| MLK Jr. Day events plentiful next week | | Posted: Monday, January 14, 2013 9:14 pm
| Slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be remembered next week with several local events.
The observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day is set for Jan. 21.
The federal holiday marks King’s birthday and is observed the third Mon-day of January each year, around the time of King’s birthday, Jan. 15. Classes will not be in session in the Obion County and Union City school systems and government offices will be closed.
So far, events are scheduled in Fulton, Martin and Dyersburg, according to information provided to The Messenger.
The Twin Cities’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day service will be held Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. at Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church at 500 Mears St. in Fulton.
The Rev. Buster Johnson, pastor of New Beginnings Ministry in Water Valley, Ky., will be the speaker and the Twin City Mass Choir will provide the music.
An essay contest is also under way for junior high and high school students. The theme is “How to Achieve My Dreams and Goals to Make a Difference” and essays must be at least 500 words and double-spaced. Deadline for entry is Thursday. Essays may be submitted to Helen Lee at Fulton City Hall or submitted Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. at Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Fulton.
At the University of Tennessee at Martin, the Institute for Civic Engage-ment (ICE) is inviting UT Martin students, staff, faculty, administrators and the community to participate in an experiential project in honor of the national Martin Luther King Day Jr. of Service on Jan. 21.
In addition to spending time volunteering on or around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, participants are asked to spend no more than $4 per day — the average food stamp budget — for food on as many days before and after Martin Luther King Jr. Day as they can or would like to, according to ICE director Dr. Mike McCullough.
Participants are then encouraged to join a conversation on their experience at noon Jan. 23 in Room 125 of the Skyhawk Dining Room. The discussion will be part of the weekly Times Talk meeting.
“We will be suggesting that they write a poem or essay and read it at the Times Talk, especially pertaining to eating on the equivalent of food stamps, or $4 per day,” McCullough said. “The idea is to try to empathize with those who are struggling financially at a time when over 45 million people in the U.S. get food stamps.”
For more information on the project, contact McCullough at (731) 881-3325 or utmartinice@utm.edu.
The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon hosted by Dyersburg State Community College and Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce will be held at noon Friday in the DSCC Student Center.
This year’s speaker will be Col. Corwin K. Robinson, who has been named superintendent of the Lake County School System.
Robinson holds a master’s degree in adult and continuing education. Before accepting the Lake County position, he served as the commanding officer of the U.S. Army’s 533rd Engineer Unit, which was stationed at Fort Knox, Ky., and deployed to Afghanistan. As the unit’s commanding officer, Robinson designed, managed and provided quality control and quality assurance of more than $250 million of construction and engineering projects.
Before being called to active duty, he was assistant principal for the Clarksville Montgomery County School System. Prior to this, he worked as district discipline coordinator for Nashville Public Schools.
Prior to moving to Tennessee, Robinson held a number of positions in the New Orleans Public School System, including assistant principal, instructional behavioral interventionist, special education teacher and department chair. He also worked for the Department of Defense Youth Challenge program.
Tickets for the luncheon, which must be purchased in advance, are $10 each. They are on sale until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the DSCC business office, located in the Eller Building on the Dyersburg campus, and at the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce.
For more information about the luncheon or the speaker, contact Beverlee Weatherly at (731) 286-3300 or weatherly@dscc.edu. Published in The Messenger 1.14.13 | | | | |
