Ledger

Farmers market
The Woodstock Farmer's Market will have its grand opening for the season next Saturday at its new location, Fort Valley Nursery.

The market will be open Saturdays, April through October, from 8 a.m. to noon, and will offer products like vegetables, berries, honey, farm fresh eggs, local meats such as pork, beef and chicken, specialty breads, jams, cookies, fresh cut flowers, salsas and sauces and crafts.

Check weekly for special events and presentations. Next Saturday the animal shelter also will be at the market with adoptable pets.

For information about the farmers market, contact Shelley Long at 459-4917 or Lynn Santclair at 984-9973.

Unemployment rate
Virginia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage point in January to 5.8 percent and was 0.6 percentage point below the year-ago January rate, according to a press release from the Virginia Employment Commission.

The number of unemployed decreased by 9,938 in January, but the labor force contracted by 5,393, with only 4,545 additional people working.

Nonfarm employment lost 64,500 jobs between December and January.

Virginia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate sill is below the national rate, which fell 0.2 percentage point in January to 8.3 percent.

Concert, reception
Elizabeth Temple, professor of piano at Shenandoah University, will celebrate 50 years at her job today at an event with friends, family, faculty, current students and alumni.

The event today will include a 2 p.m. reception in Temple's studio in Ruebush Hall room 200, a 4 p.m. concert in Armstrong Hall and a reception following the concert. The concert is free and open to the public.

Nearly 20 pianists will participate in the concert with a program including several ensemble piano performances by Shenandoah University piano faculty members and current piano students. Temple will perform with flautist and longtime colleague Frances Averitt.

Shenandoah University is a private, national recognized applied liberal arts institution located in Winchester.

For more information, visit www.su.edu.