Community digest 1/8/04

'Independently Speaking' to feature March of Dimes

The program, "Independently Speaking," will air at 5:30 a.m. Sunday on WDKA-TV, Channel 49 (Channel 17 on cable) and at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Jan. 27 on cable access Channel 5. Guests include Amanda Mills, community director of the March of Dimes Southeast Missouri Division, and Christy Rains, March of Dimes division director in Cape Girardeau.

Cape County Republican women to meet Friday

The first meeting of The Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's club will be held at 11:45 a.m. Friday at the Grecian Steak House in Cape Girardeau. The guest speaker is Cape Girardeau County Coroner candidate John Clifton. Clifton will explain his qualifications for office of county coroner and will tell why he is running. Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 2004 Lincoln Days on March 13. Potential members of the Cape Girardeau County Republican Women's Club may contact membership chair Janet Ludwig at 243-8366.

Jackson Project Charlie recruits volunteers

The Jackson Area Project Charlie, a special drug abuse prevention program for children that promotes self-esteem and helps children understand peer pressure, is seeking volunteers to attend the next facilitator training from 6 to 10 p.m. tonight at La Croix United Methodist Church, 3102 Lexington Ave., Cape Girardeau. For more information call Tonya Buttry at 243-4446 or 334-6825 or Terri Kahle at 243-3878.

Kindergarten enrollment for Jackson starts Jan. 29

For children presently living in the Jackson School District that meet eligibility requirements, kindergarten enrollment for the 2004-2005 school year will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Primary Annex School, 444 W. Jefferson St., Jackson. To enroll, a child must turn age 5 before Aug. 1. The child need not be present at the time of enrollment. Requirements include the child's official birth certificate, immunization record, Social Security number (card) and proof of residency.

Emerson's mobile office makes local appearances

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson's mobile office will be available to hear constituent concerns from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday at Sikeston Heritage House and from noon to 1 p.m. at Charleston Library; from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at Advance City Hall and from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Chaffee City Hall. The Missouri Eighth District Congressional District Mobile Office will make at least one scheduled stop in all 28 counties each month.

Auditions for River City Players set for tonight

Open auditions for the River City Players production of "Love, Sex and the IRS" will be held at 7:30 p.m. today at Port Cape Restaurant, 19 N. Water St., Cape Girardeau. Five men and two women will be needed for roles in the first production of 2004. No preparation is required for the cold read audition. For more information contact Dr. Roseanne Whitlow at 334-9997.-- From staff reports

Cape Girardeau Noon Lions Club

A donation of $2,000 was made to the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation by the Cape Girardeau Noon Lions Club. The gift will assist in the funding of a variety of the Foundation's projects dedicated to the preservation and restoration of sight.

Programs benefitting from this donation include free glaucoma detection screening, an amblyopia screening program for Missouri's children, eye care assistance for Missourians without insurance or a means of obtaining eye care and an eyeglass recycling program that recycles used eyeglasses for transport overseas by humanitarian groups.

Heartland Lions Eye Banks (HLEB) restores sight at a rate of five people per day by providing cornea tissue for transplant. HLEB processes and distributes donated tissue from six facilities located in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois.

For more information visit the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation website at www.mlerf.org.