In Our Community

Energy Efficiency Group Presentation is to be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at Ms. Anita's Restaurant. The Clay County Chamber of Commerce sponsors the event. Lunch is free. Call 396-2828 by July 7 to register.

The first annual Library Links Golf Tournament is to be Friday at Twin Bridges Golf Course. All proceeds to benefit the Gadsden Public Library and many children's literacy programs. Call 549-4699, ext. 101, or e-mail tami@gadsdenlibrary.org for more information.

The Downtown Farmers Market is to start 8 a.m.-noon each Saturday through Aug. 30, at 14th St. and Gurnee Avenue. The market is to also feature arts and crafts, music, cooking demonstrations, a kid's corner and special events every week. Enjoy "Saturdays in the park." The Spirit of Anniston sponsors the event. Call 236-0996 for more information.

Free art classes, limited to 12 students, are to begin at 9 a.m.-noon today at the Downtown Farmers' Market at Zinn Park, 14th St. and Gurnee Avenue, next to YMCA. Featured classes include:

• July 12, brushless landscape painting

• July 19, sand painting and mask making

• July 26, drawing workshop (ages 13 and up)

Pre-registration is required. All workshops are for ages 8-12 with the exception of the drawing workshop. Artists include Sarah Landrum, Eva Sproull, Peg Tyler, Isabel Harding and Betty Mills. Call the Spirit of Anniston at 236-0996 to register or for more information.

Saks High School class of 1998 is planning its 10-year reunion for Sept. 5 and 6. Contact Jennifer Bloss Williams at 310-1942 or visit www.saksclassof1998.ning.com for more information.

Oxford PARD planned trip to New Orleans is to be Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 for three days and two nights. The cost of $325 is per person, based on double occupancy, and includes motor coach transportation, two nights accommodations at Hilton Riverside, two full deluxe breakfast buffets in Hotel restaurant. Hotel is located on the Riverfront and within walking distance or trolley ride to French Quarter, Market, Bourbon Street and more. Call Pam at 831-2660. Call soon, this trip is expected to fill up quickly.

Trips planned by the Homemakers and Community Leaders of Calhoun County are scheduled to be Sept. 19-26 to Niagara Falls for fall foliage tour; Oct. 3 to Birmingham for Southern Women's Show; Oct. 25 to Chattanooga for four-hour fall foliage cruise on the Tennessee River; Nov. 13-17 to Branson, Mo., for famous shows and showboat dinner cruise. Call Elizabeth Williams at 435-6692 or Virginia Norton at 435-9535 for detailed trip information.

Cheaha Creative Arts, Inc., a new arts organization formed in this area, is to have free art activities at Zinn Park. The event is in association with the "Saturdays at Zinn" being coordinated by Spirit of Anniston. Children that come to the park can go to the pavilion and create a fun art project at no charge. Other art activities are to continue through July 26. A different activity is planned each week. All activities are free. Call 435-4639 for more information.

Upward soccer registration is open through July 19 at Mount Zion Baptist Church. The cost is $65 per child for ages K4 through 8th grade. Call 820-3931 or visit www.mountzionbaptistchurch.net for more information.

Oxford High School schedule for picking up lockers, schedules and parking permits is to be as follows:

• July 23, 8-10 a.m., 12th grade

• July 24, 8-10 a.m., 11th grade

• July 24, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 10th grade

• July 25, 8-11 a.m., 9th grade

The fees are $20 for locker/technology/assignment book (grade 9-12); $30 for parking permit (valid driver's license, tag number, proof of insurance required); $75 for student ID/activity card (this will allow admittance to all home sponsored activities); $45 for yearbook (if purchased on this date name will be added at no charge). Only cash is to be accepted. Call 241-3166 for more information.

The Fight Back Express bus is to arrive at 7:45 a.m. at Oxford Lake. The bus is making its way around the country, giving concerned citizens a chance to send the message to their elected officials that they want them to take real steps toward decreasing the number of people suffering and dying from cancer. Visit www.acscan.org for more details on the bus.

The 2nd annual John Wesley Foster Memorial golf tournament is to be July 12 at Silverlakes Golf Course. A benefit dinner with guest speaker Jeremiah Castille and silent auction is to be at Silverlakes Golf Course. Visit www.rememberjohnwesley.org for more information.

Applications for Crafts By Coldwater Creek for Sept.13 are now available. Call Dollie Young at 831-2389 or Patsy Brooks at 835-0448 for more information.

Officers, enlisted men, WACs, Cadets, Britons, civilians and/or their families and friends who were station at Cochran Field, or lived in Macon, Ga., during WWII, who would be willing to contribute artifacts, photos, articles and stories pertaining to their experience with the men and women working there are being sought. Contact Mike Rowland, archivist, WR-LC/MU, 1942 Heritage Blvd., Robins AFB, GA 31098-2442.

The Donoho School-sponsored AARP driver safety program for seniors is to be 8 a.m.-noon on July 15 at The Donoho Middle School, 2501 Henry Road. The course is to cover age-related physical changes in perception and reaction time, rules of the road and local driving programs through class discussion and video instruction. The cost is $10 per person. Tuition checks are to be made to AARP and are to be collected at the first session. Call 237-5477 to pre-register.

The University of Alabama softball coaches are to hold their first ever team camp July 22-24 in Tuscaloosa. The camp is to be staffed by coach Patrick Murphy and his staff and will be limited to 16 teams. Contact Sherry Selby at (205) 348-0526 or e-mail sselby@ia.ua.edu for more information.

Author Russell Helms of Birmingham is to speak at noon July 16 at the Christian Writers of Calhoun County meeting at the Anniston-Calhoun Public Library. His main topic will be self-publication.