Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012

Community Notes

Barbecue dinner

A barbecue dinner is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at the Garner Optimist Club House, 2110 Vandora Springs Road. Choose from chicken or pork, with eat-in or takeout available.

Hopekids preschool open house

Hopekids Preschool will hold open houses at 10 a.m. Jan. 25, Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 in the lobby of Newhope Church, 2967 Benson Road, Garner. Hopekids Garner is a half-day Christian preschool program. For more information, visit newhopenc.org and click on children/hopekids preschool; email hopekidsgarner@newhopenc.org; or call 779-6687.

Clayton Steakhouse to host luncheon

A luncheon to benefit the Johnston County Partnership for Children will be held Monday, Jan. 30, at the Clayton Steakhouse, 307 E. Main St., Clayton. Seatings will be at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The menu choices are rib-eye steak sandwich, grilled chicken sandwich or chicken salad on a herb roll or bed of greens. The sandwich comes with roasted potatoes, french fries or side salad. All menu selections include tea or water and a slice of homemade cake.

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the Partnership for Children of Johnston County offices in Selma and Clayton, at the Clayton Steakhouse or by calling 202-0002. Tickets will not be available the day of the event.

For more information, visit www.pfcjc.org or call 202-0002.

League of Women Voters to meet

The Wake County League of Women Voters will meet at noon Friday, Jan. 27, at the YMCA, 554 E. Hargett St., Raleigh. Johnnie McLean, deputy director of the N.C. Board of Elections, will talk about redistricting and other changes in store for voters. For more information, call 783-5995.

Groundhog Day

The town of Garner will hold its annual Groundhog Day event at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, at the White Deer Park Nature Center, 2400 Aversboro Road. Mortimer the Groundhog will predict six more weeks of winter or an early spring. Enjoy crafts, games, educational activities, live animals and meet and greet Mortimer. For more information, visit garnernc.gov or call 661-6982.

Blood drive at First Presbyterian

A blood drive is scheduled from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, at First Presbyterian Church, 503 Lakeside Drive, Garner. Register online at redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code 9755, or call Carol Oriel at 779-7355.

Chairs of Hope, recycling too

Vandora Springs Elementary is seeking sponsors for its annual Chairs of Hope Project, which benefits the Garner Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. For more information, call Jim Hunt at 662-2486 or email jhunt@wcpss.net.

Also, Vandora Springs is staging Recycle for a Cause, another benefit for the Garner Relay for Life. The school is collecting aluminum cans and scrap metal. Drop off these items any time at the school's metal-recycling Dumpster, 1300 Vandora Springs Road.

Cooks for Books

The second annual Cooks for Books will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, at Garner TV and Appliance.

Tickets are $25 each or two for $40. They entitle the holder to food by local eateries, one free drink and samplings from the competing celebrity cooks and dessert contestants.

Cooks for Books is a fundraiser for Garner Educational Foundation literacy programs. For more information, email Amy White at singforhim@nc.rr.com.

4-H club seeks members

The Clover Roots 4-H Club is looking for home-schooled children age 5-10 who would like to join. The club meets at 2 p.m. Thursdays, once or twice a month, in the Rock Pillar Road area of Johnston County. Last year, meeting topics included culture, seashells, building a slip-and-slide out of recycled materials, incubating and hatching chicken eggs, tie-and-dye, a polygraph demonstration and fishing. For more information or to join, call Teresa Byrd at 989-5380.

Banquet to boost statue project

The Sons of Confederate Veterans will hold a Lee-Jackson Banquet at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, at King's Restaurant on U.S. 70 West in Kinston. Bernhard Thuersam will speak. He is chairman of the N.C. War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission. Jimmy Aycock will perform on piano. The cost is $15 per person and includes a meal. A silent auction will benefit the Gen. Johnston statue project at Bentonville Battlefield. For reservations, call Glenn Fields at 919-778-9565.

Information meeting for foster parents

The Boys & Girls Homes of North Carolina will soon hold an informational meeting locally for prospective foster parents. For more information on adoption or foster parenting, call 877-211-5322 or email anna.scharff@bghnc.org.

Clothing drive

Reins From Above will hold a clothing drive later this month. Drop-off dates and sites are Jan. 28 at Element Salon on McLemore Road in the Cleveland community, Jan. 27 at Annie V's Florist on Barbour Street in Clayton and any time at Reins From Above on N.C. 42 near Kenly. Reins From Above is seeking donations of clothing, linens and curtains. For more information, visit reinsfromabove.org.

Luncheon for women

The Chamber Women's Business Network will hold its luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, at Hinnant Family Vineyards & Winery, 826 Pine Level-Micro Road, Pine Level. The topic is "Changing with Challenges: How Women are Successful at It." Hear successful women share how they have navigated life and work and survived and thrived - from starting a family to starting a business to starting over. Lunch will be served, vendors will sell products, and door prizes will be given away. Tickets are $25. The cost for vendors is $60 and includes one ticket and table with tablecloth and chair. To purchase tickets, visit smithfieldselma.com, call Kelly Wallace at 934-9166 or email kwallace@smithfieldselma.com.

Grant writer needed

The Johnston County Animal Protection League is seeking a volunteer who has grant-writing experience. For an application, or for more information, visit jcapl.org or email webmaster@jcapl.org.

Registration open for MS walks

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has opened registration for this year's walks in Raleigh and Goldsboro.

The Triangle walk is scheduled for Saturday, March 31, at the RBC Center in Raleigh. The Goldsboro walk will take place Saturday, April 21, in Herman Park.

Walk MS, an annual fundraiser for more than 20 years, is an opportunity for the community to support the estimated 5,400 people living with multiple sclerosis in Eastern North Carolina. Sixty percent of all the money raised will go to programs, services and advocacy for Eastern N.C. residents. The rest will support national research to find the cause and cure of MS.

In addition to one- and three-mile walks, the events will feature live entertainment, food vendors and kids' activities.

For more information or to register, visit WalkingForMS.org or call 1-800-FIGHT-MS.

Scrabble Club

The Johnston County Scrabble Club meets from 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays at Orchard House Booksellers, 117 N. Third St., Smithfield. Play is free.