NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — The NWA Riding Club play days are held every other week at the Luca Don Equestrian Center 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.
Phosphorous Meeting
Poultry Partners will host an educational and informational meeting at 6:30 p.m., June 7, at the Jay Community Center, Jay Okla., regarding the March 14 court settlement relating to phosphorous levels in the Eucha/Spavinaw watershed.Jim Reese, of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, and Andrew Sharpley, of the University of Arkansas, will be featured speakers and explain the direction of the new Eucha/Spavinaw watershed settlement and the implications of the court settlement for area farmers. Decatur Summer Reading
The Iva Jane Peek Library will hold a summer reading program from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Mondays, starting June 4. The program will include 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 is starting up its summer reading program June 5. It will continue through July 26, with a big blowout party at the end. The program will be Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m.The Tuesday program will be for children ages 4-8, and the Thursday program will be for ages 9-12. Some of the things scheduled so far include a magic show, Lynn Sciumbato from Morning Star Wildlife Rehab Center Arkansas Center for Space & Planet Sciences, crafts and lots of fun. Stop by the library and register today!
Beaty Reunion
A Beaty Community Reunion is set for 5 p.m., May 26, at the old Beaty school house. Food and drinks will be furnished, but desserts are welcomed. Everyone is invited to attend, especially former residents of Beaty Please bring lawn chairs.
CBCO Blood Drive
Community Blood Center of the Ozarks will be holding a blood drive next Tuesday May 29, at R & R Solutions in Gravette. Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donors must weigh at least 110 pounds, be in general good health and present required identification.
Hastings Retirement
Jo Ellen Hastings, who is retiring as principal at Gravette High School, will be honored Wednesday, May 30, at 12:30 p.m. at the high school. She served GHS for 27 years and has been principal since 1994.
Jolly Good Times Club
The monthly meeting ofthe Jolly Good Times Club will be held Wednesday, May 23, at the Billy V. Hall Senior Center. Members will gather at 10:15 a.m. in the sitting room. Mary Griffin will give the program preceding the potluck meal. Visitors and new members are always welcome.
Community Fishing Derby
The Ninth Annual Community Fishing Derby, sponsored by the Decatur Assembly of God Big Fisherman, Little Fisherman Community Fishing Program, will be held from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., June 9, at Crystal Lake in Decatur. Children ages 1 through 14 can participate in the free event, and a picnic lunch will be provided for children and their families. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will be stocking Crystal Lake’s overflow pond with catfish. Prizes will be awarded for the largest fish, smallest fish and largest stringer in each age category. Registration will begin at 8:15. Pre-registration forms are available at the church and local businesses or online at dagchurch.com. For more information, call Nickie Smith at 238-6147.
Community Gardens
Gravette Community gardens has plots left for those who wish to grow flowers and vegetables this summer. A volunteer is also needed to trim around the sign and around the edges of the garden. If anyone has a weed trimmer and a little time to volunteer, please call Miriam at 787-5032.
Decatur Swimming Pool
The Decatur swimming pool will open for the season on May 29. Regular pool hours will be 1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. For more information, call city hall at 752-3912.
Maysville Yard Sale
The Maysville E.H. Club will be sponsoring a community yard sale Saturday, June 2 (changed from June 9 due to a conflict). Booths will be available at the community building for persons wishing to sell items. Anyone wishing to participate should call Gwen Singleton at 291-4520.
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 OrchardRoad southwest of Gentry. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, June 19.
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 June 19. 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 Farmers’ Market
Gentry’s farmers’ market will be open May 31 on Mondays and Thursdays, beginning at 8 a.m. each day, at the south end of the Gentry City Park (outside the wooden fence and along the circle drive). The market will be open, free of fees, to all vendors who abide by the market’s rules (to be 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 non-commercial food items and handmade crafts. 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, [email protected];Martha Johnson Walker, 524-6344, [email protected]; Wanda Shankles Meyer, 736-8738, [email protected]; or at www.gentrypioneers.com and on Facebook under Gentry Alumni.
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 Main Street Care and Share store 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 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 guestsare 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.
Old Settlers' Day
Old Settlers Day is June 2, in the city park. A parade will be held at 11 a.m., with lineup at 10 a.m. There will be live music by Stanely Bates; a hog fry, prepared by Mike Shotpouch, starting at noon, with plates for $5; turtle and frog races at 1:30 p.m.; a horse shoe contest, with entry fees set at $10 for a single and $15 for a double (bring your own horse shoes); a drawing for a handmade Star Quilt, with tickets $1 each or $5 for six (tickets can be purchased at the Colcord Grocery); and the Colcord Rodeo on June 1 and 2.
Talbot Library & Museum
Talbot Library and Museum, 500 S. Colcord Ave., Colcord, Okla., will again be taking part in observance of Old Settlers Day on Saturday, June 2. This annual event, held in Colcord for manyyears, was originally known as the annual Colcord Picnic. Talbot Library and Museum will be hosting its annual book and bake sale, offering homemade baked goods and used books, as well as hamburger lunches on that day. New books will also be available for sale in the bookstore. All proceeds will go toward the Talbot Library and Museum operating funds. The Library and Museum will also be hosting the Colcord Rodeo Queen contestants for the speech portion of their competition. The special event of the day at the Library and Museum will be the 2 p.m. book presentation and signing of “Sam Sixkiller, Cherokee Frontier Lawman” by author Chris Enss in the historic Springtown Schoolhouse at Talbot’s. Old Settlers' Day events include a parade, annual rodeo, car show, and food and music offered throughout the town.For more information, contact Talbot Library and Museum, 918-326-4532, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, or e-mail [email protected].
News, Pages 2 on 05/23/2012