Community digest 1/27/05

Texas Hold'em proceeds help March of Dimes

Show-Me's restaurant and bar, River Eagle Distributing and 24 poker enthusiasts recently raised $600 in a poker tournament to help support the March of Dimes effort in saving babies in Southeast Missouri.

Rummage sale will pay for Haiti mission trip

Members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jackson will hold a rummage sale today through Saturday in the church fellowship hall. Through Thrivent for Lutheran's Care in Congregations program, proceeds from work at the fund raiser will help pay for a mission trip to Haiti. The church is located at 223 W. Adams St.

Story times, other events planned in Jackson

Children ages 1 to 8 may attend story times at the Riverside Regional Library in Jackson from 9:30 to 10:15 or from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. on the following dates:

* Feb. 7 for "Valentine's Day Surprise"

* Feb. 15 for "Laura Ingalls Wilder"

* Feb. 22 for "Happy Birthday George and Abe"

* March 1, for "Happy Birthday Dr. Suess"

* March 15, for "St. Paddy's Day"

* March 22, "Spring Holidays"

* March 29, "Read 'til the Cows Come Home"

* April 11, "National Library Week -- Something for Everyone @ the library"

* April 19, "Caterpillars are Crawling, Butterflies are Flying and Frogs are Hopping"

* April 26, "Dragons, dreams and Daring Deeds"

Other events planned at the library include:

* Easter egg decorating for children ages 9 to 16 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on March 18. Registration is encouraged and participants are asked to bring four boiled eggs and a basket.

* Librarians will be visiting local schools in May to promote the Summer Reading Club for 2005, "Dragons, Dreams and Daring Deeds." Summer Reading Club begins the first week of June and continues throughout the summer for all ages. Magical programs, daring deeds and prizes are on tap. More information is available at the library.

Pageant to choose next Mrs. Missouri

The 29th annual Mrs. Missouri Pageant is now accepting applications for 2005 contestants. Contestants must be married, at least 18 years of age and a resident of Missouri. This event is the official preliminary to the nationally televised Mrs. America Pageant. The Mrs. Missouri pageant will be held April 14 to 16 in Chillicothe, Mo. In conjunction with the Mrs. Missouri Pageant is the Missouri Princess Pageant for girls ages 5 to 18. For more information, call (660) 646-0423 or (816) 347-8101.

Quilters' guild makes plans for 2005

New officers and committee chairmen of the River Heritage Quilters' Guild were elected and plans for retreats and tours are being finalized. The River Heritage Quilters' Guild meets on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center, 921 N. Clark St. Social hour begins at 6:30 p.m. The Feb. 14 meeting is Snack Sack month and the program, "What your computer can do for you in quilt making" will be presented by Sewing Basket owner Judy Milian. Participants should bring a small sack with a snack and some type of inexpensive quilting item in it for exchange. Quilt donations continue as ongoing projects for 2005. The annual quilters retreat will be held March 3 to 6 at Kentucky Dam Village in Paducah, Ky., and the biannual Quilt Home Tour will be announced in the fall. Proceeds from the mini-quilt auction held at the quilt show in October benefited the American Cancer Society. For more information on the guild, call Becki Sanders at 334-1315 or visit www.geocities.com/river quilters.

Students can color, draw for MoDOT contest

The Missouri Department of Transportation is seeking entries from students in grades three to six for its fifth annual poster contest and children ages 2 to 5 for its coloring contest. The object of the poster contest is to show why work zone safety is important and artwork may be submitted in any size. Posters must include the entrant's name, grade and school. Coloring contest entrants may log onto MoDOT's Web site at www.modot.org and click Southeast District to print coloring sheets. Entries, which will not be returned, should be sent to MoDOT-Southeast District, P.O. Box 160, Sikeston, Mo., 63801, by March 9. MoDOT will announce winners March 18. Winning entries will be on display at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park in Cape Girardeau in April. First-place winners will receive an interactive work zone safety assembly for their school or day care, including the opportunity to see MoDOT's big trucks up close. For more information contact MoDOT's public information manager Angie Wilson at (573) 472-6632 or (888) ASK-MODOT.