Westside HOMETOWN EVENTS

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

— Junior Auction

The Gentry High School junior class will be holding their annual "junior auction" Friday, Jan. 28, during the Ozark basketball games. Family and friends are encouraged to attend the games and bid on one of the juniors being auctioned. The junior(s) will work for up to four hours for the person(s) who purchase him/her. Juniors can do various chores around the house or office (rake leaves, clean out a garage or basement, file papers, clean house, wash cars, and the like). The money raised at the auction will help pay for this year's junior/senior prom. For more information, call the high school office at 736-2667.

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Fair Board to Meet

The annual meeting of the Benton County Fair Board will be held in the fairground Auditorium at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 25.

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DNE Science Night

The Decatur Northside Elementary School will be holding a science night from 6 to 7 p.m., Jan. 20 in the elementary school cafeteria. The events will include a display of classroom science projects for kindergarten through sixth grade and students in higher grades will be giving presentations. For more information contact teacher and parent facilitator Leslie Thompson at 752-3981.

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DNE Anti-bullying Assembly

Mark Shepard, a licensed trainer of neuro linguistic programming, will be the presenter for the Northside Elementary School anti-bullying school assembly from 9 to 9:45 a.m., Jan. 21. Shepard will speak about powerful resources to peacefully and positively stop bullying. Parents and family members are invited to attend. The assembly will be held in the school cafeteria. For more information contact school counselor Maolina Yang at 752-3981.

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Decatur Basketball Colors Day

Decatur High School basketball colors day and seniors night are planned for the evening of Feb. 4. The games against Mountainburg will begin at 6 p.m. and the coronation ceremony will be held beforehand. The Senior Night ceremony will be held between the boysand girls games.

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Spaghetti Dinner

On Sunday, Feb. 6, the Middle School Ambassadors and Students of the Month are hosting a Spaghetti Dinner at the Gravette Arvest Bank from 11:30 to 2 p.m.Everyone is invited! To-go meals will be prepared and ready for those who can’t stay. If the weather prevents fundraiser on Feb. 6, it will be held on Sunday, Feb. 20. Lunch - for $5 - includes dessert and drink. Gift items will be available for purchase. All proceeds go toward the New York City summer reward trip. For more information, please contact Roger or Janna Sharp at 787-4193.

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Gravette Library Commission

The regular meeting of the Gravette Library Commission will be held Thursday, Jan. 20, at 5:30 p.m. in the reference room at the library. (The Jan. 11 meeting was canceled due to bad weather.) Mayor Byron Warren will meet with the commission. The public is invited.

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Chili/Potato Soup Dinner

The Gentry Senior Activity Center will have a Chili/Potato Soup Dinner from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 28, at the senior center. Tickets are a $5 donation for adults and $3 donation for children under 6. Donations go toward the Senior Meal Program. For more information, call 736-0378.

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Decatur School Trap Shooting

The Decatur School trap shooting team will hold a meeting for parents and students at the Decatur Community Center Thursday, Jan. 20, at 6 p.m. The team is open to all Decatur students in grades 6 through 12 who are interested in shooting sports activities. For more information, call Lisa Barrett at 787-0431.

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Chair Exercise Program

The Gentry Senior Activity Center is starting a free chair exercise program called PEPPI (Peer Exercise Program Promotes Independence) at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 18. The program consists of stretching, strengthening and balance. It is designed to help prevent falls, to gain strength and flexibility in the limbs and to gain independence. The class is open to anyone, age 60 or above, and his or her spouse (regardless of age). For more information, call 736-0378.

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Jolly Good Times Club

The monthly meeting of the Jolly Good Times Club will be held Wednesday, Jan. 26, at the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center in Gravette.Members will gather in the computer room at 10:15 a.m. The menu will feature meat prepared by Betty, veggies by Jeanne, salad by Chia, deviled eggs by Eda and desserts by Mary and Susan. Mary Griffinwill give the program. Visitors and new members are welcome.

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Audubon Society Field Trip

Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society will host a field trip at Eagle Watch Nature Trail in Gentry on Saturday, Feb. 5. The EWNT field trip will be led by Terry Stanfill, manager of the EWNT, and guided by Joe Neal, one of Arkansas' leading birders, a retired biologist for the National Forest Service and the author of a recentlypublished book, "Birds of Northwest Arkansas." Neal is also curator of bird records for Arkansas Audubon Society and field trip leader for NWAAS. The field trip will begin in the parking area at 9 a.m. and move to the observation deck. Bald eagles, redheaded woodpeckers and more are likely to be seen. Spotting scopes or binoculars are suggested. NWAAS field trips are free and open to the public. Membership in NWAAS is not a requirement, nor is it necessary to be an experienced birder.

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Gravette Project Prom Tickets

Gravette’s Project Prom Committee is taking orders for Gravette Lions T-shirts. Raffle tickets will be sold for a $100 gift card to be given away on senior night, Feb. 4. Both items will be available at home basketball games throughout January. Project Prom is an after-prom event sponsored by parents. Questions about Project Prom may be directed to Peggy Galyean at 640-0536 or Kelly Britton at 787-6495.

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Gravette Museum Hours

The Gravette Historical Museum announces new hours when it is open to the public, according to the Museum Commission. The museum is open each Tuesday from 12 noon until 4 p.m., each Thursday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and each Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is no admission to the museum located in the historic Kindley House at 503 Charlotte Street S.E. in Gravette.

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Bible Study on Alcohol

The Gentry Church of God (Holiness) will be starting a new Bible study: “Alcohol in the Bible." The study is to help participants understand what God's Word says about alcohol. Those who participate will receive a free workbook. The studies will be held Wednesdays at 7 p.m. from Jan. 19 through Feb. 23. The church is located just north of the Gentry Police Station, at 104 North Collins. For more information, call Pastor Dan at 787-5787.

Students in grades 9-12 are again being encouraged to participate in the Ladies Auxiliary to the VFW Patriotic Art Contest. Contest entries, with a focus on love for veterans and country, must be submitted to the Ladies Auxiliary Post 1674 by March 31. Winners in the local contest will be entered in the district and then the national contest. For more information on the contest, call Dixie Grimes at 736-8601 or go online to the Ladies Auxiliary Web site.

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Gravette Library Book Sale

The Gravette Public Library will hold a book sale during the month of January. All items in the sale room will be sold for only 10 cents until the end of the month. The library is located at 407 Charlotte Street SE.

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Old Computers Needed

The Gentry Lions Club is collecting and refurbishing older computers and laptops and giving them to students in need of a computer. Older computers and laptops - up to about 10 years old - are being accepted. Hard drives are reformatted and a lighter Linux-based operating system and programs are installed. For more information or to donate a used computer to the Lions Club, contact Randy Moll at 233-0081.

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Collecting Old Car Batteries

The Gravette FFA Chapter is asking the community to donate old car batteries forrecycling. Car batteries can be dropped off at the Agriculture Department behind the Gravette High School. Proceeds earned by the local FFA in recycling the batteries will be used to fund future student scholarships. For more information, call 787-4194.

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Gentry Lions Club

The Gentry Lions Club meets from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. The club is now meeting in the Gentry Public Library’s community room. Visitors are always welcome.

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VFW Meetings

The Gentry/Decatur VFW Post meets on the first Tuesday of each month - at 7 p.m. New members and guests are welcome. The facility is 3 miles east of Decatur on Arkansas Highway 102, right on Tilly’s Hill Road, and the first building on the right.

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Gentry Senior Center

Gentry Senior Activity Center, at 121 East Main Street (just east of the Gentry Public Library) is open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday. Meals and rides to the center and activities are available Monday through Friday by calling Jackie Bader, the center’s manager, at 736-0378. Van routes are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday - Gentry, Highfill and Springtown; and Tuesday and Friday - Gentry and Decatur.

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Gravette Senior Center

The Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center, at 1870 Limekiln Road, is open from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Many activities are scheduled and lunch is served every weekday. For information on hot homedelivered meals for Gravette, Decatur and Sulphur Springs, frozen home-delivered meals for Maysville home-bound seniors or other services the center offers, call Mary Kay Kelley, director, at 787-5950.

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Singing Services

Monthly singing services at Falling Springs Church are held at 7 p.m., the first Friday of each month. The church is located northwest of Gentry and west of Decatur on Falling Springs Road.

Community News, Pages 3 on 01/19/2011