COURTESY Springdale-based Tyson Foods donates $ 30, 000 to support the Springdale Public Library Facility Enhancement Project. Tyson’s manager of corporate philanthropy, Annetta Young, and community relations manager, Raul Lagos, presented the donation to the library’s board of directors at a recent meeting. The funds will help the library in transforming many of its circulation services from a barcodebased system to radio frequency identification (RFID ) process, which enables faster book identification. Other new features planned include self-check stations and materials handling and more public computers. Pictured from left are Library Board of Directors Don Mobley and Ginny Owen; Library Director Marcia Ransom; Director Joy Drummonds; Young; Board President Jason England; Lagos; and
DAR sponsor essay contest The Marion Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which is based in Fayetteville, is sponsoring two essay contests for students in area schools. Both contests require a combination of reading and writing skills. Students must research a topic, organize pertinent facts and write an original essay. Deadline is Nov. 5. The Daughters of the American Revolution Essay Contest, open to children from the fifth through eighths grade, requires students to write an essay answering the question "What message did the Gettysburg Address communicate to our wartorn nation in 1863 ? How are the ideals articulated in the speech still relevant for our country today ?"The topic of the Christopher Columbus Essay Contest, open to students from the ninth to 12 th grade, is "Discuss five perils faced by Christopher Columbus' expedition (s ) and how Columbus and his crew overcame them. "Students must follow contest rules concerning the information required on the title page and demonstrate knowledge of capitalization, punctuation, grammar and spelling. One of the most difficult skills for young writers is the ability to organize a bibliography using the correct formats for books and Web sites. Members of Marion Chapter volunteer to deliver contest rules to schools starting in mid-September. Completed essays should be brought to the Nov. 11 chapter meeting. First, second and third place winners are selected by a committee of Marion Chapter members. The first place winners in both contests receive a medal and $ 25. In the spring, a presentation will be held at the Shiloh Museum in Springdale to honor these winners as well as students who have won other awards. Teachers, parents or students who are interested in receiving details about either contest can contact Susan Smith at se-smith @ hotmail. com. Volunteers needed for shoe box gifts Operation Christmas Child is calling on local children, families, churches, businesses, schools, scout troops and civic organizations to make Christmas special by sending shoe box gifts to children overseas who are suffering from disease, famine, war, terrorism and natural disaster. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, has collected and hand-delivered more than 61 million shoe box gifts to hurting children in some 130 countries. Although National Collection Week is Nov. 17-24, Operation Christmas Child is not limited to just one week a year or during the holiday season. It is a yearround project, requiring months of organization and preparation to reach millions of children around the world. Locals can help by filling the shoe boxes with toys, necessities, school supplies, candy and a letter of encouragement, and by signing up to join thousands of Operation Christmas Child volunteers this fall at one of hundreds of collection sites across Arkansas. For details on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call (615 ) 309-6013 or visit www. samari tanspurse. org. Director Todd Wood.
Women needed to fight for cure Women can step into the ring with Wacoal to help knockout breast cancer with Fi (GH ) t for the Cure from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at Dillards in the Northwest Arkansas Mall, 4201 N. Shiloh Drive, Fayetteville. Participants will receive a complimentary fitting in a Wacoal, DKNY Underwear or Donna Karan Intimates bra from a Wacoal fit specialist and can sign up to receive a monthly e-mail reminder to do a self breast exam. For every woman who participates, Wacoal will donate $ 2 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer research and outreach programs. Wacoal will also donate an additional $ 2 for every Wacoal, DKNY underwear or Donna Karan Intimates bra purchased at these events. Cook-off to benefit Brain Tumor Society The Chili Hawg Pod of Northwest Arkansas, radio stations U. S. 94, 92. 1 The KEG, SAM 98, Power 105. 7, News / Talk 1030 and Y-94. 9 have teamed up to bring the Chili Bowl II from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Chili Bowl II is a chili cook-off and sampling event to raise money for the Brain Tumor Society. People from Northwest Arkansas and all over the United States are welcome to put their chili to the test by vying for the title Best Chili Bowl Chili. There is a $ 20 entry fee to compete in Chili Bowl II; $ 5 for the juniors. Turn in time is 1 p.m. Sampling and voting for your favorite chili will start at 1 p.m. and continue until 2: 30 p.m. with the award ceremony following at 3 p.m. The public can purchase chili-sampling kits for $ 5. Chili Chefs are required to provide their own supplies. The Chili Hawg Pod of Northwest Arkansas is a local chapter of the Chili Appreciation Society International (CASI ). The Chili Bowl II will be an official CASI cook-off. For details and official CASI rules visit its Web site at www. chili. org Chili categories include: Peoples Choice (open to all chili recipes and categories ), Best Media Chili (newspapers, radio, magazine and television media ), Juniors (open to 18 years of age or younger ), Restaurants and CASI (Must follow CASI rules at www. chili. org ). All proceeds will go to support Northwest Arkansas resident and brain tumor survivor Steve McBee's mission to improve the quality of life for those affected by a brain tumor diagnosis, by providing information and support and creating funds for carefully-selected research projects to enhance treatments and to find a cure. For details on the Chili Bowl, call Anita Cowan at 521-5566.
Club partners with community The Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club of Fayetteville has teamed up with the Washington Plaza Apartment community to administer its learning lab by providing staff and resources for both youth and families to utilize this facility in a safe and fun environment. The facility is located in apartment 35 A within Washington Plaza and is open Monday through Friday from 1 to 6 p.m.
On Tuesday, Washington Plaza hosted a national night out / grand opening celebration. Activities consisted of games for both children and adults as well as food to celebrate National Hispanic Month. Many local residents attended the event, which was presented by the Boys & Girls Club's outreach program.
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