DECATUR COMMUNITY EVENTS

Food Pantry

The Decatur food pantry is open from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday. On April 1, however, the pantry will only be open from 5 to 6 p.m. The pantry offers free nonperish able food to Decatur residents and is located at the United Methodist Church in Decatur. Participants need to bring identification showing they have a 72722 zip code. For more information, contact the Methodist Church at 752-3551.

Methodist Church Easter Services

The Decatur United Methodist Church is having a Maundy Thursday Service at 6:30 p.m., April 1, to begin the Easter weekend. The church will also have an Easter Sunrise Service at 6:30 a.m., April 4. All are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Frank Cook at 752- 3351 or David Cook at 200-4645.

Spring Basketball League

The Decatur Community Spring Basketball League will offer an Instructional Camp for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. The registration period will be from March 8 through April 8. Practice begins on April 8 and will be held on each Thursday in April from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Game play will begin April 10 and be held each Saturday until May 1. For more information, contact Jake or Theresa McNeal at 224-0088 or 685-6806.

Easter Egg Hunt

The annual Chamber of Commerce Easter egg hunt will be held at 10 a.m., April 3, in Veteran’s Park for age groups 0-3, 4-7, and 7-12. A golden egg with a special surprise inside will be hidden and Easter baskets will be awarded as prizes.

Eggcellent Easter Egg Hunt

Decatur Assembly of God will host its 13th annual “Eggcellent Easter Egg Hunt Eggstravaganza” at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 3. The event will be for children ages 0-12. There will be thousands of candies and eggs to hunt and hundreds of prizes to claim, with eight grand prizes to be given away. The hunt will take place at 674 N. Main in Decatur. For more information, call 752-3230.

Spring Break

The Decatur School District will be closed the week of March 22-26 for Spring Break.

NWA Riding Club play days set

The NWA Riding Club will have its 2010 season opener of play-day rodeo at 6 p.m. on April 10, and every other Saturday night until Nov. 1, at the enclosed arena at the Luca-Don Equestrian Center, 23236 Arkansas Highway 12, west of Gentry.

Ribbons will be awarded nightly, with an awards banquet at the end of the season. A point system will be in effect. There will be five age classes, with events including poles, barrels, flags, speed and mutton busting.

Memberships are $30 per year for a family. There is no charge for nightly events. The NWA Riding Club is a non profit, non-alcoholic and drug-free environment for fam ilies. For more information, call 752-3466 or 899-3259.

Rabies Clinic

Country View Animal Care will be offering rabies vacci nations for dogs and cats at a reduced rate at the Decatur Fire Station, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., March 31, as part of Benton County Rabies Clinic Week. For more information, contact the Arkansas Department of Health at 271-1055, ext. 4, or Country View Animal Care at 787-6284.

Newspaper office hours

Regular office hours at the Gentry news office of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC are limited to make it possible for staff to be out covering news and events.

Regular hours will be from 9-11 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Staff members will be in and out of the office at other times, but calling ahead to 736-2822 or 233-0081 is recommended.

Subscription and advertising assistance is also available by calling the Siloam Springs office at 524-5144.

Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation Committee meetings will be held at 6 p.m., on the first Thursday of the month in the city council room. The next meeting will be on April 1. All members are urged to attend, along with anyone who is interested in joining the committee. For more informa tion, call 752-3912.

Council Meetings

City council meetings are held at 6 p.m., the second Monday of each month in the council room at city hall and are open to the public. For more information, call 752-3912.

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Submissions

Items for inclusion in the Hometown Events section of the newspaper may be submitted by calling 752-3675; by mail to P.O. Box 252, Decatur, AR 72722; or by e-mail to [email protected].

Community, Pages 2 on 03/17/2010