American Legion, VFW host blood drive
     ALPINE — The Alpine American Legion #258 and the VFW Post 9575 will host a blood drive in conjunction with the San Diego Blood Bank on Sunday, Oct. 23, in the legion parking lot, 3328 Alpine Blvd.
     A bake sale will also be taking place, with all proceeds going to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
     For more information, one may call (800) 4MY-SDBB or log onto www.sandiegobloodbank.org.

Mtn. Empire celebrates homecoming
     MTN. EMPIRE — Mountain Empire high school will celebrate its homecoming on Friday, Oct. 28 at the school, 3305 Buckman Springs Road. 
     The event will kick off with the junior varsity football game at 5 p.m. The parade of floats will go at 6:30 p.m. followed by the varsity football game with Vincent memorial high school at 7:30 p.m. At halftime the homecoming court will be named and the king and queen will be crowned. There will also be fireworks after the game.
     For more information one may contact the school at 473-8601.

BCLT holds plant and art sale
     ALPINE — The Back Country Land trust will hold the 9th Annual California Native Plant Sale on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. in the Joan MacQueen Middle School parking lot, 2001 Tavern Road.
     Sales are on a first come, first served basisand plants sell out quickly. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Back Country Land Trust.
     For more information one may check online at www.bclt.org.

Halloween at Alpine Church
     ALPINE — It will be a family celebration of Halloween at the Alpine Community Church on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m. Mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, all the kids, and even friends and neighbors, are invited to don costumes (that’s optional of course) and bring a dish to share, entrée, salad or dessert for the pot luck supper to start the evening.
     After supper in Fuller Hall, they’ll be fun games to play, pumpkins to carve, costumes to admire, apples to bob for and plenty of cider to sip. Halloween Family Night is sponsored by the Board of Deacons who want it known that everyone is welcome.

New Campo-Morena library to open
     CAMPO — The long-awaited ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Campo-Morena Village branch library in Campo will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Nov. 18.
     Library service at the current building will cease Saturday, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. in preparation for the move to new 2,500 square foot library, located at 31356 Highway 94, next to the Alternative Education Center.
     During the closure, the Mobile Library will provide interim bookmobile service on Monday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the new library. 
     For further information, one may call Library Director José Aponte at (858) 694-2415.
     To get to the site of the grand opening of the new library, take I-8 east toward El Centro. Take the Buckman Springs Road exit and turn right. Turn right on Highway 94. The library is located at 31360 Highway 94, Campo, on the right hand side of the road.

No Campo VFW rib dinners until February
     CAMPO — The Campo VFW has announced that it will not be holding its rib dinner, normally presented in the first Friday of the month, until February. The steak fry dinners, held on the third Saturday of the month, will still take place.

Music will be topic of historical society pasta dinner
      ALPINE —The Alpine Historical Society invites the community to its Annual Pasta Dinner on Oct. 23 to hear speaker, Heidi Lynn, discuss the development of American music from colonial times to the 1900s.
     The dinner will be held at the Alpine Woman's Club, 2156 Alpine Blvd., with dinner at 5 p.m. and speaker at 6 p.m. The cost for dinner is $5 per person.
     For reservations or more information, contact Carol Morrison at 445-2544 or visit alpinehistory@cox.net.

Moms Club gathers items for homeless women
     ALPINE — During the month of October, the MOMS Club of Alpine and Mountain Empire is collecting travel-sized toiletries, (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, etc.), to create shower kits for homeless women at Rachel’s Women’s Center in San Diego. 
     Donations will be accepted throughout the month of October at the Alpine locations of California Trust & Savings Bank, Alpine Fitness, Curves for Women in the Alpine Creek Shopping Center, and the Alpine Branch Library. 
     For more information regarding this service project, contact Jennifer St. Hilaire at 722-6470 or Christine DeCarlo at 944-7150. For information regarding membership, contact Jennifer Doucet at 665-7287 or jenner@cox.net.

Campo/Lake Morena business association slogan contest
     CAMPO — The newly formed Campo/Lake Morena Business Association is looking for a catchy slogan for the area.
     Slogan forms can be picked up at various businesses, organizations and churches in Campo. Fill out the form with a slogan phrase of less than six words, that best describe the area and way of life.
     Turn entries into the business where you picked up the form. Prizes will be awarded: One prize for children ages 12 and under and one prize for adults ages 13 and up. 

C.A.R.E. offers services to elderly who live alone
     Project C.A.R.E. may be able to help those who live alone or those concerned about a senior who lives alone.
     This is a community program that involves community service agencies and local businesses in providing services to any senior or disabled person. Programs include RUOK, Postal Alert, Gatekeeper, Vial of Life, YANA (You Are Not Alone), Safe Return and more. These free programs help maintain people in their homes. 
     For more information, call 740-4214.

Applications being accepted for USA triathlon
     Attention triathletes ages 16-23, applications are being accepted for the USA Triathlon 2006 Junior and Under 23 National Squads.
     Applications must be received by Oct. 24 at the USA Triathlon offices. Applications can be obtained for the Junior National Squad via the internet here, and applications for the Under 23 National Squad here.
     For further information please contact Allison Sitzman, Tri-Club by LeTigreFitness.com at 659-9278 or Scott Schnitzspahn at scott@usatriathlon.org or via telephone at (216) 751-9571. USATriathlon is an affiliate organization of the US Olympic Committee (USOC).

Local farmers, artisans sought for Alpine Farmer’s Market
     ALPINE — The Alpine Farmer’s Market is looking for local residents who grow their own crops or livestock and have a little surplus to sell at the Farmer’s Market Cooperative in Alpine. The market is also looking for local artists and musicians.
     For more information, one may contact 445-5249.