HOMETOWN EVENTS: Gravette High School Yearbooks

— The Gravette High School Yearbook Department currently has extra copies of yearbooks from years 2010, 2009, 2008, 2005-06, 2003, 2000, 1998, 1996 and 1995. The extra copies are being sold for $25 each in order to make room for future yearbooks. If you are interested in purchasing a yearbook, please contact Brandy Jones at brandy. [email protected], or call 787-4180 for more information.

Gentry High School Band Fundraiser

The Gentry High School Band Booster’s annual car wash fundraiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 18, at the 8 Eighty Barbecue parking lot across the street from the Walmart Express.

Cyberbullying and Internet Safety

Carol Robinson from the Arkansas Attorney General's office will be at the Gentry High School Auditorium Thursday, Aug. 23, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., speaking on cyberbullying and Internet safety. Decatur, Gravette, Siloam Springs and Gentry students and parents are invited and encouraged to attend. Robinson shares some startling statistics from Arkansas and from Benton County on Internet abductions and suicides. The presentation is informative to parents to see the serious issues that can arise from using the Internet. Robinson will also speak to students on each Gentry campus on Aug. 24. Edline Training

Joni Wilson, technology coordinator at Gentry Schools, will be available in the Gentry High School Auditorium Tuesday, Aug. 28, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., to discuss Edline for parents who have students in grades 3-12. Edline is the online grading program that allows parents to view grades from home. For more information or to obtain help setting up an Edline account, parents are encouraged to attend. Wilson will also show parents how to retrieve and print off campus- or district-wide calendars for the upcoming year.

School Open House

The Decatur Northside Elementary School and High School will hold an open house on Aug. 16 (before school begins on Aug. 20) so students and parents can visit classrooms and meet teachers for the coming school year. The elementary open house will begin at 5 p.m., and the high school open house will begin at 5:30. For more information, call the elementary school office at 752-3981 or the high school office at 752-3983.

‘Meet the Teacher’ Nights

Gravette School District announces "Meet the Teacher" nights for the following schools: Glenn Duffy Elementary, Thursday, Aug. 16 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Gravette Upper Elementary, Thursday, Aug. 16 from 5 to 6 p.m. Times for the Middle School and High School were on Tuesday but were not received in time to publish them ahead of the event. The school administration encourages all students and parents to come out and meet their teachers at these times.

AWANA Begins

AWANA is a new children’s ministry that will begin at Heritage Baptist Church on Sept. 5. AWANA is a children’s club for kindergarten through fifth grade. The club meets from 6:30 to 8 p.m. each Wednesday at Heritage Baptist Church, 307 4th Ave SE, Gravette. The club engages children in game time, singing, Bible stories and the memorization of Bible verses. All children are welcome. For more information, contact Heritage Baptist Church at 787-6782 or stop by and register your child today.

Gentry Schools Open House

The open house schedule at Gentry Public Schools includes: Gentry Intermediate School - 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 15; and Gentry Primary School - 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 16. Classes for students begin on Monday, Aug. 20.

Patch the Pirate Club Bash

Patch the Pirate Club will hold a Back to School Bash from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at the Berean Ministries building, one block south of Kindley Park. Patch the Pirate Club meets weekly during the school year. Gayla Hendren and Hope Duke are the instructors. All children, kindergarten through sixth grade, are invited to join the fun. The club focuses on teaching Bible lessons and music, along with games, crafts, special events, water games, awards and more throughout the year. For more information or a ride, call Hope at 787-5628.

School Offices Closed Friday Morning

The Gravette School Administration Office and Glenn Duffy, Elementary, Middle School, Transportation and High School offices will be closed Friday, Aug. 17, until 1 p.m. due to District Day events in the morning for staff.

Little League Tryouts

Little League Tryouts for Gravette teams will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Gravette baseball fields. Tryouts will be for 12U - USSSA travel baseball and Gravette’s All-Stars Cal Ripken team. 11-year-olds are welcome to try out as well. For any questions, contact Mark Hendricks, 530-7852, or Kevin Cole, 871-1365.

Gentry Farmers’ Market

Gentry’s farmers’ market is open on Mondays and Thursdays, beginning at 8 a.m., at the south side of the Gentry City Park (outside the wooden fence and along the circle drive). The market is open, free of fees, to all vendors who abide by the market’s rules (available at the Gentry City Hall or Gentry Chamber ofCommerce office). Items which may be sold at the market include fresh produce, plants and flowers, baked goods, jellies, jams, preserves, eggs, other noncommercial food items and handmade crafts.` Gravette Farmers’ Market

The Gravette Farmers’ Market is open 8-2 Saturdays at Old Town Park, 110 Park Drive, through November, with lots of locally grown produce and handmade crafts. For more info contact Gravette City Hall, 787-5368.

Area Quilt Class

The monthly quilt class will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Gravette Church of Christ annex, 202 Irving St. S.W. Instruction will be given on a quilt block and a craft and there will be a “show and tell” time. Anyone interested is invited to attend. Bring completed fascinator (hat) projects, completed quilts or projects in progress and a snack to share.

Gravette GED Classes

GED classes meet Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Gravette Public Library. The classes are provided by the NWACC adult education program, which also administers the official GED test at the Center in Rogers. Classes will continue on the above scheduled days from Aug. 20 to Dec. 14. For information, call the library at 787-6955.

Kiwanis-Sponsored Bow Raffle

As a part of its fund-raising activities to benefit programs serving children in the local communities, the Gravette Kiwanis Club will be awarding a Diamond Dead Eye Compound Bow by Bowtech. The bow, donated by Hook, Line & Sinker at Bentonville, is valued at $699 and will be given away Oct. 19 during a Lions football game. Tickets are $5, or three for $10, and are available at many local businesses.

PonyDotz

PonyDotz is an organization for children and young people to learn about horses and have fun together. Programs will include youth trail rides, confidence-building games, learning the basics of horsemanship, water play, and lunch. Participation and meals are free, and youth are not required to have their own horse to be involved. For more information, visit www.ponydotz.org or call 752-3582.

NWA Riding Club

NWA Riding Club play days are held every other week at the Luca Don Equestrian Center, 4.5 miles west of Gentry.Events include western pleasure, pole bending, flag races, barrel racing and speed races for all ages of riders, with an emphasis on kid-friendly family fun. The club also hosts trail rides, camp outs and an annual awards banquet. New members are welcome. For more information, call 712-266-6006 or visit www.nwaridingclub.org.

Decatur Swimming Pool

The Decatur swimming pool is open for the season. Regular pool hours are 1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call city hall at 752-3912.

Tired Iron of the Ozarks

Regular meetings of the Tired Iron of the Ozarks are held at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Tired Iron clubhouse located at the club’s show grounds on Taylor Orchard Road southwest of Gentry. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, August 21.

Gravette American Legion

Gravette American Legion Post 20 meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center. All vets are encouraged to attend. The next meeting is August 21. Gravette Kiwanis

The Gravette Kiwanis Club holds breakfast meetings at 7 a.m. each Friday at the cafeteria in Ozarks Community Hospital. Guests are welcome.

Gentry Alumni Reunion

The Gentry High School Alumni Reunion will be held at 7 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 1, in the Gentry High School/Middle School Cafeteria. Class groups will be meeting during the day. Classrooms will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for these groups. For more information, call Thelma Galloway, 736-2372, or Berta Sullivan, 736-8787.

Emergency Help

Families in Gravette School District wishing to apply for emergency help with food or utilities may make application from 9 to 11 a.m., Tuesday through Friday, at the Care and Share Specialty Shop, 103 Huntington Street S.E., on Hwy. 59 south in Gravette. Singing Services

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

Decatur Food Pantry

The Decatur United Methodist Church offers a food pantry program and a commodity food program for residents in Decatur from 5 to 7 p.m. on the first and third Thursday of each month.

Men's Fellowship

First Baptist Church of Gentry has a monthly Men's Fellowship Gathering at 8 a.m. on the third Saturday of each month. All men are encouraged to come for the food and fellowship. Guests are welcome. For more information, contact Madden Waits at 736-5009.

VFW Meetings

Decatur VFW Post 9834 meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. New members and guests are welcome. The facility is three miles east of Decatur on Arkansas Highway 102, right on Tilly’s Hill Road, and the first building on the right.

Pool Closings

Gravette’s municipal swimming pool will close after Saturday, Aug. 18, so that lifeguards can head back to school, which starts on Monday, Aug. 20. Decatur's pool closed on Aug. 11.

Emerson Electric Reunion

An employee reunion for those who worked at Emerson Electric Motor Company in Rogers will be held from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 9, at the Lake Avalon Park Pavilionin Bella Vista. The plant which was in business for more than 35 years closed in 2001.

Ozark Society Celebration

The Ozark Society is holding a special event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18, at the Compton Gardens and Conference Center, 312 N. Main Street, Bentonville, and the public is invited. The following are included in the day’s activities:

Public Opening of the new Neil Compton Exhibit Room Artwork and photography by Alice Andrews, Terry Fredrick, Joe Meyer, Fred Paillet;

11 a.m. - “Positive Effects of the Outdoors on Children and Adults” by Donald Wleklinski, UA clinical instructor of nursing;

Noon - “Neil Compton: Native-Born Naturalist,” How his childhood influenced his later life, Ellen Compton;

1 p.m. - Historic 1960s Neil Compton films “Opportunity for Arkansas - Buffalo National River” used in the campaign to save the Buffalo River;

2 p.m. - “The Buffalo Flows,” as seen on public television, an award-winning film by Larry Foley;

3 p.m. - “Remembering Neil” Remarks from over 50 years of friendship, Kenneth L. Smith;

4 p.m. Concert by “Still on the Hill,” a folkgrass duo, Donna Stjerna and Kelly Mulhollan with a premiere of their new song, “The Lovely Buffalo.”

The Ozark Society is 50, the Buffalo National River is 40, and Neil Compton would be 100.

News, Pages 2 on 08/15/2012