Gaskins Forest Education Center is hosting for the second year "A Day in the Woods: Forest and Wildlife Activities for All the Family" beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 23, weather permitting.

The center is located at 3359 Moore Sawmill Road, Alapaha. The event is free and includes 34 Activity

 Stations from 1-5 p.m.; Bring Your Own Cookout from 5-7 p.m.; Nature Walks from 7-9 p.m.; and Astronomy from 9-10:30 p.m.

Heather Brasell, retired professor of science education at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, is coordinator of the center and the event.

She may be reached at  229-339-3966  or  [email protected]

The scheduled activities at the Activity Stations are in the areas of forestry, wildlife, crafts and history. Under forestry, one may participate in or observe a portable sawmill, fire behavior, tree identification, leaf prints, native plants, soils, geocaching/orienteering, forest products, making paper and making twig pencils.

In the area of wildlife, one may observe or take part in a gopher tortoise camera, reptiles and amphibians, aquatic insects, animal footprints, fishing knots, taxidermy, wildlife calls, archery, making bows, game warden, making pine-cone bird feeders and making native bee nests.

Crafts involve bark baskets, pine-needle baskets, vine baskets, wood turning, decoy carving, spinning and dyeing, soap-making and painting.

At the history station, one will learn about fixing old buildings, Native American camping and artifacts, and Berrien County history. 

During the cookout, participants will sample game meat as music is played. The evening nature walk includes identifying birds and frogs, calling owls and detecting bats. During astronomy, Dr. Bret Wagenhorst of Tifton will guide the use of several telescopes and lead a discussion of the night sky. 

"This is a community event," Brasell said, "with a noncommercial, educational focus."

A fabulous menu will include roasted turkey, cornbread dressing, baked ham, 

sweet potato soufflé, baby butter beans, squash casserole, roast beef, mashed potatoes, 

rice pilaf, macaroni and cheese, cream corn, Italian green beans, glazed carrots, asparagus, Southern fried chicken, rolls,  celebration salad, broccoli salad, pasta salad, 

24-hour fruit salad, Watergate salad, pimento cheese, chicken salad, grape salad, 

marinated vegetable salad,  chocolate pie, lemon meringue pie, pecan pie, 

carrot cake, chocolate cake, coconut cake, cheesecake, strawberry cake, chocolate Mousse -- and much more!

For the 19th consecutive year, Georgia Power Co. employees are running across the state to fight cancer during the annual  Run for the Reason relay. 

This year, 18 employees are traveling the established nonstop, cross-state route beginning at Georgia Power headquarters in Atlanta this past Wednesday and ending today ( Friday) on the coast at  St. Simons Island. During the more than two-day, 350-mile relay run, employees expect to raise more than  $75,000 for the American Cancer Society (ACS). 

The runners came through Tifton late Thursday afternoon. There are several teams of relay runners who hand off the run to another team at specified points along the route.

	Georgia Power runners trek through Tift County on Thursday afternoon.

 

Since the inception of the event, Georgia Power runners have logged more than 7,000 miles and raised more than  $1.6 million to aid cancer research. In addition to Run for the Reason, Georgia Power's longstanding support of ACS includes employee participation in multiple Relay for Life 24-hour fundraising walks in communities across the state each year.

Bruce Feiman  and  Jimmy Zerkus , project managers at Georgia Power and co-organizers of Run for the Reason, say that each year, Georgia Power participants run in memory of loved ones lost to cancer, in support of those fighting the battle and in celebration of cancer survivors.

1026 W. 2nd St.

Tifton

Georgia Cities Week ends Saturday, April 23, with several events.

On Saturday, residents may take documents to be shredded at the City Municipal Court Building on 5th Street from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Also on Saturday, a "Run the City 5K" begins at 8 a.m. at  Fulwood  Park.

At 10 a.m. Saturday will be a ribbon cutting of a new Frisbee Golf course at  Fulwood  Park to the left of the Tift Avenue arch.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22

• "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe,"  7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

• Run the City 5K, 8 a.m., Fulwood Park, Tifton
• Champions of Hope Sporting Clays Tournament, Green Lake Hunting Club, Ocilla
• Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Free Document Shredding, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Municipal Court Building, 5th Street, Tifton
• Frisbee Golf Ribbon Cutting, 10 a.m., Fulwood Park, Tifton
• A Day in the Woods: Forest & Wildlife Activities, 1 p.m., 3359 Moore Sawmill Road, Alapaha
• "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardobe," 7p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton