City-wide clean up will be the week of Dec. 9, with curbside pickup only.

The Highfill Community Christmas Potluck Dinner, sponsored by the Highfill Hay Daze Committee will be at 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 11, in the Highfill Community Building. Meat and Drinks will be furnished. Items will be collected for the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. Pajamas, underwear and socks for children, ages newborn to 17, are needed.

The Town of Highfill will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 so that city employees may celebrate Christmas with their families. The Town of Highfill will also be closed Jan. 1, 2010 in observance of New Year’s Day.

Santa hears the whispered request of a child at his visit to the Chicken Coop Flea Market last year.

“A Christmas to Remember” is the theme of this year’s Gentry Christmas parade set for 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12.

The parade, sponsored annually by the Gentry Chamber of Commerce, will begin at Curran Feed Store and travel west to the Gentry City Park.

Float entries should be lined up at 5:30 p.m. Awards of $100 in Gentry Bucks will be presented for the best theme, the best lighting and the best music. A $200 grand prize in Gentry Bucks will be presented to the best overall float — theme, lighting and music combined.

Santa will pass out treat bags and visit with children from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the day of the parade at the Gentry Chamber of Commerce building. He will not be in Carl Gym following the parade this year.

“This is a change from the way it has been done in the past,” said Chamber director Bev Saunders. “Parents and children are urged to come early in the afternoon to see Santa at the Chamber building, 212 East Main Street, because he will have to leave to be in the parade at 6 p.m. Photos at this event are encouraged if parents want to bring their own cameras. Santa will be talking with the children in front of a fireplace. Anyone who does not come in the 3 to 6 p.m. time slot will not get a chance to visit with Santa and get a treat bag,” Saunders said.

Plans are also being made for choirs and carolers to perform in front of the Chamber building from 3 to 6 p.m. on Dec. 12.

All Gentry businesses, schools and government offices are being invited to participate in this year’s Christmas lighting contest.

The Gentry Chamber of Commerce will present $100 to the best decorated business. Judging will take place Dec. 12. Business owners wishing to make sure their business is included in the contest are being asked to call the Chamber office and let the Chamber know when decorations are up so no one is missed in the judging.

Anyone desiring more information about visits with Santa, the parade or the business decorating contest may call Saunders at 736-2358.

FY 10 MEETING 7

6:00 P.M. Pre-Meeting for School Board

Professional Development- 1 Hour Credit

1. Call to Order

2. Comments from the Public

3. Comments from the Staff

4. Consideration of Board Minutes of Regular October 19, 2009 Pages

5. Consideration of Financial Reports- Period 4 of FY 10 Pages

6. Proposed Policy Revisions or Additions for Second Reading

a. JA Student Policies Goals September 21, 2009 Board Packet

b. JGEB Disciplinary Measures (excerpt) September 21, 2009 Board Packet

c. JIG Graduation Requirements (excerpts) September 21, 2009 Board Packet

d. JIB Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Programs at Gentry High School September 21,

2009 Board Packet

e. JIC Smart Core/Common Core Curriculum October 19, 2009 Board Packet

7. Proposed Policy Revisions or Additions for First Reading

a. Any from PPC

b. Any from CPPC

c. Any from School Board

d. Any from Superintendent

8. Consider Purchased Service Contracts/Tuition Agreements

9. Student Transfer Requests

10. Personnel

a. Consider Staff Transfer Requests

b. Consider Resignation, Disciplining, Demotion, Promotion, Appointment,

and Hiring of Staff

11. Miscellaneous Items Received After Board Agenda Publication.

12. Adjourn

Next Regular Meeting is December 14, 2009

[Moved up 1 week from December 21, 2009, to avoid conflict with Christmas Holidays]

More than a thousand youngsters participated last year.

The event is sponsored by the Gentry Chamber of Commerce.

The Gentry High School Marching Band led off the homecoming parade on Friday.

The first annual Pioneer Pride Party is a community event presented by the Gentry Band Boosters and is set for 4:30 until 9:30 p.m. on Halloween, Oct. 31, at the new Chicken Coop Pavilion in Gentry.

The Band Booster Club would like to invite the local and surrounding community to share in an evening of entertainment and fun for all ages. The fall-themed event will include a chili cook-off, pumpkin decorating contest, games, activities, food, beverages and music.

The chili cook-off will allow folks to show off their skills in one of three categories: Hottest, best overall and best vegetarian. The pumpkin decorating contest will have divisions for youth and adults, with the winning works of art being selected by the school band members. Pumpkins may be decorated, painted or carved. Prizes will be awarded for both contests.

Sponsors for the event are being sought. Both monetary and in-kind donations will be gratefully received. Benefits of sponsorship include signs posted and mention made at the party, as well as recognition in further advance announcements. Of particular need are square hay bales, items for door prizes and game sponsors. The Band Boosters are also interested in information requests by acoustic musicians who wish to be involved and showcase their Pioneer pride. Requests were to be made by Oct. 21.

Initial sponsors are Broadway Screen Printing, Copies, Graphics & More, Meldon Current and his children’s favorite, “The Gospel Train,” Inuendos Sign Co., and Dr. Pepper/Snapple.

The Gentry High School Band, under the leadership of band director Michelle Slayton, has had several years of success in regional contests. Many of band members have qualified for Arkansas All-star and All-region Bands. The band works hard to support sports teams and participates in community events throughout the year. The Pioneer Pride Party is not only a way to recognize the band’s efforts, but also a way for the community to show their appreciation through support.

Money raised through the event will be used for equipment, contest fees, music, band trips and scholarships. For further information about sponsorship, donations or to receive contest entry forms, please contact Shawn Hunter, fundraising chairperson, at 238-3195.

Scott Sloan shows a lawn ornament at the arts and crafts fair in Gentry. Sloan's business, My Father's Garden, is a new design business in Gentry, he said. The fair continues in the big barn at the Chicken Coop Flea Market (just west of Arkansas Highway 59, on Main Street) through Sunday.

While arts and crafts fairs are being held across the region, a new fair is being held right here in Gentry. Numerous crafters and vendors are showing and selling their work in the large barn-shaped pavilion next door to the Chicken Coop Flea Market in Gentry.

The local fair, which will continue through Sunday, was started by the Chicken Coop to give local residents more options and a place to go close to home. Store owner Melissa Graef said this is the first of many to come. Plans are already underway for a spring arts and crafts fair.

Graef recently completed the large pavilion, and it is now filled with vendors. Inside her shop, more vendors display and sell their wares – everything from crafts, antiques, coins, vintage lighting, dishware, and the list goes on.

Graef is hoping that the arts and crafts fair will draw people from the immediate area but also from the surrounding region. Many already come to Gentry just to visit her shop and see all the new old things she has for sale.

More information on the arts and crafts fair is available by calling the Chicken Coop Flea Market at 736-2255. The store also has a Web site at www.chickencoopgentry.com.

Charlene Smith, Kay Taylor and Link Taylor gathered around a stove to keep warm during the cool afternoon hours at the arts and crafts fair in Gentry today.

Gentry High School seniors prepare for homecoming next week. Queen candidates Marly Pierce, Sarah Earley and Ashley Beach are pictured with escorts Brannon Poole, Cameron Smith, Justin Wilks, Mario Orozco, Thomas Helt and Kolby Rankin.

Susan Garner, Kay Buckminster and Bobbie Wright read this week's issue of the Courier-Journal in their booth at the arts and crafts fair in Gentry on Thursday. The fair will run through Sunday. It is being held in the big barn at the Chicken Coop Flea Market.

Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue, surrounded by members of the Bloomfield 4-H Club, signed a proclamation this afternoon, declaring it 4-H week in Gentry.

Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue recognized the hard work and dedication of the Bloomfield 4-H Club this afternoon by signing a proclamation declaring the week of Oct. 12 through Oct. 16 be designated 4-H week in the city.

Members of the Bloomfield 4-H Club watched as Hogue signed the proclamation.

The Bloomfield 4-H Club has more than 62 members and more than 14 adult volunteers, according to the proclamation.

The club recently showed projects at the Benton County Fair and some members have been showing at the Arkansas State Fair.