The Tampa Christmas Festival will begin at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 5, at the Tampa Senior Center.
Activities will include singing and games. The Lions Club will hand out candy to children.
The Tampa Altar Society will host a silent auction. Proceeds will go to the Jim Thompson family of Ramona. Refreshments will be served, and guests are asked to bring a holiday snack to share.
Hospice & friends
to light Tree of Life
Central Homecare & Hospice and Friends of Hospice will hold a Tree of Life lighting ceremony at 7 p.m., Monday, Nov. 29, at Central Park in Marion.
Special music will be provided by local choral groups. Following the ceremony, refreshments will be served at a nearby host church.
The tree-lighting ceremony is in honor of the living and in memory of deceased loved ones. It will remain lighted throughout the holiday season. The project also raises funds for Central Homecare & Hospice, a non-profit organization.
Fliers are available to send a $20 donation and have a loved one's name listed in the name book located by the tree. Additional names can be added for $10 each. With a $50 donation, the donor will also receive a limited-edition porcelain angel ornament.
For more information call 800-301-9499.
Tree-lighting set for Nov. 28 in Marion
The annual lighting of the Marion community Christmas tree will take place at 6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 28, at Marion Central Park.
The scheduled activities include the following:
n Marion High School brass ensemble will play Christmas music.
n At the nativity scene, pastor Bill Sharfy will tell the Christmas story. Children of the community are invited to take part by singing at the manger.
n Participants are invited to circle the Christmas tree to light individual candles, sing carols and watch the tree come alive with lights.
n Following the festivities, the 20th Century Club will serve hot cocoa at the gazebo while the brass ensemble plays Christmas music.
The public is invited.
HES kindergartens
celebrate Christmas
The Hillsboro Elementary School morning and afternoon kindergarten classes will present a Christmas program at 7:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 6, in the high school auditorium.
The public is invited.
Open house set for Peabody alpaca farm
Prairie Oak Alpaca Farm's open house will be held from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 26, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 27.
Visitors will be able to see alpacas and learn about the animals, Christmas shop in the Farm Store and enjoy browsing through items displayed by other vendors and local crafters.
The alpaca farm is located at 857 N. Old Mill Road in Peabody. From U.S. Highway 50, drive 1 1/2 miles north of Peabody on Old Mill Road. Look for a large yellow farm shed on the west side of the road.
Child supervision free for local families
Free child supervision will be offered for children in the sixth grade and younger from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday, Dec. 3 at the Hillsboro High School gymnasium.
The youth of Hillsboro's Trinity Mennonite Church and First Mennonite Church are offering the service for local parents to have a night out. Donations are not expected.
A meal and an evening snack will be included.
Limited space is available. For more information or to make a reservation, call 947-5662.
Local food bank
sets holiday hours
Main Street Ministries Food Bank will be closed Saturday, Nov. 27, during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
It will open regular hours, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 4.
For more information, call 947-3650.
MCSEC board
to meet Nov. 29
The Marion County Special Education Cooperative Board of Directors will meet for a special meeting at 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 29, in the MCSEC conference room at 302 W. Eighth in Florence.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the executive-director search process.
CES students present Christmas program
Centre Elementary School will present its annual Christmas program at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2, at Centre High School.
The program will include vocal-music students from kindergarten through sixth grade and band students in fifth and sixth grades.
The theme is "The Magic of Christmas." Traditional and contemporary music will be presented, and all students will sing the finale "Do you Hear What I Hear?"
The public is invited.
Goessel 4-H club
installs officers
The Goessel Goal Getters 4-H Club met Oct. 4 for installation of officers.
The executive positions are Anthony Esau, president; Evan Esau, vice president; Olivia Regier, secretary; Grady Stultz, treasurer; Kaitlin Dailey, club reporter; and Cari Tippin and Derek Kruger, council representatives.
New members welcomed at the Nov. 7 meeting were Hannah Bartel, Seth Bartel, Carolyn Horn, Dane Kruger and Keenan Stultz. At the November meeting, members learned to say "hello" in different languages, and Cari and Amy Tippin spoke to the group.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, Nov. 30. Members are planning to make care packages for Clovia House at that time.
Leadership program
invites nominations
The Marion County Economic Development Council and Leadership Marion County Board of Trustees invite Marion County residents to apply for the 2005 Leadership Marion County class.
Anyone may apply or nominate a resident from the county. The class begins in January and includes one full day each second Thursday of the month through August.
Each of the eight class sessions is held in various areas of the county and includes leadership-skills development. One session includes a trip to Topeka to tour the state capital and meet elected officials. Class participants will learn how to lead a group to perform effectively through vision, consensus, teamwork and collaboration.
A new addition to the program is a class project. Members will choose, develop and implement their project together as part of the program lab. Time will be allotted in class sessions, but additional time outside class may be needed.
The tuition fee for each participant is $150, which covers a partial cost of the program. The fee includes meals, graduation dinner, materials and program costs. The fee may be paid by the participant, an employer or a sponsoring organization.
The board of trustees selects the class participants and develops the class curriculum and agendas. Trustees are Joanna Brazil, chair of Peabody; Jim Elliott, vice chair of Hillsboro; Elise Brunhoeber, secretary of Burns; Steve Garrett of Hillsboro; Racquel Thiesen of Goessel; Sarah Cope of Florence; Carolyn Koehn of Burns; Tina Groening of Marion and Darryl Thiesen of Goessel.
Graduates of the Class of 2004 are Chris Bielefeld and Ken Parry, both of Peabody; Elise Brunhoeber; Matthew Dalke of Hillsboro; Mark Moore of Florence; Jo Ottensmeier of Marion; Darryl Thiesen; and Tina Groening.
Nomination forms are due by Dec. 8. For more information, contact any member of the board.
Hillsboro city offices
observe holiday
Hillsboro City offices will be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 25 and Nov. 26, for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Thursday's trash will be picked up on Wednesday, Nov. 24, and Friday's trash will be picked up on Monday, Nov. 29.
