community briefs

community briefs
- Thu, Jan, 14, 2010

• Knox County has been selected as one of 41 sites for National Program to Fight Childhood Obesity. Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale and officials from Knox County Health Department announced a major grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jan. 12, at Beardsley Farms. Based on a rigorous selection process that drew more than 500 proposals from across the country, Knox County is one of 41 sites selected for the RWJF Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative. Plans for the funding, as outlined by the grant, are to improve opportunities for physical activity and access to affordable, healthy foods for children and families in Knox County.

• Newcomers Club of Knoxville will meet at noon, Wednesday, Jan. 20, at Bearden Banquet Hall. Guest speaker is juvenile court Judge Tim Irwin. Reservations are required. Call Bonnie Bard at 865-531-1935.

• Iva’s Place Homeless Shelter of Lenoir City is looking for volunteers. Are you looking for a hands-on way to volunteer and help others? Do you care deeply about the homeless women and children in our community? If you are a good listener and are willing to commit four hours one to two days a week or a month as a monitor in the homeless shelter, you are invited to attend its training session held at the shelter, 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, Jan. 21. For more information, e-mail Nancy Grimes at dvccstop1@aol.com before Monday, Jan. 18.

• Longstreet/Zollicoffer Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans will host its17th annual celebration of the birthdays of Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson at the Foundry Restaurant, Saturday, Jan. 23. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner begins at 7 p.m. Cost is $30 per adult, $15 per child 12 and under. Door prizes will be awarded. Advance reservations and full payment is required and must be received no later than Jan. 21. For more information, call Jones at 865-947-3394; John Hitt at 865-689-4592 or Lynn Hammond at 865-687-5027.

• The Little Gym is searching for the Knoxville/Farragut Teacher of the Year for 2010. Preschools are asked to submit up to two teachers for the award. Three awards will be given: 2010 Teacher of the Year, First Runner Up and Second Runner Up for Outstanding Preschool Teacher. Deadline for submissions is March 31. For more information, call The Little Gym at 865-583-1166 (Knoxville) or 865-966-4386 (Farragut).

• “Assure Your Child’s Success in School and Life Without Spending a Fortune,” 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 1. Event is free but registration is preferred prior to the program. Speaker is Dr. Mark G. Barkan. Participants will learn what a dynamic world is, differences between open and closed problems, what can be done to improve their children’s chances for success, and how creativity can be learned if someone will teach them.

• Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program will be held from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, Feb. 2 to April 13; from 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesdays and Fridays, Feb. 3-April 9, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, April 15. Program is free, no appointment necessary. Volunteers will complete and e-file for free IRS forms 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. Sponsored by the town of Farragut and the Internal Revenue Service.

• Introduction to Clay and Hand Building for ages 15 and older will be held from 1 to 5 p.m., Saturdays, Feb. 6, Feb. 13 and March 6, Cost is $125 with all supplies included. Registration and payment deadline is Monday, Feb. 1. The instructor is Wendy Blair. Participants will be introduced to clay and hand building as well as glazing techniques to come up with their own creation to take home. Classes will be held at Town Hall. Call 865-966-7057 for more information.

• Jewelry Making for Beginners class will be held from 9 to 11 a.m., Monday, Feb. 8. Cost is $25 (all supplies included). Registration and payment deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 3. The instructor is Sheila Akins. Participants will learn how to craft a bead bracelet and earrings that they can take home. This class is limited to six people, sign up early. Classes will be held at Town Hall. Call 865-966-7057 for more information.

• Introduction to Drawing with Different Mediums class will be held from 9 to 11 a.m., Saturdays, Jan. 30-March 6 (6 weeks). Cost is $125, all supplies are included. Registration and payment deadline is Monday, Feb. 1. Instructor is Wendy Blair. Participants will be introduced to clay and hand building as well as glazing techniques to come up with their own creation to take home. Classes will be held at Town Hall. Call 865-966-7057 for more information.

• Get Quit Clinic - Smoking Cessation workshop will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 26, and 12-2 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 27 as two separate workshops. The workshop is free but registration is required by Monday, Jan. 25, for the Jan. 26 workshop and by Tuesday, Jan. 26, for the Jan. 27 workshop. Presenters are physicians with Summit Medical Group of Farragut. These workshops will identify behavioral components to aid in smoking cessation and nicotine withdrawal symptoms as well as help participants identify triggers and set goals to stay smoke free. Classes will be held at Town Hall. Call 865-966-7057 for more information.

• Beginning Cooking for Kids ages 5 through 9: kids will learn all the basics of cooking including basic sanitation, cooking methods and techniques, kitchen familiarity and the cooking process. Instructor is Traci Kerr. The month-long class will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m., Mondays, Jan. 25 to Feb. 15. Cost is $60 and includes a $20 supply fee. Registration and payment deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 20. Classes will be held at Town Hall. Call 865-966-7057 for more information.

• Exploring Color: Watercolor Class will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Mondays, Jan. 25 to Feb. 15. Cost is $68 (supply list provided at registration). This class is an introduction to components of color and their relationship. Participants will create complex and exciting art works only using the basic components of color. Instructor is Ebru Sahin-Ekici. Registration and payment deadline is Wednesday, Jan. 20. Classes will be held at Town Hall. Call 865-966-7057 for more information.

• The One Call Club for Seniors has announced the new advisory board officers to serve through 2011. Jill Beason, with Mercy Health Partners, is chair. Stan Boling, with Covenant Senior Health, is vice-chair. Shirley Napier, community volunteer, is secretary. The One Call Club for Seniors is a membership program that arranges services with prescreened providers to support the independence, health and safety of club members. For more information, call 865-524-2786 or visit www.knox-seniors.org/onecall.

• “With Hope in Mind” training is scheduled Jan. 22-24 in Chattanooga. The training will begin at noon, Friday, Jan. 22 and continue through Sunday, Jan. 24. This is for those who have had a family member with mental illness to teach our “With Hope In Mind” classes. In accepting this training course, you will agree to serve as a family educator and/or family support group facilitator using materials, principles and guidelines outlined in the With Hope In Mind training program as the classes are set up for the local affiliates in our area. For more information, visit namitn.org.

• Rotary Club of Knoxville’s annual Fat Tuesday Party and $10,000 Reverse Raffle fundraiser for local and international programs will be held at the Foundry. The Fat Tuesday Party will be held from 6:30 to 10 p.m., Feb. 16, at the Foundry – On the Fair Site, 747 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville. Tickets to attend are $35 per person and include a festive buffet and entertainment. Both the $10,000 Reverse Raffle and Fat Tuesday Party tickets can be purchased by calling the RCK office at 865-523-8252.

• Taoist Tai Chi Society of the USA, a charitable organization, will host an open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 28, at Concord United Methodist Church, as the kick-off for its new beginning class. It includes demonstrations and a free lesson. For more information, call 865-482-7761 or visit www.taoist.org.

• Hunter Vaughn, a member of Boy Scout Troup 14 and an eighth-grader at Farragut Middle School, successfully completed his Eagle Scout project. Hunter chose to serve the community by collecting donations from students in the Farragut Middle School Gold Pod, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Farragut Ward and his surrounding neighbors to fill 200 Christmas stockings for the Salvation Army. The donations Hunter received were so plentiful that all of the stockings were filled and he also was able to give many extra items to the Mission of Hope.

• Registration is open for public, private and home-school student teams in grades 6-8 for the 2010 Energy Bowl competition scheduled March 2-4 at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. There are up to four school members plus an alternate on an Energy Bowl team and each school or participating group can send up to one team per grade level. Sixth grade teams will compete on March 2, seventh grade on March 3 and eighth grade on March 4. Energy Bowl team registration must be received no later than Feb. 12. After a team registers for Energy Bowl, it receives free admission to AMSE for the team members and two teachers to prepare for the contest by utilizing AMSE energy related exhibits, live demonstrations and films to study for the last two weeks of February. For more information on 2010 Energy Bowl come to AMSE, visit www.amse.org or contact Judd Brown 865-576-3207.

• Kroger pharmacies in Knoxville now are offering H1N1 flu vaccinations to the local community, protecting customers and associates alike from the H1N1 virus. Flu immunizations, available for $10 each, will be administered by Kroger certified-immunized pharmacists and pharmacy technicians while supplies last.

• National Helmet Liner Day brings out the knitters and crocheters. The Yarn Haven has joined other yarn shops across the country in participating in National Helmet Liner Day. The helmet liners keep the troops in Afghanistan warm in the cold nighttime desert air, wicks away sweat from 120-degree daytime heat, keeps the sand away from their faces and forms a much-needed cushion between their head and the helmet they must wear. Free patterns for both knitting and crocheting the helmet liners will be available at The Yarn Haven, as well as the colors of yarn the military has requested. Discounts on the purchase of the yarn will be given that day. Helmet liners will be collected at The Yarn Haven through the month of January. The Yarn Haven focuses on different charity projects each quarter. For more information, call 865-694-9900 or visit www.theyarn-haven.com.

• Students in grades 7-12 now can receive the specifications and rules to build a model bridge to enter in the 2010 East Tennessee Regional Model Bridge Building Contest on Feb. 20, at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. To find Model Bridge Building information, come to the museum, call AMSE at 865-576-3200, or online www.amse.org to get contest rules and specifications including materials, construction, loading, testing, qualification and registration form.

• Knox County Public Library announces the featured book in this winter’s Close Read: “The Tall Woman,” by Wilma Dykeman. Knox County residents are invited to read the novel, then join in the conversation with local author and poet Jeff Daniel Marion as he discusses the life and work of Wilma Dykeman, at noon, Wednesday, Jan. 20, at Tennessee History Center.

• Knoxville’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Web site has all details of the 2010 celebration. For a complete list of events, visit www.mlk knoxville.org.

• Rotary Club is seeking applicants for visit to Taiwan. Outstanding, employed professionals are encouraged to apply for the four-week visit from March 14 to April 11. The trip is to promote goodwill through person-to-person contact. For more information, go the www.rotary.org or call Jack Bailey at 865-483-6645.

• Calling all campers! Parents and kids are invited to check out fun summertime activities at Knoxville Area Summer Camp Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 16, in the amphitheater at West Town Mall. This family-friendly event will include an assortment of day camps in the Knoxville area, as well as sleep-away camps throughout Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and beyond.

• West Town Mall will open its doors to the community for free Carotid Artery Screenings by Covenant Health. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, West Town Mall will offer free carotid artery screenings at the Covenant Health kiosk located near JCPenney.

• Calling all caregivers: don’t miss out on this day of respite, relaxation and fun. You could win a makeover, one of many door prizes, and visit 20 booths that will feature caregiver information, beauty and wellness vendors, senior citizen’s attorney, and some great entertainment. Throughout the day, the stage will feature the Tellico Tappers, the Strang Chorus and the Strang Belly Dance Troupe. For more information, call 865-670-6693.

• Knoxville and surrounding area residents are invited to participate in and attend the Sunburst USA Beauty Pageants at Knoxville Center at noon and West Town Mall at 4 p.m., Jan. 24. The pageants are open to boys and girls, ages infant to 3 and girls ages 4 to 27. Celebrating more than 30 years of pageantry, Sunburst Beauty Pageants will allow contestants to participate in various categories including best attire, sweetest smile, prettiest eyes, prettiest hair and best personality. Contestants can stop by Simon Guest Services to pick up an application. Watching the events are free and open to the community. Registration is $40 per contestant. Each category is an additional fee of $10, with the exception of the general competition. All contestants will receive a trophy.

• UT Hospice Adult Grief Support Group is looking for any adult who is suffering loss. The group meets the third Tuesday of every month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Next meeting is Jan. 19 at the UT Hospice office, 2270 Sutherland Ave. A light supper is served. For more information or to reserve your spot, call 865-544-6277.

• The traditional “Night with the Arts” will feature original productions written exclusively for the MLK commemorative events. Beginning at 6 p.m., Jan. 17, this very special production will be at the Colston Performing Arts Center on the campus of Knoxville College and is open to the public without charge.