These are the events being presented by the Youth Services Department at Samuels Public Library during the month of October 2022.  More information about Samuels Library and the programs and services available can be found at www.samuelslibrary.net or by calling (540) 635-3153.

Saturday, October 1

• 2:00 PM – Children’s Garden Program.  Come join us in the garden to make a craft using nature’s supplies!  Ages 6-11.  Registration is required.

Wednesday, October 5

• 10:15 AM – Toddler Story Time.  Teatime with Natalie will be the theme as she reads her story about a teashop.  Siblings welcome. Registration required.
• 11:00 AM – Preschool Story Time. Teatime with Natalie will be the theme as she reads her story about a teashop.   Siblings welcome. Registration required.

Saturday, October 8

• 2:15 PM – Dungeons & Dragons.  Join us as we embark on a quest to gather and save knowledge.  For ages 12-18.  Registration is required.

Monday, October 10

• 11:00 AM – Music & Movement for Babies & Toddlers. Join our relaxed and joyful time with our little ones as we incorporate music, beginning yoga, and multisensory activities designed to delight your baby. Registration required.

Tuesday, October 11

• 4:30 PM – Science Scouts. Children will investigate a different STEM-related topic bi-weekly. This week’s theme is Fake Blood and Viscosity.   For ages 6-11.  Registration required.  A virtual option will be offered on our Facebook & YouTube Pages.

Monday, October 17

• 11:00 AM – Music & Movement for Babies & Toddlers. Join our relaxed and joyful time with our little ones as we incorporate music, beginning yoga, and multisensory activities designed to delight your baby. Registration required.

Tuesday, October 18

• 10:30 AM – Homeschool Hub.  Children will work together as they go through the scientific method, gathering data, and drawing conclusions.  The topic this week is types of blood.  Registration is required.

Wednesday, October 19

• 10:15AM – Toddler Story Time.  Bring your toddler to a potpourri of simple stories, fun songs, and a cute craft all about baby animals! Siblings welcome Registration required.
• 11:00AM  – Preschool Story Time.  Come for an enjoyable hour filled with amazing tales, exciting sing-alongs, finger plays, and a nifty craft! Baby animals will be the theme of our stories, songs, and craft. Siblings welcome. Registration required.

Saturday, October 22

• 2:00 PM – Escape Samuels Barn.  This will be a non-typical escape room. It will be kid / special needs friendly, and no doors will be locked.  For ages 6 through adult.  Registration is required.

Monday, October 24

• 11:00AM – Music & Movement for Babies & Toddlers. Join our relaxed and joyful time with our little ones as we incorporate music, beginning yoga, and multisensory activities designed to delight your baby. Registration required.

Tuesday, October 25

• 4:30 PM – Science Scouts. Children will investigate a different STEM-related topic bi-weekly. This week’s theme is Changing Shadows.  For ages 6-11.  Registration required.  A virtual option will be offered on our Facebook & YouTube Pages.

Wednesday, October 26

• 10:15AM – Toddler Story Time.  Bring your toddler to a potpourri of simple stories, fun songs, and a cute craft! Siblings welcome Registration required.
• 11:00AM – Preschool Story Time. Read With the Sheriff! This week we will have a special guest from the Sheriff’s office!  Come in for an enjoyable hour filled with amazing tales, exciting sing-alongs, finger plays, and a nifty craft! Registration required.

Monday, October 31

• 11:00 AM – Music & Movement for Babies & Toddlers. Join our relaxed and joyful time with our little ones as we incorporate music, beginning yoga, and multisensory activities designed to delight your baby. Registration required.

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Learning from one of the greatest showmen in history is certainly a good place to start if you want to learn how to grow your business. P.T. Barnum is still a household name, even though his famous circuses are no longer so popular with audiences. While Barnum is most famous for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the entrepreneur dabbled with running a newspaper and museum, among other things.

In 1880, Barnum published “The Art of Money-Getting or Golden Rules for Making Money,” and to this day, many of the insights remain helpful. For one, Barnum recommends that whatever you do, make sure you do it with all of your might. Many markets are crowded, and if you put in only a half-hearted effort, you’re only going to get half-hearted results.

Given his own eclectic career pursuits, you might think that Barnum would champion throwing lots of things at the wall and seeing what sticks. In practice, however, he urged focus, stating, “Many a fortune has slipped through a man’s fingers because he was engaged in too many occupations at a time.”

Barnum also urged entrepreneurs to follow developing events. In his day, that meant reading the newspaper. Today, many folks prefer podcasts and visiting news websites. But the medium doesn’t matter — the content does. By staying abreast of developments, entrepreneurs are in a better position to tap into opportunities and mitigate threats.

P.T. Barnum passed away in 1891, but the Barnum and Bailey Circus lived on, bought out by Ringling Bros. Circus in 1907. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus shut their doors in 2017 following declining ticket sales and animal rights protests. However, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus are set to return in 2023. This time around, animals won’t be used in the acts.

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Hard water can damage your home’s plumbing and appliances and make your hair and skin feel dry. Fortunately, a water softener can remove minerals like calcium and magnesium to improve your water quality. Here are six benefits of installing a water softener in your home.

1. Reduced plumbing repairs. The hard water minerals stick to the pipes inside and can clog your plumbing and damage valves. Water softeners remove the minerals before they can do damage.

2. Longer-lasting appliances. Minerals can build up in your dishwasher, washing machine, and water heater, causing them to break down. Appliances that operate with soft water last longer.

3. Lower energy bills. Scaly mineral build-up in your water heater forces it to work harder and burn more fuel. Installing a water softener can improve your water heater’s efficiency.

4. Cleaner clothes. Washing clothes with mineral-rich water can cause your clothing to fade and give off a yellowish hue. Soft water leaves your clothes cleaner and makes them last longer.

5. Easier household cleaning. Caked-on mineral deposits in your kitchen sink or bathroom are difficult to clean. Using a water softener prevents these stubborn white stains from forming.

6. Softer hair and skin. Showering with soft water leaves your hair feeling soft and your skin hydrated. You also don’t need to use as much shampoo or conditioner.

Visit your local home improvement store or plumbing supply retailer to learn more about installing a water softener in your home.

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Are you considering visiting a seniors’ residence or retirement home in anticipation of a move for yourself or your loved ones? Have you considered a continuing care retirement community? Here’s what you need to know.

The concept
Continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) are characterized by an ability to adapt from independent living and assisted living to memory care and nursing home services. It allows the residents to age in place, with supports varying according to their shifting levels of mobility and autonomy. Depending on the establishment, the accessibility options may be in a single building or in a complex.

The advantages
CCRCs provide residents with plenty of flexibility and allow for adaptive support to meet them wherever they are on life’s journey. It ensures long-term care by enabling occupants to stay in the same facility despite declining health and abilities. In conventional senior care, residents must change institutions as they lose their autonomy, further complicating their condition. The consistency provided by CCRCs minimizes this disruption.

Talk to a seniors’ residential consultant to find a suitable retirement home in your area.

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The Bel Air Mansion in Front Royal, Virginia. Bel Air is the historic home of Civil War diarist Lucy Buck.

On September 24, 2022, the Warren Heritage Society hosted a tour of the Bel Air Mansion in Front Royal, Virginia. In this exclusive Royal Examiner video, you will hear Maral Kalbian, Architectural Historian, provide some historical remarks on Bel Air and how it has changed over the years. Also, excepts from Luck Buck’s Diary and letters, read by Hallie Groves, President of the WHS Board of Directors. WHS Archivist Tony Carter welcomed the guest and introduced the speakers.

Richard Hoover, a WHS Board member, gives the history of the Warren Heritage Society along with welcoming remarks from Jeff LeHew, the current owner of Bel Air. The Warren Heritage Society wants to thank Lorraine Hulquist, Suzanne Silek, Tom Lockhart, and Hallie Groves for their generosity in helping sponsor this event.

Bel Air Mansion, built in 1795, was home to 19-year-old Lucy Buck, whose detailed diary entries during the war have been invaluable for historians. General Robert E. Lee and his staff stopped here for refreshments on July 22, 1863, as his army retreated from Gettysburg.

In a previous story in the Royal Examiner, you can see many pictures of the interior of Bel Air.

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A new lease to house the Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) Elements Program received unanimous approval from the Warren County School Board during its Wednesday, September 21 meeting, and the board received updates on several WCPS items during its coinciding work session.

At the same time, members present to vote during the meeting — School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and board members Antoinette Funk, Andrea Lo, and Melanie Salins — again delayed action on three items related to the board’s potential 2022-2023 membership in the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA).

The VSBA-related items were removed from the agenda prior to the meeting “in order to receive additional information and will be added to the October 5 meeting,” according to the School Board’s revised agenda.

Removal of the three VSBA items — to approve renewal of the board’s VSBA membership; to renew the VSBA Policy Services Agreement; and to select a delegate and alternate delegate to attend the 2022 VSBA Annual Convention — again delays board action initially requested months ago and which continues to lag mainly due to concerns expressed largely by Salins, who objects to the School Board’s membership in the association.

The board members voted 5-0 to approve each of the three other action items on the agenda — including improvements for handicapped accessibility at Skyline High School and a one-year contract for the Schoology learning management system.

WCPS Special Services Director Michael Hirsch

Following a motion by Funk and a second by Salins, the School Board first approved a WCPS lease agreement for the Raymond Santmyers Youth Center for the WCPS Elements Program, which WCPS Special Services Director Michael Hirsch (above) said is a transition program to bridge the gap between high school and adulthood for qualified students with disabilities.

Specifically, Elements is a community-based program for students ages 18 to 22 that focuses on pre-employment, supported employment, and employment strategies, said Hirsch.
“Some students with disabilities don’t have the option to go to college, particularly those with significant cognitive impairments,” Hirsch explained, “so we decided to work with Lord Fairfax Community College and create our own program named Elements.”

Lord Fairfax Community College is now known as Laurel Ridge Community College. Hirsch said the Elements Program was located at the college for years until March 2020 when WCPS had to stop holding its class there. Hirsch said the plan now is to go back to the college with an expanded program that will allow WCPS to serve more students than the nine it currently serves this school year.

“We want to give students who don’t graduate with a standard or advanced diploma the option to stay [in WCPS] until their 22nd birthday,” Hirsch said. “We don’t like to see students sitting in Warren County High School or Skyline High School for eight years in a restrictive setting, so we’re creating options in the community and at the college.”

Until WCPS can hold its Elements class at the college again, Hirsch said the division wanted the community-based program for students with disabilities to continue operations. Warren County stepped up and offered free space at the Santmayer Youth Center to home base the Elements Program. This year’s nine students in the program will go into the community to work in positions with the Town of Front Royal and for all types of local business partners as they “learn how to work competitively,” said Hirsch.

WCPS plans to have two program bases when the college reopens its doors in the spring, Hirsch said. From the college site, students will be able to work a variety of positions, such as in the mail room, in food service, or in the student union, he said, while from the youth center they will be able to work in Front Royal-located positions.

“We love it and we’re very thankful to the County for stepping up and providing this resource to us,” said Hirsch.

With the School Board’s approval of the action item, WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger is now authorized to execute either a lease or a memorandum of agreement with Warren County for the occupancy of a portion of the youth center, which is on East 8th Street in Front Royal.

In other action, the board approved WCPS purchasing the 2022-2023 Schoology learning management system totaling $16,147.17 for use this school year in the elementary schools. WCPS has used the system for the last two years during the pandemic and upon completion of a survey this year decided to continue using it, according to WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Heather Bragg. The system is used by teachers to communicate with students and parents, among other tasks.

The last action item approved by the School Board regarded a request to install additional curb cuts at the bus loop/parking lot entrance at Skyline High School where a painted pedestrian crosswalk currently exists to increase student and staff safety and to improve handicapped accessibility.

The board approved a contract totaling $19,235.83 that will be awarded to the Gordian Group, which will install the handicapped-accessible curb cuts that will be compliant with federal laws.

Work Session
Among several items discussed during the work session portion of the School Board’s meeting, WCPS Assistant Superintendent for Administration George “Buck” Smith outlined information related to the planned renovations at Leslie Fox Keyser (LFK) Elementary School.

WCPS Assistant Superintendent for Administration George “Buck” Smith

The Warren County School Board Building Committee — which also met on Wednesday prior to the School Board’s meeting — worked through value engineering items and looked at identifying additional funding sources for the LFK project.

For example, roughly $245,800 would be available for the LFK project from the WCPS cafeteria fund to use for new appliances and their installation, said Smith, who added that tens of thousands of dollars in project savings also could be derived from modified renovations that would cost less and not detract from the overall project’s scope.

Smith told School Board members that the building committee will have a contract that has been reviewed by the division attorney ready, as well as a presentation for the School Board so that it can possibly take action on it during the board’s October 5 meeting.

Watch the exclusive Royal Examiner video of the entire Warren County School Board Building Committee meeting below.

In another work session item, Superintendent Ballenger reported that there are 5,042 students currently attending WCPS, not including the roughly 173 to 175 students in pre-kindergarten.

Ballenger also pointed out that class sizes are growing at Ressie Jeffries Elementary School, which is expected to need five teachers per grade level within the next two years. E. Wilson Morrison Elementary School also may need additional teaching supports, he said.

After discussing some options for providing such additional support — which is needed now to come back from pandemic-related deficits in reading and math in Ressie classrooms — Ballenger said he will present an item for board action on how to do so at its next meeting.

“We are pushing the limits of the number of students per class,” Ballenger told board members, “and we still are having to do a lot of remediation. We want to make sure we’re giving students the best services possible.”

Another work session item that will come up later for School Board action included removing the gender specifications from both the Warren County Educational Foundation Scholarship and the Thompson Scholarship, which are awarded at each WCPS high school to the male and female student with the highest academic GPA who also meet the criteria for the scholarships. The scholarships are usually in the amount of $3,000 each but may be adjusted depending on the amount of money available for distribution.

WCPS would like the School Board to consider making that change to the scholarships’ criteria in order to recognize the two students at each high school with the highest academic GPA, regardless of their gender, said Bragg.

Also, due to increased demands on the WCPS Finance Department, Ballenger said there is a need to add a new position to the department. This work session item also will come up at a future board meeting for consideration.

Warren County School Board Building Committee meeting of September 21, 2022

Warren County School Board Meeting/Work Session of September 21, 2022

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