Community digest 5/24/07

Nature Center offers trapping program

Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center will hold "Trapping in Missouri," a program for 12- to 17-year-olds, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today at the Nature Center. Learn what trapping is all about from trapper Rob Sulkowski. Topics include the history of trapping in Missouri, types of traps available and which animals can be trapped with each type. Demonstrations include how to set traps and what to do with the animals after trapping. A discussion of his motivations is part of the talk. Call 290-5218 to register.

Safe House fund-raiser to be held this weekend

The annual fund-raiser for the Women's Safe House and the Network Against Sexual Violence will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Friday and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the New McKendree South Campus Parking Lot on Highway 25. The church will also have items for sale from more than 30 families and church groups during the 100-Mile Yard Sale that begins in Jackson and continues 100 miles south along Highway 25 to Kennett. The 100-Mile Yard Sale continues through Monday.

Dutchtown to raise funds this weekend

Sandbaggers will be collecting donations from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Dutchtown intersection of Highway 25 and 74 to benefit the Dutchtown levee. Fish and chips will be available for purchase from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Strawberry festival to be held at Teen Challenge

The 17th annual Teen Challenge International of Mid-America Strawberry Festival will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Teen Challenge Center, about five miles north of Cape Girardeau on County Road 621. Wagon ride tours of the facility and strawberry fields, puppet shows and train rides, mini-concerts by The New Creations Choir, music by the Christian blue grass band Hand Picked, drawings for free strawberries and a free serving of strawberry shortcake will be available. Barbecue lunches will be available. The purpose of the event is to allow interested individuals to witness Teen Challenge, a rehabilitation program, in action and see the result of their donations to the organization. For more information, call 335-6508.

Red House to have storytelling on Saturdays

Storyteller Dean Allison, a performer at area nursing homes and the Missouri Veterans Home, will kick off his ongoing program at 2 p.m. Saturday on the Red House porch with "Appalachian Tales." Other scheduled dates and topics are: July 28, African American Tales; Aug. 25, folk tales about women; Sept. 22, folk tales of American Indians; October 27, folk tales about the West. The public is invited to bring family and friends to hear his folk tales at 2 p.m. each date. Allison, who grew up in the days of radio, weaves stories of his own personal life growing up with a "preacher" father and a mother who did not let him get away with spitting tobacco or smoking behind the barn. Allison is a former elementary school teacher and former director of the University School at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.

Cemetery association to hold annual meeting

The Plainview Community Cemetery Association will hold its annual meeting at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, at the church fellowship building. Anyone having loved ones buried in the cemetery is urged to attend. If you are unable to attend but would like to help with the upkeep, mail checks to Joy Baker, treasurer at 1235 Crow St., Jackson, Mo., 63755.

-- From staff reports