Interested in art? Volunteers needed
ORANGE PARK – If you love art and have a passion for discussing art and like to work with students, consider becoming a volunteer for the Art Enrichment Program.
Sometimes referred to as “The Picture Lady” or “Picture Man,” Art Enrichment enhances students’ understanding of art and art history and gives children a glimpse of the creative life.
Plan now to attend a volunteer training session Oct. 1-3 from 10 a.m. to Noon in the Art Enrichment Classroom at Lakeside Elementary School on Moody Avenue. Only one day of orientation/training is required before you can check out art materials.
To sign up for the training, contact Lori Butler at (904) 336-1675, extension 61747.

Scouts plan free event for exceptional students and families
JACKSONVILLE – The North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America will host a free event for exceptional students and their families.
The Learning For Life Special Needs Camporee is Oct. 20-21 at the St. Johns River Base at Echockotee on Doctors Lake in Orange Park. The event is free for all exceptional students, grades K through 12, and their families, but families must register by Oct. 12. The families are invited to come enjoy a few hours or to spend the night in the tent city.
“This is going to be a great weekend for our Scouts and our special guests,” said Michelle Thompson, coordinator for the Special Needs Camporee. “Our Scouts and volunteer will create carnival-style activity booths throughout the midway that are suited for all special needs students, no matter what their disability. It really is a fun time for us and these families who get to enjoy the many fun activities the Scouts have created and to enjoy a night of camping, all for free and set up by our Scouts and volunteers.”
Registration and tent set-up starts at Noon followed by a 1 p.m. opening flag ceremony. The carnival-style activity booths open up after that along the midway. There will be all types of activities including crafts, games, leatherworking and field games. There are also powerboat rides, fishing, military displays and more. The booths will be open until 4:30 p.m. followed by dinner. The evening events include a campfire program with Native American dancing, a bonfire, plus stories and skits from the Scouts. Sunday morning will feature a continental breakfast.
Families will need to bring a tent if they have one, a flashlight, sleeping bags and personal items. Tents are available upon request. Families must also have a completed medical form for each camper. To register and obtain the medical form, visit www.nfcscouting.org/SNC.

Community Garage Sale coming
ORANGE PARK – Waste Not Want Not is having their Annual Community Garage Sale on Oct. 6. at Orange Park Town Hall Park, at the corner of Kingsley and Park Avenues.
This is the nonprofit’s largest fundraiser of the year. Items up for sale include mostly-new items such as toys, diapers, baby items, Halloween, Easter, Christmas, vitamins, supplements, cleaning products, books, gardening, kitchen, household goods, dog & cat, kids, health & beauty, linens, perfume & cologne, man toys and many other slightly used treasures. There will be a bake sale, drinks and food.
Space for local craftsmen and vendors is still available. Rent a 15-by-15-foot space for $30.
Volunteer-based Waste Not Want Not rescues food for people in need and each dollar donated provides 14-plu pounds of food to someone fighting hunger. Last year, the organization rescued 2.2 million pounds of food and provided 4,200 meals a day for those in need in 10 counties.

Playwright retreat coming
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Clamour Theatre Company is launching Clay and Water, an annual playwrights’ retreat in Clay County on the banks of the St. Johns River. Five selected playwrights will spend a week away from their real lives at the historic River Park Inn in Green Cove Springs.
There is no fee to apply, however, transportation and meals are not covered as part of the retreat while Clamour officials are working to secure small travel and meal stipends. Housing at the Inn is covered.
Playwright get a week to write and take part in an informal, no-pressure public reading of their work-in-progress. While here, playwrights will get a chance to meet local students and discuss the craft and business of playwriting in two informal meet-and-greet sessions. Application deadline is Oct. 31. All of the details are online at clamourtheatre.org or email info@ clamourtheatre.org.
The program is supported by grants from Capital City Bank and the Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.
There will also be an opportunity for local actors to take part in cold readings of the playwrights’ works one or more evenings Jan. 27-31.
Clamour is also actively recruiting board members. Those interested in having professional theatre in Northeast Florida should contact Elaine Smith at esmith@clamourtheatre.org.

Celebrate International Archaeology Day
JACKSONVILLE BEACH – Celebrate International Archaeology Day by attending a free public archaeology fair and lecture at the Beaches Museum and History Park 381 Beach Blvd. in Jacksonville Beach.
Presented by the Archaeological Institute of America - Jacksonville Society, the fair runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 20 with the lecture at Noon in the historic 1887 chapel. The park will have displays and demonstrations on archaeology, as well as activities for children including a simulated archaeology dig, pottery and rope making and roof thatching.
Archaeologist Keith Ashley from the University of North Florida will provide identification of local artifacts. Other archaeology-related organizations will have displays as well, including MOSH.
University of Florida professor Kenneth E. Sassaman will lecture on “Sea-Level Rise Among the Ancients: Results of the First Decade of the Lower Suwannee Archaeological Survey” about the ancient Florida inhabitants’ responses to sea level rise.
International Archaeology Day is a worldwide event sponsored by the national Archaeological Institute of America, the largest and oldest archaeological organization in the country. It was celebrated by 450 different organizations last year.

Red Kettle campaign is coming
ORANGE PARK – The Salvation Army of Clay County kicks off its Annual Red Kettle Campaign Kick Nov. 9 from 4-7 p.m. at the Old Navy entrance at Orange Park Mall.
Majors Phillip and Lynn Irish will discuss how the Red Kettle Campaign helps those in need and The Salvation Army Brass Band and Choir will perform.
All funds raised will help The Salvation Army continue to provide programs and services to those in need, without discrimination, including a food pantry that serves approximately 1,200 a month, The School of Performing arts with over 100 students, Youth Programs over 80 youth and Summer Camp 35 youth.
Last year’s Red Kettle Campaign brought in over $174,000 last holiday season and this year’s goal is $200,000.

Annual Read with Trees slated
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – Light pours through tree branches and colors the pages of a book with webs shaped of white.
There’s stories being read among the trees, and a park ranger leading a scavenger hunt in the
Distance – children animated, while frantically searching the grounds of Gold Head Branch State
Park for the items on their lists.
Read with Trees, a program originally imagined with the Keystone Heights Branch of the Clay
County Public Library System, brings reading and nature together in a family-friendly, interactive event. The Melrose Public Library continues to partner annually with Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park rangers to read to kids and teach them about the outdoors. This year’s event will take place on Sept. 29 at 2 p.m.
Authors Donna Henderson and Fawn Rising will read their interactive children’s books, while
library representatives will lead attendees in telling stories and making crafts. The Under the
Porch Singers will sing along to campfire songs, while our local park rangers will host a
ranger-led outdoor activity.
Arrive at the park with your library card or gently used book donations on the day of the event
for free park entry.
Contact the park at (352) 473-4701 or the library (352) 475-1237 or visit 312 Wynnwood Ave. in Melrose, behind the U.S. Post Office.

Clay attorney named to 2019 Best Lawyers List
JACKSONVILLE – Attorney Sean B. Cronin, of Fleming Island, a partner at Cronin & Maxwell, PL was included in The Best Lawyers in America 2019. He was selected in the practice area of Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs. This is the eighth year he has been named to the Best Lawyers list.
The Best Lawyers in America is the oldest attorney ranking service in the world. For more than 30 years, Best Lawyers lists have been published in leading local, regional and national publications across the globe.
Prior to practicing law, Cronin served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy as a P-3C Mission Commander, Patrol Plane Commander and Naval Aviation Safety Officer. He is an FAA-certified commercial pilot with multiple and single engine instrument ratings. He represents victims of medical malpractice, including Navy and military malpractice, aviation accidents and defective products.
Cronin is a graduate of Jacksonville University and Florida State University College of Law.