Community Thanksgiving Dinner

CTFK's annual Harvest Table will be held November 24, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm.  This is a free complete Thanksgiving dinner for anyone, no qualifications or advance tickets are necessary.  The dinner is served take-out or eat-in.  This is a great opportunity to eat your Thanksgiving dinner with other friends and families if you do not have your own family dinner scheduled.  CTFK seeks volunteers to provide the food, the preparations, the serving and the clean-up.  Contact Cindy Blizzard or anyone at the CTFK offices for more information or to volunteer.  [email protected]

Wagener's Jimmy Wilson Competes at FLW Norris Lake

By Valerie Sliker

Wagener resident and businessman Retired Master Sergeant Jimmy Wilson, USAF, has gone to Clinton, TN to spend the week fishing with the pros.  Not a bad gig, right?  

“I’ll probably put 40 hours on my boat just this week, that’s more than most people do in a year.” Wilson told me in an interview last week.  “I’m actually pretty pumped about it,” he added.  That has to be the best 40-hour work week I’ve ever heard of.  And?  I think he’s edging for a new boat.

The FLW (Fishing League Worldwide) Norris Lake Invitational is a 3-day tournament October 20 – 22, 2016, one of seven regular season events in the FLW Tour.  The FLW Tour consists of pro-anglers and co-anglers, the best of which will proceed to the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup to be held on Lake Murray late Summer, 2017.  During the competition, the anglers will accumulate weight of the fish caught each day and the top ten on Saturday night will advance to Sunday.  The winner of that will go to the Forrest Cup.

Jimmy and Susan Wilson are spending the week on Norris Lake as he uses three days for practice, followed by the tournament.  Along with Susan, there should be around 300 – 500 spectators, many of which are looking for a photo-op or autograph with the pro-angler of their choice.  The event will present fishing seminars and vendors, very similar to a NASCAR event.

Wagener Supports Special Olympics & How You Can, Too

Photo: WSHS Special Ed student Anslee Fraser with GA supportive racers Rondeau and Teague

By Valerie Sliker, courtesy Wagener Monthly

Former WSHS Special Education teacher Valerie Steen, now teaching at White Knoll, returned to Wagener to support her beloved Making Others Believe (MOB) Club as they provided a rest stop for the 31st Annual Aiken to Ride Fundraiser for the Special Olympics that was held on September 11, 2016.

Steen remains actively involved with the South Carolina Special Olympics Area 15 which covers Aiken, Edgefield and Saluda counties and was excited to be back with the MOB crew to distribute snacks and drinks for the 200 bicycle riders who come from all over the United States to ride through beautiful Aiken County in support of the Special Olympics held at Midland Valley High School each spring.

Aiken to Ride offers four different routes, all of which begin and end at Odell Weeks Recreational Center, and is a qualifying event for other races.  The Century route is 102 miles with a 1625’ climb.  The Metric route is 67.5 miles with a 1967’ climb.  The 37-mile loop has only a 686’ climb and the 27-mile route consists of a 460’ climb.  One rider was surprised to find himself at the Wagener stop.  He had missed the turn-off for the 37-mile loop and was now doing the 67-mile route.  The routes weave among horse farms and rural communities including New Holland, Wagener, Williston and Windsor.

Anslee Fraser, a special education student at WSHS, joins the MOB club at the Wagener stop each year to cheer on the riders.  She was excited this year to see one of last year’s riders, Stace Rondeau recognize her as he coasted in and gave her a big hug.

WSHS Grads Continue Welding Programs

By Valerie Sliker, courtesy Wagener Monthly

Former Wagener-Salley High School (WSHS) graduates Richie Bailey, Jamie Poole and Oscar Rushton are excited about continuing the welding programs at Swansea High School (SHS), WSHS and South Aiken High School (SAHS) for the 2016/17 school year.  The three instructors intentionally collaborate to ensure their programs run closely together. They put in a lot of time together working out different processes, project based learning (PBL) curriculum and pacing guides for how the years are going to flow.  While the students don’t actually cross-participate, the instructors pace curriculum so they can turn to each other for problem solving, as well as recommendations.

Statistics show that the trade workforce is diminishing and people aren’t available to fill these jobs because they’ve been encouraged to get a college degree instead of developing a skill.  Far too many students are graduating college with too much debt and a scarcity of jobs available.  Career and Technology classes are making a come-back and proving to support the jobs that become the backbone of America. 

High school welding students are graduating with the knowledge of an entry level welder, not requiring further education to grab a job.  WSHS Welding Instructor Richie Bailey encourages his students to attend Aiken Tech for welding or industrial maintenance, free with the Life or Hope scholarship, and about 70% did last year.  However, he adds, “Kids need to understand that you can be successful with a trade.  You can make a lot of money in the service industry.  The sky is the limit.  If you have the desire and the work ethic, you can be successful without the four-year college.”

Help Women of Your Community

The Women's Well in Wagener supports local girls and women by offering them a variety of life skills training.  If helping other women is your passion, there is a variety of ways you can help.

1.  Volunteer as a teacher of sewing, crafting, nutrition and good health.
2.  Give financial support.  The Women's Well has a PayPal account for your convenience.
3.  Sponsor a high school girl's Hope Chest.
4.  Donate craft and sewing items.
5.  Come to the Women's Well to shop for great gifts in their store.
6.  Pray for needs to be met in our community.
7.  Come as a student.
8.  Be an ambassador for the ministry by joining their Board of Advisors.

The Women's Well invites you to come be a part of their team of women who are stitching the fabric of life from the living water for the next generation.

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