Relay moved indoors

With the threat of significant rain on Friday night, Stoddard County Relay for Life chairs, Belinda Worley and Jennifer Hartlein made the decision early Wednesday to move this year's Relay event to an indoor facility on Friday night, May 3.

The event will be held in the old high school gym located on Park Lane. The same agenda will be followed with the exception of those scheduled to take place after midnight. Rather, the Relay will close at the midnight hour.

"We will follow the exact schedule," Worley confirmed. "All of the entertainment will be the same and we'll even have the luminary ceremony at 11 p.m. as planned. We've even secured battery operated candles for the luminary bags."

Relay teams will still have refreshments and food throughout the evening. The Miss Relay Contest, always a big hit with the Relay crowd, will take place at midnight as scheduled, and the event will wrap up immediately following the contest.

"We're extremely thankful to Lawson Metcalf and the Park Board for accommodating us," Worley said. "We hope the public will still come out in huge numbers in support of and in honor of all who have battled cancer. The point of Relay is to raise money for a very worthy cause, and we're still going to do our very best to do just that."

Relay begins at 5 p.m. Friday.