Local Digest

Lions Club to host annual Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser

The El Dorado Lions Club will host their annual Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser at the El Dorado Lanes, 400 S. Bradley and Hillsboro, at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Registration will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The event, which started 22 years ago under El Dorado SIGHT, was turned over the Lions Club, which also assists those with vision issues. To better understand the issues facing those who are visually impaired, bowlers will be blindfolded, with lane assistants to place bowlers in position and teams of up to six completing an entire game during the event. Prizes will be awarded to the highest scoring team, the most spirited team, the highest scoring individual and the individual with the lowest score.

Proceeds from the event will be used to continue the mission of supporting visually impaired individuals in the community. To participate or donate, email the El Dorado Lions Club at Eldorado.lionsclub@yahoo.com or call Emily McElroy at 870814-8548, Jeannie Atkinson at 870-310-8655 or Carey Tucker at 318-658-3114. Community members in need of assistance may also use the contacts listed.

The Lions Club meets the first and third Tuesday evening of each month at 6 p.m. in the Simmons Bank Community Room.

Registration open for SouthArk Outdoor Expo cooking contest, 5K

Registration is open for two events tied to SouthArk’s annual Outdoor Expo, set for Sept.

8.

More than $5,000 in prizes, including a $2,000 top prize, are available in the Withrow Family Rib Cookoff, part of the SouthArk Outdoor Expo on Sept. 8 at the El Dorado Conference Center.

The entry deadline is Sept.

1. The fee for entering a team is $100. Additional contests require additional fees. Setup time is 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept.

7.

The ribs cooked by the teams are available for purchase for $20 a rack and may be picked up at the conclusion of the contest.

Registration also is open for the Nexans Amercable Maj. Ronald Wayne Culver Hero 5K Run-Walk.

The cost to register is $25 through 5 p.m. Wednesday, and $30 after, through race day. Participants who register by Aug. 31 will receive a free race T-shirt. Race packets may be picked up from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 7 in the west concourse of the El Dorado Conference Center, or between 6:15 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. Sept. 8 at the check-in tent at the corner of Locust and Washington Streets. The race will start at 7:30 a.m.

The route runs from the corner of Cedar and Washington to Jackson, then to Griffin, where it turns around and follows the same path again and finishes where it started. The race is named in honor of Culver, who was killed while on a deployment to Iraq in 2010. He was an employee at Nexans Amercable, which sponsors the race.

Winners will be recognized in 12 different age divisions and both genders. The top overall male and female finishers will receive $100 prizes. Door prizes also will be awarded.

More information on both events, including entry forms and registration information, is available at southarkexpo.com.

Enrollment in Union County 4-H to start Sept. 1

Union County 4-H, a youth development program conducted by the University of Arkansas Systems, Division of Agriculture Research and Cooperative Extension Service, will start enrollment Sept. 1.

The 4-H mission is to provide opportunities for youth to acquire knowledge, develop life skills, form attitudes and practice behaviors that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society.

Union County has five different 4-H clubs that meet throughout the county.

For more information, call the Union County Cooperative Extension Service at 870-8641916. To enroll, visit https:// arkansas.4honline.com.