The Gassaway Baptist Church will hold a wild game dinner on Saturday, March 18, at 6 p.m. Five-time WV Liars Contest Champion Bill Lepp will be the guest speaker.
The Wallback Lake Youth Fishing Derby is scheduled for Saturday, April 22, beginning at 8 a.m. Organizers are accepting donations for rewards for the young sports, boys/girls. Contact Connie or Jackie Sizemore at 304-587-4492.
Clay County’s Pre-K and Kindergarten registration have begun for Big Otter Elementary, Clay Elementary, H. E. White Elementary, and Lizemore Elementary. Bring the following documents to registration: A certified copy of your child’s birth certificate (a certified birth certificate is one that is obtained from the state registrar or vital statistics office in the state where the child is born), updated immunization record; well-child check-up and your child’s most recent dental check-up. Also, at this event your child will participate in screenings, such as, developmental screenings (DIAL-4), speech/language, hearing, and vision. If your child is Head Start eligible, bring proof of income to registration. To schedule an appointment to register, call Teresa Drake at 304-286-3115 or Sharon Mullins at 304-587-1169. If your child is currently enrolled in school, he/she does not need to attend registration. Registration dates are: Clay Elementary, March 17; Lizemore Elementary, March 24; Clay Elementary, April 7; Big Otter Elementary, April 28. 4/30
A food handlers class will be held at the Clay County Health Department on Wednesday March 22, at 2 p.m. Cost is $10 (fee is non-refundable unless CCHD cancels class). Make check or money order for $10 to Clay County Health Dept., P.O. Box 36, Clay WV 25043. Food cards are good for two years.
The Birch River PSD will hold its regular monthly meeting on Friday, March 10, at 9 a.m. at the PSD office in Birch River.
TASC Testing (formerly known as the GED) is scheduled at Clay County High School on Thursday, March 16, beginning at 8:30 a.m. The TASC Test is free to anyone. However, candidates must first pass a TASC Readiness Assessment and meet certain requirements prior to registering to take the official TASC Test. Free classes are available Monday through Friday at the Valley Fork Learning Center, provided by Clay County Adult Education/RESA. Online preparation classes are also available. If your scores meet the minimum requirements, you may take the official test without taking classes. Contact Adult Education Instructor James Adkins, at the Valley Fork Learning Center, located at Wallback (Old Valley Fork Elementary), at 587-1191 to schedule a time to take the TASC Readiness Assessment and for additional information about TASC classes as well as the official TASC Test. Classes and assistance are also available to prepare for the next step of entering college or finding a job. Take advantage of this great opportunity to open doors to a better future! 4/30
The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in West Virginia of the deadline to submit disaster loan applications for economic injury caused by the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides on June 22-29, 2016. The deadline to apply for a working capital disaster loan is March 27, 2017. Low-interest disaster loans are available Clay County. Working capital disaster loans up to $2 million are available at 4 percent for small businesses, and 2.625 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. The loans are intended to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other expenses that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. To be considered for this assistance, eligible entities need to apply by the deadline. Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.
The WV Natural Resources Police will hold a Hunter Education Class in Clay County at the Clay Co. Middle School on March 25-26. The class will be held from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 1-7 p.m. on Sunday. Students must attend all hours of both days of the course and pass a written and hands-on test to be certified. Legislation requires any person born on or after January1, 1975, must present proof of certification from an approved hunter education course to the license agent to purchase a base hunting license. The course is open to the public and is free of charge. Students must be 10 years of age by the final day in order to receive permanent certification. Children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or responsible adult. Class size is limited to 45 students, so pre-registration is required. To register, contact Misty at the WV DNR District 3 office at304-924-6211 Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Clay County Health Department is expanding its services. New services will include well child checkups, sick visits, chronic care, breast and cervical cancer screenings at free or not cost; as well as pap smears and mammograms and many more services. All major insurances are accepted — HMOs, PEIA, Blue Cross Blue Shields, United Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid, etc. Family planning will also be available for free or a low cost, as well as immunizations. CHD is expanding their services due to funding reductions by the state and an assurance of continued reductions in the future. CHD also provides Women, Infant and Children (WIC) services and Right from the Start Services. Hours of operation for CHD are Monday through Friday from 8a.m.-4 p.m. Call CHD at 304-587-4269 for more information.
The Elk Conservation District is conducting their annual plant and tree sale of the following items as a service to the residents of Braxton, Clay, Nicholas and Webster counties: crimson gold, Fuji, Gala, golden delicious, gold rush, Granny Smith, and yellow transparent apple trees; Montmorency and summit cherry trees; contender and John Boy Peach trees; Potomac and Shenandoah pear trees; Arapaho blackberry plants, heritage (red) and jewell (black) raspberry plants, Surecrop strawberry plants, and Blue Ray and Jersey blueberry plants. Seedlings available are: Allegheny chinkapin, sugar maple, redbud, flowering dogwood, white pine, Scotch pine and Norway spruce. Quantities are limited and will be sold on a first-come first-served basis. Call the ECD office at 304-765-2535 or email ecd@wvca.us to obtain an order form. Order deadline is March 15 and pick up will be Wednesday and Thursday, March 29 and 30, at the locations designated on the order forms. There will be a pick up location in each county.
North American Youth Sports will hold their annual spring youth basketball tournament at Ripley High School on March 31-April 2. The tournament will feature 10 different brackets: 5-6 grade boys; 5-6 grade girls; 7th grade boys; 7th grade girls; 8th grade boys; 8th grade girls; 9th-10th grade boys; 9th-10th grade girls; 11th-12th grade boys and 11th-12 grade girls. All grades are based on the grade in which a student is currently enrolled for the 2016-17 school year. The entry fee for the tournament is $160 and guarantees each team a minimum of three games. There will be awards presented in each bracket. The entry deadline is March 17. For additional information or an entry form, call 1-866-352-5915, tournament director Kevin Harries at 304-532-7965 or go to the NAYS website at www.northamericanyouthsports.org.
The Clay County WIC office, located at 452 Main Street in Clay, is open to serve the public every Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. All Central WV WIC offices will be closed April 14 in observance of Good Friday. The Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) is a supplemental foods program for pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding women, infants and children, under the age of five. WIC provides supplemental foods and nutrition education to qualifying participants. To apply for the WIC program, or to receive more information, call 304-587-2323.
Monday after-school tutoring takes place every Monday at the Lizemores Church of the Nazarene from 4-6 p.m. Students who need help with homework or extra skills practice can come by Lizemores Nazarene and be assisted by teachers and other volunteers. A light snack will be served. Please ensure that all participating students have something to work on.
The meeting schedule for CAEZ board meetings in 2017 is as follows: Tuesday, April 4; Tuesday, May 2; Tuesday, June 6; July Meeting – to be announced; Tuesday, Aug. 1; Tuesday, Sept. 5 (to be held at different location); Tuesday, Oct. 3; Tuesday, Nov. 7; Tuesday, Dec. 5. Meeting will be held in the Clay County Courthouse Commission Room. Economic Development Committee meets at 4 p.m. and board of directors meets at 6 p.m.
