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Bachman Home & Garden Expo is April 30

4/21/2016

A vendor at last year's sale

It's time to get your hands dirty and play in the yard! The Bachman Community Center on Signal Mountain will host its annual Home and Garden Show Saturday, April 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There will be a variety of high quality plants and vegetables including trees, shrubs, perennials, wildflowers, succulents, herbs and produce.

It addition to the available plants, there will also be garden arts and crafts, kids activities, music and workshops conducted by landscapers and local contractors and builders. Refreshments will be offered by the Lions Club.

"Admission is free and all proceeds go to fund the Bachman Community Center's Nancie Bailey’s Summer Camps and the upkeep of our registered historical building," said Ashley Zimmerman.

For more information about the Bachman Community Center and its Home and Garden Show, visit the Bachman website.

Planting a spring vegetable garden is a wonderful way to get outside and shake off those winter blues.

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Jazz Dinner, Dance to Raise Funds for SMMHS Band

4/21/2016

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by Lissa Goeltz
What do Kesha and Bill Clinton have in common? They were both saxophone players in their high school marching bands. Who else was a “band geek?” How about Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Gwen Stefani, Emeril Lagasse, Tina Fey, Julia Roberts and even our hometown hero, Samuel L. Jackson (former trumpet player at Riverside High School).

As a non-musician, I was shocked to see how many accomplished actors and celebrities came from a background in their high school marching band. Just Google it. Many of you were a part of this band family and would not be surprised at all about how many of our well-known scientists and politicians also marched on the football field at halftime. It was a club that I wasn’t a part of, but one that I now see enriches students and provides lessons about self-discipline, friendship and perseverance, far beyond what kids learn in a traditional classroom.

In addition to the social/emotional benefits of music education, the data is clear. Exposure to music increases a child’s ability to learn. Scientific research shows that music training strengthens attention and memory skills, improves the ability to hear a teacher in a noisy classroom, and strengthens the precision of neural responses to speech. In other words, kids better understand what they are learning when they also have access to music classes.

But Thomas Faulkner, 2015 graduate of Signal Mountain Middle/High School (SMMHS), loved the music program for a different reason. “Studying music in high school was important not only because I gained skills as a musician that I can build on for the rest of my career, but also because of the community that music surrounded me with,” he said.

Thomas graduated as center snare of the Signal Corps Marching Band and received a music scholarship from Vanderbilt University, where he currently attends the Blair School of Music as a percussion performance major. “Having to collaborate with my peers regularly (sometimes for hours a day) in order to create something greater than myself taught me how to cherish close relationships, and how to put up with people I didn’t necessarily get along with. I say it often: music school is kind of like life school.”

Thomas now studies with percussionist Ji Hye Jung (praised as “spectacular” by the Los Angeles Times) and recently performed in Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass,” a monstrosity that involved over 150 singers and instrumentalists, according to Mr. Faulkner. “Rehearsing with that many people was insane and one of the best experiences of my musical life,” he added.

Music has consistently been proven to enrich a student’s education, but our local schools need help to make this possible. An underfunded county school system means dollars are stretched for all our public schools, and unfortunately the arts are often the first programs to see the cuts. At SMMHS, music programs and fine arts currently share approximately $300 annually from the Block Grant that is given by the Hamilton County Department of Education. In other words, nearly 1,300 kids are sharing $300 for choir, orchestra, band and fine arts. All other funds must be raised by the community.

If you support music education, please join us on April 29 for the fifth annual Swing Swang Swung, hosted by the SMMHS Music Boosters. This fun night of dinner and 1940s music and dancing will raise money that will go directly into the music program. Swing Swang Swung is an evening with performances from our very own Signal Mountain High School Jazz Band and Sweet Georgia Sound. The event starts at 7 p.m. at Signal Mountain Presbyterian’s Great Hall and includes dinner and dessert prepared by Gipsy Gourmet as well as jazz music, dancing and a silent auction. Reservations are $25 per seat.

This year, Music Director Shelby Walker hopes to use the proceeds to purchase French horns, mellophones and a synthesizer. The prices for these instruments range from $2,000 to $4,000 each.

For reservations or to make a tax-deductible donation, visit the band's website. Hope to see you there and keep supporting the arts!

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Council to Work on Budget

4/21/2016

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The Signal Mountain Town Council's Budget Work Session will be held on Friday, April 22, 2016, at the rescheduled time of 9 a.m. at Signal Mountain Town Hall.

During the meeting, the council will also consider resolutions about a water purchase agreement extension and establish the town's Beautification Subcommittee. Then, the council will have a presentation about the Fiscal Year 2016-17 budget.

To see the full agenda and resolutions, download this PDF.

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Celebrate Earth Day at Rock City

4/19/2016

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Meet an owl at EarthDayz.

Rock City's annual "EarthDayz "event returns for its eighth year, April 22-24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. See how nature is enhanced through local wildlife, recycling and educational demonstrations. Meet live animals, create a fun make-and-take project and find out how to build a rain barrel.

The live animal encounters include meeting a young deer from Amicalola Deer Park and petting an owl hosted by John and Dale Stokes with Wings to Soar. The birds of prey will be on the Rock Shop Patio daily at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Local animal ambassadors from Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center will also be onsite with some critters.

The RockQuest Adventure is available for a $5 ticket upgrade and includes a free climb on the 25-foot Climbing Wall, a bag of polished rocks and a guide with a photo scavenger hunt to look for clues to many geological wonders throughout the park.
In addition, Cafe 7 has now reopened for the 2016 season. Enjoy a breathtaking view during lunch while savoring some delicious food like a fried green tomato BLT, the seven states burger or grilled trout.

EarthDayz revolves around Rock City’s commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle, its stewardship of nature and its commitment to education and the environment. Rock City is partnering once again with Orange Grove as they provide park-wide recycling pickup for the attraction. Visit the Rock City website for more info.

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Banquet Raises Funds for Medal of Honor Heritage Museum

4/19/2016

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The Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center's annual Fundraiser and Awards Banquet is Saturday April 23, from 6-9 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Jed Mescon will be the Master of Ceremonies.

The speaker will be Medal of Honor Recipient Col. Wesley Fox, who fought in both Korea and Vietnam, and is considered to be one of the legendary war heroes within the United States Marine Corps. His awards include the Medal of Honor, Legion of Merit (2), Bronze Star Medal with combat V, and Purple Heart (4). He was with the 5th Marines when he was wounded in action in Korea, September 1951. Col. Fox served in Vietnam with the 9th Marines in 1968-1969, and was wounded three times when engaged with the enemy. For his heroic actions, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon on March 2, 1971.

The Heritage Center is staffed by volunteers and its primary source of income is private donations. Don't miss this opportunity to help support an institution designed to honor those selfless service members who have given so much to defend our freedom. If you are unable to attend the banquet your generous donation would be deeply appreciated. To make a donation or reserve a spot at the banquet, download this form, visit the MOHM website, or call (423) 877-2525.

National Medal of Honor Museum of Military History Foundation is a nonprofit organization incorporated in the state of Tennessee in accordance with provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your gift is Tax Deductible per section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.

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Signal Mountain Happenings

Bachman Home & Garden Expo is April 30

Jazz Dinner, Dance to Raise Funds for SMMHS Band

Council to Work on Budget

Celebrate Earth Day at Rock City

Banquet Raises Funds for Medal of Honor Heritage Museum

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