AMERICUS — Americus

Today

Pre-K Enrollment: The Georgia Southwestern State University Child Development Center is enrolling students now in its lottery-funded Pre-Kindergarten program. A child must be four years old by Sept. 1, 2012 and a resident of Georgia for eligibility in the program. Availability is limited, and slots are filled on a first-come-first-serve basis. For information, call 931-2742.



Head Start Registration: Sumter County Head Start/Early Head Start are accepting applications for the 2012-13 school year. Must have birth certificate, proof of income and Medicard card (if applicable) to register. There is also a prenatal program for mothers in their first trimester. For more information call 924-7666.



Essay Contest: The Alexander H. Stephens Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), in Americus sponsors it's annual essay contest during Confederate History and Heritage Month in April. The contest is open to all area high school seniors (Sumter, Schley, Terrell, Marion, Stewart, Webster and Lee xounties) and includes home school students and students in the private, public and Christian schools. The subject of this year’s essay is: "The Character and Leadership of Robert E Lee.” First-place winner receives a $1,000 college scholarship, and second-place winner receives a $500 college scholarship. Winners will be recognized at their school's honor day program and will read their essay at the Annual Confederate Memorial Day Service on April 28 at Oak Grove Cemetery. Deadline for submitting the essay is March 31. For further information about the essay contest,ask your local high school guidance counselor or go to www.ahstephenscamp78.org



Window Gallery Art Walk: Area artists who would like to exhibit their work in a Downtown Americus storefront from April 1-30 may pick up a copy of the guidelines and application form from Angie Singletary, 101 W. Lamar St. Call 924-4411 or e-mail angie.sigletary@cityofamericus.net



Hydrant Testing: The Americus Fire & Emergency Services begins its annual hydrant testing on April 2 and should be finished by the end of the month. These tests are required to maintain Americus' ISO rating, which affects property insurance rates. They also ensure that the hydrant system is kept in top working order, to keep our citizens safe and protect property. If you have discolored water, run your faucets for 10 –15 minutes. If, after doing this, your water is still cloudy, please call 924-3213.



PDA Meeting: The Americus-Sumter County Payroll Development Authority meets at 4 p.m. April 3 at the Rees Park Economic Development Center, 409 Elm Ave. in the conference room on the second floor. The meeting is open to the public.



Garden Club: Hat'n' Hoe Garden Club meets at 11:30 a.m. April 3 at Forsyth Bar & Grill. Joyce Munn and Ann Bliss are hostesses.



Board Meeting: The Americus Junior Service League Board of Directors meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the home of Sen. George Hooks on Taylor Street.



Library Board: The Sumter County Library Board of Trustees holds its quarterly meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lake Blackshear Regional Library, 307 E. Lamar St. The meeting is open to the public.



Service League: The Americus Junior Service League general meeting is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the SGTC Pope Center. Please note the change in venue.



Free Computer Classes: Lake Blackshear Regional Library offers Internet for Beginners at 11 a.m. April 7, Personal Computer Maintenance & Security at 11 a.m. April 14, Microsoft Word for Beginners at11 a.m. April 21 and Personal Computer Basics at 11 a.m. April 28. Cass lasts an hour. Free and open to the public on a first come, first served basis. Stop by the library at 307 E. Lamar St. in Americus, call 924-8091 or visit lbrls.org for more information.



 Golf Tourney: The 15th annual Knights of Columbus Charity Golf Tournament starts at 8:30 a.m. April 14 at Brickyard Plantation Golf Club. Cost is $50 per player and this includes greens fees, cart, lunch and drinks. The format is a four-player scramble. Call Ron Akerman at 928-3374 or Brickyard Plantation at 874-1234 to register.



Caregiver Support: The Caregiver Support group meets from 5:30-6:30 p.m. April 19 at ADH Center of Americus, 721-A Felder St. Topic is home safety with guest speakers from Americus Fire and Emergency Services. Call 928-3673 for more information.



4-H Fundraiser: Belk has generously donated 50 tickets to Sumter County 4-H to sell as a fundraiser that will help send youth to summer camps filled with fun and experiential learning. Community members can purchase a $5 admission ticket to Belk’s exclusive semi-annual Charity Sale from 6-10 a.m. Saturday, April 21, where rarely discounted brands will be marked 20-70 percent off in addition to receiving $5 off on their first purchase. The first 100 customers on Saturday also receive a free gift card ranging from $5-$1,000. Admission tickets can be purchased and picked up at the Sumter County Cooperative Extension Office, 127 William Bowen Pointe.