WOODSTOCK -- The church leader behind the giant crosses on Interstate 81 west of Strasburg is asking for the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors' blessing when he asks the Virginia Department of Transportation for a highway sign directing motorists to his church's park.

Jay Ahlemann, pastor of Church of the Valley, appealed to the supervisors' public safety and code committee Aug. 25.

The sign on Interstate 81 would direct drivers to Freedom Memorial Park and give a radio dial location, according to a letter from Ahlemann to the supervisors.

"I believe as the park is developing, it's going to become a major tourist attraction in Shenandoah County," he told the board.

The park's development is ongoing, Ahlemann said.

"There's no timeline," he said. "We see this going on forever."

Memorial bricks and walls continue to be placed in the park, which features American flags and three crosses, the largest of which is 150 feet tall.

"We didn't build those flags and crosses for the Church of the Valley," Ahlemann said. "We built them for the community. Obviously, everybody [who] drives up and down Interstate 81 sees them. We have a steady stream of traffic, of cars pulling in there to see what it's all about.

"We still owe $200,000 on the crosses. That was a $750,000 project. We believe every penny was worth it."

He said the church realizes VDOT needs to approve the highway sign request.

"But, we want your support, and would like to have a letter of support," Ahlemann said. "I would hate for us to go to the department of transportation and our [own] county saying we don't want it."

He thanked the supervisors for approving the crosses and flags.

Since the crosses got a thumbs up from county planning commissioners, the county code has been changed to limit structures, not just buildings, to 35 feet.

"People say, 'Do you get any negatives?'" Ahlemann said.

Last summer, he went to 1,200 homes in the Strasburg area looking for people to attend his church.

"Ninety-nine percent of people said, 'We love those flags and crosses,'" Ahlemann said. "So, we're really thankful for it. It's a statement for God and country."

The park, which honors those in the military, is a place for reflection, remembrance and rest, he said.

District 4 Supervisor Sharon Baroncelli, who is not on the public safety committee, was the only board member to voice concerns about the endorsement request.

When asked Monday if it was the local government's place to endorse such a request from a church, Baroncelli said, "Very good question."

"My concern with this issue is if one organization has the request, it opens the door for many to have this request as well, and is [it] our place to endorse signage on 81 outside of a tourist-specific establishment?" she asked. "[I] have no problem or issue with the memorial itself. It's just, is this something the board needs to be involved with?"

The committee sent the request to the full Board of Supervisors with a recommendation for endorsement.

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WOODSTOCK -- The following is a synopsis of how one woman went from zero to heaven in a matter of moments.

An impromptu photo shoot of the cook forces Jenni Spriggs to wait to place her food order, adding time to the normal two or three minutes that it would take to get her selection ready anyway.

"Better be worth the wait," she says.

Upon receiving said order -- three fried Oreos -- Spriggs walks away, returning to two friends who accompanied her. She quickly learns two things: The contents are hot, which she should have known if she read a sign where she placed her order, and powdered sugar, which tops off the Oreos, has the ability to make a U-turn toward your clothes when you blow on the hot food it covers.

This is not a good sequence of events for Spriggs. But then, she sinks her teeth in.

"Oh, my God," Spriggs says.

Another bite, and then another, and a broken record starts playing itself.

"Oh, my God," says Spriggs, 27, of Stephens City. "It's like the only way I can describe it."

If curiosity killed the cat, then Spriggs is going to need multiple nine lives. Like many others this week at the Shenandoah County Fair, she was a first-time eater and subsequent fan of various fried snacks provided by Manda Rudolph at her Fried Frenzy stand.

Oreos, Twinkies, a wide selection of miniature candy bars and more than a half-dozen types of fudge are all deep fried and offered at the stand, the first time the fair has offered such treats. The fried fudge is Rudolph's own creation.

The booth is also Rudolph's first food-vending experience, adding to the glass jewelry and ornaments she sells at another shop at the fair, Glass by Manda.

"It's a complete experiment," she said. "A lot of people are curious and still not sure about it."

Unusual fried foods are common at many fairs, particularly in the West, where Rudolph, now a High View, W.Va., resident, once lived. One of the most surprising items she has come across is fried Coke, which was available at the Texas State Fair.

Fried Frenzy needs to grow before going that far off the normal fried food beaten path. Rudolph is still unsure whether she's in the business for the long run, but this week has gone well enough that, if she had to make a decision today, she would opt to continue touring with her stand and purchase something more permanent to work out of.

"The thing is, if the dessert thing fails, you can go with pickles, mushrooms, zucchini," Rudolph said.

Publicity, she said, is the most important thing. Once customers are reeled in to try some food, they are hooked.

Look no further than Jake Sauer, 29, of Richmond. He has made a trip to Fried Frenzy part of his daily routine, with his girlfriend, Katy Bennett, of Strasburg.

"I like to try new things," Sauer said.

But he doesn't just try them. Sauer makes a big deal out of it, professing to bystanders just how heavenly the fried food he has placed in his mouth is.

"There should be nothing but these booths around here," Sauer said. "I don't want a hot dog. ... I would dress up as a fried Oreo and walk around this place."

WINCHESTER -- It begins with greed and quickly turns toward seduction, but the latest play at Winchester Little Theatre, "Other People's Money," will end with an entertained audience. How the audience members feel about the plot, though, will be entirely up to them, says director Paul Bailey.

The plot centers around takeover artist Larry Garfinkle, who has set his sights on New England Wire and Cable, owned by Andrew Jorgenson. In an attempt to save the company from being bought and sold off in pieces, as well as to save the jobs of all of his employees, Jorgenson enlists the aid of his assistant's daughter, Kate, a bigwig New York lawyer who rivals Garfinkle's passion for money and power.

The show takes place in the 1980s, but Bailey believes those who come to see it will be able to relate to the story line, which very much parallels the current economic climate.

"It's the same concept," Bailey says.

The story concerns business owners catering to the whims of stockholders and the effects on employees who depend on the success of the company. The play leaves the audience with a question that business owners must consider: Is business just about making money, or are people and the state of the economy important, too?

Despite the financially centered overtone of the show, the plot includes a lot of humor.

"It's not black humor, but there's humor here," Bailey says.

"The point is this is a greedy [man] who's a male chauvinist," Bailey says of Garfinkle. "There's nothing appealing about him."

To make the character as disgusting -- and menacing -- as possible, Andy Kiser, who plays Garfinkle, dresses to look much larger than any of the other cast members.

"He eats doughnuts and Big Macs all day and he uses bad language," Kiser says, later adding, "He's supposed to be slimy."

Still, Garfinkle infuses the play with most of its humor, Kiser says. "He's a lot of the comic relief," Kiser says. "He's blunt, he doesn't B.S., he doesn't sugarcoat things."

When Kate enters the picture, she and Garfinkle battle it out, sparring to see which one will gain the upper hand in their word match.

"She's very independent, she's stubborn, she doesn't listen very well," Maria Santucci says of her character.

"She's not a very good person, she's out for herself, she's strong in that way."

The problem, for Kate -- and ultimately for Jorgenson and his company -- is that Garfinkle is not actually doing anything illegal. Kate can argue all she wants with him, but in the end it is simply a matter of morals -- and money.

"If they see him as the bad guy, that's OK, but at the same time, he does what he does because to him it's legal and it's how the game is played. There is no pretense with him. What's Garfinkle is Garfinkle," Kiser says. "He's motivated by money, but he's more motivated by the game itself ... the challenge."

"It takes place in Wall Street and Rhode Island," Bailey says, pointing out the opposing sets that take up the whole of WLT's stage. The setup of the theater, with its intimacy between the seats and the stage itself, presents an interesting view for people attending any one of the community theater group's productions. Perhaps because of the suitability of the upcoming show's theme to the state of America's current financial situation, the members of the audience might feel more than ever that they are a part of the story.

Whether they side with Garfinkle, who truly believes himself to be the savior of a failing company, or with Jorgenson, who fights for the welfare of his employees as well as his own livelihood, they will surely feel passionately drawn toward one or the other.

Perhaps what makes the story most meaningful is that it is told from the viewpoint of one of Jorgenson's employees, William Coles, manager of the company. Coles, played by Pat Markland, is the character who has everything to lose if Jorgenson decides to sell.

"[This is] the story of what happened, from his perspective," Markland says. As manager, Coles is the one who stands to take over if Jorgenson retires.

"That's his dream to become chairman of a company. [He is] probably the one character that most people would relate to," Markland says.

"This is a play about people and where they came from and why they are what they are," Bailey says. He cautions those who have seen the 1991 Hollywood movie starring Danny DeVito not to assume they know the whole plot.

"[This version is] great because it's not sanitized," he says. "I think it's great because it'll be a surprise ending."

"It's a mystery, 'cause who's gonna win and how? It's a romance, 'cause there's a guy and a girl," he says. "There's absolutely something for everybody."

Jerry Sterner's "Other People's Money" begins at Winchester Little Theatre at 315 W. Boscawen St. on Friday and runs through Sept. 19. Show times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. For tickets or more information, call the box office Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. at 662-3331, or visit the Web at www.wltonline.org.

MIDDLETOWN -- John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, the signal event that hastened the coming of the Civil War, is deftly explored in Wayside Theatre's "Robert E. Lee and John Brown: Lighting the Fuse."

The play, by Warner Crocker, the theater's artistic director, premiered five years ago but is being remounted at the suggestion of the Winchester-Frederick County Visitor's Bureau as part of the observance of the 150th anniversary of Brown's raid.

The drama features a versatile cast of nine, who play scores of characters, including politicians, who in effective vignettes illustrate the sectional tensions that preceded Brown's mad foray, and the townsfolk unwittingly caught up in history. Projections with text and pictures add context and help propel the story.

The play's focus, naturally, is on Brown, the antislavery fanatic, and Lee, who led the contingent of U.S. forces that crushed the raid. The pair are ably portrayed by John Alcott and John Dow, reprising their roles from the 2004 production.

Although Alcott declaims loudly and mightily, his Brown has touches of pathos, especially as he's forced to ponder the consequences of his zealotry, most notably as he watches life ebb from his wounded son.

Dow, in addition to looking like Lee's clone, embodies his character and mien -- the unpretentious, wise, duty-bound soldier whose loyalty to Virginia transcended his distaste for slavery.

Crocker brings the two principals together, after the commotion of the raid and its suppression, to spar in a low-keyed way about the contradictions of their convictions. The scene is both poignant and absorbing.

Also repeating his role is Stephen Seals as an authoritative Frederick Douglass as well as a member of the ensemble.

Affecting music by Steve Przybylski, sometimes reminiscent of Stephen Sondheim, punctuates the play.

Michael "Jonz" Jones' spare sets have been tastefully complemented by Til Turner. Paul M. Callahan provides often haunting lighting and Tamara M. Carruthers supplies a wealth of evocative costumes.

"Robert E. Lee and John Brown: Lighting the Fuse" continues through Sept. 26. The box office phone number is 869-1776.

Card shower

A card shower is planned for Jesse and Naomi Wine, who will celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary on Sept. 4.

Their address is 211 Fairground Road, Woodstock 22664.

Fair winners

Eric Kibler was named grand champion and senior showman and Emilie Webb the reserve grand champion and junior champion in the 4-H/FFA sheep showmanship at the Shenandoah County Fair.

Kibler also had the grand and reserve grand champion market lamb and the grand and reserve champion heavyweight market lamb.

Webb had the champion ewe, champion mediumweight market lamb and reserve champion commercial ram.

Other showmanship winners were:

Donnie Cummins, senior reserve; Jenna Kibler, junior reserve; Kenny Souders, novice; and Kamryn Custer, novice reserve.

Also winning championships were:

Nicole M. Kibler, champion lightweight market lamb; Sarah Grace Schechtel, reserve champion lightweight market lamb; Brittany Bowers, reserve mediumweight market lamb; Heather Crawford, grand lightweight pen of two market lambs; Jenna Swanson, reserve lightweight pen of two market lambs; Heather Crawford, grand pen of two market lambs; Jenna Swanson, reserve pen of two market lambs.

Aaron Heishman, grand and reserve Hampshire ewe, grand and reserve Hampshire ram, grand and reserve Dorset ram, grand and reserve Dorset ewe, grand and reserve Suffolk ram and grand and reserve Suffolk ewe.

Jensen Hoover, grand champion ram, reserve commercial ewe, commercial ram and reserve champion ewe.

WOODSTOCK -- Watching a group of young Army recruits go through basic training exercises at the Shenandoah County Fair on Wednesday morning brought back memories for Jake Mantz.

"I was in the Air Force, but basic training's pretty much the same," said Mantz, of Fort Valley. He recalled what went through his mind during his basic training.

"Just getting it right so you didn't get yelled at," he said.

"Amen," added Oley Racey, Mantz's father-in-law. "You learned it, and if you didn't they had you doing push-ups all the time. ... They whipped us into shape."

Mantz and Racey were two of the many veterans at the fair's veterans' day on Wednesday. Along with a variety of military-related demonstrations and displays, attendees were able to take in the sounds of the Fort Lee Army Dixieland Band and remarks by Lt. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, a Woodstock native who is head of the Army Accessions Command, and others.

As he watched the drill exercises, Mantz said they were "all about teaching you attention to detail." He worked on helicopters while in the Air Force, he said, and attention to detail was critical.

"And, [the training] taught you to rely on each other," he said.

It's important to recognize "the sacrifice that each of these veterans make," Mantz said. Those who enlist now do so knowing there's a good chance they will see combat and may have to lay down their lives, he said.

The appreciation of veterans has improved greatly over the years, he said.

"Now, I think there's a lot of people giving a lot of recognition, and I think they should," he said.

Racey, of Woodstock, was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War, he said. Serving was "tough," he said, but he doesn't regret going to Vietnam.

Showing veterans appreciation is "a huge thing," he said.

During the day's opening ceremony, Steve Jennings said "one guest is lost and that is [Oliver] North," who was on assignment for the FOX News Channel. Jennings welcomed the crowd and introduced Wade Zirkle, a former Marine Corps captain who was wounded in Iraq.

"Freedom does not come cheap, and it's because of your sacrifice that we continue to live in the land of liberty," Zirkle told the crowd.

Freakley said it is important for each citizen to stand firm in the belief that America is a great country.

During fair week, he said, the county celebrates its youth and its agriculture, but "our veterans have allowed us to celebrate our heritage" and have "secured our rights." And, as the county pauses to celebrate its veterans, it should also remember the "battle buddies who did not come home," he said.

"So today, while we celebrate our veterans, I ask us to celebrate our fallen," Freakley said. "They're not here, except they're right here in our hearts."

After the ceremony, Freakley said he tries to convey to the veterans he talks to "how grateful we are for their service." If someone knows someone who has served, he said, they ought to thank them.

"We ought to encourage our youth to serve," whether in the military or civilian forces, he said.

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Andrea Wickham has spent her career as a dietitian helping senior citizens eat properly, a daily task that for the young and healthy happens without much thought. But for the older person suffering deteriorating health, taking dozens of medications every day or living with dementia, the seemingly easy task of eating becomes a hurdle that challenges not only the senior but the caregiver as well.

Home Instead Senior Care found that 83 percent of family caregivers in the U.S. assist with groceries and are challenged to provide a balanced diet for those they care for. The national provider of non-medical care and companionship services for seniors, with an office in Winchester, recently published a booklet titled "Cooking Under Pressure." The free booklet identifies the warning signs of poor nutrition, what foods should be staples in the diet and provides shopping tips and recipes.

While good nutrition is vital at any age, for seniors poor nutrition has devastating effects.

"When you get to that advanced age, you have physical problems that affect eating," said Wickham, a Front Royal resident who works for Home Instead Senior Care. Oftentimes, she added, family members are too slow to notice the decline.

"They see them every day and they don't recognize the signs. They don't see the dryness around the mouth and nose, or that their hair is brittle or their skin" is dehydrated, she said.

The dominos easily fall for an older person who already doesn't feel well and finds eating to be one more difficult task amongst many. Seniors with mobility issues may dread grocery shopping or navigating around the kitchen. Arthritis makes food preparation and using equipment such as can openers taxing. Eye trouble or clouded memory may cause difficulty following recipes. Dentures that no longer fit make it impossible to eat certain foods, and less-efficient taste buds can make food bland and unappealing.

Poor nutrition can quickly lead to weakness, dehydration, accelerated disease and depression. It's difficult for someone suffering a poor diet to find the energy to move, maintain mental acuity, fight off infection and diseases. Oftentimes, a life span is cut short by an inadequate diet.

The pressures on caregivers, many of whom have children of their own, jobs and other commitments, make ensuring their loved ones are eating correctly that much more of a challenge. Home Instead Senior Care reports that 67 percent of caregivers who rated their lives as "extremely stressful" were caring for loved ones with three or more nutritional risk factors, such as illness, multiple medications or unexplained weight loss/gain.

Jan Ricketts of Winchester helps her elderly parents who, a few years ago, began suffering various ailments that required a change in diet. Over time, Ricketts' mother became less inclined to cook. Ricketts then began to notice her parents, age 79 and 73, were dining out more often, eating more snack foods and were sometimes sitting down to dinner at 9 o'clock at night. She and her four sisters turned to Home Instead Senior Care to provide meals for their parents right in their own home. The move has brought considerable peace of mind.

"I know they're getting a nutritional meal that's being prepared," just for them, Mrs. Ricketts said. "That has taken off a big weight."

Adding to the stress for caregivers is coming to grips with the fact that the parents who once lovingly provided their meals can no longer do the same for themselves.

"You just take it for granted that mom has always known how to cook and then lo and behold there's a concern," said Aaron C. Blight, owner of the Winchester Home Instead Senior Care franchise. "Sometimes children are the last to notice the symptoms in their parents."

Blight employs 200 caregivers who perform a variety of functions all in an effort to keep seniors in their homes. He notes many clients forget to check expiration dates on food, putting them at risk for food poisoning. One client made hamburger patties and stored them for days in the cabinet instead of the refrigerator. Another exploded food in a microwave that then caught fire.

Caregivers can expect a struggle as they intercede with seniors in their care. "There is resistance as their functional capacity decreases," Blight said. "They don't want to acknowledge that they're not as efficient as they used to be. There's a mental adjustment that has to be made."

The parent-child dynamic can also contribute to a rocky experience. "Some have better relationships with parents than others," Wickham said. "Some people won't do anything their children suggest."

The booklet was created in part to make this process easier.

Ricketts said her parents now look forward to the companionship the nightly caregivers provide. Her parents' health has also improved with lower cholesterol, needed weight gain and a general overall feeling of well-being.

Blight, who relates firsthand to the stress caregivers feel, having taken care of his mother-in-law during her five-year battle with cancer, hopes his company's new booklet will encourage caregivers to be proactive about meeting the needs of their loved ones.

"We find people don't call until there's a crisis. About 25 percent of people who contact us do it in a planned way that involves foresight.

"We hope this book will provide some information and education to family members who are looking at parents and loved ones and their nutritional status. Hopefully, this will help them to know what to look for."

For Ricketts, focusing on her parents' nutrition and getting help from experts has brought her relationship with her parents back where she wanted it.

"I feel like now I can actually go up and visit" and be a daughter and not a caregiver.

Warning signs that older adults are not eating properly

1. Loss of appetite

2. Little or no interest in eating out

3. Depression

4. Sudden weight fluctuation

5. Expired or spoiled food

6. Skin tone

7. Lethargy

8. Cognitive problems

9. More than three medications

10. A recent illness

-- Source: "Cooking Under Pressure," a booklet created by Home Instead Senior Care, which is free of charge and can be obtained by calling 722-8750 or toll-free at 877-650-3800.

Web sites helpful for caregivers

www.foodsforseniors.com (the Home Instead Senior Care site)

eatright.org (the American Dietetic Association)

caregiverstress.com

-- Source: caregiverstress.com

Recipes suitable for seniors

Broccoli Salad

1 bunch fresh broccoli (bite size pieces)

1 medium purple onion, chopped

8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled

1 cup sharp cheese, shredded

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing

Wash and cut broccoli stems and buds less than 1/2 inch in diameter. Add onions, cheese and bacon.

Mix remaining ingredients for dressing and pour over broccoli mixture. Marinate several hours.

-- Source: Home Instead Senior Care via Blue Ridge Hospice

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

2.5 oz. lemon juice

2.5 oz. olive oil

1 tsp. ground rosemary

3 lb. chicken, cut up and skin removed

Mix first three ingredients. Marinate chicken overnight in the mixture in refrigerator. Drain chicken from marinade and place on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until temperature reaches 165 degrees.

-- Source: Home Instead Senior Care via the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging

Wellspring news

Wellspring will hold a retreat for breast cancer survivors on Oct. 4-5 at Capon Springs & Farm in Capon Bridge, W.Va.

The cost is $49. Registration or further information is available by calling 536-4981.

WOODSTOCK -- The George family dynasty in the Shenandoah County 4-H, FFA grand champion market steer show continued Tuesday as Allison George's beast took home the grand prize.

The 16-year-old, who wants to be a veterinarian, has raised the British cross steer since March.

"I love him," said George, who will be a junior when she returns to Central High School next week. "I don't want to sell him. He was born and raised on my farm and I halter broke him and everything."

It was George's second straight year taking home the grand prize. Her older brother, Dustin, won the title from 2003 to 2005.

"I think it's awesome, [I] worked hard," she said of her win. "I even pulled through with a hurt foot."

That came earlier in the day when George's 1,328-pound steer stepped on her left foot. She didn't think the injury was serious, though.

Reserve grand champion winner Paul Dellinger also is a familiar face in the winner's circle. He snagged the grand prize in 2006 and 2007.

The 15-year-old Stonewall Jackson sophomore said his crossbreed Rocky weighs 1,250 pounds. He enjoys showing cattle and especially likes winning.

"It's good," Dellinger said. "It's better than winning nothing."

George said she wasn't sure her steer would fetch as much at auction as in years past because of the poor economy.

The economy also led to fewer youths showing market steers this year, according to the fair's director, Jim Eastep. Usually, there are about 60 entrants, he said, but this year there were just 43 or so.

"That's enough for a pretty good show," Eastep said. "With the economy the way it is, it costs about $800-$1,000 to feed one of these calves for almost a full year. This being an extra, added expense on the family, and they have to give up something. This is just a fun thing."

And, the numbers aren't as low at the Shenandoah County Fair as at many of the area fairs, he said.

Parents looking to save a little money, yet still let their children participate in the fair, are turning more to lambs and goats, Eastep said. It's just $50-$100 to feed a goat, he said.

"They can keep a goat in their backyard," Eastep said. "They can take a goat or a lamb and have a lot of fun coming to the county fair. Any kind of experience that they can [get to] come to the fair, I think it's great to have that available for them. That's what it's for, the kids, the young people."

Eastep was on the fair board when it agreed to add goats to the fair lineup several years ago, he said.

"Four years ago we started out with about 12 goats," he said. "This year, we've got about 125 goats."

Raising a 4-H animal is great for family bonding, Eastep said.

"You will never find anything to bring a family closer together than working with an animal all year long," he said.

WOODSTOCK -- Its name would make you think otherwise, but the wood stork actually does not belong here.

Shenandoah County, though, is credited for its kind, welcoming population, so when the southeastern stork met the 'stock for possibly the first time ever recently, the bird found itself comfortably at home.

And "home" is oftentimes around a pond on George and Barbara Hawkins' property on Patmos Road, which has become a tourist attraction of late as people from as far away as New York and New Jersey have descended on it to catch a glimpse of a bird rarely found north of southern North Carolina.

"It must be a big thing," Mrs. Hawkins said. "I guess I take that stuff for granted. They're real excited about the woodpeckers, too. I don't know why."

Birders are a dedicated, Internet-savvy breed of people. An active blog that details different sightings throughout Virginia has several entries about Woodstock's stork. Local resident Ed Trelawny first posted the sighting on Aug. 22, and Fravel and Patmos roads have not been the same since.

"I read the note on Sunday morning early and within a half hour I had called several friends and then we were on our way," Bridgewater resident William Leigh said in an e-mail. "When chasing a rarity it is always good to head out as soon as possible. A bird may hang around for a month or it might be gone in a day.

"Birders love birds that are navigationally challenged and any bird that is this far from its normal range is by definition navigationally challenged. ... [Wood storks] are incredible birds seen anywhere as they are very large and somewhat comic looking."

Birders estimate the local stork to be about 18 months old because its beak is still a light color. Leigh, who has traveled as far as New Jersey to chase a rare bird, said it has a "yellow/pinkish flesh colored bill."

Mrs. Hawkins contacted family friend Fred Frenzel, the district wildlife biologist for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, upon seeing the wood stork. He was so excited about it that the family decided to name the bird Fred or Freda, she said, as they don't know its gender.

Frenzel said in his nearly 20 years of working for the state, this is the first wood stork he has seen.

"It's caused quite a stir in the birding community," he said. "It's an opportunity to see something that, ordinarily, you would have to travel to Florida or the Gulf Coast to see outside of captivity."

The stork's stay in Woodstock will be dependent on the weather, which, when it cools, means the bird will likely head back south, Frenzel said.

Mrs. Hawkins said she would not miss the bird, calling its arrival a "nature thing." However, she does admit it has had an impact on her life.

"I always said it'd be big news if I got a grandchild, and this stork showed up," said Hawkins, a grandmother-to-be in February. "I just think it's hilarious."

Frenzel notes that people who want to view the bird must respect private property and not park in landowners' driveways or climb fences. Mrs. Hawkins said she has not had any issues with visitors.

WINCHESTER -- Sometimes the smallest gestures are the ones most appreciated and most needed. That's what Elizabeth Parsons thought when she decided to begin the Virginia chapter of Afghans for Angels in 1999.

Now, 10 years later, the group is going strong, under its new name, HeartFelt Angels, and has helped countless families all across Virginia during their times of need. The nonprofit group makes afghans, blankets and clothing for newborns whose families, for one reason or another, are unprepared to clothe the infants during their hospital stay.

Parsons found out about the national Afghans for Angels when she was doing an online search for crocheting patterns. She decided to join the cause because of her own experience in the newborn intensive care unit at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. Her second son, born three months early, had to remain in the hospital much longer than Parsons had originally planned -- two months.

"He was perfect, he just needed to grow," she says. "He came home at 4 pounds, some odd ounces, so. He's 21 [years old] now."

While at the hospital she witnessed the many other families blind-sided by unexpected extended hospital stays who could have benefited from a group like Afghans for Angels.

Parsons, herself, had no clothes for her 2-pound baby to wear. The hospital could offer only hats or booties to newborns.

"They told me I could go out to buy doll's clothes. I said, 'No,'" she says, remembering how she had to search for the smallest outfit she could find to fit him.

When she learned of the charity club, she jumped at the chance to help other mothers and babies.

"I got some friends, crochet friends, to help me, and that's how we took off," she says. The group started out at U.Va., but quickly branched out to other hospitals, including Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem and Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital. When Parsons moved from Bedford to Winchester a year later, she included Winchester Medical Center in the group's beneficiaries. The group now blankets 13 hospitals across Virginia and even sends quilts and baby clothes to West Virginia, Tennessee, New York and Colorado.

"When they have a need, we help," Parsons says.

The group changed its name five years ago when it decided it wanted to make more than just afghans.

"We kind of outgrew our name so we decided on HeartFelt Angels," she says.

HeartFelt Angels meets on the second Tuesday of each month at Winchester Medical Center in the conference room next to Subway to drop off any baby items and discuss upcoming plans.

The meetings attract up to 20 people, she says, but the online group has 70 members.

"It's the same group, but it's for people who can't attend the meetings. The club's members live all over the country and provide clothing, blankets and other items for labor and delivery units and newborn intensive care units.

Though the items can bring happiness to those celebrating a new addition to their families, the group's offerings also comfort those in times of great sorrow: The donated clothes and blankets also benefit families whose babies don't make it, Parsons says. It's a small consolation, but it can offer a couple just the slightest amount of comfort to not have to worry about that one detail, she says.

"I saw several babies not make it," she says. She saw parents without anything to use to clothe their child and wanted to help them. "I just had to do it."

The members personalize their items using different styles, including crocheting, quilting and knitting and working with various different colors, with the holidays. In May some will make items of pink, green and white -- Apple Blossom colors, and near U.Va. homecoming Parsons uses orange and blue in her work.

"I just package everything up and I take it to the hospital, and they decide who gets it," she says.

The group has a Web site, www.heartfeltangels.com, and a blog site, heartfeltangels.blogspot.com. Though the goal is to aid families in need, the group has had a dual benefit -- helping its own members.

"It's a two-fold thing," Parsons says "Helping people in hospitals and giving members something to do." The group, she says, is perfect for retirees, who are looking for a way to spend their time with friends helping those in need, though certainly anyone interested is invited to join.

"And we're always looking for new members to crochet, knit, sew," Parsons says.

Library news

Handley Regional Library will offer free computer workshops at the Bowman and Handley libraries in September and October.

Classes at Handley are on basic e-mail, introduction to the Internet, Excel and getting to know the computer. Registration or further information is available by calling 662-9041, ext. 19.

Classes at Bowman are on introduction to the Internet, basic MS Powerpoint, Excel, beginning MS Word and online database searching. Registration or further information is available by calling 869-9000, ext. 203.

Youth Development Center

The Youth Development Center will offer an enrichment camp for first- through ninth-graders on Saturdays at 10 a.m. from Sept. 12 through Oct. 10 and Oct. 17, 24 and 31. The cost is $50 per session.

Adventures Beyond, a recreation experience, will be held on Saturdays at 10 a.m. from Sept. 12 to Dec. 19. The cost is $15 per week.

Registration, which is required, or further information is available by calling 662-4564.

College news

Rebecca Shelor, a theater major at Valparaiso University, received its university presidential scholarship and its Martin Luther scholarship.

A graduate of Central High School, she is the daughter of Vikki and the Rev. Wayne Shelor of Fort Valley.

Woodstock

Card shower

A card shower is planned for Charlotte Swann, who will celebrate her 90th birthday on Sept. 8.

Her address is 720 Spring Parkway, Woodstock 22664.

WOODSTOCK -- Some in the stands at Monday night's Nationwide Demolition Derby clutched blankets, but not in an effort to keep out the chill.

As spinning car tires kicked up a mixture of mud and gravel, spectators raised their blankets in an effort to deflect the debris. But, according to some attendees, such danger is part of the event's appeal.

"There's more excitement sitting down here," said Steve Helsley, who was near the bottom of the bleachers with his son, Josh.

Monday's demolition derby, which was open only to Shenandoah County entries, was the first of two at the Shenandoah County Fair. The second will take place tonight at 8 p.m., and will be open to all entries.

Josh Helsley, 25, said he generally competes in the derbies, but he decided to take a year or so off. The drivers "knows there's danger, but they don't care," he said.

Brian Fadeley, Josh Helsley's cousin, said he also decided to take a break this year. Drivers "don't even get time to think about" potential danger when they're in the car, he said.

"It's a rush once you're out there," said Fadeley, 27, of Woodstock.

Last year, Brad Kibler, of Edinburg, suffered second-degree burns to his arms, neck, shoulders and back when a fire started inside his car during the derby.

Lynn McClellan, of Woodstock, was in the stands last year, she said, and seeing the fire in Kibler's car was "very scary."

"You're just hoping and praying that they get out in time," she said before the derby started Monday. "And let's hope there's no repeat of that."

McClellan and her sister, Paula Orndorff, have come to the derby for years to watch their brother compete, Orndorff said. She said her brother, "Wild" Bill Orndorff, was injured in a demolition derby in Harrisonburg last week, and couldn't compete Monday night.

This is the first time Orndorff's brother, who's 42, has missed the event since he was 18, she said. One year, he won both of the fair's derbies, McClellan said.

But, her brother's injury isn't enough to keep McClellan's husband, Harry, from wanting to enter the fray.

"I'd just like to do it one time," he said.

Kelly Gochenour, of Maurertown, said "the dirt and the excitement" keep her coming back, but she's not interested in participating.

"It would hurt," she said, laughing. "I'd rather watch."

Mike Chavez, of Strasburg, was at Monday's derby with his son, Brandon, 9, and Jeremy Viar, 7. The boys come every year, Chavez said. "I like seeing them crash," Jeremy said.

Brandon said he liked coming "because it's fun," and he wanted to be in a derby someday. Jeremy, though, said he probably wouldn't drive in one.

"I don't want to catch on fire," he said.

Chavez said he'd stay in the grandstand, "where it's safe." Coming to the derby is "just awesome," he said.

"There's always somebody to talk to," he said. "There's always somebody to root for."

WOODSTOCK -- Can people retire from parenting?

Maybe once they've raised more than 300 children.

Woodstock couple Raymond and Earline Bowman say the time has come to hang up the titles they took on four decades ago as foster parents.

Children's Services of Virginia Inc., a private foster-parenting agency, plans to honor the Bowmans at an event Sept. 8. The Bowmans have worked with the agency for 15 years and, before that, with various social services departments, taking on as many as six or seven foster children at a time.

It will take 20 new families to replace the Bowmans, according to Ralph Berry, a foster parent trainer with Children's Services of Virginia Inc.

Asked recently why they've done it for so long, Mrs. Bowman said "'Cause mother can't resist."

"Big hearts," Bowman chimed in.

"And the social workers call and say 'Earline, I have this sweet little' --" Mrs. Bowman said.

The Bowmans have lived in a large house on a farm in Woodstock for decades. The couple also raised their own biological children, all of whom are now grown up, while taking care of foster children.

Bowman, 69, runs a farm and his own trucking business. Mrs. Bowman, 68, worked as a teacher for Shenandoah County. The Bowmans started working as foster parents after a social worker in Shenandoah County asked Earline, then a teacher, if she was interested. Mrs. Bowman said she hadn't thought about it before, though her mother had been a foster parent.

After some further explanation by the social worker, Mrs. Bowman said she'd "give it a shot."

The couple's first foster child was a 16-year-old girl who stayed with them until she graduated from high school, Earline said.

"It was eye-opening, wasn't it?" Mrs. Bowman asked her husband.

"Each one's different," he said.

Children can form bonds with their foster parents and the other youths.

Mrs. Bowman recalled the day a social worker came to take one of her foster children -- a 3-year-old she'd brought in at 5 months old, weighing just 5 pounds. She said that's a long time to leave a small child with anyone because they get attached.

When someone had adopted the younger child, she said her boy came up to her and asked "Momma, are they gonna come and take me away, too?"

"You really don't realize, because they're so young, you don't tell them," Mrs. Bowman said. "My older children knew, but he didn't."

The average child put in foster care in the United States stays for about a year, Berry said. Approximately 60 percent return home, 6 percent go to live with other relatives and 33 percent have their parental rights terminated.

Mrs. Bowman lauded Children's Services for working well with the couple in placing children. CSV sends a social worker to their home every two weeks. The agency doesn't inundate them with requests to take more children, she said.

Children usually enter the foster care system because they suffered abuse and neglect in their home, Berry said. Half of the children placed in foster homes by CSV from 2004 to 2008 were adopted by those parents, according to Berry.

Berry recalled the first child CSV placed with the couple -- a pregnant, 15-year-old girl. The weekend passed and the child, Berry and the couple went to court for what is called a "five-day hearing." Berry said the girl asked if she would have to return home.

"Just spending the weekend at the Bowmans' place, she realized this was a safer place for her and her eventual baby," Berry said.

The girl stayed with the Bowmans until she turned 18, got married and moved to the Richmond area, they said.

"This girl had been out of school for a year and a half because mom needed [her] to take care of the younger kids because mom had more important things to do and so this young lady had tried to enroll herself in school," Berry said.

Most of the children the Bowmans have taken in were teenagers. Foster children can stay longer even after they turn 18. But, as Mrs. Bowman said, they're "chomping at the bit" to leave at 18 years old.

"If [teenagers] come with too much luggage that they're carrying around, sometimes it's very hard to work with them because they've never been in a home that feeds you or, if they have been fed, it's been peanut butter and jelly and they have to fix it themselves," Mrs. Bowman said.

A few children stayed as long as six to seven years with the Bowmans. That's not typical.

"In foster care, a year is a long time," Mrs. Bowman said.

"The kids miss their mom and dad even though they're the ones who abused or neglected them, so most of them want to go home, although as the kids get older, more of the teenagers are able to process that this might be a better place," Berry said.

Some of their former foster children keep in touch with the Bowmans, calling near the holidays. Some have also called them when they needed help, Mrs. Bowman said.

When asked about the rewards of foster parenting, she jokingly said "no sleep."

"Gray hairs," Bowman remarked.

But the Bowmans said they know a need exists for foster parents.

There are 533,000 foster children in the country but only 133,000 foster parents, Berry said.

"If someone ever mentions or doesn't think they're a good foster parent but would make a good foster parent, I usually suggest that they call Ralph, sign up and take the classes," Mrs. Bowman said. "They do educate us pretty much before we become foster parents."

Training continues even after a person or couple become foster parents. The Bowmans attended classes every month.

"So we are looking for families who are not just going to provide a bed and meals but are gonna provide therapy for the children, take them to all their appointments, help them catch up with their school work 'cause all of the kids are behind, so Raymond and Earline have done that and beyond," Berry said.

Contact Children's Services of Virginia at its main office in Winchester at 667-0116 or visit www.childrensservicesofva.com for more information on how to become a foster parent.