To place an event in the Community Calendar, email: beth.key@harlandaily.com or drop a written copy of the announcement by our office at 1275 North 25th Street, Middlesboro. Announcements will not be accepted by phone and should be submitted no later than four business days before the event. If received in time, it will be published one or two days before the event. Announcements are also available to view at www.middlesboronews.com. For more details, call 606-909-4145.

MARCH 6

The Middlesboro Board of Education will have a special board meeting at noon on March 6 at the Middlesboro Board of Education, 220 North 20th Street, Middlesboro.

The Upper Cumberland/KEA-Retired Teachers will hold their annual Pre-Delegate Caucus meeting on March 6 at David’s Steaks in Corbin. All selected KEA-Retired delegates should attend. Registration and lunch (provided) will begin at 11:30 a.m.; program starts at noon. Topics to be discussed will be the April Delegate Assembly, Pension/Retirement and other issues of interest to members. For more information, contact Pat Bingham at fsdir@hotmail.com.

Indian Creek Baptist Church’s regular monthly SINGING will begin at 6 p.m. on March 11 with special singing by the Warwick Family and others. Everyone is welcome.

MARCH 8

Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College will host a free Small Business Tax WORKSHOP from 6-7:30 p.m. on March 8 at the Middlesboro campus, room 208, as part of the Selling to the World initiative. Deidre Donahue from Pillion Accounting and Tax will be the instructor. Learn valuable information to benefit your small business. For more information, contact Jeannie Allen at 606-671-7677 or jallen387@kctcs.edu.

THURSDAYS

The Bell County Job Club will meet for eight weeks at the Middlesboro-Bell County Public LIbrary. The club meets each Thursday. New members should arrive at 1 p.m. The job club can help you with the following: create a job search game plan; connect with quality employers; learn self-marketing and interviewing skills; get support from fellow job seekers and workforce professionals; and benefit from insider job leads. For more information, contact Brian Good at Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency at 606-337-3044 or check out the Facebook page, ekcep.us/jobclubsinfo.

MARCH 12

Martin’s Station Masonic Lodge No. 188, A.F. & A.M., located on Dr. Thomas Walker Road, one mile west of Rose Hill, Virginia, will have their Stated Communication on March 12. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Members and visiting brethren are encouraged to attend.

MARCH 12, 26

The Bell County Extension Office will host MOVING MONDAYS at 4:30 p.m. on March 12 and 26 in the Extension Office. Participants will walk and stretch their way to better health. To register, call 606-337-2376.

MARCH 13

The Cumberland Valley Chapter of the Kentucky Public Retirees (KPR) will meet March 13 at David’s Steak in Corbin. Mealtime will begin at 11:30 a.m., with the meeting to follow. The first guest speaker will be Debra Hembree Lambert a candidate for the Third District Kentucky Supreme Court Justice seat. The second guest speaker will be Matt Anderson a Republican candidate in the May primary election for the 82nd District State Representative seat. Any retiree (and spouse) receiving retirement benefits from KERS, CERS or SPRS is welcome to attend. Membership information will be available at the meeting or on the website (kentuckypublicretirees.org). For more information call, 606-877-0079 or 606-260-0490.

MARCH 15

The Bell CountyRELAY FOR LIFE kickoff will begin at 5:30 p.m. on March 15 at Middlesboro Mall (center stage). Learn more about the event and how you can be involved. Register online at www.relayforlife.orge/bellky. For more information, contact Melissa Ramsey at 865-585-1071 or mramsey@arh.org.

The Bell County Cooperative Extension Service will have a TREE GRAFTING WORKSHOP at 1 p.m. on March 15 at the Bell County Bus Garage. Apple and Pear Rootstock will be available for purchase at $1.25 each. To register, call 606-337-2376.

MARCH 19

The 4-H Junior HOMEMAKER CLUB will meet at 4 p.m. on March 19 in the Extension Office. If you know a child between the ages of 9 to 15 and they would like to learn more about leadership development and how to be involved with their community, then this is the club for them.

MARCH 20,

APRIL 24, MAY 15

TIME FOR TEA AND THEE, a book club for adults, meets at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Middlesboro-Bell County Public Library. Relax with a cup of tea at these sessions. The schedule includes: March 20, The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant; April 24, The Zookeeper’s Wife; May 15, In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume; June, Where She Went, Gayle Forman. Program leaders are Michele Lawson and Pamela Blank. To register, stop by or call the library at 606-248-4812.

MARCH 20

The Wilderness Trail Area Homemaker Council MEETING is March 20 at the Clay County Extension Office. If you are interested in attending, call the office at 606-337-2376.

MARCH 27

The Bell County Cooperative Extension Service will be hosting TRY IT TUESDAY at 1 p.m. on March 27 in the Extension Office. Participants will be making an easy paper Easter wreath. To register, call 606-337-2376.

APRIL 2,

MAY 7, JUNE 4

MONDAYS R MURDER Book Club will meet at 10 a.m. on Mondays at the Middlesboro-Bell County Public Library. The schedule includes: April 2, Raylan by Elmore Leonard; May 7, Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten; and June 4, The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen. To register, call the library at 606-248-4812.

APRIL 14

SCRABBLE FOR LITERACY will begin at 5 p.m. on April 14 in the Grile at Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College. You may sign up for a sponsored team at no cost or $200 for a team of three. For more information, contact the Bell County Council on Literacy, Inc. at 606-248-2014.

APRIL 28

Registration is now open for the fourth annual RAVEN ROCK 5K Trail Run/Hike at Kingdom Come State Park in Cumberland on April 28. Run along and over some of the most extraordinary rock formations in the state, including Raven Rock, a giant rock exposure that soars 290 feet into the air at a 45-degree angle. Registration begins at 9 a.m., run at 10 a.m. The fee on the day of the even is $25. Pre-register today at runreg.com and receive $5 off. T-shirts are first come, first served for on-site registration; only guaranteed if registered online.

MAY 19, 20

Registration is now open for the second annual “Tour De Kingdom Come,” a 36-mile road race which includes the scenic Little Shepherd trail, and first annual “Dash for Cash,” an up hill 2.7 mile time trial, scheduled May 19 and 20. A multi-event discount is offered for registering for both events. If you pre-register for “Tour De Kingdom Come” then you can select “Dash for Cash” time trial event for only $10 more. There will be cash awards for the top finishers in each category. Registration is available bikereg.com.

SEPT. 8

The Bell County Relay for Life will be held Sept. 8 at the Middlesboro City Hall parking lot. Register online at www.relayforlife.orge/bellky. For more information, contact Melissa Ramsey at 865-585-1071 or mramsey@arh.org.

• • • • • • •

PLANTS SALES are underway for the spring season. The Bell County Extension Office is offering a great variety of some of your favorite produce. Plants and pricing are as follows: Strawberries (All Star and Early Glow), bundles of 25 for $3.25; blueberries (Bluecrop and Patriot, at least one of each variety should be planted together to allow for cross-pollination), $6 per plant; blackberries (Natchez), $3 per plant; raspberries (TulaMagic), $3 per plant; asparagus(Jersey Knight), $1 per plant; and onions (Candy), $4 for a bundle of 60. Orders are now being accepted. Supplies for all of these plants are very limited. Contact the Bell County Extension Office at 606-337-2376 to place your order. Orders will be available for pick-up at the Extension Office in early April (notification will be sent).

The Homemaker leader lesson for March is toaster ovens, which will be taught by Clay County FCS Agent Lora Howard at 1 p.m. at the Bell County Extension Office. To register, call 606-337-2376.

Free RAT BAIT is available at the Bell County Cooperative Extension Service, located in the basement of the Bell County Courthouse in Pineville. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program is sponsored by the Bell County Farm Bureau and the Bell County Cooperative Extension Service. For more information, call 606-337-2376.

VOLUNTEERS are needed for the Kentucky Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (Cumberland Valley District) to read a while, play a game of checkers, discuss the day’s events, reminisce or just sit and watch TV with a local senior. If you currently visit someone in a long term care facility or would like to become involved, contact Arlene Gibson at 606-864-7391 ext. 119.

VOLUNTEERS are sought at the Middlesboro Senior Citizens Center for activity assistants, answering the phone, welcoming seniors and visitors, filing, crafting, historians, entertainment, instructors in tai chi, other forms of senior exercise and a variety of educational topics for seniors. For more information, call 606-248-2990 or stop by the center.

GED classes are being offered to anyone 19 years or older. Improve your reading, writing and mathematical skills and study to receive your GED. For more information, contact the following: Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College Middlesboro campus at 606-248-3175, Bell County Council on Literacy at 606-248-2014 or the Pineville Learning Center at 606-337-3044.

Free saliva-based drug testing kits are provided and sponsored through UNITE and Stand in the Gap Coalition (SIGCO). Give Me a Reason (GMAR) is designed for parents/guardians to use to talk with their children and randomly test them, which gives them a reason to say no when tempted or offered drugs. Kits can be obtained at 44 different distribution points (DP) throughout the Tri-State area and at the SIGCO office, located at 502 Pennlyn Avenue in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. For more information, contact the SIGCO office at 423-300-1302. To pick up a kit, stop by on Mondays from 1 to 5:30 p.m.

The American RED CROSS is seeking volunteers with flexible schedules to respond to single and multi-family home fires in the Lake Cumberland service area which includes Casey, Adair, Cumberland, Clinton, Russell, Pulaski, Wayne, McCreary, Whitley, Laurel, Clay, Knox, Bell and Harlan counties. Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteers respond to assist families with shelter, support and access to basic needs immediately following a home fire – often arriving on scene even as the fire is still burning. Volunteers may apply online by visiting http://www.redcross.org/volunteer or by contacting Chapter Executive Terry Burkhart at 859-253-1331 or terry.burkhart@redcross.org.

The Lighthouse HOMELESS SHELTER, located at 117 South Pine Street in Pineville, is open seven days a week. For more information, call 606-337-9736.

Kentucky JOB CORPS, located in Prestonsburg, is open to motivated, young people ages 16-24 meeting the federal income guidelines. The program offers career training, high school and college courses, job search assistance, housing and medical benefits. For more information, contact Cynthia Bohon at 606-433-5336 (office), 606-224-1722 (cell) or Bohon.Cynthia@jobcorps.org.

Lighthouse Lifeline of Bell County non-residential SUPPORT GROUPS are held at the Lighthouse Mission Center, located at 3609 Hwy. 119 in Pineville. For more information, contact Sharon Teaney at 606-269-2187 or Ules Baker at 606-670-1949. Men’s and women’s support groups meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and at 1 p.m. on Thursdays. Youth support groups (ages 10-18) meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Lighthouse RAY OF HOPE Children’s Advocacy Center, located at 3619 Hwy. 119 in Pineville, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For information, call 606-337-9955.

The “Something Different” NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS group meets at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays at the First Christian Church of Middlesboro, located at 2130 Cumberland Avenue. Meetings are open.

Lighthouse Mission Center, located at 3609 Hwy. 119 in Pineville, will have FOOD GIVEAWAYS at 11:30 a.m. on the third and fourth Tuesday of each month. Emergency food boxes are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information, call 606-337-1834.

A military SUPPORT GROUP for all active, separated or any former military men or women meets at 6:30 p.m. each first and third Monday of the month at the Middlesboro National Guard Armory, located on 30th Street. If you face financial, relationship, criminal, adjustment, substance abuse or other problems, this is for you.

GED CLASSES will be held on Tuesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Lighthouse Career Training Center, located at 980 Old Bell High Road off of U.S. 119 in Pineville. For more information, call 606-337-9955.

Benchmark Family Services, serving Bell, Harlan, Clay, Knox, Laurel and Whitley counties, invites you to become a FOSTER PARENT. Free orientation classes are held from 5-6 p.m. on any Tuesday. For more information, call 606-526-6992 or toll free at 866-526-6992.

Applications are available for the Lighthouse MEDICAL CLINIC, located at 3619 Hwy. 119 in Pineville, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Visits are by appointment only. For more information, call 606-337-9955.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS will meet at the Living Clean Group Wallsend Community Room in Pineville. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. on Mondays; at noon on Wednesdays, closed for addicts only; and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, call 606-499-0238 or 606-302-6972.

Narconon is reminding families that the use of addicting drugs is on the rise. Take steps to PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM DRUG USE. If you know anyone who is struggling get them the help they need. For a free brochure on the signs of addiction for all drugs, call 800-431-1754 or visit DrugAbuseSolution.com. Narconon also offers free screenings and referrals.