July 6

Summertime at Bladen County Library

The annual summer break from school is upon us. Hooray! But all parents know that it won't take long for those first few joyous days of vacation to turn to boredom. Have we got a deal for you! Bladen County Public Library is gearing up for their annual cure for the summer blues.

The library will begin summer programs with weekly movies at all three branches. Bridger Memorial in Bladenboro and the Clarkton Library will show movies every Thursday at 3:30 p.m. The Elizabethtown Library will have movie time every Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Bladen County Public Library has great ways to make this summer the best yet. Check us out!

Relay for Life seeking

volunteers

As the fund-raising year comes to an end for Bladen County’s Relay For Life, the committee is already gearing up to fill positions for 2008.

Volunteers are being sought for the positions of accounting/registration chairperson; church team recruiter; civic organizations team recruiter; business team recruiter; corporate sponsorship recruiter; and team recruitment chairperson.

Individuals who are interested in being a part of next year’s event by serving on the committee in one of these positions are encouraged to contact Event Chair Lori Barrow at 862-8181.

Lumbee State of the Tribe

Lumbee Tribal Chairman Jimmy Goins will present the annual State of the Tribe Address on Friday, July 6, 2007 at 7 pm at Tribal offices in Pembroke. Article VIII, Section 1 (a) of the Lumbee Tribal Constitution states the Tribal Chairperson shall “deliver to the general membership an annual State of the Tribe Address during the first week of July, which shall include a proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.”

1921-1992 Reunion for Clarkton School

There will be a meeting at the Clarkton Depot 2 p.m., July 22, to prepare for our fourth Clarkton Reunion. Everyone that would like to contact Wanda Burch, please call 647-4521 to participate in this event.

Clinton WOW Lodge 262

Clarkton Woodmen of the World Lodge 262 will have its regular monthly meeting July 12, 6:30 p.m., at the lodge building. Meal will be provided. All members are invited to attend

Heritage Walk dedication

There wil be a Heritage Walk Dedication at UNC Pembroke, Saturday, July 7.

UNC Pembroke will honor its first graduates during Lumbee Homecoming 2007.

Heritage Walk, a brick memorial honoring more than 500 of the institution’s first American Indian graduates, will be unveiled Saturday, July 7 at 11:30 a.m. in front of Old Main.

Driver’s Ed. class

A driver’s education class will be held at West Bladen High School July 16-20. Classes will meet from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. for the week. You must be 14 1/2-years-old on or before July 18. You cannot miss a day or any time from this class. Bring pencil and paper. Please have parents pick you up on time. For more information, call (910) 991-6263, or (910) 862-4463.

Grieving Parents meeting

The regular meeting for The Compassionate Friends -Border Belt Chapter is scheduled for Monday, July 9, at Grace Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall, 105 S. Madison St. in Whiteville. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The topic will be coping with summertime family reunions. There will be time for sharing after the discussion. All grieving parents and grandparents are invited to attend.

Chapter leader Walt Burney says, “It's a good time to think ahead about getting together for a family reunion. We invite you to attend a meeting. We understand other grieving parents.”

Anyone interested in more information on The Compassionate Friends may contact Jean Cross and Walt Burney in Clarkton at 647-8401, or Jean Roney, Grief Counselor for Lower Cape Fear Hospice at 642-9051.

The Compassionate Friends, Inc. is an international self-help support organization offering hope to bereaved families following the death of a child of any age, from any cause. The national office, located in Oak Brook, IL., serves more than 600 chapters across the 50 states. Locally, meetings are held on the second Monday of every month, at Grace Episcopal Church in Whiteville. Registration is not required. There are no membership fees or dues. The group invites all grieving parents to attend. For more information on the web, contract www.thecompassionatefriends.org.

License Plate Office

vacation closing

The Elizabethtown License Plate Office will be closed July 2-6 for vacation. The office will reopen Monday, July 9 at 9 a.m. If you need assistance, please visit the Whiteville, Lumberton or Clinton offices.

Christmas in July

Lunch and Bazaar

The annual "Christmas In July" Salad Lunch and Bazaar will be held July 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Powell-Melvin Ag. Center.

Lunch includes chicken, pasta, vegetable and fruit salads, deviled eggs, bread sticks and beverage for $5. Tickets can be purchased from any Extension & Community Association member or at the Extension Office.

There will also be vendors selling items. Anyone interested in reserving a table should call 647-0572 or 862-4591 for information and a reservation form.

BCC to offer EMT

Basic Course

The Continuing Education Department of Bladen Community College will offer the next EMT-Basic course beginning on July 10. Classes will meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights, 6-10 p.m., and one Saturday each month, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Interested individuals may pre-register or register on the first night of the course; however, pre-registration is preferred to ensure the applicant is qualified for the course. Upon completion of the course, students will be eligible to take the state examination in December. For information, call Donald Bryan at 879-5638 or Sondra Guyton at 879-5634.

Support group meetings

Families First, Inc. Domestic Violence Agency sponsors a domestic violence empowerment/support group each Monday from 5 - 6 p.m., and a parenting program from 6 - 7 p.m., at the agency at 208 S. Morehead St., in Elizabethtown.

The public is invited to attend both events.

For more information, contact Marjorie Walker at 862-2534.

Domestic violence training

A domestic violence training session, sponsored by Families First, Inc. Domestic Violence Agency, will be held on Sept. 6 - 7 from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., each day, for law enforcement officers; public service agencies; pastors; educators; child care providers; and anyone who is interested in learning more about domestic violence.

The training will be provided by Sgt. John Guard of the Pitt County Sheriff’s Department Domestic Violence Unit and Marie Brodie, trainer and media coordinator with the North Carolina Coalition against Domestic Violence. Sgt. Guard is a national speaker on the law enforcement response to domestic violence. The VOICES Survivors Panel will also be present.

The training will be held at Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church, 800 W. Broad St., in Elizabethtown. Breakfast and lunch will be served both days. Magistrates will be given credit hours for participating.

The event is being sponsored by Families First, Inc. Domestic Violence Agency. For further information or to register, contact Marjorie Walker at 862-2534 or the Whiteville office at 642-5996.

Teen Empowerment Program

Families First, Inc. Domestic Violence Agency will sponsor a teen empowerment program each Friday while school is out and twice a month on Saturdays after school starts.

The program will be held from noon - 3 p.m., on Fridays, and noon - 2:30 p.m., on Saturdays, at the agency at 208 S. Morehead St., in Elizabethtown. Refreshments will be served.

Activities will include a fashion show, various trips, role-model speakers and more. The public is invited to attend.

Registration will be held on Friday, July 6 from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. For more information or to register, contact Marjorie Walker at 862-2534.

North Carolina Watermelon Festival

The Fair Bluff Watermelon Growers Association, Inc. is sponsoring the North Carolina Watermelon Festival. Applications for Arts & Crafts Information, Pageant Applications, Calendar for Kids, Calendar for Pets, etc. are available on our Web site under Festival Forms.

Also, you can contact us at: Post Office Box 506 Fair Bluff, NC 28439 (910) 212-0013 or (910) 212-0012 — Phone; (910) 649-5989 — Fax . E-mail ncwatermelonfestival@yahoo.com, or check the Web site at http://www.ncwatermelonfestival.com.

Bladen County Hurricane Preparedness Expo

The Second Annual Hurricane Preparedness Expo will be held on Tuesday, July 10 at 5:30 p.m. at the Powell-Melvin Agricultural Service Center in Elizabethtown. The purpose of the Expo is to inform people about what they need to do to get ready for the Hurricane Season.

George Elliott, WECT TV 6 Chief Meteorologist, will be a guest speaker. Presentations include preparing disaster kits, tips when going to the shelter and pet first aid. Booths will be set up providing educational information to help you prepare before and after a storm. There will be free hotdogs and several doorprizes at the expo.

Come see what you need to do to get your family and pets prepared for this hurricane season! For more information, contact Becky Spearman or Sandra Cain at 862-4591.

Celebration on the Square cancelled

The Celebration on the Square will skip this year and will become an every other year event. Due to the time and preparation that it takes to put this event together, it has been decided that it would be most effective to make this change. The support of the community and its dedication to our veterans, as well as those men and women who serve today, is great and we will miss this time to pause, but will remember them in our thoughts and prayers. We look forward to next years event and thank all the many people who have helped to make this event possible.

McKoy’s Five Day reunion celebration

Starting Wednesday, July 4, at the home place, the family of the late Ottis McKoy will host and kick off our five-day reunion; Thursday night, 6 p.m., White Lake Town Hall our annual Samuel L. Smith Scholarship Banquet; Friday night, 7 p.m., talent show, fashion show and memorial service; Saturday, 8 a.m., fishing, games, annual picnic, etc.; and Sunday the big finale at New Hope Missionary Baptist church for Sunday School, worship service and gravesite visit. The McKoy Family Reunion Choir will furnish the music. Yes, you're invited; for more information, call 645- 4858.

Keaton family reunion

The descendants of Wesley and Norah Keaton will celebrate their heritage on July 7 in East Arcadia, at the home-place of Wallie and the late Buck Keaton.

The day’s activities will begin with a visit to the burial place of the Rev. Richard Keaton at Canetuck Baptist Church and Wes Keaton at the Lloyd Plantation Slave Cemetery. The tour guides will be historians Earnestine Keaton and Cecile Bryant.

Please bring a covered dish for the fish fry, starting at 1 p.m. Contact: Earnestine Keaton @(910) 655-2801 or ektn10@aol.com.

4-H now taking registrations for Summer Academy

Bladen County 4-H is now accepting applications for registration for the 24th annual 4-H Summer Academy. This summer, we are offering a variety of programs for youth ages 5 -18. For more information, check out the Web site at http://bladen.ces.ncsu.edu/index.php?page=youth4h or contact Cooperative Extension at 862-4591.We look forward to seeing you this summer!

Dublin First Baptist Church Day School

Accepting Applications

Dublin First Baptist Church Day School is now accepting applications for childen ages 3-4 for their half-day preschool program for classes beginning September 2007. Please call 645-6886 for more information or to receive a registration packet.

Recipes needed for

Extension cookbook

The Bladen County Extension & Community Association is publishing a cookbook and needs recipes from past and present members of Home Demonstration Clubs, Extension Homemakers and ECA. Please either send or bring them to the Extension Office on Smith Circle, Elizabethtown. The address is PO Box 249, Elizabethtown, NC 28337

Buy a Brick for military men and women

A new military monument will be constructed by the Bladen County Military Museum on a brick patio at 818 S. Main St., Bladenboro. The bricks will be $100 apiece and will honor all branches of service beginning with the Revolutionary War. The monument will be located on the grounds of the Bladenboro Historical Society between two brick columns.

For more information, call 863-4707.

Woodmen of the World meeting

The Woodmen of the World, Elizabethtown Lodge # 865 will have a meeting the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Woodmen Lodge on Hwy. 242 N.

Camp Dixie summer camp registration

It’s time to register for summer camp at Camp Dixie. Located on Hwy. 87, south of Fayetteville, eight miles from St. Pauls. Camp Dixie offers programs for children graded 2-6 and teens grades 7-12. Visit our Web site — www.campdixie.com — for more information or to register online, or call (910) 865-5180.

Evening GED class ongoing in E'town

The Basic Skills Department of Bladen Community College has a new GED class in Elizabethtown at the Paul Brown Center, 1360 Martin Luther King Drive.

The class meets Monday through Wednesday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. and is free.

For information call the Basic Skills Department at 879-5561 or 879-5587.

Housing Authority meetings

The Elizabethtown Housing Authority meets the first Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Municipal Building in Elizabethtown.

The Clarkton Housing Authority meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Oakdale Homes Community Building in Clarkton.

The Bladenboro Housing Authority meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Housing Authority administration office in Bladenboro.

Carvers Creek celebration

Carver’s Creek Community will be joining in a celebration with its citizens who are 90 or older. A special recognition will be held at Kitchen Branch Missionary Baptist Church Friday, July 13, at 6:30 p.m. The program will include tributes to those seniors who are blessed to have lived such a long life. Any persons wishing to participate by donating food or monetary gifts may do so by making contact at 692-2705.

Pre-K and kindergarten physicals

Is your child starting Pre-K or kindergarten this year? If so, contact Bladen County Health Department today to schedule a physical exam. Appointments are scheduled every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8:30-10 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. Immunizations may also be given at this appointment if needed. Physical includes vision and hearing screenings. Medicaid, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and United Healthcare accepted. Payment based on income also available for those without insurance. Call 862-6900 for appointments.

Carolina Classic Rock & Beach Festival

The Carolina Classic Rock & Beach Festival is scheduled for July 7 at the Dublin Motor Speedway.

Performers will include Jim Quick and the Coastline Band, Big Daddy Rhythm and the Heaveyweights, Timmy Taylor and the Looose Floorboards, and Big Daddy Drive. Events kick off at noon and include a bikini contest and a mystery contest to be announced the day of the show. Food and beverages will be available through vendors. Advance tickets are $15 at Leinwands, the Front Porch, the House of Pizza and Subs, Sign Logic in Elizabethtown, and Inman’s IGA in Dublin.

For full details and to purchase tickets online, visit eastcoastconcerts.net.

Woodmen of the World will meet

Woodmen of the World, Lodge 208, Bladenboro, will meet the first Monday night of the month. All members are invited to come enjoy a meal and business meeting at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call Craig Waters, FIC, at 648-4414.

Looking for volunteers

for plays, skits and singing

Extra! Extra! I am looking for people of all ages that are interested in volunteering for plays, skits and singing as a ministry. All songs and plays are Christian based. To learn more, call (910) 648-6910. This is an opportunity to serve the Lord.

BCC GED class

available in Tar Heel

The Bladen Community College Basic Skills program is offering a GED class in the Tar Heel Multipurpose Building (the old fire station) across from Tar Heel Middle School. The class is free and meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Registration is open and individuals may begin at any time.

For information, call 879-5529 or 879-5587.

Kelly Historical Society

The Kelly Historical Society meets on the third Saturday each month at 10 a.m. at the Kelly Museum. For more information, call 763-6966.

Compassionate Friends

Anyone interested in information on The Compassionate Friends may contact Jean Cross and Walt Burney in Clarkton at 647-8401, or Jean Roney, Grief Counselor for Lower Cape Fear Hospice at 642-9051.

The Compassionate Friends Inc. is an international self-help support organization offering hope to bereaved families following the death of a child of any age, from any cause. The national office, located in Oak Brook, Ill., serves more than 600 chapters across the 50 states. Locally, meetings are held on the second Monday of every month, at Grace Episcopal Church in Whiteville. Registration is not required. There are no membership fees or dues. The group invites all grieving parents to attend. For more information on the Web, contract www.thecompassionatefriends.org.

Housing Authority

accepting applications

The Bladenboro and Clarkton Housing Authorities are now accepting applications on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.

Immediate housing units are available upon completion of the eligibility process.

Persons interested in either location should apply at the main office located at 117 Main St. in Bladenboro. For more information, call 863-4919.

Guardian ad Litem seeks volunteers

Guardian ad Litem program of Columbus and Bladen Counties needs volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system. Free training provided. Make a difference in the life of a child.

Please call Sabrina Ward at 641-4034.

EBHS reunion planning sought

Members of the East Bladen High School Class of 1994 are interested in planning a class reunion. Contact Kimberly Melvin-Swindell at kswindell1@nc.rr.com, or Jane Howell-Salmon at janehowell2@hotmail.com.

Dance lessons at

Bladen Fitness Center

Dance lessons are back at Bladen Fitness Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays Lessons are for children ages 3 and up, and classes include tap, jazz and ballet.

Participants may enroll at any time.

For more information, call Bladen Fitness Services at 862-6533. To enroll, call Leslie Dumas at 850-6363.

Bladen NAACP meets on third Tuesday

The Bladen County Chapter of the NAACP will meet the third Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. in the Focus Building on Martin Luther King Drive in Elizabethtown.