Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010

Community Notes

Town of Clayton

The Town of Clayton has scheduled the following meetings and upcoming activities.

Board of adjustment meeting -- 6 p.m. today (Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Council retreat -- 5 till 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22, at Comfort Suites, 761 Enterprise Drive.

Planning board meeting -- 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 22.

"Blues Bash V: Soul Mates" featuring Eric Bibb and Ruthie Foster -- 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26.

Johnston FRESH: A Local Food Fair (sponsored by the Clayton Farmers Market) -- 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at The Clayton Center

Council meeting -- 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 1.

Clayton Downtown Development Association -- 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 8, Room GS223 of The Clayton Center.

Council meeting -- 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 15.

Board of adjustment meeting -- 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 17.

Friends of the Library day book sale -- 8 a.m. till 2 p.m. Saturday, March 20.

Planning board meeting -- 7 p.m. Monday, March 22.

John Pizzarelli -- 8 p.m. Friday, March 26.

Good Friday Holiday -- Friday, April 2.

Council meeting -- 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 5.

Biscuits for breakfast

Homemade ham and sausage biscuits will be on sale from 6 till 8:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 19, at Clyde's Chapel Baptist Church in the Archer Lodge community. Proceeds will go to the Johnston County Relay for Life. The church is at 16657 Buffalo Road, Wendell, at the intersection of Buffalo and Turnipseed roads. For more details, call 919-365-6969 or go to clydeschapel.org.

Newcomers to meet

The Clayton Newcomers and Neighbors Club will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Rotary Room at The Clayton Center, 111 E. 2nd St., Clayton. Jim Lee will speak. He has flown supplies to earthquake-stricken Haiti. For more information, call club president Margaret Lee at 359-6003 or visit claytonnewcomers.com.

Blood drives

A blood drive is scheduled from 2:45 till 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at Discovery Church, 195 N.C. 42 East, Clayton. Walks-in are welcome, but for an appointment, call 333-1013.

A second blood drive is scheduled from 2:30 till 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26, at Lighthouse Christian Academy, 2850 Old Fairground Road near McGee's Crossroads. For more information, call Becky Shearer at 919-868-0361.

Dutch Country

The Pine Level senior citizens' group is putting together a trip to the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. The dates are May 18-20. The trip will include productions of "Joseph" and the "Pslams of David," a tour of Kreider Farms, lunch in an Amish home, dinner at the Good 'N' Plenty restaurant and a tour of Kitchen Kettle Village. The trip is open to anyone who wants to go. A $50 deposit is due by April 15. For costs, or to reserve a seat, call Janice White at 965-2852.

Food drive

From March 1 to 31, Curves locations in Johnston County 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 donate between March 8 and 20 can join Curves for free. In Johnston County, Curves is 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.

Local food fair

The Clayton Farm & Community Market will stage a Local Fresh Food Fair from 5 till 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at The Clayton Center, 111 E. 2nd St., Clayton. Johnston farmers and ranchers will be on hand to answer questions about the products, including how to buy them. Also, leaders of the Clayton Farm & Community Market will talk about their 2010 offerings. Finally, the festival will feature a screening of "FRESH: The Movie." Admission to the screening is $5, plus a service fee.

'Hush Harbor'

A Black History Month program is scheduled at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in the Wall-Ennis Gymnasium at South Campus School, 521 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Smithfield. The program is titled "Hush Harbor" -- a term from antebellum America that described a place where slaves would gather in secret to practice their religion. The program is a project of the Black History Committee of the Johnston County Heritage Center.

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.

A trip for seniors

On March 30, the Selma Parks and Recreation Department invites older adults to travel to Chinqua Penn Plantation near Reidsville. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the plantation includes a 27-room English country manor filled with furnishings from 30 countries. Surrounding the house are 22 acres of gardens and landscaping. The cost is $35. An optional winery tour is $5. The deadline to register is March 3. For more details, call 919-975-1411.

Pageant

The Miss Johnston County Scholarship Pageant will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20, in the Paul A. Johnston Auditorium at Johnston Community College. The winner will receive scholarship money and will represent Johnston County in the Miss North Carolina pageant.

Homebuyer's workshop

A free homebuyer's workshop is scheduled from 6:30 till 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Johnston County Workforce Development Center, 135 Bestwood Drive, Clayton. The following will speak: Angelo Owens of Century 21 Suburban Real Estate of Prime Lending, and Jayme Clark of Clear Choice Home Inspections. They will talk about choosing a home, financing, tax credits, home inspections and surveys.

Ornamental trees

A workshop on pruning ornamental trees is scheduled from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Johnston County Agricultural Center, 2736 N.C. 210, Smithfield. Doug White of the N.C. Forest Service will conduct the workshop, which will include hands-on practice. To register, call the Cooperative Extension Service at 919-989-5380 or e-mail shawn_banks@ncsu.edu.

Farmers market

The Garner Revitalization Association will open a farmers market this spring. Anyone interested in selling locally grown produce or other products should e-mail downtowngarner@nc.rr.com or go to downtowngarner.com and click the "contact us" link.

Little Relay Stars

The Johnston County Relay for Life is accepting applications for its 2010 Little Relay Stars Baby Photo Contest. The contest is open to Johnston County residents who will be no older than 24 months on June 4.

Applications are available at Four Oaks Bank branches, online at jcncrelay.org or via fax by calling Cindy Blackwelder at 919-963-1146. The deadline to enter is April 19.

GOP meeting

The Southern Wake GOP club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23, at Devil's Ridge Golf Club, 5107 Linksland Drive, Holly Springs. Daren Bakst of the John Locke Foundation will speak about cap and trade legislation.

For more details, e-mail President@SouthernWakeGOP.org or go to southernwakegop.org.