Briefly
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on August 29, 2004 8:16 AM
POW/MIA dinner
The Air Force Sergeant's Association Chapter 371 is sponsoring a dinner honoring POWs and MIAs next month.
The dinner will be held Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Officer's Club. Social hour begins at 6 p.m.
The event is open to all military and civilian personnel. Uniform is semi-formal and mess dress for military and business attire for civilians. The guest speaker will be Command Chief Master Sgt. Tom Smith from the 916th Air Refueling Wing.
Reservists should RSVP to Tech. Sgt. Hernandez, 722-2219. Active duty should RSVP to Senior Airman Summers, 722-7220 and 778-6847. All others should RSVP to Mike Burris at 736-0579. Tickets are $14.50 for club members and $16.50 for non-members.
MOC convocation
Mount Olive College's Fall Convocation will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday in College Hall.
This gathering officially begins the year, which marks the entrance of the 15th group of incoming freshman for Mount Olive College.
Dr. Christopher Dyer, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, will be the convocation speaker.
United Way directory
The fourth edition of the "Where To Turn Directory of Community Services" is now available on line.
The directory, put out by United Way of Wayne County, is a 118-page listing of community resources with more than 250 entries for human services agencies and community programs in Wayne County, said Steve Parr, United Way director.
Included in the directory are names of agencies, descriptions of services, hours of operation and other information about nonprofit programs that serve Wayne County.
The directory is available on the Web at www.unitedwaywaynecountync.org. For more information, call United Way at 735-3591.
Unemployment rises
The unemployment rate rose in Wayne County in July.
Around 3,196 county residents, or about 6.2 percent of the workforce, were unemployed, according to the Employment Security Commission.
That's an increase of about 616 people from June, when the county's unemployment rate was 5.1 percent.
Bill Pate, manager of the ESC's Goldsboro office, attributes the increase to temporary unemployment claims filed by some of the local manufacturing companies.
The statewide rate in July was 5.4 percent, which was down from 5.8 percent.
The unemployment rate in surrounding counties was Duplin, 6.3 percent in June to 6.2 percent in July; Johnston, 3.7 to 3.3 percent; Sampson, remained at 5.4 percent; Lenoir, 6.1 to 5.1 percent; and Wilson, 11.8 to 10.9 percent.
For the fifth consecutive month, Vance County had the state's highest unemployment rate in July, at 13.1 percent. For the fourth consecutive month, Currituck County had the state's lowest unemployment rate, at 1.2 percent.
Bloodmobile
The Wayne County Chapter of the American Red Cross will have a Bloodmobile on Monday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Chili's restaurant. Donors will receive a free Red Cross T-shirt and a Chili's coupon.
Benefit for boy
Friends and relatives of Dalton Wallace are planning two fund-raisers in September to help with medical expenses for the 6-year-old boy.
Dalton has been diagnosed with Friedreick's Ataxia, which causes the muscles in his body to deteriorate. He also has cardiomyopathy, which is the hardening of the muscles around his heart, eventually making it impossible for the heart to pump.
A spaghetti dinner will be held at the Rosewood Fire Department on Saturday, Sept. 11. It will be a drive-through only, and tickets are $5 each. Meals will include spaghetti, salad, dessert and bread.
"Dalton's Fun Day" is set for Saturday, Sept. 18, at a vacant lot on N.C. 581 toward Nahunta, about 2 miles from the U.S. 70 intersection. This event will be free, but donation jars will be placed at the various activities, which will include pony rides, a moon walk and games with prizes. Popcorn, drinks, cotton candy and other foods will be sold. The day will end with an auction at 4 p.m.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the dinner, call Sheila at 920-1037 or Rita at 736-2660.