August 17

DINNER, Wed., August 17, 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Clifford UM Church. Eat in or take out.

WING NIGHT, Wed., August 17 at Kirkwood Elks Lodge.

August 18

PIZZA NIGHT and Open Mic Country, Thurs., August 18, 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Kirkwood Elks Lodge.

WORKSHOP & CLINIC: Horse Manure Management, August 18, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Yar-Corte Acres, Kingsley. For info call 570-278-4600 etc. 284.

August 19

FREE HOT DOGS, Fri., August 19, 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Mormon Monument, Rte. 171, Susquehanna. Weather Permitting.

August 19-20

THEATER UNDER THE STARS Production: “Out of the Frying Pan,” August 19 & 20, picnic 7:00 p.m., show at twilight at Whipple Performing Arts Studio, Tunkhannock. For info call 570-836-6986.

MUSICAL: Aladdin, August 19-20, 6:00 p.m. at Music Box Dinner Playhouse, Swoyersville. For info call 283-2195.

August 19-21

BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL: Pickin’ in the Park, August 19-21, Fri., 5:00 p.m., Sat. & Sun., 10:00 a.m. at Ashcraft Park, Little Meadows. For info call 570-934-2507.

August 20

GOOD NEWS LUNCH, August 20, noon at St. Mark’s Church, New Milford. Free, all welcome.

BINGO, Sat., August 20, 7:00 p.m. at Blue Ridge Sportsmen’s Club, New Milford. All welcome.

CHICKEN BBQ, Sat., August 20, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at East Ararat UM Church. Eat in or take out.

OPENING RECEPTION for Ellen Jamiolkowski, Elizabeth Mayhle & Ivana Pavelka exhibit, Sat., August 20, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Butternut Gallery & Second Story Books, Montrose. Exhibit on view August 20 - September 14.

REUNION - Westside Hell Raisers, Sat., August 20, noon at Lanesboro Town Hall. Bring dish to pass and beverage. All Tri Boro residents welcome. For info/to rsvp e-mail kfrench1025@gmail.com.

CHICKEN BBQ, Sat., August 20, 12:00 p.m. at Kirkwood Elks Lodge.

ANTIQUE CAR SHOW, Sat., August 20, 4:00-8:00 p.m. at Kirkwood Elks Lodge.

August 21

PANCAKE BREAKFAST, Sun., August 21, 7:00-11:00 a.m. at Blue Ridge Sportsmen’s Club, New Milford. All you can eat, all welcome.

PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT, Sun., August 21, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at Salt Springs State Park.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST, Sun., August 21, 8:00-11:00 a.m. at Thompson Hose Co. All welcome.

August 24

MEETING - Advisory Committee of Clifford Twp., August 24, 7:00 p.m. in the township municipal building.

August 25

LAWN SUPPER, Thurs., August 25, 5:00 p.m. at Starrucca Baptist Social Rooms. Donation plus item for food pantry.

August 26-27

BLOCK PARTY, August 26-27, 5:00-10:00 p.m. at St. Stanislaus Polish National Catholic Cathedral, Scranton. For info call 961-9231.

August 27

ROAST BEEF SUPPER, Sat., August 27, 5:00 p.m. at Thompson UM Church. All welcome.

August 28

BREAKFAST, Sun., August 28, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Hall.

GOLF TOURNEY to benefit Union Dale Vol. Fire Co., August 28, 1:30 p.m. at Lake Loraine Golf Course.

Senior Center Menu August 15 - 19

Monday, August 15: beef roll ups, green beans, boiled new potatoes, grain bread, rice pudding w/ raisins.

Tuesday, August 16: Dutch fried chicken, broccoli slaw, potato salad, ww bread, crackers, chocolate chip brownie.

Wednesday, August 17: beans and franks, chunky vegetable soup, cornbread, crackers, watermelon.

Thursday, August 18: meatball hoagie, waldorf salad, baked fries, ww hoagie roll, cherry cobbler.

Friday, August 19: sweet and sour pork, mixed Asian vegetables, steamed brown rice, wheat dinner roll, orange.

Senior Center Menu August 22 - 26

Monday, August 22: chicken parmesan, ww pasta, spinach salad, steamed broccoli, Italian bread, lemon sorbet.

Tuesday, August 23: fish sticks, cauliflower and peas, scalloped potatoes, grain dinner roll, apricots.

Wednesday, August 24: steak and peppers w/ cheese, roasted red potatoes, hoagie roll, ice cream sandwich, orange.

Thursday, August 25: tuna stuffed tomato, carrots and celery sticks, crackers, rice salad, peaches .

Friday, August 26: breaded pork patty, minestrone soup, potatoes au gratin, ww bread, crackers, fruited jello.

The Relay For Life of Susquehanna County in cooperation with Basement Audio, CarpFest Enterprises and PJ O’Hares are excited to announce Fall Fest to benefit The Relay For Life of Susquehanna County.

“I’m excited to have other organizations in the community working with us to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society,” stated Peter Bell, Chairperson of the Relay For Life of Susquehanna County, “With the support of the entire community we are that much closer to finding a cure for a disease that touches so many of us!”

Fall Fest will be held on Labor Day Weekend 2011, Friday through Sunday, at PJ O’Hare’s in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. Over 20 bands from throughout Pennsylvania and New York will be participating in this major fundraiser. Bands will begin performing at 4 p.m. each day and end at 2 a.m. with a different line up each day. There will be a donation per person required at the door or advance tickets are available at PJ O’Hare’s for all three days.

"I’ve wanted to produce a large concert event for a long time, but I wanted it to mean something - something for the greater good.” Stated Loren Carpenter, CEO of CarpFest Enterprises, “So I approached the American Cancer Society, along with the help of Basement Audio and PJ O'Hare's we came up with Fall Fest. Quite simply, this will be the largest music festival in the history of Susquehanna County."

"We are truly honored to host this important fundraising event for ACS,” said Brook O’Hare, Co-Owner and Executive Chef of PJ O’Hare’s, “and for all the hard work that everyone has put into it and all the great music we have lined up, we're expecting a great turnout and a great time to be had by all."

The Susquehanna County Farm Bureau, in partnership with the DEP Northeast Regional Office and the Susquehanna County Conservation District, would like to invite you to join them on a summer farm tour on August 30. Participants will meet at the Price Chopper in Montrose at 9:30 a.m. and depart by bus at 10:00 a.m.

The first stop will be Dennis LaRue’s dairy & vegetable farm where there are various things to see. They have a farm market, hi-tunnel vegetable production, concrete barnyard and a natural gas drill pad site. This farm is also in the Ag Preservation Program. The next stop will be John Benscoter’s no-till corn where there will be discussions on residual management, soil sampling and fall cover crop. The last stop will be Ed Kelley’s beef operation. Here, participants will see his concrete barnyard, stream bank fencing, spring development and a flout discharge demonstration. This tour will provide a wide variety of best management practices.

Local officials and legislators have been invited. Following the tour, the group will be having lunch at Rush Auxiliary Hall in Lawton, PA. There will be no charge for lunch. For more information or to make reservations, call Donna at 570-942-6348.

Nestled in the rolling Endless Mountains of Susquehanna County is the village of Harford whose residents enjoy a simple, quiet existence for fifty-one weeks a year. However, everything changes during the third full week of August when approximately 65,000 visitors from near and far come to celebrate a long standing tradition, the Harford Fair. What is it about this simple country fair that draws such a diverse crowd? This fair is one of the few truly agricultural country fairs which exists today. The fair will celebrate its 154th anniversary on August 22-27, 2011.

The 12 members of the Board of Directors, the fair secretary, the office staff, as well as many volunteers work diligently each year to make the event something truly memorable. Highlights of the main arena events will include Aaron Kelly, the Jane Dear Girls, and Josh Thompson, the semi/mod and pick-up truck pull, a hot tractor sanctioned pull, a Jack pot demolition derby, and a first time “Fiddlin’ at the Fair” Blue Grass Festival as well as the popular annual events of the rodeo, the horse pulls, and the woodsmen’s contest. At the north end of the main arena is the horse arena which features a variety of equestrian events throughout the week. Kay Rosaire’s Big Cat Show will perform free three times a day all week long in the North Arena. Hard wood carver Luree Magee will demonstrate each day and her menagerie of creations will be auctioned off to the public on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

The paved paths around the grounds make for easy accessibility for everyone. A new service by J & JR, INC. will have power chairs, wheelchairs, and strollers to rent. Jim Houghton’s Enterprises will return with midway rides and a variety of musical acts will perform in the Shade Pavilion daily which will include the Lenoxville Band which has performed every year since 1940.

The Harford Fair has a rich and long-time history. Officially known as the Harford Agricultural Society, the first fair, with seventy-six members, was held November 9, 1858, in the sheds around the First Congregational Church in the town of Harford. One of the first exhibits recorded was five heads of cabbage each weighing seventeen pounds. The finale that first year was fifty yoke of oxen connected with one chain parading through the town and drawing several wagons with the Directors and Officials. The one-day event was moved to October a few years later and the entrance fee was ten cents. The main attractions were speakers, brass bands, plowing matches, and, of course, the agricultural displays. The fair became a two-day event in 1865.

In 1880, the 117 acre fair grounds hosted 1,000 teams of oxen and 3,500 people. While the acreage has remained the same the number of exhibitors, visitors, and entertainers has grown, as has the length of the fair. Now a six-day fair with twenty-three different departments within the fair, it provides opportunities for young and old alike to exhibit handcrafts, school projects, agricultural items, fruits, vegetables, baked goods, animals, photography and art work. Each year, thousands of residents from Susquehanna County as well as adjoining counties exhibit items for competition. There are over 200 commercial space renters who display their wares as well.

From the diaper-clad to the octogenarian, there is something for everyone at the Harford Fair. Play “Farmer for a Day,” learn how bees make honey, or milk a goat. Interesting artifacts will be on display in the Founders Museum. Whatever tickles your taste buds can be found at the Harford Fair from funnel cakes to corn on the cob. The fair is a guilt-free zone!

Visit the website www.harfordfair.com for details and schedules. Make your plans now for August 22-27; take Exit 217 off route I-81 for good family fun. See you at the fair!

Sunday, September 11 is set as the 96th celebration of the Nicholson Bridge, also known as the Tunkhannock Viaduct. Main Street in Nicholson will be the showcase for over 50 vendors offering a variety of products including arts and crafts, food, collectibles, decorative items, plants and much more. Main Street will be closed on that day and the activities will start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.

The Last Shot Band will perform all day. Two other youth bands will play intermittently and the Nicholson Guitar Studio will show off local talents.

A pet show will be held at 10:00 a.m., with registration for the show starting at 9:30 a.m. Joel Vanwert from the Kindred Lycans, a local motorcycle club, will talk about motorcycle safety, and at 11:00 a.m. the Masons, together with the ladies from the Nicholson Women’s Club, will offer a delicious chicken barbeque dinner.

A special feature will be the town history walk with Bob Gritman. It will start at 12:30 p.m. in the parking lot of the United Methodist Church on Rte. 92 (two blocks from Main Street). Emphasis will be on four houses in Nicholson - one of them the oldest house in Nicholson, another the parsonage of the UM Church, the third house originally served as a hospital, and the fourth will be one that was originally sold by Sears and Roebuck. The walk should offer an interesting medley of different aspects and constructions.

At 1:00 p.m. the Wyoming County Players will do a performance in the parking lot of the First National Bank on Main Street. Their show will be followed by the T Town Twirlers from Tunkhannock. The Endless Mountain Train Collectors will display various trains and railroad collectibles in the building of Farmers Supply on Main Street all day long.

Nicholson Bridge Day, sponsored by the Nicholson Women’s Club, will be filled with good fun and entertainment for the whole family. For more information call 570-942-4443 or 570-575-9874.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - As the Marcellus natural-gas boom has reverberated around Pennsylvania, residents and scientists alike have expressed concern about the impact extensive drilling and associated infrastructure development is having on wildlife habitat.

Wildlife managers and protectors are worried about forest fragmentation, the advance of invasive plant species and the effect the Marcellus play is having on activities such as hunting, fishing, bird watching and wildlife viewing.

There have been more than 2,350 wells drilled into the deep Marcellus formation under Pennsylvania in the last few years, primarily in the southwest, northeast and northcentral regions.

A Web-based seminar presented by Penn State Extension will offer a look at the latest information on the subject. Titled, "A Research Update on the Effects of Marcellus Shale Drilling on Wildlife Habitat," the one-hour session will take place at 1 p.m. on Aug. 25.

"The webinar will cover landscape and habitat changes associated with Marcellus Shale exploration and development, and how that may affect Pennsylvania wildlife and wildlife-associated recreation," said presenter Margaret Brittingham, professor of wildlife resources in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

"I will discuss research we recently have completed on shallow wells and give an overview of our current research project, which is looking at the effects of Marcellus Shale gas exploration and development on wildlife habitat in general and forest songbirds in particular."

Pennsylvania contains internationally important breeding habitat for a number of neotropical migrant songbirds that - if degraded - would affect world populations, Brittingham noted. And much of the extensive gas development is occurring in the state's northern tier, where some of the densest forests in North America provide ecologically vital bird habitat.

However, that new research is in its early phase, Brittingham explained. "We currently are collecting baseline data and determining whether there are any detectable changes at this stage of development," she said.

"I will conclude the webinar by discussing habitat-restoration needs, guidelines and opportunities, both for minimizing potential problems and enhancing habitat quality."

The webinar is part of a series of online workshops addressing opportunities and challenges related to the state's Marcellus Shale gas boom. Information about how to register for the session is available on the webinar page of Penn State Extension's natural-gas website at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas/webinars.

A webinar at 1 p.m. on September 15 will focus on current legal issues in shale-gas development.

Previous webinars, publications and information on topics such as air pollution from gas development; the gas boom's effect on landfills; water use and quality; zoning; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; implications for local communities; and gas pipelines and right-of-way issues also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website, http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas.

For more information about the webinar, contact John Turack, extension educator in Westmoreland County, at (724) 837-1402 or by e-mail at jdt15@psu.edu.

Beginning and experienced writers are welcome at the six session Writing Workshop offered by the Montrose Area Adult School this fall.

The classes, beginning September 8 and running for six consecutive Thursdays, will include the basics common to all good writing, opportunities for in-class feedback on students’ work, how to research, and information on publishing opportunities for those interested in that aspect.

Workshop instructor, Ann Vitale, has experience in teaching and coaching writers of fiction and non-fiction at all levels, including memoir, personal essay and short story. She teaches writing at adult schools in three counties, has been published in short and long non-fiction as well as fiction, and ghost-writes speeches. An active member of two read and critique writers groups and Penn Writers, the state writing association, she attends conferences to keep current with ways to inspire and coach aspiring writers.

“Good writing is good writing,” she says, “whether you are writing family stories and hope your kids will find them interesting, or if you are creating a fantasy or mystery novel. I teach my students to listen and question each other. They actually help their classmates improve their stories. Several past students have gone on to publish and be paid for short fillers, essays, and flash fiction.”

Register for this and a wide variety of other classes through the Montrose Area Adult School. Catalogues are available at the county libraries and on-line at montoseadultschool.org.