May 2010

Story time : (Thursday mornings at 10:00)
Mother’s Day May 6
Traffic May 13
Bugs May 20
Pets May 27
No Storytime June 3
June 10

Make a Splash@Your Library June 17 - Jul 22
Summer Reading starts June 14. The theme is a watery Make a Splash @ Your Library.

The Storytime break the first two weeks in June precedes the summer programming. Monday morning programs are for first through sixth grades and will last seven weeks. Storytime programs will continue on Thursday mornings with a similar theme. Read with Me will again be an active program encouraging caregivers to read to children. There will be incentives for both child and reader. Teens and adults can read for prizes and books relating to the theme will be featured. The closing program will be a party at the Ashley Pool Complex with a free swim period - open to all ages of participants.

The Bookmark Society will meet May 27 at 6:30 at the library. The selected reading is The Book Thief by Markus Zursak, the story of a girl in Nazi Germany who becomes addicted to stealing books.

Starter Gardens on Saturday May 8, 1:00 at the library will provide a start for local vegetable growing. Starter garden kits of plants, seeds, hand tools and planting ideas will be available plus some demonstrations and master gardener advice.

Growing Community: the Library Food Garden will officially begin on May 1. Starter gardens consisting of vegetable plants and seeds with basic instructions and hand tools will be available at the Starter Garden program on Saturday May 8 at l:00 at the library. A sod lifter, shovels, rakes and hoes can be checked out at the library. Community garden plots will be available. Sign up at the library or the village office. The library will have a square foot garden plot and another “sample” garden on the front lawn. There are many gardening books with ideas for container gardening or interplanting with existing beds. The school Food Pantry will appreciate donations of any excess produce and there’s talk of an Ashley farmers’ market. You really can grow your own food. Save money, improve your nutrition.

Delaware County Master Gardeners have been wonderfully generous with their help on our gardening program. Scott’s Miracle-Gro Company has donated The Ortho Problem Solver, (a comprehensive reference to plant diseases, insect attack, and general health) and potting soil for starting seeds. The Delaware County Extension Service has helped make arrangements for a food preservation program Tuesday evening, July 27. The focus will be on canning with some discussion of making jams and jellies.

Community garden plots are available at 201 South Street. Steve Duffey, Jim Foor, and Warren Brown have prepared the ground. Sign up at the library or village office.

May days to celebrate : Mother’s Day on May 9 and Cinco de Mayo on the fifth.

Student poetry posted in the young adult area commemorates both the Central Ohio Symphony’s Chasing Light with Joseph Schwanter and April’s Poetry month. Poetry is just like Earth Day - every day should be Earth Day and have a bit of poetry.

Artwork in the young adult section now includes a black & white oil portrait by Hailey Gorenflo.

Primary election is Tuesday May 4. Local issues include a new 1.8 mill five year levy for the Wornstaff Library, renewal of Ashley’s street levy, and an Elm Valley Fire levy renewal. We will be waiting for returns at the library after the polls close.

Media coverage for the library levy has been great. We must be the current library funding crisis poster child. There was an article in the Columbus Dispatch on April 22 and then shortly afterwards a lovely piece on channel 4 news. See Vicky Collins and board president Shirley Thurston and glimpses of Ashley. www.wornstafflibrary.blogspot.com

It’s Opera time. Candy Staley’s second grade at Buckeye Valley East Elementary School will present their annual Opera on May 26 and 27. It’s a real treat and the cultural event of the year in Ashley!

Preservation Parks May-August programs are available. Activities include the Summer Letterbox Adventure which introduces all the parks, Art in the Park, and Thursday evening concerts plus programs for ages 3-5 and ages 6-12. Mt. Gilead State Park and Stratford Ecological Center also have nature camps and programs through the summer.

The Ashley pool will be open Memorial Day weekend and then from June 4 -Sept. 6. Family passes for 5 are $100 and individual passes are $50. Check the village office.

Discovery Packs and Home Learning Media are available for checkout and can provide learning activities for children through the summer. Some games are included.

Children’s Book Week is May 10-16. Celebrate by reading to a child. Or pull up a chair and browse the new picture books, no matter what your age. One special library perk is “being required” to do that.