Tunkhannock PA - The Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau has announced the release of its 2012 Guide to the Endless Mountains.

Those familiar with the guide will notice that it has a new name. Since 1998, the publication has been called the Endless Mountains Visitors Guide. Since so many local residents and business people and their families staying in our area have been utilizing the guide, the bureau felt the name needed to reflect the growing demand of its use by the public in general - not just the visitor.

The 44-page color booklet is an informational guide to the Endless Mountains Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, covering everything from where to stay and dine, to what to see and do. The category-based layout makes finding information on activities, lodgings, shops, eateries, scenic sites, and businesses easy.

Many people are drawn to the Endless Mountains for its rich historical background, scenic beauty and recreational and business opportunities. In the guide, the reader will find where all the local museums, monuments, and historic sites can be found. It also points out breathtaking scenic vistas and overlooks, as well as where to enrich the mind through art exhibits, music and theatre performances. The recreation section offers a variety of seasonal activities to choose from including biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing, golfing, and skiing. Plus, the local services section will help in finding particular businesses or organizations in the area.

Special articles highlight the bureau’s history, family fun, lake activities, and a surprising story about some uninvited hiking guests. The guide also includes the first place photos from the 2011 Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau Photo Contest. The cover photo is a contest winner as well. Lee Shelly’s photo of a bench along Lake Willis in Susquehanna County took Grand Prize in the 2010 contest.

The release of the 2012 Guide to the Endless Mountains is one in a series of events to be scheduled in celebration of the visitors bureau’s 50th anniversary. Another big event for the bureau this year is the purchase, renovation, and grand opening of a new office/visitors center. In October 2011, the bureau purchased a home at the top of Mile Hill in Tunkhannock and is now in the renovation stages of development. The ribbon cutting and grand opening should take place sometime this spring.

The bureau is the designated tourism promotion agency for Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties.

To receive a copy of the Guide to the Endless Mountains, call the bureau at 570-836-5431 or 800-769-8999, or email becky@endlessmountains.org.

The Foster Grandparent Program’s sixteen foster grandparents helped create Ugly Quilt sleeping bags on Tuesday, January 10 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy by working together to tackle area problems. The local Foster Grandparents joined hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country in making the holiday a day on, not a day off by serving others.

“Martin Luther King devoted his life to advancing equality, social justice, and opportunity for all, and taught us that everyone has a role to play in making America what it ought to be,” said Jesse Newman, the Director of the Foster Grandparent Program. “By serving today and throughout the year, we honor Dr. King and help realize his dream of equality and opportunity for all.”

The Foster Grandparent volunteers met at Emerson Apartments and helped create Ugly Quilt sleeping bags to be distributed to the homeless. The volunteers donated a total of eight hours to create sleeping bags.

The Corporation for National and Community Service leads the annual MLK Day of Service, working with the King Center in Atlanta and thousands of nonprofit groups, faith-based organizations, and schools and businesses nationwide. Projects take place in all fifty states and include delivering meals, refurbishing schools and community centers, collecting food and clothing, signing up mentors, reading to children, promoting nonviolence and more.

Many organizations use MLK Day as the springboard for service throughout the year.

“Because of the economic downturn, needs in our community are particularly great right now. Addressing the challenge of helping the homeless will take a sustained effort, and we hope many who are serving today will make an ongoing commitment to serve throughout the year,” said Newman.

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service each year through its core programs, Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve. Visit nationalservice.gov for more information.

For more information on the Foster Grandparent Program and other Area Agency on Aging services please call 1-800-982-4346. The B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging, Inc. is funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and the Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga County Commissioners.