0801 Hometown Happenings

Community Events

Boy Scout Troop 459 will offer its monthly pancake breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at Elks Lodge 2582 located at 14494 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville. The breakfast will consist of three pancakes and a choice of bacon or sausage, plus coffee and juice. A special will also be available. The cost will be $3.50 per person. For information, call Angie Balderson at 352-585-2730 or the Lodge office at 352-596-2582.

Brookridge Social Dance will host a Western-style dance from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at its Club House located at 8151 Hampton St., Brooksville. Music will be provided by Just Us Duo. Bring own beverages. Ice, coffee and hot tea will be available throughout the evening; and doughnuts will be served at approximately 9:30 p.m. Ticket cost is $5 per person. Season tickets are also available and are less expensive than purchasing tickets monthly. For tickets or information, call Dot at 352-597-0723.

American Legion Post 99 will conduct Operation Backpack from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Post located at 208 East Fort Dade Ave., Brooksville. Free backpacks will be given to children in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. One backpack per child, and children must be present with an adult. Backpacks will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Games, food, sodas, hot dogs, popcorn, sno-cones and more will be featured. The Post is also accepting donations. For information, call 352-942-4391 or 352-848-0090.

Crime Watch of Ridge Manor will hold its annual National Night Out from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Ridge Manor Community Park, 34030 Ridge Manor Blvd., Ridge Manor. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and soda will be served free of charge. Snow cones and cotton candy will be available for the children; and activities will include live music, volleyball and other games. The Blood Mobile will be on the premises throughout the event. In addition, beginning at 5:30 p.m., the Video Child I.D. service from the Masonic Lodge will video a short tape of each child and take fingerprints to create a record for future use. The information will be maintained by the parents and will be provided free of charge. For information, call 727-510-8228.

Weeki Wachee Crime Watch invites the community to its National Night Out event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Weeki Wachee Area Club located at 7442 Shoal Line Blvd., Weeki Wachee. Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served, but it is requested that attendees bring a dish to share. For information, call 352-596-9561.

Military/Veterans

VFW Post 8713 and Ladies Auxiliary will feature a fish and chips dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at the Post located at 1681 East Jefferson St., Brooksville. The donation will be $5 per person. The public is welcome. For information, call the Post at 352-796-4449.

VFW Post 9236 will offer a fish fry from 5 to 8 p.m. every Friday at the Post located at 3435 Shoal Line Blvd., Hernando Beach. Fish and fries with all the trimmings will be served at a cost of $5 per person. Shrimp will also be available. Live music will be featured on most Fridays. In addition, the Post will feature steak night from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8. A 10-ounce rib eye dinner with all the trimmings will be served, and the cost will be $10 per person. Everyone is welcome. For information, call the Post at 352-596-9236.

Arts/Crafts

Spring Hill Art League will co-host a complimentary wine and cheese reception for local artist Karen Heidler from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, at Easy Street Home Décor located at 100 North Brooksville Ave., Brooksville. Heidler graduated from Mount Vernon Nazarene University with a bachelor’s in fine art and worked at a publishing company in the art department. The artist’s paintings will be displayed through the end of August. For information, call Easy Street Home Décor at 352-848-0177.

Nature Coast Decorative Artists Chapter of the National Society of Decorative Painters meets at 9 a.m. the first Saturday of each month at the Weeki Wachee Senior Center, 3357 Susan Drive (off U.S 19 and Toucan Trail), Spring Hill. The August project will be painting a baby zebra in acrylics with Pat Landry. A short meeting, skill building demonstration and monthly projects in acrylics, oils, or watercolors will be featured. For information, call Andi at 352-666-9091, Jeanette at 727-857-1045 or Pat at 352-249-7221.

Spring Hill Art League meets from 7 to 9 p.m. the third Monday of each month at the United Church of Christ, 4244 Mariner Blvd., Spring Hill. A short business meeting is followed by a live demonstration by an artist. Annual membership is $20 per single and $30 per family. The League offers monthly workshops, demos, opportunities for artists to display their work, field trips to museums, and exhibitor discounts for the annual Harvest of Art Show. For information, call Esther at 352-398-1532 or visit www.springhillartleague.com.

Library Programs

Hernando County Public Library System will show a movie at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the East Hernando Branch Library, 6457 Windmere Road, Brooksville. Michelle Pfeiffer and Sean Penn give career-defining performances in the humorous and heart-warming film about a mentally challenged father who enlists the aid of a high-powered attorney to help him regain custody of his daughter. The movie is rated PG-13 and runs 132 minutes.
In addition, the library system will feature award-winning, independent filmmaker Banks Helfrich at 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at the Spring Hill Branch Library, 9220 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill. Helfrich will present an array of short films and previews of his features. The genres will include comedy, documentary, romance and experimental. A question-and-answer discussion will follow. The previews are not rated but are suitable for children 10 years old and up.
The programs are free of charge, and registration is not required. Light refreshments will be provided. The programs are sponsored by the Friends of the Library of Hernando County. For the movie title or more information, call the Library Program staff at 352-540-6391.

Community Outreach

People Helping People of Hernando will serve food from 4 to 6 p.m. the second and fourth Sunday of each month at the Senior Citizens Club of Hernando County, 7925 Rhanbuoy Road, Spring Hill. The next meal will be served Aug. 9 and is free of charge to families and singles, alone or together, that are homeless or are struggling. The interfaith group has been formed to help feed the homeless and hungry of Hernando County. For information, call 352-573-4178.

Political

First Hernando Republican Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the Lake House, 1202 Kenlake Ave., Spring Hill. Speaker will be Sheriff Richard Nugent, and refreshments will be served. Members and guests are welcome to attend. For information, call Doris at 352-688-7986.

Social

VFW Post 10209 will feature karaoke with Rusty from 7 to 9:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Post located at 14736 Edward R. Noll Drive, Spring Hill. A karaoke bash is held the last Tuesday of every month. Bring a covered dish. Also, a steak shoot will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. every Wednesday, beginning Aug. 5. In addition, a birthday bash will be held at 5 p.m. the second Saturday of every month, beginning Aug. 8. Bring a covered dish and celebrate the month’s birthday VIPs. A cover charge will not be charged. For more information, call the Post at 352-796-0398.

Elks Lodge 2582 has changed its weekly lounge karaoke day from Thursday to Tuesday effective Aug. 4 at the Lodge located at 14494 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville. The event will be held from 2 to 5 p.m., and music will be provided by Mr. Lynn. Snacks will be available. For information, call the Lodge at 352-596-2582.

Marine Corps League, Detachment 708, will hold karaoke from 7 to 11 p.m. the third Saturday of every month at the Detachment located at 8405 Sunshine Grove Road, Brooksville. Dale and Nancy Shoemaker will be featured, and the Gunny’s Galley will offer a menu of finger food plus the Leatherneck Lounge will be open for beverages. For information, call the Lounge at 352-597-7979.

Brooksville Woman’s Club will hold its first meeting of the new season at noon Wednesday, Sept. 2, at its clubhouse located at 131 South Main St., Brooksville. A salad luncheon will be served at noon. The cost will be $3 per person with a dish and $6 per person without a dish donation. For luncheon information, call Joan at 352-796-8224. The club’s general meeting will be held at 1 p.m., and the program will be “Education.” Guests are welcome. For membership information, call Cherry at 352-799-3801.

Hernando Beach Club offers the following weekly activities at the club located at 3145 Flamingo Blvd., Hernando Beach: game night on the first and third Monday of the month, starting at 6:30 p.m., with bar bingo at 4 p.m. on some Sundays. Regular dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. every Friday. The cost is $11 per person for members and $13 for guests. A cash bar is available. Nonmembers can participate in two dinners without joining the club. Reservations are required by Wednesday evening. For reservations or information, call Marie at 352-596-9708. Visit the club’s Web site at www.hernandobeachclub.com.

Community

Committee Against Assaults on Law Enforcement Officers will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, at Christ Lutheran Church, 475 North Avenue West, Brooksville. For information, call Mickey Cook at 352-797-9102.

Rotary Club of Spring Hill Central meets every Thursday throughout the year at Silverthorn Country Club, 4550 Golf Club Lane, off Barclay Avenue, Spring Hill. Past Rotarians are welcome to visit. If interested in becoming a member, lunch with the group at 11:45 a.m. on Thursdays. For information, call Brooks Edwards at 352-666-4107 or Josh Kelly at 352-666-0068 or visit its Web site at www.shcrotary.org

Hernando Beach Open Market is held every Saturday and Sunday at 3375 Shoal Line Blvd., Hernando Beach. The market is held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. Farmers, musicians and artists are featured. The focus of the market is to support growth and embrace culture. Live music is featured at 6 p.m. Saturdays, and special events are planned for every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. including a monthly fine arts auction, antique road show, musician showcase, and executive chef demonstrations. The market is a place for artists to show and sell their work, musicians to play and meet other musicians, for farmers to sell their crops, and for local business people to network and introduce themselves to others in the community. For information, call Regina at 352-556-2639.

SHARP Crime Watch is seeking day and night patrollers and dispatchers. SHARP Crime Watch has been in existence for 27 years watching over the Spring Hill area. Patrollers are provided with radios and patrols his or her own area. Dispatchers keep close contact with the Sheriff’s Department, Animal Services, Road Department, Code Enforcement, etc. SHARP makes daily calls to the elderly who live alone and will also watch someone’s home when the residents are out of town. SHARP meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of the month at the Senior Citizens Club of Hernando County, 7925 Rhanbuoy Road, Spring Hill. If interested in volunteering, attend the monthly meeting or call 352-683-5936.

State Clubs

Illinois Club of Spring Hill will meet at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at Forest Oaks Lutheran Church, 8555 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill. Lance Clark will present a program on the topic of “Sleep Apnea.” The object of the club is to promote fellowship, social and fraternal activities for former residents of Illinois. In addition to monthly meetings, activities include eating out at a local restaurant each month and group travel opportunities. Annual dues are $12 per person. All former Illinois residents and their partners are invited to join the club or to come as a guest prior to making a decision to join. For information, call David Trammell at 352-397-9844.

New Jersey Club will meet Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the Senior Citizens Club, 7925 Rhanbuoy Road, Spring Hill. Doors will open at 11 a.m., and the meeting will begin at 1 p.m. Wine, fruit and cheese will be featured. For club information, call Mary at 352-666-0533; and for tickets and trip information, call Annette at 352-683-8752.

Wisconsin Club is planning a trip to the Hard Rock Casino on Aug. 26. The bus is scheduled to leave at 11 a.m. from the parking lot of the Sweetbay supermarket located at the intersection of Mariner and Northcliffe boulevards and return at 6 p.m. Club meetings will not be held during July and August, but social outings will continue to be conducted. Anyone who has lived in Wisconsin at any time qualifies for membership. Annual dues are $8 per person. If interested in attending the trip or for more information, call Carol Zellmer at 352-666-2974.

Recreation

Plastic Model Club of Spring Hill meets from 1 to 3 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at the Spring Hill Branch Library, 9220 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill. The informal club is for those interested in building any kind of plastic models, such as ships, planes, armor, monster models, cars, trucks, etc. The group has a “show and tell” and discusses techniques. For more information, call Joe at 352-592-0635.

West Hernando Coin Club will meet at 6:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, at the Community Center of The Heather located on U.S. 19, two miles north of State Road 50, Weeki Wachee. Educational topic will be “Love Tokens.” Refreshments, educational speakers, door prizes and auctions will be featured. Children and beginning collectors are welcome. For more information, contact Vincent at [email protected] or at 352-428-4564.

Botanical

Florida Native Plant Society, Nature Coast Chapter, will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 7922 State Road 52, Hudson. The topic will be “Operation Migration” and the Florida and Eastern U.S. Whooping Crane reintroduction project. Visitors are invited to bring in yard questions and participate in the roundtable discussion. Refreshments and a native plant drawing will be featured. For telephone inquiries, call Mary at 727-849-2335 or visit the chapter’s Web site at http://mysite.verizon.net/data2/naturecoast/

History

War of the Roses Chapter of the Daughters of the British Empire (DBE) will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the Spring Hill Branch Library located at 9220 Spring Hill Drive. The business meeting and talk is followed by refreshments and socializing.
The British women’s group meets the last Saturday of the month at the Spring Hill Branch Library. Any woman interested in learning about the Daughters of the British Empire is welcome to attend. The DBE is a nonprofit, nonpolitical and nonsectarian American organization that will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Membership is open to women who are British by birth, ancestry, or naturalization or whose husbands are British. Women who hail from or whose husbands come from any of the British Commonwealth countries may also join the DBE. For information, call Lucille at 352-540-9746 or Sheena at 352-688-6503.

Ethnic

Italian American Club will meet at noon Saturday, Sept. 6, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 2301 Deltona Blvd., Spring Hill. Members will also attend the luau sponsored by the Korean War veterans on Sept. 6. The luau will begin at 2 p.m. and will continue until dancing ends at 9 p.m. The object of the club is for fellowship, social activities, trips, picnics, games as well as interesting speakers plus occasional entertainers at its meetings. Dues are $20 per year, and it is not necessary to be Italian to join the club. If interested in attending as a visitor, call Joe at 352-799-5214 or Theresa at 683-6712.

Seniors Activities

Senior Citizens Club of Hernando County offers the following activities at the hall located at 7925 Rhanbuoy Road, Spring Hill: bingo will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday, and card games are held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday and Thursday. For information, call Barbara at 352-683-2440. For information regarding crafts, line dancing and Weight Watchers, call the club. Group road trips such as Biloxi, Sterling and Hard Rock plus cruises are periodically arranged for members and their guests. Club membership is $20 annually. For information, call the club at 352-596-1095.

Radio Clubs

Spring Hill Amateur Radio Club (SHARC) meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of every month in Cafeteria Room 2 at Oak Hill Hospital Building A located at 11375 Cortez Blvd. Anyone interested in Ham Radio is welcome to attend. Testing for an FCC license is conducted at 6:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month at the same location. The club operates a 2-meter repeater on 146.805 MHz (no tone). Every Tuesday except meeting night, the club conducts a Club net at 8 p.m. Anyone with a Ham Radio license is welcome to participate in both nets. For information, visit the club’s Web site at www.kf4ixu.org or call Ed at 352-684-7623.

Gulf Coast Amateur Radio Club invites those interested in HAM radio to join the group on its radio net at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday nights on the club’s repeater WA4GDN, 146.670 MHz and read the club’s newsletter at www.gulfcoastarc.org. For information, call John at 727-848-7785.

Thrift Shops

Jericho Road Ministries has a new thrift store in the Winchester Plaza located at 5260 Commercial Way, Spring Hill, in addition to its stores located at 16479 Wiscon Road, Brooksville, and in the Sunrise Plaza at 31170 Cortez Blvd., Ridge Manor. An expanded book department is featured at its thrift store located at 15319 Cortez Blvd. (State Road 50), Brooksville. All stores are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Clothing for adults and children, household items, furniture, kitchenware, toys, as well as numerous specialty items are available for sale. The Ministry has a women’s shelter, Mary’s House, which is located at 1163 Howell Ave., Brooksville. The thrift stores were established for the purpose of supporting the Jericho Road Men’s Rescue Mission Shelter located at 1090 Mondon Hill Road, Brooksville. Donations are welcome and can be brought to any of the thrift stores during business hours or larger items can be scheduled for pick-up daily. For information or to schedule a pick-up, call 352-797-9009.

SPCA Thrift Shop, 9075 Grant St., adjacent to the shelter, Brooksville, is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Housewares, books, games, toys and clothing for the entire family are featured. All clothes are $5 a bag. All proceeds from the thrift shop benefit the care and upkeep of the animals at the shelter. Donations are welcome and can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursdays or Fridays, but large furniture or appliances cannot be accepted. To reach the SPCA shelter and thrift shop, take Sunshine Grove Road (off State Road 50) to Taylor Street, then turn left onto Grant Street. For information, call the thrift shop at 352-592-4709.

Daystar Lifecenter Thrift Store, 7120 Hope Hill Road, off State Road 50, Brooksville, is open from 8:30 a.m. to noon Fridays and Saturdays. Clothing, crafts, furniture, housewares, books, small appliances, electrical items and Christmas decorations are offered. The store is located one-quarter mile behind St. Anthony Catholic Church. To schedule a pickup or for information, call 352-799-5930.

Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store, 19450 Cortez Blvd., in the Brooksville Square Shopping Center, Brooksville, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Clothing for adults and children, furniture, household items, kitchenware, books and a holiday room are featured. Donations are welcome and can be delivered to the thrift store during business hours. Larger items can be picked up Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Volunteers are needed to work in the thrift store or on construction. Habitat established the thrift store to support the construction of decent and affordable Habitat houses for low-income eligible individuals who are willing to partner in the building of someone else’s home and their home. For information, call 352-754-1159.

Karen’s Kit ‘n Kaboodle (St. Andrew’s Thrift Shop), 2301 Deltona Blvd., Spring Hill, will be open during the summer from 9:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m. Monday through Friday. The boutique-style shop features a bag sale the second Tuesday of the month. Donations are appreciated and can be left in the shop during hours of operation or in the drop-off bin after hours. To volunteer or schedule pickup of large items, call 352-686-1114.

Seniors Programs

Mid-Florida Community Services provides nutritious meals year-round to seniors age 60 and over. Seniors are welcome to visit any one of its four dining sites within the county. In addition, the Meals on Wheels program provides nutritious lunches five days a week to seniors who are homebound. The daily contact by the program’s volunteers ensures a visit by someone who provides companionship, while checking on the person’s health and well being. Volunteers are welcome, and donations are appreciated. For more information, call 352-796-1425 or 352-796-0485.

Experience Works, a senior work force solution, provides information and assistance with employment and training to income eligible seniors age 55 and older. For information, call Amy at 352-200-3042.