Monday, April 10, 2006

April 2006 "Chat Page"

“CHAT PAGE”

For sale: over truck camper, all the comforts of home. The camper is ready to go. Contact Donna Gains at (828)389-1186.
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For sale: two tents, a camp stove (new in box), a double air flow bed in good condition, great for when company comes, very comfortable. Camper/van-has everything and it’s ready to go. There’s a port-a-potty new, if interested call, Sue or Larry at (706) 374-7605.
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I’m still looking for any fence poles for the place to keep the horse for Rose on Cold Branch Rd.
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Our next meeting is April 13th at 7 pm at the bank, Hope to see you all there and share the pictures of the ride and the work at Bristol Horse camp.
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“A HAPPY AND BLESSED EASTER TO YOU ALL”
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Get better soon Peggy G. We miss you!!!!!!!
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Thanks so much to Joe Shook and his crew for all the hard work they put in up at Bristol Horse camp. Joe had to give up a few days of campaigning to head up this job. Best of luck to you Joe! Everyone please remember to vote May 2nd.
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Looking for a used light weight saddle. Call Esther at (828) 389-3434
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Thursday, April 06, 2006

April 2006 Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

Well I have great news for you all. The St. Jude Ride was a
huge success ! Our little club earned more then $3,000.00!!
We had 23 riders and I think everyone had a good time. I'm so proud of this club. We had helpers signing up people and trail bosses to watch for the safety of the group. I thank all of you for such a wonderful day. Just think, your hard work may be the money needed to save a child's life. God Bless you all!

We also gave out some gifts after the ride, the lucky winners were Sharon Goggins, Judy Greenstone, Wendy Devine, Charlie Devine, Donna Wright, Paula Wilde, and Rose Goyette. We met new riders, Amanda Harper, from Andersons Cowboy Store in Blairsville, Nora Starks from Brasstown, Jenny Ingmire on her 23 yr old palomino, and guess who rode the whole loop for the first time Judy Bundy. Thanks to Paula Wilde for helping get Judy over the fear of riding after a fall. You both did a great job!! Judy Greenstone got to ride the loop with her daughter Suzanne, it was good to see them riding together in their "chinks". Bud Ashe rode a mule that was the cutest thing, everyone enjoyed seeing him ride that mule, thanks Bud. Oh, I could go on and on, it was just a great day!!

Our project for Trail Trotters is done up at Bristol Horse Camp. The high ties are up and they look great. Some riders stopped to say how good we did and thanked us for getting rid of those stalls. A big thanks to Joe Shook and his crew. We will have a great day on June the 3rd. And clean up the camp and sign our poles.

TRI-COUNTY EQUINE ASSOCIATION IS THE BEST!!

Happy Trails, Esther

Monday, March 20, 2006

Horse Slaughter, Business, and National Forests

From Susan:

"Here is a very interesting article about the Thoroughbred Industry's objections to the horse slaughter issue raised recently in Ocala at an invitation-only meeting with Ric Keller, R-Orlando, a member of the Congressional Horse Caucus.

The Thoroughbred Industry says there isn't sufficient alternatives (such as OTTB adoption) and retraining facilities in place to handle the 65,000 horses a year that they produce which aren't suitable for the race track, which is why they want the slaughter to continue so the meat can be sold for consumption in Europe and Asia.

It also covers their concerns about needing illegal immigrants to provide "affordable labor" on their horse farms. They say they wouldn't be able to stay in business without being able to rely on the work of illegal immigrants.

And a very interesting mention is the recent decision by the US Government(without going through Congress) via the USDA to begin selling off sections of US National Forests. Nearly 1,000 acres of environmentally sensitive watershed lands in the Ocala National Forest is slated for sale-- land which is necessary to protect our water system.

Those in other states may want to check on the Government's plans to sell-off portions of the National Forests in your states, to cover the budget shortfalls producing by the Administration's questionable priorities of tax cuts for those who don't need them while selling off US assets and cutting back on services to those who need those services now more than ever before.

Read the entire article for more details:
http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS/
202280345&SearchID=73238471445953

Then contact the USDA and your Congressional Representatives to make your views on these important issues known. And please pass the word.

Susan"

Monday, March 13, 2006

Equine A Cappella

A friend sent me this (it is fun!):

"Click below and wait for the entire screen to load up with all four horses and a fence in front of them. Then click on each horse. Make sure your sound is on. Re-click on any horse to make it turn off or turn it back on again. Somebody did some real wizardry of programming to coordinate this! Try clicking on the horses from left to right then right to left then just one or two at a time... It's fun and a good stress reliever. Have fun!"


http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.swf

Sunday, March 05, 2006

March 2006 Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

I'm here trying to put this together and camp out at Fires
Creek. We have had a great turn out for the meeting with
R.E.Vann, our local Forest Service Ranger. We formed a
partnership with them and set up our Trail Trotters program.
We have a committee headed by Joe Shook to get this program
going. They met out at Bristol Horse Camp March 1st. With
Steve Rollins the Ranger out at Fires Creek. They will give us a
report at the next meeting. You need to please come as we will
be asking members to donate a pole or cement towards fixing up
the horse camp.

March 18th is a Poker Ride at Dawsonville Forest put on by
GERL. The cost is $15.00 for the day. Some of us are going
over Thurs to camp the weekend. Need more information call
me or Darrell Adams.

April 1st is our St.Jude ride. We need people to work at the
tables registering riders and helping at the rest spots. If you can
collect before the ride it will made things a lot easier.

Mountain Valley Country Store did a H.O.W. clinic last
weekend. I hope you were able to come We learned a lot about
our horse care products. Thanks Chip!

Make sure you visit our sponsor page, as these people are
supporting our club. Also check out the chat page too!! We have
lots to sell and people looking for stuff.

Our next meeting is March 9th at 7 pm at the bank in
Hayesville. We have a lot going on and if you want to be a
part then please try to come or ask someone about the meeting.
It takes us all to make this a great club!

Happy Trails, Esther

March 2006 "Chat Page"

FOR SALE: two large tents, one has 3 rooms.B camper/van, very nice, has everything you need for all the comforts of home,Btwo horse slant/with dressing room@Corn Pro@ in real good condition, mats , spare.BCamp stove,new in box. Call Sue or Larry at (706)374-7605
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FOR SALE: over the truck camper, has bathroom with shower and sink. Queen size bed, table that makes into another bed. Call Donna at (838)389-1186.
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Boarding at Cozywoods Stables, call Randall Parker at (828) 389-9785
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NEEDED! I have been given the use of 5 acres out on Cold Branch Rd. From Ed. Snowdon, for Rose to be able to keep Sammy near her house. I need any kind of fencing to make it possible for Rose to have Sammy near her. So if anyone has T -poles they want to donate or wire please call and I will come and pick them up. I will be looking for helpers to get this fence up for Rose!!
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FOR SALE: Two horse/ trailer, call Joyce ( 706) 897-5965
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Don't forget April 1st is our St.Jude Ride, bring a friend!! Fires Creek, Hunters Camp, 10 am.
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Congratulations to Peggy Giddens on her new horse trailer and two new horses.!!!!!!
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Thursday, February 09, 2006

They Kill Horses

From Slate magazine:


Congress and the Bush administration are fighting over horse-butchering.


American firms slaughtered 88,000 horses, mules, and related animals last year; Congress tried to stop it by defunding obligatory veterinary inspections, but the Agriculture Department plans to circumvent that restriction by asking slaughterers to fund the inspections.

Anti-slaughter outcries: 1) The department is "thumbing its nose at Congress." 2) It's a reign of "commerce and greed." 3) It's disgusting to kill animals that "served us faithfully and provided us with companionship."

Pro-slaughter arguments: 1) Nobody can afford to care for horses once they're useless. 2) Slaughtering them is humane, because the law requires us to render them impervious to pain beforehand. 3) If we don't slaughter them, Mexicans and Canadians will.

Bonus disclosure: Americans don't eat most of the meat from our slaughtered horses; Europeans and Asians do. (For Human Nature's take on animal rights, click here; for Slate's take on eating dogs, click here.)

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

February 2006 Newsletter

Our club is growing more and more. We did discuss the up coming Trail Trotters Day, where the club will be putting up tie ups at Hunters Camp. We will have more information at the next meeting. It was so good to see everyone wanting to get involved, it will take us all to keep Hunters Camp open.

Also we are sponsors of a St. Jude Ride on April the first. It is a Sat. And it will be at Fires Creek. More information on that ride coming up. We can not advertise because the park said we would have to buy special insurance if we ran ads. So it will be word of mouth. Please bring ideas to next meeting.

We talked about a call the next person list for when we ride other then the family ride. I will have this list at the meeting or you can have it e-mailed to you. A lot of us ride during the week and plan to go the night before so this will help letting you that want on the list to be called.

There is a poker ride in March at Dawsonville Forest by the GERL. Some are going down on Thurs. Before the ride to camp but it is a one day trip also. If you are interested call me or Darrell Adams.

I'm so sorry to say we lost another horse. Joyce Robinson lost her horse Blaze. He was found on the pasture with a broken neck, the thought was something spooked the whole herd and Blaze fell. We are sorry Joyce for your loss.

Rose had a English saddle offered to her for as long as she needed it and I went to Some English tack shops and got her the stirrup leathers and stirrups. Thanks to Judy Kinnie for the loan of the saddle and the club for the rest.

Happy Trails, Esther

February 2006 "Chat Page"

"CHAT PAGE"

Susan Martin has a beautiful gelding for sale, if your looking for a great horse please give her a call389-1084.


Mary Walker has yard eggs for sale, you can call her at 389-4926


Arnold Munkus has Hay for sale in Warne; his number is cell (828) 736-3077 or nights (828)389-4491


If you are a member of ATHA and want to start your 7 stamps of excellence let me know as I will be setting up the course out at Chunky Gal Stables. You have to be a member to take the stamps.


We still are looking for a clinic to have this year and a place to have it. Got any ideas, let me know!


If you want to sell or buy something let me know and we will run it in our chat page for you. We are always looking for tack, or trailers or a horse and who better to buy them from then our own club members.


Congratulations to Bob and Sharon Goggins, they were able to buy James trailer.
Sad that James and Ruth aren't coming camping with us but you never know, they might start up again one day.


Great News!! Judy Kinnie and her horse "Ron Man" aka (Please Don't Skip Zip)
Won championships in amateur Horsemanship, English, Hunter under Saddle and geldings. They won Reserve Championships in Trail and Western Pleasure and four championships in other divisions. As a result they were the All Around High Point Amateur for the state paint club in Ga. They won a silver buckle, two Directors chairs and a check for 1,050.00 dallors which will pay for their entries at the APHA World Championships in June. Go get them Judy and Ron !!!! They finished nationally number 17 in trail and number 16 in English Equitation!

The next meeting is February 9th at the bank in Hayesville. Start at 7 pm. Please try to come and support YOUR club!

Thursday, December 29, 2005

January 2006 Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year to you All!

Wow we made it to another year.Thank you to all members for making this past year so great. We had a good time joining the Trail Trotters Program with the ELCR's mission to preserve our trails.

This year we are working with the Forest Service at Fires Creek to put up tie ups at Hunters camp. The stream is in danger of being polluted by horses being tied too close to the stream. Hunters camp is a great close place to camp and we need to make sure it is there for us, so please become a part of this effort to save Hunters Camp. Sigh up at the meeting to volunteer as we will be starting this project very soon to be finished by National Trail Trotter Day on June 3rd 2006.

Also, please mark your calenders for the St. Jude Ride. It will be April 2nd, 2006. This is for a very good cause, to help kids with cancer, so plan to attend and be thinking of all the sponsors you can get. We will be planning this ride at our meetings, so if you can't attend please give me a call or Donna Gains for information about this important ride. I hope our club will make this event become a great success.

We had a wonderful, great, party. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. A big THANK YOU!! To Barbara Carouse for decorating all the tables and walls. When we got there, there were No decoration. Barbara worked hard and made the room beautiful! Thank you again Barbara!!

Also I would like to say many, many thanks to you all for the gift and LOVE you gave me that night. Your kindness to me was overwhelming. I love this club and hope to serve it to the best of my abilities I have made so many dear friends though my horses and this club, I'm truly blessed!

Esther

January 2006 "Chat Page"

Linda Harrison is retiring from the Macon County Health Department with 30 years of dedicated service. Congratulations Linda for a job well done. I hope this means you can ride and camp more!!

Congratulations go out to Rose Goyette. She got a horse for Christmas! No words could express the look in her eyes. May she have many happy trails!!

We are putting together a camping trip for February. We are looking into Hard Labor Camp ground in Ga. Near Athens. They have 20 miles of trails and a nice Equine camp area with stalls.If you are interested give me a call and let me know. Darrell and Janet Adam's can give you information too.

Our next meeting is Jan. 12th at the bank in Hayesville. Starting at 7 pm. Hope you can come! Jan. is the time of the year we all need to pay our club dues. If you joined in Oct.,Nov., or Dec.. You are good for 2006. Let's try to remember to send your dues in as it helps pay for this newsletter and mailings. You can mail to Donna Gains 486 Double Knobs Drive Hayesville, NC 28904 or pay at the next meeting. Thanks!

I have been unable to get up with the guy about the tee shirts. I will get someone to look into getting them here local and the prices. Hopefully we will have some news about this at the next meeting.

We are going to drop the first web site the club has. It is the (geocites)one. It cost $5.00 a month which I have paid. The blog that Bob Harrison made us is so much nicer and it is free, so please start checking the blog site from now on http://tricountyhorseclub.blogspot.com/

I hope everyone made a New Years resolution to be a better horseman, to always look for better ways to care for our horses and understand that they are our partners in this wonderful adventure we share with them.

Arnold Monkus has hay for sale and he will deliver. Call (828) 389-4491 evenings or (828) 739-3077 day time.

Lois Tomas is helping with the newsletter and chat page. You can call her at work at (828) 389-8431 or home (828) 389-0081. We need more input for this newsletter. Also we can put an ad in here if you are selling something. If you have a good story to tell, please let us know. Because our web site is linked with others this chat page is read by lots of people. So get involved. Write a story about a trip you took, or a great ride you had. If you read a good story you want to share or some good health tips, let us know!Thanks.

You can leave a comment at any time by clicking on the underline where it (usually) says "0 comments. " It is a great way to communicate back and forth among club members. The comments were getting spammed so I turned on some verification stuff. If you have any problems, you can call me at (828) 524-6950 or email me at magnabob@hotmail.com. --Bob

Friday, December 02, 2005

December Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

Here it is the end of another year, wow! If you missed the last meeting, I will tell you that all the old officers were re-elected back into office.

Hope we have a good year in 2006 too!

We are still looking at doing a clinic next year. We need your input on this, so please be thinking of something the club might like to do. We did vote to have a St. Jude Ride on April 2nd. I will tell you all about it at the Jan. Meeting. But do mark your calendars for April 2nd. All proceeds go to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Also we will talk about a big project we, as a club, will be doing at Fires Creek for the Trail Trotters program. We have a lot of things to do next year so everyone please try to come to the meetings. DON'T forget the Christmas Party is Thursday December 8 starting at 6 pm. At the bank!!!!!! Bring a gift, unwrapped, for a child. We will be giving away lots of neat gifts and eating some GOOD food.. Come join the club as we ring in the Holiday Season.

We are camping at Watson Mill on the 9th and 10th of December. Our last camp out for this year. It's not too far to come for a day ride also!!

The club sends our deepest sympathy to Melinda D'Agrosa in the loss of her Husband. Our hearts and prayers go out to you Melinda at this very sad time.

We need to set up our family rides in advance so that people can plan ahead. If you want to be a trail boss and have a trail we all can ride, sign up for a month. This way we all can plan to attend.

The young lady, Britney, we gave money to for the rodeo sent me a card. She earned over $2,000.00 for a scholarship fund at Hayesville High School. Good Job!!!

SEE YOU AT THE PARTY,
Esther

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Don't Eat Horses!

HORSE-EATING FOREIGNERS AIDED IN CONGRESS BY ONE TEXAS REPUBLICAN

By John Hanchette | Niagara Falls Reporter | 11.15.05

OLEAN -- Just before last weekend President George W. Bush signed without fanfare a $100 billion agricultural spending bill that contained many routine expenditures, but hid buried within a raging and painful controversy which can only grow in our American culture.

It is the incredibly widespread slaughter of horses for human consumption.

In the United States, we tend to look upon horses as unique creatures -- more as heroic companions than dumb draft animals or beasts of burden -- that helped us attain our 'manifest destiny' and national success.

The Pony Express. Mustangs. Cowboys. The Old West. Cattle drives. John Wayne. Faithful travelers. Willing conveyances. Friends of farmers and ranchers. Life savers, really. In some states, as recently as little more than a century ago, you could be hung for just stealing one.

When I explained to some of my college students that more than 65,000 horses are slaughtered each year in this supposedly humane nation of ours and shipped overseas so well-off Europeans and Japanese can eat them, the information produced disbelief. The students were offended and astounded, and a few driven to tears.

Mainly in France, Belgium and Japan -- but also in Holland, Italy, Switzerland and a few other countries that routinely look down their national noses at Americans as culturally crude barbarians -- diners who consider themselves sophisticated are paying the equivalent of $15 "

There's more in an email circulating around. If you would like a copy, contact Esther or Linda Harrison.

New Horse Channel on TV!

In case you haven't heard there is a new TV channel that launched last week called HorseTV. Please email your TV provider and request it. You can email to Dish on their web site and DirectTV on its web site.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Right To Ride Legislation

"Right To Ride Legislation AQHA ONLINE - The American Quarter Horse Association -- Legislative Alerts and Updates: 'Action AlertEncourage Your Congressmen to CoSponsor Right to Ride Legislation'Right to Ride' legislation has now been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This legislation is intended to preserve the access of horses and pack stock to public lands where there is a historical tradition of such use. These bills will help recreational horsemen in the battle against the closure of trails for equine use on public lands.Specifically, the legislation mandates that the lands should be managed by federal agencies 'to preserve and facilitate the continued use and access of pack and saddle stock animals on such lands where there is a historical tradition of such use.'

This legislation would apply to federal lands managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service. Legislation Representative George Radanovich (R-CA) introduced his bill, H.R. 586, in the House of Representatives on March 15 and Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced an identical bill in the Senate, S. 781, on April 14.

Co-Sponsors of the legislation are needed in both the House and Senate to assist in the passage of these bills."

You can read the bill here:

Monday, October 31, 2005

November Newsletter

TRI-COUNTY EQUINE ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 2005


Club Web Site:
www.geocities.com/tceanc/


Hello Everyone,

I sure hope you all are out there riding in this beautiful
weather. We camped at Watson Mill the first of the month and
had a great time. We took up over half the camp ground. Martha
Scissom brought her new horse, and he is a great trail horse.
Good luck with him! We had some ladies from Clayton, Ga..
join us with Linda Harrison, it was just a good time.

We voted to keep our same officers, so we will have to vote
them in at the November meeting as stated in our Bi-Laws. So
please try to come.

We will be planning our Christmas Party this meeting, so try
to attend. We all had a great time last year and this one will be
fun too. So if you can not make the meeting please call me to
see what kind of food to bring. We can talk about doing a gift
for a child to donate again.

We are looking into having a clinic early next year for our
club. Bring your ideas!

Our family ride will be decided at the meeting. With hunting
season it is hard to find a safe place, bring some ideas for that
too!!

It is with the greatest sadness to say we lost another great
horse. "Ben" belonging to Betty Weir has gone to run with the
free spirits. He was a noble steed, and loved by many. We will
all miss him, so long ""Benskee"""

We need people to help set up the family rides. If we plan
ahead then maybe more people can made plans to go.
Rose Goyette had a two day saddle cleaning event to raise
money for the rescue of horses from the hurricane disaster.
She worked very hard and will let us know how she did. Rose
thought of this herself, how nice to see her love of horses.
Thanks Rose!!!

HAPPY TRAILS, ESTHER

November 2005 "Chat Page"

Next Meeting Is Nov. 10th. At The Bank In Hayesville.

Hay For Sale : Call Arnold Monkus At 389-4491 Or
Cell (828) 7363077.

For Sale : 4yr. Old Gelding Sorrel With White Blaze.
Call Joyce Robinson (706) 897-5965

Christmas Party Is December 8th. Please Plan To Attend.

Get Your Tree Savers From Betty Weir!!

For Sale: 1.Reg. Saddle Bred 10 Yrs. Old Mare.$1,500.00

2.2000 Mare To Above Horse, Not Reg. $1,00.00. 3.Arab, Not Reg. 10 Yrs. Old $1,00.00. Or All Three For $2,500.00 Call Kim Moore Work 837-7656 Or Cell 360-5634.

Jill And Joyanna Mathenia Have Moved To Their New
Home In Tenn. They Will Be Able To Keep Their Horses
At Home On Their New Farm. We Wish Them All The
Happiness And Safe Trails! You Will Be Missed!

We Do Have A New Sponsor, So Please Check Out Your
Sponsor Page. Thunderstruck Studio & Shop. Take A
Look At The Web Site.

The Recipe For The Pumkin Cake Will Be At The Meeting. So If You Want A Copy, You Better Come!

October Newsletter

Hello Everyone, Welcome Fall!!! My favorite time of the year. I'm sorry I missed the last meeting, but Chip did real good. Betty and I went to the animal shelter and found out that no animals were being brought to this area, so we did not give them the check. We will vote on a better answer to our wishes to help animal rescue from hurricane Kathrina. The ASPCA has a great web site with lots of pictures and a list of people that are there needing our help. We will vote on a place to send money to help.

Our next meeting is our selecting of new officers. Please come and help our club continue to grow. We need all your help to make this club work. Think of the officers you want to elect. The meeting is Oct.13th at the bank, at 7 pm.

The family ride is at Watson Mill Bridge State Park, in Comer Ga. It is a nice one day trail ride or camp the weekend. It is no further then Deep Creek in Bryson City. From Hayesville it is a 2:20 minute drive. If you plan to come I will be glad to give you directions. If you have never ridden here please try to come, it is one of the best trail riding ever.

We had a great turn out for the last family ride, 15 riders. We did the Leather Wood jeep loop again. We also cleaned up the camping area and hauled off two bags of garbage. Thanks, riders for you help. Please check out the chat page and our sponsor page, we have a new sponsor. We are camping at Willis Knob or War Women in Nov.4,5,6,7. Start thinking about it now. Hope to see you all at the next meeting,

Happy Trails, Esther

October Chat Page

Larry Gilfillan is home doing better, Sue said he is starting to complain so I see he is better. We are thinking of you Larry, with thoughts of GOOD HEALTH!

There is a 4H horse show this weekend at Blairsville. It is a fun event and if you have never been, please try to go. Some of our members are showing their horses.
Starts at 9am on Sat.at the Saddle club.

FOR SALE: QH gelding 4 yrs old, sorrel with white blaze. Call Joyce Robinson at
(706)897-5965 for more information.

Apartment for rent. Very secluded beautiful wooded basement apartment with deck. A must see! Call Donna Gains at (828) 389-1186

Betty Weir has tree savers for sale: call 389-3819

Hay for Sale $2.50 pick up/$3.00 delivered in Clay Co./$20.00 del. Charge elsewhere. Call Arnold Monkus nights 389-4491 or cell # 838-736-3077

Congrats to Betty on her purchase of a brand new "Blond" Ponderosa horse trailer! Good Luck.

Have you thought of a new president for the club yet??? We need your vote!!

The Christmas Party is Dec.the 8th. Mark you calendars now. We had a great time last year and everyone brought such good food. It will be at the bank, we will start earlier so we can eat and play some games. Please try to attend.

Hope to see you at the meeting, Oct. 13th!!