Alabama will join other states in celebrating National Nursing Home Week and recognizing nursing home residents and staff for their contributions to their community.

The Dothan Police Department’s Community Watch Program is sponsoring a Family Fun Day for the residents of District 2 at Gussie McMillon Park on April 28, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. There will be food, games for the kids, music to include live entertainment, police demonstrations with a K-9 demo and Helicopter landing, and numerous vendors from within the local business community. 

The purpose of this event is for the residents of District 2 to take a stand and fight back against crime in their neighborhoods.  The residents are partnering with the Community Watch Program to become trained in crime prevention.   

Gussie McMillon Park is located at the corner of Shirley Street and Pryor Street, where the old East Highland School was once located.

Governor Robert Bentley is set to declare April as Autism Awareness Month in Alabama. The Alabama Interagency Autism Coordinating Council and the Autism Society of Alabama are partnering to promote National Autism Awareness Month. The month-long campaign held annually in April, sponsored since the 1970s by the Autism Society of America, seeks to highlight the growing need for concern and awareness about autism spectrum disorders.

Events will be held statewide celebrating the observance, including a series of Walks for Autism in more than 15 locations around the state. The walks are sponsored by the Autism Society of Alabama, and proceeds benefit ASA, which works to improve the quality of life of persons with ASDs and their families through education, advocacy and support. Also co-hosted by ASA, the 3rd annual HELP Autism/ASD Workshop will be held on April 27 in Huntsville. This one-day training is free to the public, and targeted at parents and professionals.