Relay team hosts community game night

The game of pool is usually played with a stick and on a table with six pockets. Eight balls, striped and solid are usually placed in the middle and the first shooter must break the ball rack apart. However, on Friday, June 25, the pool game at community game night was a little different.

Rather than a full sized table, a slender table no more than three feet wide sat out on the lawn. It was long, maybe eight feet and the players didn't have any cue sticks. Rather the balls that they needed to hit into the open pocket at either end were set up across from them and they simply picked up the white ball with their hand and rolled it down the table to try and knock their seven balls in.

JoEllen Godin said that her husband, LeRoy, built the "Carpet Pool" table. She said that he built it for the fair one year. On Friday, the Godins brought it out so that the kids would have something to do as they waited for the Nintendo Wii games to get up and running.

Kaleb Veveris, who dominated at playing Carpet Pool, hoped to return to the game after everything else had opened up, but most kids headed inside to play Wii or went inside to play a game of bingo. Not only could players try their hand at getting five in a row, but pinochle was also set up in the old school building and players flocked to the tables, broke open the deck, shuffled it and dealt the cards, everyone hoping they could grab a winning hand.

The game night was a fundraiser for the Mineral County Hospital's Relay for Life team. Prize baskets were also available. Hospital employees had donated over $1,000 in prizes to be won on Friday.

As part of signing up to participate in Relay for Life, teams also commit to raising money for the American Cancer Society. Kirsten Locke, the team's captain, said that they are trying to raise $1,200 for the cause. Locke said that the team "got together and brainstormed" different ways to raise money and said that this was one of the ways they thought would work best.

Before the night got underway, Locke introduced the team: Kim Walker, Nancy Myers, Roberta Malik, Jennifer Mitchell and Gayle McGuiness.

Locke also offered a few words for survivors that were in the audience on Friday. She herself survived breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2005, Locke was free of the disease in 2008.

"Cancer weakens me and it strengths me," she read aloud, later on saying, "everyday I live is a gift."

Locke remarked that having had cancer had changed who she is as a person and that she had "pride in winning the fight." During parts of the reading, she handed the writing to her husband as she could not continue. Taking it back a few moments later, Locke finished reading her words and concluded by thanking those for their support.

"Now let's go play some games," she said.

The game night was open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and many residents had a great time spending time together talking with friends, while helping raise money for a cause.