Cherokees hold elections
The Cherokee Tribe of Arkansas and Missouri will hold its annual elections for District 10 from 1 to 5 p.m.Saturday at the Joplin (Mo.) City Library, 1901 E. 20th St. There are member/voter cards to be picked up. Forms must be signed that show that cards have been picked up.
Information: grace.carolj@yahoo.com.
Cemetery raises funds
The Regional National Cemetery Improvement Corporation is holding its ninth annual Veterans Memorial 5K race beginning at 8 a.m. Nov. 4 at the Fayetteville National Cemetery, 700 S. Government Blvd. Sponsors will provide shirts and goodie bags to all runners. Awards and prizes will be presented to the top overall male and female runners and to the top three male and female runners in each age group.
Entry fee is $25 early registration or $30 the day of the race. Group rates are available.
Information: (479) 871-7478 or rncic.com.
Voters host panel
The League of Women Voters of Washington County will hold a public panel discussion from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Pat Walker Senior Center Clinic auditorium, 12 E. Appleby Road in Fayetteville. The discussion, "Lifelong Housing: Learn from the Builders," will explore dwelling features that support safe and independent aging at home.
By 2030, 21 percent of America's population will be 65 or older. The shift is expected to be permanent, as people are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. Home care will be the reality for most of our older population, as the need simply cannot be met by subsidized elder housing.
Panelists include state Sen. Uvalde Lindsey of Fayetteville; Suzanne Lantz, a design expert with the Stitt Group; Tim Janacek, president of Janacek Remodeling; and Bret Park of Park Co. Architects. All of the panelists will participate in the question and answer session. Take away literature will also be available.
Information: lwvarwc.org
Blood Center seeks donors
Current blood reserves find shortages among A negative and O negative blood types. There is less than a two day supply of both of these types of blood. All donors, especially these types, are encouraged to give blood soon at a Community Blood Center of the Ozarks blood drive or donor center.
CBCO will host blood drives at the following locations:
•Berryville: 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday, Berryville High School, 215 Ferguson St.
•Springdale: Noon-5 p.m. Monday, Northwest Medical Center, 609 W. Maple Ave.
•Fayetteville: 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, APAC Central, Inc., 755 E. Millsap Road
Information: (800) 280-5337 or cbco.org.
Red Cross needs blood
The American Red Cross encourages the community to give blood for cancer patients and others who depend on transfusions during October -- Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, and giving blood is a way to support those fighting cancer.
Upcoming blood donation opportunities include:
•Bentonville: 3-7 p.m. Oct. 31, Harps Food Store, 1209 N. Walton Blvd.
•Rogers: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Oct. 31, Benchmark Group, 1805 N. Second St.
•Jasper: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 30, Jasper High School, 600 School St.
•Western Grove: 2-6 p.m.Western Grove High School, 300 School St.
Information: (800) 733-2767 or redcrossblood.org.
Tombstones tell tales
Do you still have the heebie-jeebies from watching Pet Cemetery, Poltergeist, or The Night of the Living Dead? Horror films successfully tap into our collective subconscious fears of death, what lies beyond (or even beneath, for that matter). But really, when you visit a cemetery do you feel like a hand will appear through a menacing pall to lunge at your ankle? Jump back! You may be a coimetrophobe. Coimetrophobia is the fear of cemeteries. Symptoms include panic attacks, dizziness/vertigo, headaches, and sense of pending doom. Coimetrophobes may also fear decomposition, decay, and even getting buried alive.
On the other hand, you may be a taphophile like the upcoming speaker at Hobbs State Park. Abby Burnett, who will speak at 2 p.m. today at Hobbs State Park visitor center, visits cemeteries for fun. Instead of fearing that there is a ghoul lurking around the next head stone, or that a zombie will appear from behind the next tree dragging his leg in your direction, Burnett wonders what the people were like, or what they died from. She studies the symbolism carved on each stone, looking for clues that could lead to more information about the deceased.
In Burnett's free presentation she will display gravestones that either hint at something, or tell outright how the person died, such as being struck by lightning, or killed by a falling tree. A stone may state "Killed by _" and even give the murderer's motive, but there is always more to find out.
The presentation is free.
Information: (479) 789-5000, friendsofhobbs.com.
City hosts 'Voices'
First performances of the 2017 production of "Voices from Eureka's Silent City" living history tours take place Thursday through Saturday at the city cemetery, U.S. 62 East in Eureka Springs. Performances will repeat Oct. 27-28.
Guests will be welcomed to the event by host Robert Ripley portrayed by Terry Miller, on board the tram to the cemetery. There they will meet Joe Parkhill, as portrayed by Jon Loudermilk; Annie House, by Annunziata Scarpino; Chryesis Sanford, by Christie Braswell; Katie Morgan, by Ann Brittenum; Elna M. Smith by Joanie Kratzer; Ola Farwell by Chris Ritthaler; Robert Mullins, by Chuck Landis; and Norman Baker by Kent Turner, all in character and costume.
Guides on the tour include Stephanie Stodden, Elizabeth Loudermilk, Glenna Booth, Debbie Quigley Smith, Carolyn Green, Karen Pryor, Gayla Wolfinbarger and Alexa Pittenger. They not only provide introductions to the residents of the evening's tours, but other historical information about the cemetery and about Eureka Springs.
Tours begin at 5:30 p.m. and every 20 minutes thereafter, with the last one at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger at the Eureka Springs Historical Museum, Chamber of Commerce and all Cornerstone Bank locations, or may be purchased on site at the tour. Free parking and shuttle service is available at the former Victoria Inn, 4028 E. Van Buren. There is no parking at the cemetery.
This event is a major fundraiser for the Eureka Springs Historical Museum and is sponsored by Cornerstone Bank, Local Flavor Cafe & Aquarius Taqueria.
Information: (479) 253-9417 or email info@eurekaspringshistoricalmuseum.org.
Vaccinations offered
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Schmieding Caregiver Training Program and Walgreens are working together to provide adult vaccinations from 9 to 11 a.m. Friday at the UAMS Schmieding Center on Aging, 2422 N. Thompson St., Suite B in Springdale.
Adult vaccinations will be administered for flu and pneumonia. A TDap (tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough) booster vaccine will be offered as well. Educational information on the importance of vaccinations will be distributed to patients.
Anyone interested in receiving a vaccination at the event should bring their insurance card for billing.
Information: (479) 751-3043 or email BMSchneider@uams.edu.
Singer Baber to perform
Barrett Baber will take the stage at the Third Saturday Music in the Park from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday in Basin Spring Park in Eureka Springs.
Baber placed third in season nine NBC's The Voice. His country/soul slant on songwriting gives him a recognizable sound and an authentic home-grown identity.
As always the Third Saturday Music in the Park event is free.
Information: (479) 253-7333.
Solar Panel classes set
Local residents will have the opportunity to become certified solar panel installers after completing a three-day course offered by the University of Arkansas Fort Smith's Center for Business and Professional Development.
Classes will be held on Saturdays beginning Oct. 21 through Nov. 4. The course is intended for anyone who is considering entering the solar panel business or who already works in the business and will cover topics such as solar resources and principles, proper installation, performance characteristics, troubleshooting methods and best safety practices. A solar panel installation is also planned as part of the class.
Participants will receive hands-on training from John Martini, assistant professor of electronics technology at UAFS and an Electronics Technicians Association Certification Administrator.
The fee is $750 per person.
Information: (479) 788-7799 or email dave.robertson@uafs.edu.
Send news about local events, charity fundraisers and famiy or class reunions to ourtown@nwadg.com. Deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday for Sunday publication.
Council seeksnominations
The Arkansas Arts Council, a division of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, is seeking nominations for the 2018 "Arkansas Living Treasure" award. Deadline for nominations is Nov. 17. Nomination forms are available at arkansasarts.org.
The Arkansas Living Treasure program honors an Arkansan who is outstanding in the creation of a traditional craft and has significantly contributed to the preservation of the art form. Eligible artists work in a traditional craft, which is a practice employing manual dexterity and skill and an understanding of traditional materials, design and techniques. Materials may include glass, leather, metals, pottery, textiles or wood.
An independent panel of practicing craft artists and professionals in the fields of craft and folk art will select the recipient based on the following criteria: quality of work, community outreach and total contribution to the field of traditional crafts.
The winner will be honored at a reception in May, during Arkansas Heritage Month.
Information: (501) 324-9348 or email robin.mcclea@arkansas.gov.
Trip to Tuscanyhas openings
Individuals can still sign up for a trip to Italy -- "Ten Days in Tuscany" -- for June of 2018 through the NorthWest Arkansas Community College Foundation.
Miles Fish, a professor of music at NWACC and the founding faculty director of NWACC in Italy, will serve as escort for the trip to Tuscany. Participants will depart from Northwest Arkansas on June 8 and arrive in Tuscany on June 9. Travelers will spend 10 days and nine nights in Tuscany and depart from Italy on June 18. With this trip to Tuscany, tourists will have the opportunity to stay in a Renaissance palace, Siena's Palazzo Ravizza. The Ravizza family palace in Siena opened as a hotel in the 1920s, and the hotel is still owned and run by the Ravizza family. Day trip excursions are planned.
Cost per person double occupancy is $2,690 (which includes a $200 tax-deductible donation to the NWACC Foundation to support scholarships for NWACC study abroad students). Airfare is not included. An additional add-on is available for the trip that will take travelers to Venice. Final trip payment is due Dec. 8.
Information: milesfish.com/ten-days-in-tuscany.html.
NAN Profiles on 10/15/2017