Community digest 1/21/08

Cape Girardeau Noon Lions Club presents gift

The Cape Girardeau Noon Lions Club recently presented the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation with a $2,000 donation that will assist funding projects dedicated to the preservation and restoration of sight. Programs that benefit from the Cape Girardeau Noon Lions Club include free glaucoma detection screening, free vision screening for Missouri children, free eye care assistance for indigent Missourians, eyeglass recycling to help residents in Third World countries, ocular research support and Heartland Lions Eye Banks. For more information, visit www.mlerf.org.

MERS/Goodwill extends hours at donation sites

ST. LOUIS -- To accommodate the influx of donations at MERS/Goodwill's 39 store locations across Missouri and southwestern Illinois, closing times at donation sites have been extended from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. For more information, visit www.mergoodwill.org.

Disaster services conference planned

An emergency disaster services conference will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Feb. 1 and 9 to 11:30 a.m. Feb. 2 at the Salvation Army, 701 Good Hope St. in Cape Girardeau. There are no registration fees, and the conference is open to anyone interested in helping on the Salvation Army Canteen. For more information or to register, call 335-7000 by Jan. 28.

Women's Connection meeting set for Feb. 11

The monthly Women's Connection will be held at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at The Branding Iron in Jackson. Speakers will include Faun Riggin, KZIM radio celebrity, on her life and career and Betty Kramer of St. Peters, Mo., on "Who Signed Me Up for This?" The meeting is intended for junior high to senior citizen age groups. There is a meal and program charge. For more information, call 651-6281 or e-mail masabo@showme.net.

St. Augustine plans annual dinner auction

The annual St. Augustine Home and School dinner and auction will open its doors at 4 p.m. March 15, with a steak and chicken dinner served at 5, followed by an oral auction at 6. Donations are being accepted through the school office at 264-4644. Tickets will go on sale at 1 p.m. Feb. 15 in the parish Ruma Center in Kelso, Mo.

-- From staff reports