Local Digest, 10-25-16

Kiwanis Club plans annual Pancake Day fundraiser

EL DORADO – The El Dorado Kiwanis Club will once again present the Annual Kiwanis Club Pancake Day on Friday at the TAC House on North West Avenue. Serving times will be from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and from 4 until 7 p.m.

Both serving times will feature dine-in and take-out service. Those with take-out orders may call the Pancake Day Take-Out line at (870) 918-0908 on the day of the event. Large take-out orders of 10 or more plates during the lunch serving will be served on the TAC House’s lower level again this year. The lower level area is accessible from both the front and back doors of the TAC House.

“Serving these orders on the lower level allows those with large orders to bypass the longer upstairs line,” said Mark Barton, Kiwanis public relations chair, “and it allows smaller take-out orders to receive faster service at the upstairs counter, because they won’t find themselves behind several larger orders.”

Kiwanians have been serving the pancake and sausage meals annually for more than half a century, Barton said. “Pancake Day has been a tradition in El Dorado for decades and it serves as one of the El Dorado Kiwanis Club’s two principal annual fundraisers. Proceeds from Pancake Day are used to support area organizations and programs serving the children of our area, our state and the world,” he said.

Tickets for the event are $5 each and can be purchased from any Kiwanis Club member in advance or at the door.

Founded more than a century ago in 1915, Kiwanis International is a global organization of clubs and members dedicated to serving the children of the world. Kiwanis and its family of clubs, including Circle K International for university students, Key Club for students age 14–18, Builders Club for students age 11–14, Kiwanis Kids for students age 6–12 and Aktion Club for adults living with disabilities, dedicate annually more than 18 million service hours to strengthen communities and serve children. The Kiwanis International family comprises nearly 600,000 adult and youth members in 80 countries and geographic areas.

For more information about Kiwanis International, visit www.kiwanis.org.

Junction City Library to close Thursday

JUNCTION CITY – The Junction City Library will be closed Thursday, according to Melinda Disotell, branch manager of the Junction City Harper Memorial Library.

Phi Beta Lambda plans fundraiser

EL DORADO – The Sigma Epsilon Chapter of Phi Beta Lambda at South Arkansas Community College will be selling chicken spaghetti from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 in the SouthArk Gymnasium. Plates are $7 each and include chicken spaghetti, green beans and a roll. Pre-paid plates also will receive a free dessert and bottled water. Orders of 10 or more will be delivered locally.

Proceeds will be used to support Court Appointed Special Advocates as well as to fund Sigma Epsilon students who will compete at the Arkansas PBL Leadership Conference in 2017. For more information, contact Kathy Eutsey at [email protected], (870) 864-7114; or Donna Hendricks at [email protected][email protected], (870) 864-7177.

Huttig Library closed until Friday

The Huttig Library will be closed today, Oct. 25, and Thursday, Oct. 27, but will reopen on Friday at noon. The library is located at 204 Frost St. in Huttig.

El Dorado Schools plan reading event for Thursday

EL DORADO – To support literacy in the El Dorado Public Schools and to help break the world record for students reading the same book on the same day, “Read for the Record VII” will take place on Thursday, according to Lila Phillips, executive director of the El Dorado Education Foundation.

Around 1,800 students in grades kindergarten through four will meet together around 9 a.m. in the El Dorado High School (EHS) Wildcat Arena. They will read aloud, along with a reenactment from the EHS Drama Department and a celebrity reader, the book “The Bear Ate Your Sandwich,” written by Julia Sarcone-Roach.

Also featured will be live EHS band music, special literacy cheers with Barton Junior High cheerleaders, interactive games and art from all district elementary schools. Each student in grades kindergarten through two will receive a copy of the book, while those in grades three and four will receive materials for participation. The celebrity reader will be Kim Jones of Direct Instruction.

Along with EHS and Barton, all students from the local elementary schools of Hugh Goodwin, Northwest, Retta Brown, Yocum and Yocum Primary will take part. Locally, the El Dorado Education Foundation is the sponsor, providing books as well as bookmarks, Phillips said. During the week, teachers are encouraged to complete author studies with classrooms, in which students will focus upon skills such as character analysis, plot, conflict, resolution and the sequencing of events.

This project joins with millions of others around the nation to celebrate literacy by participating in the largest shared reading experience. Through the national organization, Jumpstart, “Read for the Record” is an annual campaign for students reading the same book on the same day. In the process, it also creates public awareness of the importance of literacy in the lives of children. According to Jumpstart, children who participate in programs such as theirs build greater skills in language and literacy, Phillips said.

Upcoming Events