NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Decatur will hold a free city-wide garage sale July 13-15. During the sales days, Decatur residents will not be required to get a $5 garage sale permit. For more information, call 752-3912.

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 of Commerce 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.

Decatur City Council

The Decatur City Council will meet at 5:45 p.m., Thursday, July 19, instead of its usual time on the second Monday of the month, for a public hearing about the clear water wastewater treatment plant filter. For more information call 752-3912.

Second Division Veterans

The Second (Indianhead) Division Association is searching for anyone who ever served in the 2nd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army at any time. For information about the National Association and its annual reunion in Reno, Nev., from August 23-26, 2012, visit www.2ida.org or contact the association’s secretary-treasurer, Bob Haynes, at [email protected] or 224-225-1202.

Summer Meal Program

Free summer meals will be available for children 18 and under at the Decatur Community Building to help fill the gap while school is out. Summer meals are available from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, July 2 through July 27. No registration or identification are required. For more information, call 1-888-4KID4AR or visit dhs.arkansas.gov/dccece/snp.

Decatur UMC Bible School

Decatur United Methodist Church will be hosting its vacation Bible school, "Operation Overboard," from 6 to 8 p.m. through July 11. The church invites the community to come join them and celebrate with Bible stories, games, arts and crafts, music and refreshments. Ages 4 through 12 are welcome. For more information, call Peggy Beal at 752-3920.

Mt. Pleasant Kid’s Day

Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, five miles east of Gravette on Highway 72, will hold Kid’s Day on Saturday, July 14, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. for children ages 3 through high school. There will be classes for all ages of children, with Bible lessons, crafts, games, food and puppets. All children are invited to attend. White Mouse Puppet Ministries will perform at 1 p.m. The public is invited to this puppet show. All are welcome. For more information, call 787-5958.

A of G Kids Krusade

First Assembly of God Church in Gravette will be holding a Kids Krusade from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. July 16-19, for children in pre-K through 6th grade. Theme of the Krusade is “Praise, Where Kids Get Down and Lift God High.” Activities will include face painting and karaoke. All area children are invited to come and enjoy the fun. Call Pastor Jack Deaton, 787-7047, with questions.

CBCO Blood Drive

Community Blood Center of the Ozarks will be holding a blood drive from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, July 20, at the Ozarks Community Hospital, 1101 S.W. Jackson St., in Gravette. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and present required identification. CBCO has issued a codeyellow alert for A Negative and O Negative blood types. There is less than a two-day supply of this type blood on hospital shelves. Donations are needed to help replenish the supply.

Barbecue Performers

The Decatur Chamber of Commerce is inviting local entertainers to perform during the daytime hours of the Decatur Barbecue on Aug. 4. Those who would like to perform - sing, dance or play an instrument - during the barbecue are asked to contact Decatur Chamber of Commerce president David Flynt at 466-9797.

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 allages 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 Summer Reading

The Iva Jane Peek Library’s summer reading program is under way from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Mondays. The program includes story reading, a craft project and a snack for children ages 6-11.Parents and community members are welcome to volunteer. The library will also host a reading contest for children ages 6-7, 8-9 and 10-11. The child in each age group who reads the most books between June 1 and July 31 will win a Barnes & Noble gift card, and all children who participate will be rewarded with a party on Aug. 7. For more information, call the library at 752-READ (7323).

Gentry Summer Reading

Gentry Library‘s summer reading program will continue through July 26, with a big blowout party at the end. The program is on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m. The Tuesday program is for children ages 4-8, and the Thursday program is for ages 9-12.Some of the scheduled events include Arkansas Center for Space & Planet Sciences, crafts and lots of fun. Stop by the library and register today!

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.

Gravette Churches VBS

Pre-registration for Vacation Bible School at First Christian Church in Gravette will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 16. VBS will be from 6 to 8:15 p.m. on July 23-26 for ages 4 years through and including grade five. The theme is "Sky - Everything is Possiblewith God." First Christian Church, Church of Christ and the Methodist Church will hold this VBS jointly.

Literacy Program

The Decatur and Gravette Community Literacy Program is in need of volunteer tutors. Volunteers work two to three hours a week, and the program provides all training and materials. There is no need for tutors to speak any language other than English. For more information, call 787-8200.

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, July 17.

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 July 17.

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.

GHS Alumni Reunion

The Gentry High School Alumni Reunion will be held at 7 p.m., Sept. 1, in the Gentry High School/ Middle School Cafeteria. The Alumni Association was founded by Lemuel Cripps to honor all past GHS attendees and graduates by raising and granting scholarship funds to future Gentry Alumni. A fund has been established at Arvest Bank, P.O. Box 189, Gentry 72724. The cost per person attending the banquet will be $20. Part will go to cover the dinner and the remainder to the perpetual scholarship fund. Reservations need to be made by Aug. 1. For more information, contact: Berta Carl Norris 736-2269, bjnorris_2000@ yahoo.com; Martha Johnson Walker, 524-6344, [email protected]; or Wanda Shankles Meyer, 736-8738, [email protected].

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. The church is located northwest of Gentry and west of Decatur on Falling Springs Road.

Decatur Food Pantry

The Decatur United Methodist Church offersa 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.

News, Pages 2 on 07/11/2012