News briefs 4/28/07

Indoor, outdoor health fair today in Jackson

HealthPoint Fitness in Jackson will hold an indoor, outdoor health fair from 9 a.m. to noon today for children 2 to 12 years old. The police and fire departments will be there. Summer camp, nutritional and dental health information will be available. Children can climb a wall, make a first-aid kit or join the coloring contest for prizes. Call 243-2211 for more information.

Radio show to focus on George Wallace

The "Going Public" radio show Sunday will focus on the legacy of George Wallace. It also will feature interviews with an ethnic Hmong speaker and Paul Thompson, the guest director of the Southeast Missouri Symphony. Dr. Lloyd Rohler, a professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, will discuss the legacy of Wallace and his effect on American politics and race relations in the South. Rohler presented the annual Joseph H. Low Lecture at Southeast Missouri State University. Mai Neng Moua, who spoke at Southeast as part of the school's multicultural speaker series, will be interviewed. She and her family, like many ethnic Hmong, fled Laos in the 1970s to escape persecution at the hands of the Laotian communist regime. She and her family lived in a refugee camp in Thailand before coming to the United States and settling in St. Paul, Minn. She is now a writer and editor of Paj Ntaub Voice, a Hmong-American literary arts magazine. Thompson will discuss the Southeast Missouri Symphony's final concert of the 2006-2007 season, featuring works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Frederic Handel. "Going Public" will be broadcast at 3 p.m. on Public Radio affiliate stations KRCU, 90.9 FM, and KSEF, 88.9 FM.

Downtown Kids selling sweet treats Sunday

The Downtown Kids Association, a youth affiliate of Old Town Cape, will have a bake sale fund-raiser from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Mollie's Cafe. The Downtown Kids Association was formed to involve young citizens in downtown revitalization and to create a stronger awareness about downtown issues and opportunities for fun and entertainment in the downtown area. There also will be a beverage service and live music on the patio, provided by the Central High School fiddle team. Proceeds from the bake sale will benefit an upcoming children's downtown beautification project. The bake sale will provide funds to the DKA to partner with younger children on specific beautification projects in the downtown area.

-- From staff reports