Mon., June 10: apple pork chop, brussel sprouts, scalloped potatoes, ww dinner roll, peach crisp.

Tues., June 11: Centers Closed In Service

Wed., June 12: hamburger, beet & cucumber salad, cream of broccoli soup, ww sandwich roll, crackers, ice cream cup.

Thur., June 13: rosemary roast turkey, peas & pearl onions, cranberry sauce, ww bread, stuffing, chocolate chip cookie.

Fri., June 14: Centers Closed Volunteer Recognition.

Communities and organizations have come together to organize Community Fun Day on June 22, 2013, at the Hallstead Ball Park, Route 11, Hallstead, PA.

Employees of Peoples Neighborhood Bank and Friends of Susquehanna County, Inc. are working together with community leaders, civic organizations, churches and individuals to make this a family friendly day.

There will be a parade at 1pm with registration at 12:30pm in front of the Hallstead Library, Franklin Street, Hallstead, PA. Following will by an afternoon and evening of food, children’s games, scavenger hunt, pie eating contest, silent auction, karaoke contest, child safety demonstration by Great Bend firemen, CHIP program (child fingerprinting), and numerous vendors.

If you and/or your organization would be interested in being a part of Community Fun Day please contact April, at 570-878-3881 or Alice, at 570-756-2044.

The 400-acred nature preserve, Florence Shelly Wetlands, is recognized as an ecological niche of uncommon diversity, and on Sunday, June 9, at 2:00 PM, participants on a guided nature walk will discover both rare and common wildflowers, all of them a delight to discover hidden among leaves, clustered along streambeds, nestled against rocky outcroppings, and even feeding on insects in a bog. The walk will be led by Nancy Wottrich, a local naturalist and environmental educator.

What makes Nancy’s walks particularly engrossing is that she doesn’t just point to plants and name them, she invites you into understanding how they grow, why they flourish in particular places and not in others, and what challenges they’re facing from insects, invasive plant species, the opening of woodlands, and other factors.

Whether you’re an expert on wildflowers or your skills don’t extend much beyond differentiating between violets and dandelions, you’ll gain experience in identifying plants under Nancy’s tutelage. She will have field guides on hand and will help you learn shortcuts to identifying flowers by leaves, stalks, etc., so you don’t have to flip through an entire guidebook to find the plant before you.

The walk will begin at the Stalk Road parking lot, follow the trail through woodlands and wetlands, and take in Weirs Pond, a glacial bog where the carnivorous pitcher plants should be in full bloom. Also at the pond, tucked among the ancient rocks, there are two rare species of wildflower, yellow clintonia and twisted rosy stalk. If the cold weather holds, you may spot the extravagantly beautiful Lady’s Slippers hidden in the woods.

The walk is scheduled to last two hours, but you may go as far as you want and leave at any time. An optional extra hour of wildflower viewing is possible.

Nancy Wottrick has been in the field of environmental education and interpretive natural history since 1980. She has a Masters degree in Environmental Studies and has worked with all age groups in nature centers, teaching about natural history by using the whole ecology approach that considers species in the context of their surroundings. She has been actively involved with Salt Springs State Park and does biological surveys in the fields of land protection and land trust. Since 2001 she has worked as environmental consultant in Susquehanna County.

The wildflower walk is free of charge and we’ll go if it rains, so bring rain gear if necessary. Even if the sun is out, it’s a good idea to wear waterproof shoes, since we’ll be walking in a wetland. No reservations are required. Just meet a few minutes before 2:00 PM at the preserve parking lot one mile north of Thompson on Route 171, at the point where Stack Road intersects. A sign marks the entrance. For more information call Trebbe Johnson at 570/727-4272.