BPOElks

Six truckloads of sand was dumped in the Elks Lodge parking lot Friday afternoon. The sand was being trucked in by Morgan Sand and Gravel and spread around on the parking lot to create two courts in prepration for today's Dog Days of Summer Sand Volleyball Tournament at the Elks Lodge.

EVERETT - It's not as big as the grand old place, but it's brand spanking new, it's a room with a view and they can call it their own. After nearly two years of meeting in a temporary location, the Elks Club has moved into its new digs at 2802 Hoyt Ave., at the intersection with California Street. The club has been using the meeting room on the main floor and the lounge on the second floor since early July. The lounge has a view of Possession Sound.

Members of the Elks Club, located at the intersection of 10th Street and Knox Avenue, demanded an apology from the city and disciplinary action against at least one officer for police behavior during a July 19 incident. Speaking at the Monessen council agenda meeting Monday, club members said police overreacted when they entered the club in response to an incident outside the club.

The Thousand Oaks Elks Lodge will host an open house in conjunction with a motorcycle show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sat., Aug. 22 at the lodge, 158 Conejo School Road, Thousand Oaks. The lodge will be open for facility tours. Officers will be available to answer questions about the organization. The weekly Elks charity barbecue will be available at prices starting at $6. The dinners were featured in 805 magazine as one of the best in Ventura County.

This year marks the 51st anniversary of the Elks Lodge in Morden. Morden Elks Lodge is a fraternal organization that raises funds to support local community and children's needs along with supporting the Elks of Canada Purple Cross Fund. This fund is accessible locally to help out children in need of medical care where additional funding is required. While most fraternal organizations are struggling to find new members, the Morden Elks are fortunate to have had a large number of young men - 28 in total - join the organization in the past few years.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Malden Lodge #965 is teaming up with Healthy Malden on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 6 p.m., and will offer the notMYkid substance abuse workshop, a national initiative of the notMYkid organization that educates parents, schools and children on substance abuse prevention.

The MV Elks Lodge recently organized a drug outreach at the Laguna Hills Mall. Drug Awareness Chairman Gloria R. LeCouvre set up a Community Booth to distribute Drug Awareness Brochures, Pamphlets, Coloring books, and American flags to the parents and children shopping for back-to-school items. Volunteers Nettie Bennington and Gerry Schiphorst were on hand to help during the 11 am to 6 pm project.

Arthur Robinson is a big man, and when he laughs, the area around him seems to light up. Robinson had caught a 6-inch perch, his first fish of the day, and when I told him to "hold that monster up" for a photo, he broke up laughing. The fishing was slow, but no one could say we weren't having a good time on a beautiful summer day. Robinson, who lives in Muskegon Heights and was a C-130 transport plane crew member in Vietnam, was one of 46 veterans hosted last week by members of St. Joseph Elks Lodge 541 for a day of food, fishing and fun. The vets are all patients at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Battle Creek. The Elks rounded up 16 local boats, some run by charter fishermen and others by sport fishermen, to take the vets out. All volunteered their time.

Davis, 25, has lived in Lincoln Park for years. He walks past the building - a massive gray dome encircled by a hefty colonnade - almost every day. But while the Elks National Memorial and Headquarters, located at the intersection of Diversey Avenue and Sheridan Road, is open to the public seven days a week during the summer, Davis shrugged it off. "I just don't think I really know that much about the Elks," he said. "They're up there with Rotary and those other groups. You know, stuff your grandpa was in. But I don't really even know what the hell they do."

added a sticky note just to see how this works. Need to join the group however in order to see the sticky note which can only be seen at the message home page on elks.org

MANASQUAN - As 16-year-old Jiovanni stood on the beach Tuesday afternoon, he grabbed his camp counselor Jacob Gatley by the head and delivered a playful noogie. Advertisement "It's good to be here because I have my friend Jacob here," he said, as Jacob tried to break free from his grip.

DERRY - The Derry Salem Elks lodge recently held its annual Roast Beef Dinner for Veterans. Veterans from the Manchester VA Medical Center and the Tilton Home for Veterans were invited to attend. Seven veterans from Tilton and six from Manchester attended, along with several aides.

LOCKPORT-Bingo receipts totaling more than $8,200 were stolen Monday from the Elks Lodge on North Canal Road, Niagara County sheriff deputies said. A woman told deputies she arrived to clean the building at 4 a. m. and discovered a rock had been thrown through a window.

SEATTLE - Organizations like the Elks and Kiwanis are fighting a serious perception problem. Many people do not realize they are not just social

WAYNESBORO, PA - The longest running club in Waynesboro is expected to close on Sunday. The Elks Club opened more than 100 years ago, but officials say they've recently been faced with financial issues and declining membership. The club once had more than 1,100 members, but there's currently less than

Alley-White American Legion Post 52 and its Auxiliary Unit 52 have partnered with members of Mountain Home Elks Lodge 1714 to enhance each organization's ongoing commitment to send care packages to deployed servicemen and servicewomen. Advertisement Since joining forces last fall, the groups have shipped an average of 10-12 large flat-rate boxes per month to armed forces personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recipients include family and friends of Mountain Home area residents and soldiers whose names were selected at random off the AnySoldier. com Web site.

HUDSON - Tranquility is what brings a balloonist to take to the sky in nothing but a basket, balloon and the power of hot air. ``It's a great escape when you're up there,'' said Bob Martel, a balloonist who helped coordinate the Hudson Elks' fifth annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.

"Sometimes we don't have enough business to pay the bartender," said Bill Morris, a member of the Elks lodge in Riverdale. "People ain't got no money."

Another characteristic of our times is that social clubs such as the Lions, Masons, Elks, Rotary, Moose, etc. have been losing members since the 1960s. They are broad-based groups without a political agenda, where "brothers" are likely to hold a variety of views. Now, people tend to socialize in groups with sharply defined political goals -the ACLU, the Federalist Society, the Club for Growth, EMILY's List- and to spend hours in Internet discussions with like-minded associates.

After six years of fulltime travel, we have a heck of a time remembering details of the campgrounds and RV parks we have called "home". Did our Verizon phones work there? Which site were we in? What did we pay, and was it worth it?