On the Street

HERO SEARCH

The Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross is seeking nominations of individuals to honor at the third annual Everyday Heroes Breakfast, which will be held March 20, 2003. Awards will focus on "single event" heroism in 12 categories: education, family, firefighter, adult good Samaritan, youth good Samaritan, industrial, community justice/Woodruff Hero, law enforcement/Woodruff Hero, adult lifesaver hero, youth lifesaver hero, medical hero and military hero. Heroic acts committed Jan.1-Dec. 31, 2002, will be considered. Nominations can be made online at www.redcross-ozarks.org.

FIRE SAFETY

The Springfield Fire Department is reminding the community about the ordinance that prohibits apartment dwellers from operating open-flame cooking devices on a combustible balcony or within 10 feet of combustible construction. The reminder comes after a recent apartment building fire that started when a resident was heating grease on a propane cooker outside his apartment. The resident received a citation in the incident.

LITERACY

The Ozarks Literacy Council has received $5,300 for its "Two-Way Street" tutorial program from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The "Two-Way Street" program is designed to help both literacy students and tutors by selecting high-school aged tutors who themselves are in need of additional reading support, and matching them with younger learners. By doing this, the program allows the tutors to practice their own reading skills at levels geared toward the younger students which might be more comfortable for the students than their grade-appropriate reading levels.

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is a philanthropic arm of Dollar General Corporation.

SLICE OF NICE

The Springfield YMCA's 15th Annual Benefit Auction will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 2 at Highland Springs Country Club to benefit the YMCA's Camp Wakonda scholarship fund. The fund allows children who otherwise couldn't afford the camp to attend. The cost to attend the auction is $50, which includes dinner. A list of large auction items, as well as RSVP cards, are available online at. www.ymcaspringfield.org.

TWICE OF NICE

Cravin' Pizza and the Council of Churches of the Ozarks have teamed up to help meet community needs. From 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 29, council staffers will serve pizza at Cravin' Pizza, 3641 E. Sunshine St., and proceeds from the evening will support the council's projects, which include providing food and clothing, tutoring children and providing advocacy for nursing home residents.