Wear Pink!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  As part of the kick-off the Bristol:  A Good Place to Live sign is going pink! We've all been requested to wear pink shirts on Monday, October 1 and then on Saturday, October the 20th.  Let's all show our support for this most worthy cause!

Jud had Sarah Page draw names for the Turkish carpet mouse pad and the winner was. . . Jeanne! She swears it wasn't rigged.Yeah.  Sure.

Meet Ron!

 Back Safety Presentation

Nancy Morrell from Messimer Chiropractic will be here September 25 to do a presentation on preventing back injuries. There are two sessions scheduled for the conference room: 1:30 and 2:30; the programs last 45 minutes.If you wish to attend, please speak to your department head so arrangements can be made.

United Way

Remember, United Way will be here  on Wednesday, Oct. 3, for a  presentation to the staff. There will be two sessions of 30 min. each—11:00 and 11:30—so everybody who’s here will have a chance to attend.  Be sure to let your supervisors know which session you wish to attend.  If you aren't scheduled to work that day, don't make a special trip in unless you wish to.

 Flu Shots

If you missed the first round of inoculations,  you have another chance on  Friday, October 5, from 8:00 am-12:00 pm.  This year they will also be offering an optional TDAP vaccination (Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis) but if you want to get that one you will need to fill out a consent form and take a copy of your health insurance card the day of the shot.  The form is posted on the bulletin board near the staff entrance so that you can make a copy for yourself if you wish to get the additional shot.

Welcome, Ron Combs!

If you're at the Literacy Academy and run into a handsome silver-tongued gentleman extolling the virtues of learning, you've probably encountered the newest member of the staff! Ron Combs has joined the Literacy Academy as an instructor, and he is enjoying every minute of it.  He and his wife spent several years in fast paced California, but wanted to slow down just a bit.  Ron doesn't like to say that he's retired twice; he says he was so good that they paid him not to work.  Ron believes in making a difference and that's exactly what he's doing here. If you haven't had the pleasure of his acquaintance, by all means stop by and introduce yourself.

Chrissie Peters Anderson: Self-Publishing 

Some folks here may remember Chrissie Peters from when she worked here waayy back when, before the move to the Goody's building.  She's been working at the Northeast State Tech Library and is now an author as well! She has a book of stories and poems called Dog Days and Dragonflies.  On Thursday, October 4, at 6:30 pm in the J. Henry Kegley Meeting Room,  she'll present a program on self-publishing using CreateSpace.  She'll also have copies of her book for sale and light refreshments will be available. 

Happy Birthday!

Randall   September 27

Staff notes: Flu shots & more

From Jud:

"I’ve reserved the conference room for 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3, for a United Way presentation to the staff. There will be two sessions of 30 min. each—11:00 and 11:30—so everybody who’s here will have a chance to attend. If you supervise people, just be sure to enable those who are on duty to attend—no need to make anyone come in who isn’t on duty. All others of you can pick which time you want to be there."

Flu shots will be given on Wednesday, September 19 from 1-5 pm on the first floor of City Hall in Bristol, Virginia.  If you miss that date, the back-up is Friday, October 5, from 8:00 am-12:00 pm.  This year they will also be offering an optional TDAP vaccination (Tetanus-Diphtheria-Pertussis) but if you want to get that one you will need to fill out a consent form and take a copy of your health insurance card the day of the shot.  A copy of the form is posted to the bulletin board near the staff entrance so that you can make a copy for yourself if you wish to get the additional shot.

Malachi and Mommy

Linda reports that her great grandson is doing much better now! She says, "Malachi had a couple of setbacks but still has gained to three pounds eleven ounces, and he is finally sleeping a lot now.All prayers and thoughts have been and are appreciated."

Rhythm & Roots Reunion Tickets

From Jud:

"Staff on the City payroll (iow not @Work part-timers) will each get 2 tickets to Rhythm and Roots."

It seems hard to believe that this is the 12th R&R Reunion! There's a really great line-up this year, and you can create your own custom schedule at their website Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion.

Lee's wife, Doris, is out of the coma and is on the road to recovery.  Thanks to Nancy Y. for this update!

Jay Asher blogged about his visit to Bristol!  You can read it here. Also, did you know that in addition to the BPL Facebook page there are separate pages for BPL Teens, BPL Children's Department and Avoca? Check 'em out!

 

September Staff Notes

 Freegal is expiring in October and, due in part to very limited interest from patrons, we won't be renewing it.  So if you've been meaning to download some songs, now would be the time.

Linda reports that her new great grandson is doing very well and is almost three pounds now! Prayers and good thoughts would still be appreciated.

Also, security guard Lee would appreciate prayers and good thoughts.  He's trying to keep everything going while his wife is in ICU.  He sends his regards to everyone, and said that he misses us.

Have you visited the new Roots and Sprouts art exhibit in the Virgie Fleenor Gallery?  If not, you should!  Some of the paintings are by art teachers while others were done by their students.  If you look closely, you may recognize a familiar name or two among the artists.  Let's just say that I liked the redhead's redhead!

Laurie's dream vacation was to go shark fishing.  

Unfortunately, she didn't catch a shark.

Instead she caught. . . 

. . . a 35 pound stingray!!  It was not only the most unexpected catch of the day, it was also the largest!

Congratulations, Laurie!!

(And isn't she wearing the perfect library t-shirt??)

Former security guard Mike stopped by to visit and to pick up more books.  He's trying a new author.  He's just finished reading all of Harlan Coben's books, not to mention Larry McMurtry, C.J. Box and James Patterson.

Harrison is still looking for a few good people to help with security.  He likes to have backup folks in place if one of our regular guards needs some time off. So if you know someone who might like to join us here at the library, tell him or her to talk to Harrison. Previous security training isn't necessary,but the person does need to have good people skills.

Nicki   September 12

Laura   September 14

 &

in memory of Wanda

Post Labor Day Post

Gena C., one of our former volunteers, is safely back in New Orleans after being evacuated due to the flooding.  Hope everything is drying out, Gena! And congratulations on the darling new addition, Dodger!

ETSU is hosting an Emerging Writers program with three Appalachian writers this Wednesday.  You can read about it at the BPL Bookblog.

Jay Asher's appearance at the library went very well. Pam's teens packed the place! The Bristol Herald Courier ran an article on Mr. Asher which you can read here.

The newspaper also ran an article about the sculptures on our Plaza and the dedications for Merle Dickert and Jerry Goodpasture.  You can read the article here.

All Hail the Shrimp Queen!

How many shrimp do you think you could eat?  A dozen?  Two dozen?  Okay, let's say three dozen.  Thirty six.  That's a lot, but you still wouldn't be in Brenda's league.  Yes, our own Brenda downed 135 shrimp at Red Lobster this past week, besting her old record of 125.  Janice is of the opinion that Brenda could have done better, but the servers were a bit slow.  (Wonder why?) Witnesses to the feat included Janice H., Rebecca and Kay. Congratulations, Brenda!  We'll anxiously await next year's score!

 

Jud   September 8

August is passing quickly. . .

The Discovery Series features YA author Jay Asher this Thursday, August 30, at 7 pm in the J. Henry Kegley Meeting Room.  Reserved seating is $20; general admission is free, if available.  Asher is the author of the very popular teen book 13 Reasons Why. If there are questions you can't answer, please refer them to Sarah. Her number is 276-821-6148.

 Food City Family Race Night Message from Jud:

"Thanks to everyone who helped—and please pass along my appreciation to everyone in your department, whether they worked indoors or out. We might not have made much money, but I think we helped contribute to the festival atmosphere, and our visitors seemed to enjoy it.

Thanks again,

Jud"

FYI:  Maintenance, per Jud

Anytime a problem occurs that requires an immediate custodial response,

•  contact Joyce;
• If Joyce is not on duty, and if the problem is not hazardous and is of limited extent (like a drink spill) so that it can be handled relatively easily, cleanup is a staff responsibility, or
•  If Joyce is not on duty and the problem is more significant, call Hygienitech at 423-366-0423 to report the problem .  If there is no answer, please leave a description of the problem with Hygienitech voicemail.

It's hard to believe, but this coming weekend is Labor Day weekend! The library will be open as usual on Saturday but we will be closed on Sunday and Monday, September 2 & 3. Have a safe time, everyone!

Congratulations to Linda at LAB on the birth of her first great-grandchild, Malachi Montgomery! We await photos!

Congratulations to Christy in Reference on becoming a Notary Public! (That sound you hear is Brenda cheering!)