Officials with the Missouri State Highway Patrol are reminding Missouri’s travelers of the importance of safety during the upcoming July Fourth holiday.

If you travel to visit friends and family during this summer holiday, remember to buckle up, pay attention and obey the speed limit. Be prepared!

During June, July and August, staff members from the Missouri Department of Conservation Forestry Division are distributing matching funds grant checks to rural fire departments. 

A total of 177 fire departments will be receiving checks of up to $3,000 to help them with the purchase of personal protective gear and firefighting equipment for wildfire, as well as structure fires.

Several things are happening at St. John’s Hospital--Aurora on Tuesday, July 7.

The community is welcome to take part in the events, according to hospital personnel.

The kick-off of the Aurora hospital’s 50th Anniversary Celebration starts with the picnic that day.

Officers from the Aurora Police Deparatment, along with many other law enforcement agencies, are cracking down on drunk driving with increased enforcement July 3 through July 5.

The Aurora Police Department is participating as part of a statewide crackdown on drivers under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.

U.S. Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond has announced a special Listening Post Forum for Friday, July 10, in Mt. Vernon.

Hollie Elliott, a representative for the senator, will be available for constituents at the Listening Post from 9 to 10 a.m., in the downstairs meeting room in the Lawrence County Courthouse.

Gary Presley, author of the acclaimed memoir Seven Wheelchairs: A Life Beyond Polio, from the University of Iowa Press, will speak on creative non-fiction at the Springfield Writers' Guild meeting at 1 p.m., Saturday, July 25, at the Heritage Cafeteria. 

Presley, a former Aurora resident, came late to writing, first inspired by winning an essay contest sponsored by the Joplin Globe. He wrote a few freelance articles before discovering his love for the personal essay. He has had essays published in the Ozark Mountaineer, Salon.com and other venues.