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Jan. 15 marks the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. King, a prominent civil rights leader known for his works to advance civil rights by nonviolent means, would have turned 91.
Silver Oak Academy’s Student Government Association invites the community to join them as they celebrate King’s life on Tuesday, Jan. 21, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the W.E.B. Dubois Center for Economic Development, on the academy grounds, at 999 Crouse Mill Road in Keymar. The evening will include gospel and R&B music performances by Stitch Early, a prominent local rapper, and local hip-hop artist Lorenzo Nichols. Angela Spencer will sing “Loft Every Voice and Sing,” sometimes known as the Black National Anthem.
Guest speakers will include Taneytown Mayor Bradley Wantz, who will give opening remarks, and Robert Young, department chair of humanities, music, and art at Carroll Community College. Carlos Ojeda Jr., a motivational speaker, is scheduled to give the keynote address.
According to his Facebook page, Ojeda is "a youth development expert, with over fifteen years of experience inspiring students, from elementary school to college and education professionals in over 40 states.” His company, CoolSpeak, “provides youth motivational speakers, programs, and events designed to engage, educate and empower youth.”
Charles Collier will give a presentation on a civil rights tour that students recently took.
A representative from U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s office will present Silver Oak Academy with a citation, and James Ball, president of Carroll Community College, will recognize a student for an internship opportunity.
Sheila Leatherbury, coordinator of the event and a social studies teacher at the school, said the event, is Silver Oak’s way of recognizing the legacy of King and his contributions and achievements. The event is in its seventh year.
Refreshments, provided by the Culinary Department of Silver Oak Academy, will be served at the end of the program.
For further information on this event, contact Leatherbury at 410-775-1775.
Good works continue to make a difference
Emmanuel Baust United Church of Christ, at 2950 Old Taneytown Road in Tyrone, recently held a Reverse Advent Calendar event during the month of December that raised much-needed non-perishable food items for local families.
An Advent calendar is a special calendar used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. The calendar windows are opened to reveal an image, a poem, a small gift or a sweet treat. This year, instead of taking something out of the “calendar,” members and friends of Emmanuel Baust UCC reversed the tradition by “adding in” donations of canned fruits, vegetables, cereal, peanut butter and jelly. The items collected were donated to the Taneytown Caring and Sharing Ministries food bank. The event was successful due to the generosity of members and friends of the church.
Carroll County Daily Headlines
And VFW Union Bridge Auxiliary Post No. 8806 recently presented 11 residents of the Lorien Taneytown assisted living facility who proudly served as veterans with gifts thanking them for their service. Included in tree ornament stockings were “thank you for your service” coins. The stockings were personalized with each veteran’s name and branch of service. Accompanying the gift was a bag of homemade candy for each veteran.
Fire company to host public breakfast
The Union Bridge Fire Company will host a public breakfast Sunday, Jan. 12, from 7 to 11:30 a.m.
It will be held at the fire hall, at 8 W. Locust St. The all-you-can-eat breakfast includes pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, sausage gravy, hominy, puddin’, potatoes, biscuits, muffins, fruit, orange juice, tea and coffee.
The cost is $9 for adults or $4 for kids ages 6-12. Kids younger than 6 eat free! Carryout is available for $10.
For more information email co8@ubfc8.org.
I am always looking for West Carroll events. If you have upcoming events you’d like to see written about in my column, send me an email!
Gabrielle Schoeffield covers Taneytown, Union Bridge, New Windsor and surrounding areas. Reach her at gabrielle.copeland.schoeffield@gmail.com.