinator for the Sugarloaf Garden Club, has provided information about the upcoming Spring Flower Show, timed as the club commemorates half a century:

Sugarloaf Garden Club of Roanoke begins a year long celebration of their 50th anniversary with a Spring Flower Show. It is open to the public and is free. Please come to enjoy the show, pick up ideas for design and ask questions about your house and garden plants. Do not forget to enjoy a piece of our anniversary cake!Location : Roanoke Council of Garden Clubs, 3640 Colonial Ave, Roanoke, VA.

Date : April 1, 2009

Time: 11:30 am to 1 pm.

For any questions contact : (540) 774-2776 or (540) 427-4484

We had a post on Feb. 4 about Stroller Strides, an hourlong exercise class for mothers with babies and stroller-aged children that’s underway at Tanglewood Mall. The idea is that mothers can include their children in the class, instead of trying to find a sitter, and mothers and their children will bond while exercising.

Now, here’s a video by multimedia producer Seth Gitner showing Stroller Strides in action.

So, are you part of the program? If so, let us know what you think.

Grant Snyder makes a play for the Cave Spring Suns. Photo by Garland Gay, special to SWoCo

The Cave Spring Blue Devils (Red Team) and Cave Spring Suns (White Team) played last Saturday, Feb. 21, at Cave Spring Middle School.  The boys’ teams are in the Little League age division.

Click here for a gallery of photos by Garland Gay.

And as mentioned with the girls’ teams, regular-season play wraps up this weekend.

Are you involved with a rec league team? As the season winds down, we’d love to share your photos through SWoCo.  E-mail your favorites to news@swo-co.com and we’ll post them here.

No. 55 Yessania Garay of the Hidden Valley Blazers and #5 Lauren St. Clair of the Cave Spring Chaos play on Saturday, Feb. 21. Photo by Garland Gay, special to SWoCo

The Hidden Valley Blazers (Blue Team) and Cave Spring Chaos (White Team), which are in the Pigtail league, played last weekend at Cave Spring Middle School.

Click here for a link to a gallery of photos from the game by Garland Gay.

Take note: the league wraps up regular-season play this weekend.

Do you have photos involving teams or players from Southwest Roanoke County? If so, you can share at news@swo-co.com.

You know, sometimes some of our news meetings feel like this, too.

Except we don’t get to wear funny hats.

Fortunately, this is a photo from Cave Spring Middle School’s upcoming production of “Peter Pan.”

In this week’s print edition of SWoCo, we promised more photos online — and here they are, in this photo gallery.

But wait, there’s more. We have lots of online extras this week — and every week. That’s because each day we post upwards of a dozen news items from Southwest Roanoke County. Think of this is Swoco’s own little digital daily newspaper.

In fact, if you’re into the whole online thing (and you’re online now, eh?), you can also keep up with us through our fan group on Facebook and tweet with us on Twitter. Just search for “swoco” — it’s a handy way to keep in touch on your mobile gizmo.

And now, this week’s online extras:

* More photos from E.I. Randle’s re-opening
* More photos from the Bent Mountain poetry slam
* Results from North Cross Science and Engineering Fair
* Fire displaces three on Bent Mountain

AND IN SPORTS . . .
* Photos of Cave Spring Middle School wrestling (including fan photos!)
* Photos of Hidden Valley boys basketball in district tournament – plus photos from the regional tournament
* Photos of Hidden Valley girls basketball in district tournament – plus photos from the regional tournament
* Photos of Cave Spring boys basketball in district tournament — plus photos from the regional tournament
* Photos of Cave Spring girls basketball
* More photos from the Virginia Edge (and a note in the ‘oops’ department — you’ll see in this week’s print edition that one of the Edge photos this week “blew up” somewhere in the production process — we’ll be re-running that next week — sorry ‘about that)
* Photos: Andrew Kinder of Cave Spring races motorcross
* More photos of Hidden Valley Youth Wrestling

So how can you get your news and photos in SWoCo? Easy! Just share at news@swo-co.com (And a special request this week: Send us your holiday photos!)

For more information on us — and how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Southwest Roanoke County — see below:
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