Holiday theme for Harrison relay

CADIZ - Plans are progressing for this year's Harrison County Relay for Life set June 11-12 at the James Scott football complex in Scio.

Committee members met Tuesday at the Puskarich Public Library.

Helen Moncman, American Cancer Society representative, and Marianne Custer, relay co-captain, updated members on the events that will take place, including the kiddie fun run and games from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.; survivors' celebration at 6 p.m.; silent auction set from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; lighting of luminaria at 10 p.m.; and a cornhole tournament at 11 p.m.

The relay will have a multi-holiday theme, with teams choosing a holiday they want to represent. Three teams already have signed up, with Team Hoo-Hah taking Easter; Funky Monkeys, Halloween; and Subway/Circle K, Christmas.

Because of the holiday theme, some of the activities at the relay will include an Easter egg hunt and trick-or-treating, committee members noted.

Moncman said the ACS does not agree with recent recommendations from a government panel that call mammographies for women between ages 40-50 as ineffective medicine that causes undue stress for false positive findings of cancer and recommend an end to the policy of advising annual mammograms for women over age 40 unless there are risk factors.

"Lives have been saved for those in their 40s because of early detection," Moncman said.

She added the statistics noted in the recent study did not take into account those who had cancer discovered by mammograms, been treated and were cured in that age bracket.

In other matters, it was announced that Team Captain University will be held in Richmond and the winter training will be in Rootstown at the NEOUCOM building. It will be held Jan. 30.

Also, committee members will hold a Longaberger bingo party March 14 as a fundraiser.

A recruitment is planned for team captains and teams.

There were 13 teams last year and the committee wants to add to that number.

Committee members were presented with ACS Relay for Live journals or calendars as gifts.

The next meeting will be Jan. 26 when a team rally will take place at 6 p.m. at the library. The committee meeting will be at 5 p.m.

(McCoy can be contacted at emccoy@heraldstaronline.com.)