ninth district traveling staff office

Good Friday open house scheduled

BLUEFIELD — College Avenue Baptist Church, located at 1908 Jefferson St. in Bluefield, will host an open house for Good Friday, April 15, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Join them for music, a short devotion and a campfire. There will be free hotdogs and goodie bags for the children.

State Fair of West Virginia to celebrate

LEWISBURG — The State Fair of West Virginia is celebrating the soon-to-be warmer weather on Saturday, April 23, with “Almost Summer in Almost Heaven,” a new family-friendly celebration at the State Fairgrounds in Lewisburg.

Set for 1 pm – 8 pm, “Almost Summer in Almost Heaven,” will feature a car show, live music, fair food, shopping, activities for kids, cornhole and disc golf tournaments. Tickets for this event will only be available for purchase the day of. Adults 11 and older will be $5 to enter, and children 10 and under are free.

Live entertainment throughout the day includes some hometown favorites; Seldom Free, Element of Us, The Half Bad Bluegrass Band, Cody Wickline, and Cody Clayton Eagle, who was recently seen on American Idol.

Registration is required for the tournaments and car show. Applications can be found on our website, www.statefairofwv.com, or by calling the office at (304)-645-1090. For more information or to get registered, please visit the State Fair of West Virginia website and look for Almost Summer in Almost Heaven tab.

Grant applications open for civics initiative

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Humanities Council invites proposals for its special grant initiative, “A More Perfect Union: Democracy and Civic Engagement.” With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council seeks to fund humanities projects that discuss, promote, and educate the public on the necessity of informed civic engagement to a functioning and sustainable constitutional republic.

Guidelines for this special grant category, an application template, and a link to the application are available on the Humanities Council website at wvhumanities.org. Applicants may request up to $5,000. The deadline to apply is May 2, 2022.

For more information about the West Virginia Humanities Council grants program contact grants administrator Erin Riebe at (304) 346-8500 or via email at [email protected].

Making Music in the Mountains reception set

TAZEWELL, Va. — The Historic Crab Orchard Museum in Tazewell will be hosting an opening reception Thursday, April 14, fro 5 — 7 p.m. for Making Music in the Mountains, their latest museum display.

Enjoy live music and learn more about the historical instruments on display. These musical instruments, including banjos from as early as the mid-19th century, trace changes over time in musical styles, player preferences, and technological advancements. Collector Jim Lloyd will be here to answer questions and discuss the exhibit.

The reception also includes access to all of our permanent gallery exhibits. This event is FREE and open to the public. For more information call 276-988-6755 or go to craborchardmuseum.com

Tazewell County cleanups scheduled

TAZEWELL, VA — The Tazewell County Sheriff’s office has scheduled a series of community clean up days in and around Tazewell County. Everyone is encouraged to help out. Start times for all locations is 9 a.m.:

• April 16 — Claypool Hill (with Family Auto)

• April 23 — Clearfork community (with the Fire Department) and Daw Rd. in the Raven community

• April 30 — Burkes Garden

AG Morrisey slates mobile office stops

CHARLESTON — Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced that Mandy Thompson, a consumer outreach and compliance specialist with the office, will meet with southern West Virginia residents in April to discuss consumer-related issues and answer any potential questions.

Local stops include:

• April 21: 10:30 — 11:30 a.m. – Welch Public Library, 90 Howard St., Welch

For information on additional requirements specific to any location, attendees are encouraged to contact at 304-993-9106.

Adopt-a-Highway to get underway

CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is now accepting registrations for the Adopt-A-Highway Spring Statewide Cleanup set for Saturday, April 23. Individuals, families, churches, businesses, schools, civic organizations, government agencies and communities can register to pick up trash on almost any state-maintained road, back road or main route.

The Adopt-A-Highway program provides garbage bags, work gloves and safety vests to volunteers, and takes care of disposing of collected trash. Volunteers must be at least 12 years old to participate. One-time cleanups are encouraged but must be registered. Groups must register in advance by April 15th and inform their county DOH garage if they need supplies. Due to COVID-19, each group must designate a person to do a curbside pickup of the supplies at their garage.

To register, call 1-800-322-5530 or send an email to [email protected].

9th District traveling office hours scheduled

CHRISTIANSBURG, VA — Congressman Griffith’s 9th District staff will be available at the following local locations during the month of April. Traveling office hours follow the status of local government offices, which vary across the 22 counties and seven independent cities of the Ninth District.

Please contact the Christiansburg Office at 540-381-5671 or the Abingdon Office at 276-525-1405 with any questions.

• April 14

Town of Pearisburg Council Chambers: 9 – 10:30 am

Wythe County Sheriff’s Office Conference Room: 10 – 11:30 am

• April 19

Town of Richlands Offices: 10 – 11:30 am

Town of Grundy Offices: 1 – 2:30 pm

• April 21

American Legion Building (Tazewell): 10 – 11:30 am

• April 28

Town of Bluefield VA Council Chambers: 10 – 11:30 am

Bland County Courthouse: 1 – 2:30 pm