Browns Backers

The Cleveland Browns Backers of the Sandhills, a club made up of loyal Cleveland Browns football fans living in the Sandhills area, meets every time the Browns play a game. The local chapter meets at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, at Easy's Sports Bar and Grill (215-0346), at 211A Central Park Drive in Olmsted Village shopping center next to Nina's restaurant. The Browns play the Baltimore Ravens.

For information, call Fred at 295-6480. For further information, visit www.brownsbackersofthesandhills.com.

Kiwanis Club

Frank DeMaine, member of the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills, presented an interesting program to the club members relating his experiences as a POW during World War II. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and was a pilot.

After several successful missions, his plane was shot down in 1944 and he was captured by the German forces and spent time in several POW camps in Germany, until his release in April 1945.

DeMaine frequently relates his prison experiences to soldiers at Ft. Bragg as part of their training.

For more information on the Kiwanis Club of the Sandhills and its programs, contact President George Hillard at (910) 949-5551.

League Meets

The League of Women Voters of Moore County will resume its monthly luncheon meetings in September, but there are a few changes. For the September meeting only, the luncheon will be Tuesday, Sept. 23. This is a one-time change; usually the luncheon meetings are on the third Tuesday. The restaurant is also a change. The League will now be meeting at the Table on the Green, 2205 Midland Road, in the Midland Country Club, Pinehurst.

"The public is welcome to attend, with a prior reservation," says a spokesman.

Check-in is at 11:30 a.m., and the business meeting will start at 11:45.

The luncheon speaker will be Steve Bouser, editor of The Pilot, a community newspaper serving Moore County. He grew up in Missouri, was trained as a Russian linguist in the U.S. Army, graduated from Southwest Missouri State University and worked at papers in Wisconsin and Florida before moving to North Carolina in 1973.

In 1993-97, he worked with USIA and USAID on media assistance programs in Russia and other former Soviet countries. He and his wife, Brenda, have a daughter, Kate, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has two grown sons, Jacob and Benjamin, from a previous marriage.

Bouser has written several plays and screenplays. His one-man play "Senator Sam" has been produced several times. His one-man play "Ben," about Benjamin Franklin, is now being prepared for production, with actor Stacy Keach to play the role. Bouser recently finished a nonfiction book about the lingering mystery surrounding the sensational 1935 death of a young heiress in Pinehurst.

Those interested in attending the luncheon can reserve a space by calling Charlotte Gallagher, at 944-9611 by Friday, Sept. 19. The total cost is $12, payable by check made out to the League of Women Voters of Moore County.

MCARS

The Moore County Amateur Radio Society will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, at the Moore County Emergency Operations Center, Carthage.

The meeting will focus on finalizing fall activities including assistance with the Pinehurst Triathlon Oct. 4, emergency training techniques and preparation for a technician licensing class. Everyone with an interest in amateur radio is welcome to attend.

For further information, contact James Johnson, PIO, at (910) 400-3019.

OSU Alumni

The Ohio State University Sandhills Alumni Club meets to watch OSU football on Projector HD TV at Mint Juleps in Southern Pines on all OSU Saturday football game days.

OSU meets Troy University at noon Saturday, Sept. 20.

Proceeds benefit OSU scholarships, wounded warrior support, and local charities.

"All Buckeye fans are welcome," says a spokesman.

See www.sandshillsbuckeyes.net. for schedules and club activities.

Scottish Pilot Club

All bridge and other card players are invited to reserve a table at the upcoming fall brunch and bridge event planned for Tuesday, Sept. 23, in the Club House at Scotch Meadows Country Club, Laurinburg.

The benefit is sponsored by The Scottish Pilot Club of Laurinburg. The brunch will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by play until 1 p.m. Prizes will be awarded to winners and door prizes will be given.

A silent auction will be held during the day.

Tickets are $10 and may be obtained from any Scottish Pilot Club member or by contacting Mary Ann Salemme at (910) 369-2734.

Seven Lakes Lions

Dr. Theodore Schneider will be the guest speaker at the Seven Lakes Lions Club meeting Thursday, Sept. 18.

Schneider will speak on nuclear energy. One of the many projects Schneider has been involved in was the world's first nuclear power station devoted entirely to the production of electricity fission product monitoring. He has taught French, English and Japanese chemists.

The social time begins at 6 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 at Seven Lakes West Side Community Center.

For information and reservations, call Roger at 673-0845.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis

Johnnye Waller, principal at West End Elementary School, spoke to the Seven Lakes Kiwanis on Sept. 2. The Kiwanis Club works closely with WEES on many of its programs -- tutoring, Terrific Kids, model-making with the kindergartners, and other supporting roles as they come up every year.

Waller brought the group up to date with the current status at WEES, and also a look into its future.

A big item of interest was the fact that in the school year 2007-08, 60 percent of the students improved their grades versus the previous year, something which is continually being worked on at the school.

The school continues to grow each year. The enrollment this year is about 590 students to last year's 560. To help handle this growth, there has been the addition during the summer of one more unit which adds two classrooms to the campus.

Four areas were outlined as important goals for this year:

1. Soliciting greater input from parents and the community's service organizations.

2. Improving the usage of technology by both the students and the staff.

3. Improve the playground facilities, with an eye on the safety aspects of the equipment being used by the children.

4. Improve the use of SWAP -- Students Working At Potential. This program involves 45 minutes of each day being devoted to working with individual students in an effort to bring each child up to grade level, should the student need help. Most of this special help is made possible by volunteers from the community.

Waller indicated that to make this program most effective there is a need for more volunteers. Overall, she says she is looking forward to a most successful year, and thanked the Kiwanis Club for its support in the past.

Seven Lakes Kiwanis meets every Tuesday at noon at the Seven Lakes CC.

Woodlake Country Club

Woodlake Country Club will sponsor a blood drive with the American Red Cross from 1:30 to 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, at The Carolina Room/Members Lounge.

Donors are asked to bring a photo ID. Appointments are not necessary, but would be appreciated, says a spokesman. This drive is open to anyone, not just Woodlake residents.

Call 245-2911 or 245-3538 to schedule an appointment.