Get Up and Go
Gameboy collection
Columbia County's Girl Scout Troop 309 is collecting Gameboy units, Gameboy Advance, video games and money to donate to the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center. Call 833-5833 for more information.
Writers meeting
CSRA Writers will meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 1336 Augusta West Parkway. Writers needing a support group are invited to attend and bring eight copies of a manuscript to be critiqued. For information, call 738-4114.
Sierra Club meeting
The Sierra Club will meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Unitarian-Universalist Church, Walton Way Extension. Lori Brewster, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will present a slide show, Working as a Marine Resources Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia. For information, call 737-1539 or 650-8314.
Community briefing
Fort Gordon will host a community information briefing for military retirees and citizens in the Augusta area at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Gordon Club, 19th Ave. Future briefings will be held Nov. 17 and Dec. 15. For information, call 791-3639.
Art of chocolate
Child Enrichment Inc., The Shelter, CASA and Child Advocacy Center for Abused Children presents the ninth annual Art of Chocolate 7 p.m. Friday at Pullman Hall, 560 Walton Way, Augusta. There will be culinary delights, live music and desserts by the area's finest chefs. Black tie is optional. Tickets cost $50. For information, call 737-4631.
Management meeting
The Augusta-Aiken chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management will meet Friday at Radisson Riverfront Hotel Augusta. The guest speaker will be Shelly Prochaska, SHRM southeast regional manager. Registration and breakfast begin at 7:30 a.m. and the meeting will be held from 8 to 9:15 a.m. Cost is $15 per person. For information, visit www.augusta-aikenshrm.org or call 481-7457 to make reservations.
Halloween festival
The Columbia County Exchange Club will hold its fourth annual ID-a-Kid Halloween festival from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Putt-Putt Golf and Games, 3763 Martinez Blvd., Martinez. Each child participating in the ID-a-Kid program will get to choose a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch to face paint. For information, call 868- 0083.
ACT registration
The ACT will be administered Saturday. College-bound high school seniors can get registration materials from their guidance counselors or visit www.actstudent.org. For information, call 337-1028.
Food collection
The Columbia County Farm Bureau will be collected nonperishable foods for their Fall for All campaign. The event, which began Oct. 11, is a statewide project that will continue through Friday. Donations can be dropped off at the bureau's office, 330 Milledgeville Road, Harlem. For information, call 556-6258.
Pet adoption
Columbia County Animal Care and Control will hold a special pet adoption event 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 29 and 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 30 at the Columbia County Animal Care and Control facility, 6337 Columbia Road, Appling. All dogs and puppies will be available for $10 and all cats and kittens will be available for $5 on these two days.
Spooky collection
Neighborhood collections of nonperish-able food items and monetary donations for the 10th annual It's Spooky to be Hungry food drive will be Saturday on Make a Difference Day.
For information, call 863-5863.
Yard sale
Fort Gordon will hold a yard sale from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. For information, call 791-3702.
Hearing conference
The fall conference of Georgia Self-Help for Hard of Hearing People will be Oct. 29-30 at Radisson Riverfront Hotel Augusta. For information, call 738-2796.
Helmet safety
The Columbia County Sheriff's Office and Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar will hold a helmet patrol kickoff from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Evans Applebee's, 505 North Belair Road. The event will feature bike checkups, face painting, a bicycle safety course and more. For information, call 650-2009.
Fall festival
A family fall festival will be 5-10 p.m. Saturday at Mistletoe State Park in Winfield. There will be music, a pumpkin scavenger hunt, apple bobbing, hayrides and more. The cost is $5 per vehicle and free to camping and cottage guests. For information, call 541-0321.
Free jazz concert
The Augusta State Conservatory Jazz Band will hold a free jazz concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the ASU Performing Arts Center. For information, call 731-7971.
Actors sought
Stage III, Columbia County's community theater, will hold auditions 3 p.m. Oct. 31 and 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at 517 Granite Point, Martinez for their next two productions "Murder in the Manor," will be performed Dec. 10 , and "Angel Street," which will be performed Jan 20-23. For information, call 364-9438 or 868-9663.
A preview of charitable drives taking place next weekend, including It's Spooky to be Hungry.
In our Make Kids Count profile, meet a helpful Martinez Elementary fifth-grader./Page 3
Also, The News-Times' Carve-the-Pumpkin Coloring Contest begins today. The entry form is on Page 5.