Dateline Wharton
Upcoming events in and around our community

First Baptist Blood Drive

The First Baptist Church of Wharton blood drive has been rescheduled for today from 4:30-8 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. To schedule an appointment, visit www.giveblood. org and login to Digital Donor. Enter sponsor code 0772 or contact Herb Mc- Cown at 532-3774.

Retired teachers

The Wharton County Retired Teachers Association Fall District meeting will be held today at Christ Lutheran Church, 1401 Ave. I in El Campo. Registration is 8:30-9 a.m. Texas Retired Teachers Association State President Dora Scott Nichols will be the keynote speaker. Marilyn Sebesta and her sister from Bryan will provide singing entertainment. Dinner will be served.

Garza reception

A reception honoring Justice Dori Contreras Garza from the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christ is scheduled for 4-6 p.m. today at the Wharton Country Club.

WCJC Jazz Band

On Thursday, Oct. 2, Wharton County Junior College, Center for the Arts, will present "JAZZ! A Concert". This program will feature the WCJC Jazz Band playing many favorite jazz and blues selections, including "Tuxedo Junction," "String of Pearls" and "In the Mood" along with several other pieces. The program will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Horton Foote Theatre located in the Duson-Hansen Fine Arts Building on the Wharton Campus. Ticket prices are $4.00. Students free with ID. If you have any questions, contact the WCJC Fine Arts division at 532-6300.

River Road 4-H

The next River Road 4-H monthly meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2 at the Wharton County Extension Office. Members are reminded to not forget to bring your cans if you have them.

Broken Chains Ministry

Broken Chains Ministry, a 12-step faith based recovery class program will be offered every week starting on Thursday, Oct. 2. The class will be offered 7-9 p.m. at Caney Creek Church, 118 W. Milam. For information, call Annette Brockman, 657-4018 (office) or 533-2408 (cell.)

BHS Council bake sale

Boling High School Student Council would like to invite everyone to its cake auction at the Lion's Club Carnival on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Boling High School. The auction will be at 7:30 p.m. in front of the announcer stand. If you have any questions, contact Patti Hubenak at 657-2506.

The Bellamy Brothers

The Wharton County Youth Fair is sponsoring a performance of the Bellamy Brothers at the Wharton County Fairground Crescent Hall on Saturday, Oct. 4. Advance tickets are $20, door tickets are $25 and reserved tables are $300. Call 677-3350 for more information.

Fast pitch softball tryout

The Lady Longhorns 18-under girls' fast pitch softball team will hold tryouts at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 at Pleasure Park. For information, contact manager Martin Gutierrez at 832-329-3067 or coach Daniel Ferrell at 979-453-0850.

Wharton Class of 1978

The Wharton High Class of 1978 is having a 30-year reunion on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the Wharton County Fairgrounds. If you have not been contacted, call Donna Chudalla at 532-8527 or Jackie Douglas at 532-8908.

St. John's Church Bazaar

The St. John's Catholic Church Hungerford will hold its annual church bazaar on Sunday, Oct. 5. The meal is priced at $8 and will be served starting at 10:30 a.m. The menu includes barbecue chicken, beef, sausage and all the trimmings including the ladies' famous sauerkraut. There will be an auction starting at 12:15 p.m. and all types of entertainment including Bingo, a country story and kids rides and activities. The public is invited to attend.

Turkey shoot

The Fraternal Order of Eagles 4507 will hold a turkey shoot at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5, at Joe's Place (Macek's) on County Road 138. Stew will be sold at $5 per bowl.

Junior art classes

Junior art classes will begin on Monday, Oct. 6, at the Wharton Art League House in Dinosaur Park. Classes will be held from 4-6 p.m. on the first and third Monday of the month. For information, call 532-2380, 532- 0258 or 532-1435.

Boling Little League

The Boling Little League is holding its officer elections at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 6, at the concession stand of the Boling Little League Field. Anyone is welcome to attend. For information, contact Jared Cullar at 979- 248-8167.

Chamber business luncheon

The Wharton County Chamber of Commerce will hold its next Business Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at the Wharton Civic Center. The topic for the luncheon is the impact the new railroad will have on Wharton. Tickets are $15 each and includes a roast beef dinner catered by Hinze Bar-B-Que. Tickets are on sale at the chamber office. The chamber can be contacted at 532-1862, helpdesk@whartonchamber.com or whartonchamber.com.

BHS Council blood drive The Boling High School Student Council is hosting its first blood drive for this school year on Wednesday, Oct. 8, from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Ag Building. If you would like to sign up to give blood please contact Patti Hubenak at 657-2506. Everyone will receive a free T-shirt and there will be door prizes. Donate blood and save three lives.

WHS 20-year class reunion

Wharton High School Class of 1988 is having a 20-year class reunion on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Wharton County Fairgrounds. If you have not been contacted, call Rachel Garcia Cruz at 533-9290 or Laura Saavedra at 832-419-2206.

WHS Class of 1998

The reunion for the Wharton High School Class of 1998 will take place on Oct. 10 and 11, which is Homecoming weekend. The first event is to meet at the stadium and enjoy the football game. On Saturday, the class will be hosting a bring-your-own-picnic-and-family to Riverfront Park. There they plan to socialize and play volleyball and basketball and meet each other's spouses and children. This will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. That evening, the class has reserved the partyroom for dinner at Hinze's Bar-B-Que. Each alumni and spouse/significant other can place their own order and then meet in the room for eating and more socializing. No children is being encouraged at the Hinze's event, but it is not a restriction. It will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. and will conclude the planned festivities for the reunion. If alumni choose, they can order a shirt to wear to the game through this Website: alumniclass.com/whartonhstx/ store/index. If alumni have questions or concerns, they can contact Amanda Nunez by email at amanda.nunez@txstate.edu or Kaydi Dimmick by e-mail at krdimmic@utmb.edu.

Spiritual workshop

East Gate-New Prosperity Baptist Church is inviting the public to share in a spiritual workshop presented by the church's mission auxiliary on Saturday, Oct. 11. The theme is "Eight Ways God Speaks to Men" and covers several topics with a summarization presented by Dea. Tristan Washington of Berean Missionary Baptist Church in Houston. Registration is $10 and runs from 9-9:30 a.m. with the workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A lunch will be served. The church is located at 329 FM 102. Rev. Ruiel Taylor III pastor, Rosa Green president and Janet Sanford sponsor. This workshop was rescheduled from Sept. 20 due to Hurricane Ike.

Proptober fest

The EAA Chapter 896 is celebrating Oktoberfest aviation style with their inaugural Proptoberfest fly-in featuring German cuisine, Bavarian music, alcohol-free beer and airplane noise. It will be held Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Wharton Regional Airport. Arrival is at 10 a.m. with dining at noon.

Bethlehem Baptist Homecoming The Bethlehem Baptist Church, formerly known as Old Bethlehem Baptist, Rev. Ray Felder Pastor, will be celebrating the church's homecoming at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12. The celebration will take place in the new church located on Don Tol Rd. in New Gulf. The Rev. D. Archie will be the guest minister.

Holy Cross Parish Bazaar

Riverside Hall will be the site of the Holy Cross Parish Bazaar on Sunday, Oct. 12. Dinner will be served starting at 11 a.m. The menu includes barbecue beef, chicken and sausage with homemade dressing and all the trimmings. Hamburgers will be served starting at 3 p.m. and Czech pastries, refreshments and country store items will be available all day. There will be a grand auction starting at 12:30 p.m.; games and activities for children from noon to 5 p.m. and live music starting at noon and lasting into the night.

Old Bethlehem homecoming

Old Bethlehem Baptist Church, M.A. Miller pastor, is welcoming the community to its Homecoming Family and Friends Day at Grove Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Derrick D. Brount, pastor, in Pledger on Oct. 12. The service will start at 2:30 p.m. with the sermon by the Rev. J.J. Roberson of Mount Hebron Missionary Baptist Church in Houston. Dinner will be served.

KC raffle

Due to the cancelation of the Knights of Columbus No. 3262 of Wharton September bazaar due to Hurricane Ike, the KC will hold a dinner on Monday, Oct. 13. If you purchased a meal ticket in advance, it will be honored on this date. No additional meal tickets will be sold. There are still raffle tickets avaialble for $10 each or 3 for $25. The raffle drawing will be held at 7 p.m. Serving of the meal will be from 5-7:30 p.m. at the KC Hall. Both dine-in or drive through will be available. For more information, contact Richard Zahn at 282-2451 or Marvin Macek at 532-3664.

Wharton Book Review Club

The Wharton Book Review Club will begin its 2008-2009 season at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 13 with coffee and refreshments in the Wharton County Historical Museum, 3615 N. Richmond Rd. The program will follow at 10 a.m. Sylvia Thompson will give a program based on several books and publications about The First Families of Galveston. Season memberships are $25. For information, call Sally Soderquist at 532-4936 or Sammy Lou Franks at 532-4615. .

Booster golf tourney

The East Bernard Athletic Booster Club will hold its Annual Golf Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the New Gulf Golf Club. The tournament will use a four-man scramble format with admission $60 per player, per round including cart, green fees, food and drinks. There will be shotgun starts at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Prizes awarded for first, second and third place teams in each flight with closest to the hole and door prizes. Pre-registration is requested with entry forms available at Kresta Automotive, Savon Drugs, Vincek's Smokehouse, EB Rice Marketing and New Gulf Golf Course. For information, call Kenneth Kresta, 335-7501 or Ed Wasek, 335-4020.

Hunter Education

A Hunter's Education course will be held at the Wharton County Sheriff's Office, 315 E. Elm, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18 and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19. Call Brenda or Vanessa at 532-1550 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to schedule. The cost is $15.

Parents of WHS seniors

An organizational meeting for the parents of the 2009 graduation class of Wharton High School will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 20, at the WISD Education Support Center, 2100 N. Fulton. Parents are asked to make every effort to attend the meeting to help plan Senior Serve. For additional information, call 532-5554.

Chamber golf

The Wharton Chamber of Commerce will be holding is inaugural golf tournament on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Wharton Country Club. Hole and flag sponsors are now being signed up. Call the Chamber Office for information at 532-1862.

Church barbecue and bazaar

Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church in Damon is hosting is church barbecue and bazaar on Nov. 2. The event will be held on the church grounds at Parrott Ave. and Railroad St. A meal of barbecue beef, chicken and sausage with side dishes will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and priced at $8 per plate. Soft drinks and adult beverages will also be available. An auction begins at 1 p.m. under the pavilion and there will be live music from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the Sil Krenek Band. Other food options include homemade pastry, barbecue on a bun and funnel cakes for sale while activities include a raffle, kids zone games and more.

Lions Club

The Wharton Lions Club and Sprint are collecting old cell phones for recycling to benefit the U.S. Military and old eye glasses for those who can't afford them. They can be dropped off at Wharton Nursing and Rehabilitation Center at 418 N. Rusk in Wharton.

Dateline Wharton is a calendar of upcoming events in Wharton and surrounding communities. Normally space permits only events that will occur in the next two weeks. It is intended for special activities open to the public rather than regularly recurring meetings. To place an item in Dateline Wharton, drop the information off at the Journal-Spectator Office at 115 W. Burleson or an e-mail to bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com.