Around Town (05/20/16)
Swearing in
Fire Chief Shawn Henry will swear in five new firefighters at 1:30 p.m. Friday at City Hall, 678 W. 18th St. The Fire Department has now filled all vacancies and the staffing is at 60 personnel. The ceremony for Jack Jones, Samuel Rametta, Thomas Beard, Paul Skifter and Aaron Vasquez is open to the public. For more, call the department at 209-385-6982.
Mural walk
Mariposa Art Company will host a downtown mural walk followed by a free watercolor class 2-4 p.m. Saturday. Email mariposaartcompany@gmail.com or visit www.mariposaartcompany.com to register. Seating is limited. This workshop is for adults and youths age 12 and older. For more, call 209-354-6067.
Masons meal
Yosemite Gateway Chapter of the Order of Eastern Star plans a fundraiser rigatoni dinner 5:30-7 p.m. May 27 at the Merced Masonic Center, 1810 M St. All proceeds will be going to Relay for Life, which helps with the fight against cancer. The dinner is $10. For more information, contact Mary Roberts at 209-358-7229 or maroberts01@comcast.net.
Baseball drive
A missionary group traveling to Somoto, Nicaragua, in June is collecting new or used baseball equipment, such as gloves, bats, balls and cleats. Equipment donations may be dropped off at Ekizian Family Chiropractic Office, 790 Loughborough Drive in Merced by June 1. For more, call 209-261-8459.
Summer session
Registration is ongoing for summer session classes at Merced College, which begins on June 6. At both the Merced and Los Banos campuses, counseling and other student services offices are open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday. On June 7-8, offices extend hours to 7 p.m. Summer registration fees are $46 per unit. The health fee is $14 and parking is $10 for the entire session. To begin the registration process, call the main campus at 209-384-6000 or the Los Banos campus at 209-826-3495.
Kids volleyball camp
A volleyball camp for children is set for 9-11 a.m. June 27-30 at El Capitan High School, 100 Farmland Ave. It’s open to kindergarten to eighth-grade students, and costs $40. Register at the door or contact Kim Carrillo at 209-777-0893.
Relay for Life
Atwater’s Relay For Life is looking for volunteers. Those interested in helping to plan the event for the American Cancer Society can contact Ted Torres at relayforlifeted@gmail.com. No experience necessary – just enthusiasm, commitment and desire to make a great event on Sept. 17-18.
Free venue
The Pacheco Village and Pacheco Court Apartments offer free venue rentals. There is meeting space for up to 60 people and community rooms with kitchens available for local organizations, churches and nonprofit agencies to use for meetings and activities. For more, call 209-826-8300 or visit the leasing office at 2241 Gilbert Gonzalez Jr. Drive in Los Banos.
Military appreciation
Postal Connections, 1120 Commerce Ave. in Atwater, is recognizing May as Military Appreciation Month by accepting donations of care-package items to be sent to men and women stationed at the U.S. Marine Corps Combined Arms Training Center in Shizuoka, Japan. Suggested items include packaged healthy snacks, drink mix packets, microwavable food, nonperishable food and toiletries. For more, call 209-356-0557.
If you would like to have an event announced in Around Town, send information to aroundtown@mercedsunstar.com at least 10 days before the event. Items run according to space available.
This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Around Town (05/20/16)."