Article posted Thursday, February 27, 2014 11:09am

• The Jacksonport Women’s Club is once again undertaking their tree beautification program. Last year 75 “Prairifire” Crabapple trees were planted from Brussels to Sister Bay helping to enhance scenic byways, backroads and lakesides.

The Women’s Club will again partner with the Sevastopol School FFA headed by Dale Carlson and Mike Madden, whose students will help with limited planting. McKay Nursery will provide the trees to Roger Opiela at Earthscapes.

Three trees are being offered for sale this season:  “Prairifire” has red-maroon foliage which turns red-orange in the fall and has red-purple to crimson blossoms (it was developed by Dr. Dan Dayton, a University of Illinois horticulture professor who worked at the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station and summered in Jacksonport); “Sugartyme” has dark green foliage and pale pink blossoms turning white as they bloom; and “Purple Prince” has purple-bronze foliage with reddish-pink blossoms. All three trees are disease-resistant and hold their fruit well into winter providing food for birds.

The trees can be ordered for $60 each and will be delivered in late April or early May. To order, call Jo Wahlen at 920.823.2032.

• The Friends of Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Spanish Department, the Gibraltar Cafeteria and the YMCA Dance Program have teamed up to celebrate Spanish literacy at Gibraltar Schools with a traditional taco dinner and Spanish dance on March 1.

Dinner will be served 5:30 – 6:30 pm at the Gibraltar School Cafeteria. The menu, made by the Jauregui family, includes fish, beef and bean tacos, beans, rice, desserts and drinks. The cost is $10/adults, $5/kids 5-12, and free for children under 4.

Dance and activities will be in the Gibraltar High School gym from 7 to 9 pm. YMCA dance instructors and dance students will be on site to get things started on the dance floor to salsa beats. There will be face painting, paper flower making and piñatas for kids and kids at heart.

To reserve dinner tickets, call Vinni Chomeau at 868.3284 ext. 205, and leave a message with your name, phone number and the number of people for the dinner.

• The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper is set for March 4 from 5 to 7 pm at the Ephraim Moravian Church. All are invited, and free will offerings will be sent to Peninsula Preschool in Ephraim. Ephraim Moravian Church is located at 9970 Moravia Street, Ephraim. For more information, contact Pastor Dawn Volpe or Diane Kirkland at 854.2804.

• What do Bruemmer Park Zoo, middle and high school art students, local restaurants, bars and soup have in common? ZoupArt, a fundraiser sponsored by the Zoological Society of Kewaunee County. The event will be held March 8 from 11 am to 4 pm at Lakehaven Hall in Kewaunee. All proceeds from the event will be used to help rebuild Bruemmer Park Zoo.

More than 20 local restaurants and bars have donated soup to be used in the soup tasting event. Admission to the soup tasting is $10. This cost includes a handmade bowl (a limited supply are available on a first come basis), soup tasting and voting for the best soup.

Art from each Kewaunee County school will be on display. This art will be juried by local artists and awards given to the best of show. Admission to the art show is free.

Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted at the door and will be donated to the Kewaunee Food Pantry. There will also be bake sales and raffles. For more information visit bruemmerparkzoo.com.

• This spring Washington Island students will participate in their first WINS-Voyage. WINS stands for Washington Island Navigators, and Voyage is used to describe the experiential learning missions, where students are inspired to explore and navigate the social, emotional and academic waters of life and education.

WINS-Voyage, is a transformative experiential learning design where teachers and staff motivate students to become “explorers” of education and learning. An experiential learning model recognizes students as “captains” of their own ship, gatherers of information in the quest to become lifelong learners.

Washington Island School’s experiential learning “voyage” begins March 17, and culminates in an open house on April 4 in the afternoon.

• Northern Door Health & Wellness Ministry continues its Community Health Information Programs with a presentation about dementia on March 30 at 4 pm at First Baptist Church in Sister Bay. Christy Wisniewski, Ministry Memory Clinic Outreach Specialist, will discuss “Recognizing the Signs of Dementia.”

Living with dementia can be daunting for the person who is diagnosed, as well as their family/caregivers. In Door County there are support programs that offer people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and their families a variety of services at no charge, including a 24-hour helpline, care consultation, support groups and education programs.

The number of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease is predicted to grow in the near future. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the number of individuals age 64 or older living with dementia in Door County is estimated to be 812. The number of people diagnosed with memory loss will increase 30 percent in the next decade.

The Ministry also offers free blood pressure screenings on the fourth Tuesday of each month at St. Rosalia’s Church at 5 pm and at the Northern Door YMCA on the second Tuesday of each month from 8:15 – 10:15 am. For more information visit NorthernDoorHealthWellness.com.

• On Feb. 14, more than 40 senior citizens of Washington Island joined the students of the school for a Valentine’s Day breakfast. The Family Center of Washington Island, in collaboration with the Parent-School Support Group and the Washington Island Student Council, prepared a Valentine’s Breakfast for students and senior citizens.

Music and song were presented by the children and led by the district music director, Mrs. Donna Briesemeister. For a dozen of the senior guests, their day started as it did years ago as they joined students on that morning’s bus ride to school.

• The Sturgeon Bay Lions Club is holding its annual Roses for Spring Sale to benefit local charities. Roses will be delivered to homes and businesses April 11 and 12. The cvost is $15 per dozen. To place an order, call Greg Virlee, 920.743.8359 or email [email protected].

• The Masonic Lodge in Sturgeon Bay will host the 79^th Annual Steamboat Dinner from 4 to 7 pm on Saturday, March 8. Roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, baked beans, coleslaw, a beverage and pie a la mode are on the menu. Cost is $15 for ages 15 and older. There is a discount for veterans and active members of the military. Profits from the dinner will go to two $1,000 scholarships, 350 meals for the needy, and $900 for the Sturgeon Bay Skatepark Initiative. For advance tickets, call 920.737.3166 or visit steamboatdinner.com. The Masonic Lodge is located at 31 S. Third Ave.