Monday, July 9, 2007

7/13/07 Faster than a Speeding Train, Apple Pie Winners, Hypnotic Snow Cones


As I was walking up Center St. the other morning, an Amtrak train traveling north passed me, and as it did, one of those portable speed-detecting machines from the Ashland Police Department clocked the train at 34 miles per hour. While that’s under the train’s in-town speed limit of 35 mph, it made me wonder why the speed limit for cars on Center, traveling 10 feet away from the tracks, is 25 mph. Shouldn’t the trains go as slow as the cars?

Congratulations to all the contestants in the Hanover Arts and Activity Center’s Apple Pie Contest on the 4th of July! They deserve a lot of praise for all the effort and time they spent; our judges had a hard time making a decision. First place went to Judy Johnson; Second place to Marilyn Coleman; Third place to Sean and Maggie Hartigan; Most Imaginative to Jen Chambers; Most Decorative to Jim & Nancy Donlon; and Most Patriotic went to Hailey and Cassidy McGrain.

The second Ashland Street Party of the summer is Saturday, July 21 from 5 to 10:30 p.m. in the parking lot behind the Ashland Library. Music will be provided by Premiere, with a Best Barbeque in the Universe Contest and sidewalk sales beginning at noon. Visit http://www.ashlandstreetparties.com/ for more information.

The first Bluemont Concert of the summer will be Sunday, July 29 beginning at 7 p.m. on the front lawn of the Arts and Activities Center (500 S. Center St.). The Mary Ann Redmond Band, a rhythm and blues band that has won 15 Washington Area Music Association Awards, will be performing that evening. Tickets will be available on the evening of the performance and are $5. Bring your lawn chairs and picnic dinner (and maybe some bug spray). These concerts are wonderful and we’re really lucky to have them here in Ashland. Go to http://www.bluemont.org/ for more information.

Tonight is Teen Movie Night at the Ashland Library beginning at 6 p.m. Drink and pizza will be served. Bring your little kids on Friday, July 10th, to meet Mother Moose at the Library at 3 p.m. for her own special kind of story-telling.

On July 4th, I overheard a little girl talking to her sister who had just won a hula-hoop contest at the Arts and Activities Center. The younger sister said: “I helped you win- I hypnotized her with my snow cone!” Don’t you wish that was your summer? Let me know if you have any summer stories to share. Email me at ashlandnews@gmail.com, or ring me at 804-310-5320. Have a great week!

It's a shame we didn't get any snow this winter...

Especially since we're building this new town ski lodge.  I mean, I guess it could potentially bring in tourism dollars, if we ...