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Monday, Feb. 09, 2009

Around Town: Backyard bird count

Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to join tens of thousands of bird watchers for the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count from Friday through Monday. Volunteers are asked to take part by counting birds for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at birdcount.org.

MERCED

Youth save lives

Jaime Suarez, manager of BloodSource Merced County, announced that in 2008 more than 3,200 high school and college students registered to donate blood. From that number, 2,600 donations were collected from these student donors.

Suarez told the people assembled at the Multicultural Arts Center for the annual Appreciation Luncheon, "These young blood donors give us the opportunity to help more patients in need."

Overall in 2008 BloodSource collected 5,882 donations from blood drives.

LA GRANGE

Special breakfast

The La Grange Rebekah Lodge No. 323 is hosting their monthly breakfast on Sunday at the IOOF Hall on Main Street, from 7 a.m. to noon, and the menu includes a ham and cheese omelet, biscuits and gravy, and pancakes. The cost is $6 and includes orange juice and coffee, hot chocolate or tea. For more information, call (209) 521-5297 or e-mail rducot101@yahoo.com.

LIVINGSTON

Fish fry

The St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church Knights of Columbus No. 9363 and Altar Society will sponsor their 17th annual fish fry in the large parish hall at the church, 330 Franci St. on Feb. 20 from 5 to 8 p.m.

The menu consists of clam chowder, fish, cole slaw, parsley potatoes, rolls, coffee and lemonade. The meal will be prepared by church member Fernando Palomino of Fernando's Bistro in Merced.

Donations for the meal are $9 and tickets will be available at the door. There will be takeout service available.

For more information, call (209) 394-7174.

MERCED

Remembrance dinner

The annual Day of Remembrance dinner sponsored by the Japanese American Citizens League will be held on Feb. 21 at the Junior Exhibit Building at the Merced County Fairgrounds.

This year's event will kick off the Merced Assembly Center Project. In 1942, 4,669 people of Japanese ancestry, mostly from the Livingston and Ballico areas, were interned at the Merced Assembly Center at the fairgrounds. The proceeds of this dinner will help finance a monument to this tragic event. The monument will consist of several stacked suitcases with ID numbers extending from the handles. A small child will sit on top of the suitcases, looking confused and forlorn.

Congressman Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, will be the key speaker. There will also be a narrated seven-minute segment of photographs depicting some of the facets of the camp life.

Tickets are $40 per person, and the seating capacity is 250 people. For more information, call (209) 383-6577 or (209) 384-6357.

If you would like to have your event announced in the Around Town column, send your information to Connie Hodges at least one week prior to the event, at chodges@mercedsunstar.com. Items run according to space available.