Author: Nancy Mace

A local group is confident its growing community support will help make an upcoming family event successful. BLAST (Bold Loving Affirming Supportive Together) will host its second BLASTfest from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, at 14959 Buchanan Trail East, Blue Ridge Summit. Since its inception in 2021, the nonprofit group has been dedicated to providing activities to area children and adults with special needs to the theme, blasting glass ceilings and helping neighbors with special abilities thrive. “Having a support system in the community has been number one for us,” according to Annie Yorty of Waynesboro, a member…

Members of a local church are living up to a promise to extend God’s grace to others. “He’s blessed us so we want to bless them,” said Brad Sell, director of the food pantry at Five Forks Brethren in Christ Church, Waynesboro. And Sell’s group of volunteers, which serve clients in the Waynesboro Area and Greencastle-Antrim school districts, is busier than ever. “Last year at this time we helped 184 clients. This September the number was 288 and the total number of individuals served was 882,” he added. “The group of 30 to 40 tremendous and dedicated volunteers is almost…

WAYNESBORO- The Institute of Waynesboro hosted a free theatrical production spotlighting Edgar Allan Poe Oct. 6 at The Wharf  in Waynesboro. The program was presented by Maryland Entertainment Group (MEG) of Hagerstown. Professional actor Todd Loughry, who has been portraying Poe for more than 20 years, brought Poe to life, performing a variety of fan favorites from Poe’s work. 

A missing feature of Renfrew’s historic landscape is taking shape. Work on the gristmill, to be located north of the ruins of the Royer Mill, includes the installation of all four bays “and the mill’s outline is now representative of its true size and shape on the landscape,” according to Becky LaBarre, executive director and CEO at Renfrew Museum and Park in Waynesboro. Phase I construction (mill building and restroom/pumphouse structures) is to be completed in the early months of 2024. “Besides the buildings themselves, additional site work is needed such as finish grading, landscaping, construction of an accessible pathway…

Participants – local and nationwide – will be walking “to end hunger one step at a time” at the 2023 Crop Hunger Walk. The Waynesboro walk, sponsored by Waynesboro Fellowship of Churches, will be held Sunday, Oct. 15. Check-in and registration starts at 1:30 p.m. at the Robert E. Stum Soccer Complex at 11500 Country Club Road, Waynesboro.  The walk, with a 2- and 5-mile option, will start at 2 p.m. “Some needs seem overwhelming and you think, what difference will this make and can anything really change, but doing anything is better than doing nothing,” noted the Rev. Caroline…

Members of Waynesboro High School Class of 1963 paused to remember a fallen classmate as they gathered for their 60th reunion. The group held a memorial service for Marine Cpl. Paul R. Smith Jr., who died March 6, 1967, in South Vietnam, Sept. 30, in Harbaugh Church Cemetery, Rouzerville. “He and I were good friends in high school and we started college together at Penn State,” noted classmate Don Embly of Waynesboro. “Paul decided that college was not for him, and he dropped out. He started working in the engineering department at Landis Machine Co., but Uncle Sam had other…

WAYNESBORO – The Rev. Drahus Oslik, associate pastor of Evangelical Lutheran Church, Waynesboro, blesses Rusty, the Corgi of member Betty Emery at the Blessing of the Animals Oct. 1 at the church. Many people bring their pets to a church to be blessed on St. Francis’ feast day because of his love for animals as expressed in his Canticle of Creatures.

Participants in an upcoming scavenger hunt at Green Hill Cemetery in Waynesboro are encouraged to “have fun. “Happy hunting,” added Jill Kessler, who organized the quest, set for Sunday, Oct. 15, the final event to mark the 150th anniversary of the founding of the cemetery at 953 S. Potomac St. The Franklin County Court signed an order incorporating the Green Hill Cemetery Association March 10, 1873. The scavenger hunt will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. The rain date is Sunday, Oct. 22. Admission is free and there will be light refreshments. There will be two age groups, 4…

“Let’s keep it going” say two women involved in the local Bras for A Cause campaign. Donations, which include financial contributions and bras, will be accepted through Oct. 31 and support Cumberland Valley Breast Care Alliance (CVBCA). The cash donations are used to assist patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer who live in Franklin County. Rhonda McFarland, who heads up the effort along with Marj Cober, said the campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed in October. “The support this fundraiser provides for patients and their families is incredibly valuable,” offered Carol MacDougall, of…

Keep your eyes posted on the Wayne Heights Mall for signs that construction on the new Aldi store is set to begin. “We’re planning to start Monday, Sept. 18, and our work will probably wrap up in February,” said Kyle Stevens, construction manager for Buckeye Construction North Ridgeville, Ohio. “We began a while ago, and put in the building pad. We’re not doing the whole project, just the shell. When we’re done, it will be a big empty box, and then Aldi’s will come in and do their buildout,” he added. Washington Township received payments for the impact fees and…