Golden Valley Community Club is Closed for the Winter

The Golden Valley Community Club is closed for the winter.
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There will be no meeting January 17.

The heat pump at the clubhouse has been a real blessing and we're glad to have it, but when it's extremely cold it's not sufficient to heat the building. And it's expensive. With fewer community club members and the loss of our community elders, who used the wood stove to make sure the plumbing did not freeze, we can't afford to keep the building open.



And yes, we do have rentals. We charge $25.00 to rent the clubhouse, but when it's cold $25.00 doesn't come close to paying the electric bill. So, the decision was made to drain the waterlines and to shut the building down for the rest of the winter. The building has been winterized by David Bracket and Frank Perez. (Thank you guys).

The community club members might meet at one of our church families fellowship halls, but not this month.

Journey Scholarships available to GVCC Seniors

From Linda Lamp, Director of WNC Communities, January 20, 2011
"It is an honor for WNC Communities to offer The Journey Scholarship Program to youth in our communities preparing to enter college. Last year, $7,500 in scholarships was awarded to seven deserving high school seniors continuing their education.

Attached is the Journey Scholarship Application for 2011. The criteria for this scholarship are listed on page two and the deadline to get the completed application postmarked and into the WNC Communities’ Office is April 4, 2011. Please familiarize yourself with the application particularly noting the “Community Confirmation” section on the final page. This is where we need a community officer to sign the application to help confirm the high school senior applying for the Journey Scholarship actually live in and/or participate in your community. It is important to note the application process is open to high school seniors in communities that participated in the 2010 WNC Honors Awards Program."

Golden Valley did, in fact, participate in the Community Program and it would be our pleasure to endorse a student. Here's a link to Google Docs so you can download the application. Journey Scholarship 2011

Golden Valley Newsletter, January 2011

And here's a lovely link to the January 2011 newsletter: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/GV-Newsletter.html?soid=1102382229068&aid=wx5zz9Z6kB4 It's admittedly a little long, but it was a one click addition. And if you'd like to receive one of our monthly email newsletters, sign up. The widget is on the left of this blog in the top of the menu bar.

Rutherford County NC- Tax Exempt Organizations and Rutherford North Carolina Non Profit Organizations

If the Golden Valley Community Club is to continue it may have to become a non-profit. If there are any club members or community volunteers who might be interested in helping us with non-profit status please let us know. Rutherford County NC- Tax Exempt Organizations and Rutherford North Carolina Non Profit Organizations . This link can help any group/club/organization with non-profit filing.

Sunshine School and Ingles Markets - 2009 - 2010 Tools For Schools

Ingles Markets - 2009 - 2010 Tools For Schools

Link to Sunshine School!    

Hey! Did you know if you shop at Ingles and use their Advantage card that they'll send a donation to your favorite school? Robin Smith, the librarian at at Sunshine School, asks that all of you Sunshine Fans go online to Tools For Schools and register Sunshine as your school.

Robin says: Click on "Sign Up Right Now", key in you name and your card # and hit "Submit".

A percentage of your purchases goes to Sunshine School. Our school received several hundred dollars from this program last year. It doesn't cost you anything and only takes a minute to sign up. Just remember, this is only signing you up for this school year. If you choose to do this, remember to link your card again at the beginning of next school year.

Also, if any of you are willing to clip and save the BOX TOPS coupon that is on many grocery packages, that would be great. Each BOX TOP is worth 10 cents. It is amazing how this adds up. You will find these labels on items such as cereal boxes, cake mizes, frozen pizzas, many soups, Ziploc products and many, many others.

Strategies for Protecting Your Property

Golden Valley, Logan's Store, Duncan's Creek and Sunshine

Twenty-three people attended the meeting.

"There are some simple things you can do to protect your home that you might not have thought of." says Pastor Gary Smith, formerly an officer of the law in nearby VA and currently the Pastor at Feirview Baptist Church.

"Pay Attention".  

Do you know what's going on at your neighbor's house? Do you know who's up to no-good; who's responsible for some of these break-ins, do you know who's on drugs?. Did you know you can call Crime Stoppers anonymously? They will not ask for your name, what they will do is assign you a number, if one of your tips nets a reward the check will be payable to your number and sent to the bank where you can pick it up and cash it. No signatures required, no questions asked. This is to encourage the public to come forward; this is a way you can call law enforcement without fear of retribution.

Gary says the Bible verse Love your neighbor applies. You need to look out for your neighbor's home and property. We're supposed to help one another and sometimes that means being cohesive. Romans 12:18

There are some men you can not live peacefully with, and they ought to be held accountable. And since in NC we vote for our judges, we need to pay attention to what those judges are doing and hold them accountable, too.

While we have had some break-ins and theft in our area and we've been real lucky.... Home invasions... there haven't been any in our area, yet. But the burglaries continue, and Smith says, "This is not going to stop on it's own. Citizens are going to have to make reports, they're going to have to start paying attention, and you can start right now: Look out for your neighbor."

And look out for yourself - take a walk around the perimeter of your house. Are their tools of opportunity? Bricks, rocks, post hole diggers, a rock with a key under it, a flowerpot?

Check your locks, are they in good working order? Do you have a deadbolt? Make it hard to get into your house. Smith warns, "Sliding glass doors are indefensible. Criminals look for the easy target, they avoid lights, barking dogs, further they dislike dead bolt locks, steel doors, motion lights. Keep your bushes trimmed, so as not to provide lurking room. Don't carry purses in town." (But if you have to... Becky Heavener says, "Run the cart strap through the purse handles, it makes a grab and dash less likely."

If you have a long driveway, you might want to consider a driveway motion detector. A receiver in the house goes off or beeps when there's traffic on the driveway. You can use these around your house, as well as in a driveway. It might be nice to know you're going to have company BEFORE you have company.

Alarm systems are often tied into telephone systems. It can take deputies up to 45 minutes to respond to Golden Valley depending on where officers are coming from from. Rutherford county is 454, nearly 500 square miles, it's a huge county and there aren't many officers. You should have a plan of action, a plan to save yourself, and your family. Chances are the criminals will be gone before the police arrive.

Here are some things you should do.

Keep a pen and paper in your car. If you see something suspicious, write down the time, the date, the type and color of any vehicles, a description of the people, and if you have a camera with you or if your cell phone has a camera, take a picture. And if you have a cell phone and know where your Record button is, you can record information along with your picture.

"Take inventory."

Engrave a number (not your SS#) on large items like tool chests, tools... Use an indelible marker to mark belongings that can't be engraved. Some of your things have serial numbers write them down, laptops, appliances, flat screen TVs. NCIC keeps all stolen serial #'s and if an item is ever recovered, you'll get it back. And put your inventory sheet somewhere safe.

After the new sheriff takes office we'll have him come out and help us set up a community watch. Please let us know if you're interested. Let us know if: you want to be informed about the neighborhood watch and if you want to sign the petition for cell phones.

Golden Valley Community Club Meeting November 15, 2010

November 2010:  Golden Valley, Sunshine, Duncan's Creek, Logan's Store

If you missed our Turkey Dinner you missed a good time . Food, folks, and fun were on the menu for the November 15th meeting. Joel Ekstrom from the Isothermal Community College's Financial Aid office was present to talk to us about some of the new packages available to students. There are a lot of ways to go to college, these days, and Joel's just the person you want to speak with. When it comes to funding a college education, Ekstrom knows his stuff.

Twenty-nine people turned out to share a Thanksgiving meal at the Golden Valley Community Club.