Crier Column 8/2: Happy August! WHS Marching Band prepares for season; Community Yard Sale this Saturday; Salem County Fair starts Monday

   FRIDAY, AUGUST 02, 2024

Mayor Joe Hiles presided over the Oath for Woodstown's newest law enforcement office, Ptl. Joel Seabo. Congrats to the new Patrolman!

Hear ye, hear ye! O yez, o yez!

We made it to August! Pay your Town Crier a visit at First Baptist on Main Street this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. I'll be at the organ. It's Communion Sunday so you'll be getting plenty of that old time religion! (aka. classic hymns!)

Last night, in preparation for the launch and return of The Curtain Call Club of Woodstown, I spent the evening with many parents of the Woodstown High School Bands, as they held their first Woodstown Band Boosters meeting of the season. I had the opportunity to learn how the group functions, how they raise money, their many successes of the previous academic year, and the exciting events ahead. 

Of note, the band is hosting a Car Wash at the WHS horseshoe in front of the main entrance at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. $10/car, $15/SUVs.

Expect to see the WHS Marching Band performing the half-time shows at all Woodstown Football home games this year, beginning Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. You Town Crier will be there! Will I break out my old clarinet to play along? Stay tuned ...

Thanks, Bob & Michelle Williams, for inviting me to learn more about how Boosters support WHS. Can't wait for a great Marching Band season!!

COMMUNITY

WELCOME: Woodstown has a new Patrolman! Welcome Ptl. Joel Seabo to the force. A dispatch from Mayor Joe Hiles:

What an honor it was to preside over the Oath for Woodstown's newst law enforcement officer. Patrolman Seabo comes to us with energy & experience to protect & serve his hometown.  Patrolman Seabo joins a top notch police department. May God bless & protect Patrolman Seabo & his fellow officers. Please grant them wisdom, strength, skill, professionalism & a just heart as they perform their duties. 

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God”~ Matthew 5:9

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SALEM COUNTY FAIR: The Salem County Fair Association has announced its full schedule of activities. Click here for see the full schedule. The annual fair will be held beginning Monday, Aug. 5, 2024 and conclude Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. Opening ceremonies will be Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Stage Arena, followed by the Salem County Fair Queen and Little Miss Contests. The women vying for Fair Queen are: Miss Cheyenne Hoffman, Miss Peyton Mayhew, Miss Trisha Casady, and Miss Annabelle Cobb. Best of luck, ladies!

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YARD SALE: Community Yard Sale, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. From Mayor Hiles: "No yard sale permit required on the fist Saturday in August. There is no rain date and there is no list or map of participants. This is a great way to do a lil summer sprucing up and clean out to earn a lil cash for ice cream or the shore."

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BLOCK PARTY: The Woodstown-Pilesgrove Regional School District is hosting a Back to School Block Party on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mary S. Shoemaker Activity Fields (201 E. Millbrooke Ave). Free admission. There will be food, giveaways, games, music/karaoke, school bus safety, community opportunities, a bouncy house, and the WHS Football team will host a scrimmage at 6 p.m. on the WHS Clint Ware Field. For more info, call the main offices at 856-769-0144.

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CAR WASH: The WHS Bands will be hosting a Car Wash at the WHS Horseshoe (parking lot at the main entrance of the school) on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024 beginning at 9 a.m. Cost is $10 per car and $15 per SUV. 

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FALL FESTIVAL: The 20th Annual Woodstown Fall Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will be kicked off with a W-P School District 5K Run and Kids Dash at 8 a.m. at Marlton Park. Vendors, click here to sign up (deadline is Sept. 20, cost is $50/vendor). Admission is free to the public. Here is a dispatch from the organizers: 

"Each year in September, Woodstown's historic downtown shopping district comes alive; scarecrows by the dozens keep watch along the streets; historic houses are decorated in their fall best; and vendors, crafters and local shops line their food and wares along Main Street eager to greet the thousands of tourists and towns people who come out to celebrate fall during Woodstown's Annual Fall Festival"

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FARMER'S MARKET: There will be a Farmer's Market held on October 19, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The organizers are seeking vendors with vegetables/fruits, pumpkins/plants, cornstalks/flowers, breads, honey, crafters, and quilters. Contact Linda Fritz at LAFritz19@Yahoo.com.

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DANCING & DRINKS: The new Woodstown Pub Off Main (formerly Theo's Tavern attached to the Woodstown Diner) is hosting Line Dancing every Wednesday at 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Happy Hour is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with drink specials. No cover charge for dancing or happy hour.

ENTERTAINMENT

THEATRE: The Oakwood Summer Theatre presents "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at Salem Community College at Davidow Hall on Aug. 9, 10, 16, 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Say "hi!" to Tom Mason before the show, he's been keeping this great Salem County tradition alive for decades.

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THEATRE: The Blue Moon Theatre presents "Little Shop of Horrors" on September 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, September 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25. The cast was just announced and features Nicholas Renna, Rachel Grodek, Greg Hanmell, Tyler Kulik, Taye Hopkins, Aimee Ferenz, Celeste Daesy Moon, Shabria Moore, and Andrew Fralinger. Click here for tickets.

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RUMOR: Some great Woodstown talent will be performing this November down in Millville, N.J. at the Levoy Theatre in Irving Berlin's "WHITE CHRISTMAS" ... I can't say who will be up on the big stage just yet, so stay tuned. Click here for tickets!

SPORTS

We're less than a month out from the first Varsity Wolverine Football Scrimmage (vs. St. Joe's in Hammonton). First home scrimmage in Thursday, Aug. 29. Fall sports registration is in effect until Thursday.

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LET STUDENTS PLAY SPORTS & INSTRUMENTS:

One of the discussion points of the Band Boosters is that we're all one team — the Wolverines. But, reliable sources are telling me there are some (not all) Coaches making it extra challenging for students to participate in a sport AND the Band. They'll be disqualified from playing in a game if they're a few minutes late to practice due to a Band commitment, or they'll find another way to discourage participation in one over the other.

C'mon now. Let's do right by our students and accommodate the one time in their lives they'll get to do this. When I was a student at WHS we were encouraged to do both and somewhere that may have been lost. Let's get it back.

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The Woodstown Athletic Department website, a hub for all things Woodstown High School sports, can be found here.

SCORES

SCHEDULE

WATCH LIVE EVENTS HERE

GOVERNMENT

Woodstown Borough Council and Pilesgrove Twp Committee meet the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.

WEEKEND WEATHER

FRIDAY: Excessive Heat Warning in effect beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. Sunny with a chance of thunderstorms and rain around 5 p.m. High of 94F, low of 76F.

SATURDAY: Clouds and Sun with a chance of Thunderstorms early evening. High of 90F, low of 74F.

SUNDAY: Intermittent storms clearing out early evening. High of 86F, low of 73F.

Forecast: Hot and sunny Monday and Tuesday. Clouds roll in Wednesday with a chance of storms until Friday. Temps back in the low 80s mid-week.

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Woodstown Crier: Where, in 1989, Town Crier Ron LeHew said of the Salem County Fair: "Going to the County Fair is a real spiritual state-of-mind type of experience. Your degree of fun and entertainment is in direct proportion to how receptive you are to the gleam of shiny new farm equipment, the beauty of cows, the bustle of pigs, old friends, fair queens and funnel cake." (Today's Sunbeam)

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Want to share your Woodstown-Pilesgrove news in the Crier Column? Email Jim Cook at WoodstownCrier@gmail.com