RHS Class of 1989 is looking for classmates for a reunion to be held Oct 23-24. If you are a classmate or know of contact information for a classmate, e-mail Dede Richard-Boyd at dederichardboyd@gmail.com or call 243-9439.
Interstate 20 westbound on-ramp at La. 33 in Ruston will be temporarily closed beginning July 6 at 7 a.m. through July 10, weather permitting, to conduct construction activities associated with the I-20 Frontage Road Project. The City of Ruston regrets any inconvenience this necessary work may cause motorists and appreciates your patience.

The March of Dimes is seeking applications for the 2010 Ambassador Child for Lincoln Parish. The Ambassador Child needs to have overcome a premature birth or birth defect and be 3-6 years old. The family must be willing to promote the mission of March of Dimes by working closely with the community director, taking the child to scheduled appearances and participating in media events.

Anyone interested in obtaining an application should contact Sharon Davis at 387-3650 or write to the March of Dimes at 2211 North 7th St., West Monroe, LA 71291.

The March of Dimes is a volunteer health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

There will be a reception from 5-6 p.m. June 30 at Life Choices to honor Jennifer Ham for her 11 years of service. Life Choices is located at 211 W. Texas Ave.
The LSU AgCenter is offering a three-day babysitting workshop to train youth to be responsible and caring babysitters. The workshop will be July 15-17 from 9 a.m.-noon each day at Trinity United Methodist Church, located at 1000 W. Woodward Ave.
Cost for the three-day workshop is $15; please bring exact change. Call the Lincoln Parish LSU AgCenter office at 251-5134 to sign up.

The Ruston Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will host a support group meeting from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday (July 21) in the meeting room of the Community Trust Financial Center, located at 1511 N. Trenton St. Colleen Stewart, registered nurse, will facilitate the meeting. All persons whose lives are affected by mental illnesses are invited. For more information, call 247-3982.
Humanitarian Enterprises of Lincoln Parish continues to accept appointments every Friday for low-income home energy assistance. To schedule an appointment, call 251-5136 or visit the HELP Agency at 307 N. Homer St. Office hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Applications will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. Applicants must present a utility bill form within the last 12 months, including the month of application, and proof of total monthly household income.
Beginning on July 6 and continuing through July 31, night work construction to replace pavement markers will be ongoing along both the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-20 from the Bienville Parish line to the Ouachita Parish line.
Extreme caution should be taken while traveling in this section of I-20.

Louisiana DOTD regrets any inconvenience this necessary work may cause motorists.

Ruston Pediatric Associates, Ob/Gyn Associates of Ruston, Ruston Women’s Specialty Center and the Healthy Woman Program of Northern Louisiana Medical Center will host a community baby shower to celebrate all expecting (or soon-to-be-expecting) moms. The event will be from 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday (July 11) in the Lincoln Parish Library meeting room. Come get free gift bags full of diapers, wipes, pacifiers, baby magazines, Enfamil formula samples and various gift certificates. Play baby bingo to take your chance at winning valuable prizes such as various new baby clothing, a diaper genie and a baby swing. Refreshments will be served. Registration is limited to 50 women, so RSVP by calling 254-2426. Adults only please.

Auditions for the fourth annual KARD Fox 14 Ark-La-Miss Idol will be from 1-5 p.m. July 10 and July 11 inside Pecanland Mall in Monroe. All area singers between ages 16 and 28 years old are invited to go online to www.myarklamiss.com for official rules and applications. The first 100 entrants will be chosen to participate and will have an opportunity to sing on stage in front of a panel of judges. The winner of the competition is guaranteed an audition in front of American Idol producers. This contest is a free event, and everyone is invited to attend.
Parents of kindergarten students in the Choudrant, Hico and Simsboro school districts should register at their respective schools before June 30 in order to prevent delays in placement. Parents will be notified of placement beginning in mid July through August. Kindergarten students must be five on or before Sept. 30, 2009. Pre-K registration is ongoing until July 1 at the Lincoln Parish School Board Office. Preschool students must be 4 on or before Sept. 30, 2009. Parents of Pre-K and kindergarten students must bring an original birth certificate with a state seal, their child’s Social Security card, an up-to-date immunization record and two items to verify residence (such as a utility bill, cable bill or telephone bill). Contact Sharon Marshall, registration secretary, at 255-1430 for more information.
The Summer Food Service Program has announced sites for this year’s summer feeding program:
• New Living Word Ministries Child Care Center, 1900 W. Barnett Springs Road, will serve lunch from 1-2 p.m. Monday-Friday.

• Dande Lyons, 171 Kimble Lane, will serve lunch from noon-1 p.m. Monday-Friday.

• The Boys and Girls Club of North Central Louisiana, 300 Memorial Drive, will serve breakfast from 8-9 a.m. and lunch from 12:30-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

• Dubach Community Building, 106 Smith St., Dubach, will serve lunch from noon-1 p.m. Monday-Friday.

• String-A-Long Child Care Center, 508 S. Monroe St., will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Meals will be provided to all children free of charge. The program will run June 8-July 31 at all locations.

Peach parade applications available
Applications for this year’s 2009 Squire Creek Louisiana Peach Parade are now available.

Applications can be picked up from the Ruston Lincoln Visitors Center, located at 2111 N. Trenton St. Forms also can be downloaded from the Peach Festival Web site at www.louisianapeachfestival.org or the Ruston Jaycees Web site at www.rustonjaycees.com.

The cost is $25 per entry. Registration deadline is by 5 p.m. June 25.

The parade will roll through the streets of Ruston at 9 a.m. June 27. Participants are encouraged to decorate their floats using the Peach Festival theme, “The Belle of the Season.” Awards will be given for first, second and third place during the parade.

The parade is sponsored by Peachtree Dental and produced by the Ruston Jaycees.

For more information, call Timothy Bush at 255-2031.

Drop off hazardous materials
The city of Ruston has scheduled Household Hazardous Materials Collection Days on the second Saturday of each month. Between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., residents can stop by the public works complex at 701 E. Tennessee Ave. to drop off the following materials for disposal and recycling: Fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, tires, appliances and furniture. For more information, call 251-8641 between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The 2009 limited edition Squire Creek Louisiana Peach Festival posters are now on sale. This year’s poster, done by Louisiana Tech University communications design student Rushing Haise of Alexandria, features a young woman, clad in a hoopskirt walking in a peach orchard.
Signed numbered posters are $25; unsigned, $10, and are available at the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, 2111 North Trenton St., and at The Peach Store at Mitcham Peach Orchard, 1007 Woods Road, in Ruston. Posters can also be ordered on line from the festival Web site, www.louisianapeachfestival.org.

The peach festival is June 26-28 in downtown Ruston. For more information call the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce at 255-2031 or visit the festival Web site.

The 2009 Squire Creek Louisiana Peach Festival T-shirts are now on sale.
This year’s T-shirt is khaki and features the festival’s “Belle of the Season” theme logo done by Newcomer, Morris & Young advertising firm in Monroe.

T-shirts are on sale in Ruston at BancorpSouth, Bank of Ruston, Corner Drug, CTB Depot Branch, CTB Financial Center, Townsend House, Lewis Cosmetics, Squire Creek, Stage, The Fashion, Super 1 Foods, Waltz Pharmacy, Mitcham’s Peach Store, First National Bank (downtown and North Trenton), The Children’s Shoppe, IberiaBank (both locations), The Cleaners of Ruston (both locations), The Prescription Shoppe, and the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce.

Children’s sizes from 2T through adult XL are $12. Double- and triple X are $15.

Shirts can also be mail-ordered via telephone at 255-2031, or by visiting www.louisianapeachfestival.org.

The North Central Louisiana Arts Council will present six week-long summer arts camps. Children who have completed grades one-six are eligible to enroll. Each camp will run from Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-noon. The cost of attendance is $50, which includes materials and daily snacks.
Every day, campers will receive instruction from professional artists in 2-D art (drawing, painting), 3-D art (sculpture, crafts) and drama. Each camp will conclude with an informal performance and art show, open to the public, at noon Friday.

Camp dates are listed below:

Homer: June 8-12 (Homer City Hall, 400 E. Main St.)

Arcadia: July 6-10 (First UMC, 2122 Myrtle St.)

Farmerville: July 13-17 (Assembly of God Church, 920 S. Main St.)

Ruston 2: July 20-24 (Trinity UMC, 1000 W. Woodward Ave.)

Jonesboro: July 27-31 (Jonesboro UMC, 402 Fourth St.)

Campers may register by calling 255-1450, picking up a form from the Dixie Center for the Arts (212 N. Vienna St.) or visiting www.nclarts.org.

Men’s softball tournament
The Veteran’s Men’s Softball Tournament will be held June 27 at the J.C. Complex in Ruston. The double-elimination tournament will be limited to the first 14 paid entries. Entry fees will be $200 per team. The tournament will benefit the Veteran’s Home being built in Shreveport. For more information, call Leah at 251-1168. Ext. 185 on Monday-Friday or call 265-0123.

The Pine Country Foundation will have a one-day grant writing workshop Aug. 7 at the Winn Parish Sheriff’s Office Firing Range. The workshop is designed to provide comprehensive introduction to grant writing for people desiring to acquire additional funding for an organization. Registration is $75 and includes light snacks throughout the day and lunch. For more information, visit www.trailblazer.com or call 255-3554.
The Louisiana Military Museum friends group is seeking concerned citizens in the area to become part of the effort to promote this community attraction. An effort is under way to secure support and funding for a facility large enough to display the thousands of artifacts currently on display and in storage. Land has been donated for the facility, and people are needed to help generate state support to fund a new facility. To get involved, call museum Director Ernie Stevens at 251-5099 or Mack Colvin, chairman of the friends group, at 255-7873.
Students need new vaccines
Beginning in school year 2009-2010, Lincoln Parish students must have these vaccines to enter or attend school:

• Pre-K and Kindergarten — Varicella, dose No. 2

• Grade 6 (must be 11 years old) — Tdap, Meningococcal and Varicella, dose No. 2

If there's a history of chickenpox disease, no vaccine is needed. For more information call the Lincoln Parish Health Unit at 251-4120.

Do you know of a local person or a business taking steps to be more environmentally conscious? As the world works to “go green,” the Ruston Daily Leader wants to spotlight local recycling and conservation efforts. Send your ideas to Editor Emily Nelson by e-mailing emily@rustonleader.com.
Information about quitting smoking is available through the Louisiana Tobacco Hotline at 800-QUIT-NOW and online at www.quitwithusla.org.
Senior citizen volunteers needed
The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is seeking people age 55 and older to volunteer their time in the Ruston community. For more information or to sign up, call 255-2215.

Group offers grandparents support
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren weekly support group is held at noon Wednesdays at the Methodist Children’s Home Family Counseling Center. For more information, call 255-5753.



Thursday, July 02, 2009