Wednesday, Mar. 03, 2010

Community Notes

Bark for life

Bark for Life will be held from 9 a.m. till 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at Clayton Community Park on Amelia Church Road. The event will include vendors, doggie contests, canine demonstrations and more. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the American Cancer Society. For more details, e-mail claytonbarkforlife@gmail.com or call 919-553-4466.

Benefit at vineyard

A benefit for the Johnston County Boys and Girls Club is scheduled from 6 till 8 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at Hinnant Family Vineyards, 826 Pine Level-Micro Road, Pine Level. The evening will feature tapas, desserts, music by the Dog Whistle Band, silent and live art auctions, and a dessert-recipe contest, with the winner added to the menu at Skylines Café in Clayton. Tickets in advance are $15 per person. Admission at the door is $20. Raffle tickets are $10 at the door. For reservations, call 919-264-3286 or send an e-mail to dwinn-burdo@pfcjc.org. To enter the recipe contest, call 919-830-3998 or send an e-mail to laurieginer@gmail.com. The deadline to submit a recipe is March 5.

Pesticide disposal

Johnston County Pesticide Disposal Day is scheduled from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. Thursday, March 25, at the Livestock Arena, 520 County Home Road, Smithfield. For more information, call the Johnston County Cooperative Extension Service at 989-5380.

Retirees to meet

The Johnston County Chapter of Retired and Active Federal Employees will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 10, at Golden Corral on North Bright Leaf Boulevard in Smithfield.

Nonprofit service

A seminar on how to serve on a nonprofit board is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. till 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 16, at the Johnston County Workforce Development Center, 135 Bestwood Drive, Clayton. Nonprofit boards will learn how to pick members, and members will learn how best to service. The seminar is free. Bring a bag lunch. To register, call the Smithfield-Selma Chamber of Commerce at 934-9166.

Contestants sought

Johnston County's Outstanding Little Miss Pageant is seeking contestants. Open to girls ages 3-12, the pageant will be held Saturday, March 20, in the W.J. Barefoot Auditorium in Benson. For an application, or for more information, visit missjohnstoncounty.org, send an e-mail to JCOLMPageant@aol.com or call 919-631-3784.

Relay donations

The Garner Magnet High School drama department's Relay for Life team hopes to raise $3,000 by this year's event to be held April 23 at Lake Benson Park. Last year, the team collected more than $2,700.

All proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. To donate, go to main.acsevents.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=24608.

Senior health fair

The 20th annual Senior Health Fair will be held from 9 a.m. till noon Friday, March 12, at Garner Senior Center, 205 E. Garner Road.

The event, co-sponsored by the senior center and Resources for Seniors, will include free health screenings. For more details, call 919-779-0122.

Johnston County GOP

The Johnston County Republican Party will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, at the White Swan Restaurant Annex, 3156 S. Bright Leaf Blvd., Smithfield. For more details, call chairman Andrew Tyree at 919-634-0015.

Summer fun fair

The Town of Garner's parks and recreation department will host a summer fun fair from 10 a.m. till noon Saturday, March 6, at the Avery Street Recreation Center, 125 Avery St. The fair will give families the chance to learn about upcoming summer camps and activities in Garner and the surrounding area. For more details, call the recreation department at 919-890-7300.

Relay golf tournament

The Relay Road Runners team will host a golf tournament at noon March 19, at the Riverwood Golf Course in Clayton. All proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

To participate, mail name, address, phone number and a check for $65 made out to American Cancer Society to Hearbert Locklear, 213 Fawn Lane, Clayton, N.C. 27527.

Garner grows

A meeting about Garner Grows, a project to create the town's first community garden, will be held at the Southeast Public Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 9. For more details, go to garnergrows.com or call 919-285-1DIG.

Asthma Fair

To celebrate World Asthma Day and Asthma Awareness Month, the Wake County Asthma Coalition is hosting an asthma fair from 9 a.m. till noon Saturday, April 10, at WakeMed's Andrews Conference Center, 3024 New Bern Ave., Raleigh. Free parking will be available at the center.

Garden volunteers

The Johnston Community College Arboretum will dedicate several rows of spring and fall vegetables to feed the hungry.

The arboretum is seeking volunteers to help tend the vegetables, which will go to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. To prepare volunteers, the arboretum staff will conduct informal gardening sessions from 10 till 11 a.m. Thursdays.

For more information, or to sign up, call Lin Frye, arboretum director, at 209-2052, or Minda Daughtry, technician, at 209-2184.

Food drive

From now until March 31, Curves locations in Johnston County will collect nonperishable food items and monetary donations for local food banks. Curves members who donate a bag of groceries or $30 will receive a reusable grocery freezer bag. Non-members who do likewise between March 8 and 20 can join Curves for free. In Johnston County, Curves are located at 1252 N. Bright Leaf Blvd.; 27 Annette Drive, Suite 101, near N.C. 210 and Interstate 40 in the McGee's Crossroads community; 181 N.C. 42 East, Clayton; and 201-B E. Main St., Benson.

Fruit trees

A workshop on training and pruning fruit trees is scheduled from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. Saturday, March 6, at the Central Crops Research Station, 13223 U.S. 70 Business, Clayton. Dr. Mike Parker will demonstrate proper pruning of apple and peach trees. To register, call the Cooperative Extension Service at 919-989-5380 or send an e-mail to shawn_banks@ncsu.edu.

Dance in Clayton

A Spring Fling dance is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at the American Legion building in Clayton. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For tickets, call Effie Sanders at 919-231-1500 or Lillie Kirby at 919-934-7821. The dance is a project of the Cooper Heritage Alumni and the Friends Association. Proceeds will go to a scholarship fund and community projects.