MAY 14

GELATT CEMETARY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING:

Saturday, May 14, 1:00 p.m., at the home of William and Elaine Wood. Rt. 92. For information call (570) 756-2430 or (570) 396-6061.

MAY 14

SPAGHETTI & HOMEMADE MEATBALL DINNER: Saturday, May 14, 4:00 p.m.- 7:00 p.m., Knights of Columbus Hall, 65 Kilroy Street, Great Bend, Pa. Take out available.

MAY 15

NEWTON HILL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING: Sunday, May 15, 1:00 p.m., at the home of Gary & Ely, Watrous Corners.

MAY 15

OPEN HOUSE: 24th Annual Open House of the Wyoming County Historical Society, May 15, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. free, children welcome, located in the Old Harrison Street School Building on the corner of Harrison and Bridge Streets in Tunkhannock.

MAY 18

CHICKEN-N-BISCUIT or HAM DINNER: Wednesday, May 18, 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Clifford United Methodist Church Main Street, Clifford, Pa. Take out or dine with us.

MAY 21

GOOD NEWS LUNCH: Saturday, May 21, Noon, St. Marks Church, New Milford, Pa. Free Meal. All are welcome.

MAY 21

QUAKER LAKE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING: MAY 21,10:00 a.m., Silver Lake Christian Community Church, John C. McNamara Dr. Laurel Lake, Pa.

MAY 27-29

PENNY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL: Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 27-29, 199 Wrench Lane, Bainbridge (off St. Rt. 206) For more information Call: Don Hardic 570-934-2507 or Gene Clayton 607-748-6671.

MONDAY

Hot open face pork sandwich, mashed potatoes, crackers, rice krispie treat

TUESDAY

Spaghetti & meatballs, tossed salad, steamed broccoli w/ garlic, chocolate pudding

WEDNESDAY

Chicken verona, herbed potatoes, savory spinach, whole wheat roll, lemon sorbet

THURSDAY

Beef & broccoli, steamed rice, carrots & cauliflower, scalloped pears

FRIDAY

Mashed potatoes, green beans, whole wheat roll, cherry gelatin

Upcoming NWTF Banquet Benefits a Great Conservation Cause

The 31st annual “Save the Habitat Save the Hunt” of the Wilson F. Moore Memorial (WFMM) Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) banquet will feature food, fun, fellowship and fundraising as the main commitments. The event will be held on Saturday, June 18th at Ayres-Stone Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5642, 1 mile East of Montrose on State Route 706. Doors open at 5:00pm. Come early to relax and enjoy social hour before sitting down for a delicious meal.

The NWTF’s Hunting Heritage Banquets raise funds for wild turkey conservation and habitat restoration while combining a great meal with a chance to swap stories with other sportsmen and women. Meet new friends who share a passion for the outdoors. Win valuable prizes and purchase items unique to the NWTF. Banquet attendees can go home with sporting art, unique hunting firearms, knives, wildlife calls, outdoor equipment and more by placing the highest bid on the silent or live auctions or winning raffle games. Banquet attendees receive an NWTF membership while doing great things for wild turkey conservation and the preservation of hunting heritage.

The NWTF is a national nonprofit conservation organization that was founded in 1973 and has worked with wildlife agencies to restore wild turkey populations from 1.3 million wild turkeys to nearly 7 million today. Now, NWTF’s volunteers raise funds and work daily to improve critical wildlife habitat, increase access to public hunting land and introduce new people to the outdoors and hunting. Together, the NWTF's partners, sponsors and grassroots members have raised and spent more than $373 million preserving hunting heritage and conserving nearly 17 million acres of wildlife habitat.

The NWTF and its members raise money through ticket sales, silent auctions, live auctions and raffles. The money is combined with donations from corporate sponsors and individuals concerned about wildlife conservation.

Dave Wilcox

Dave Wilcox, one of the founding members of the WFMM Chapter, explained ”The WFFM Chapter has funded, via the NWTF Super Fund program, over $60,000 worth of habitat improvement work on Pennsylvania State Game Lands in Susquehanna and neighboring counties. We also sent $5000 to the Friends of Salt Springs organization to further the land purchases for the continued advance of Salt Springs State Park.”

To reserve tickets to the 31st Annual banquet and join the nation’s most progressive single-species conservation organization call one of the following individuals: Jack Sorber (President) 570-623-2105, Rusty Ely (Banquet Chairman) 570-396-0216, Al Cuevas (VP) 570-396-5033, Tom Norville (Treasurer) 570-432-0041, Dave Wilcox 570-278-2818, Bob Wagner 570-278-1011, ext. 108.

After a cold but snowless winter and a premature spring followed by a late and a chilling return to winter, spring has arrived at last, and the woods, meadows, and wetlands of northeastern Pennsylvania are filled with the sight and songs of migrating birds. For dedicated birders and curious amateurs alike, spring heralds a popular tradition at Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve in Thompson, PA—our annual bird walks. In the company of experienced naturalists, walk participants identify birds by sight and song as they ramble through the 400-acre nature preserve that is deservedly known as a “birder’s paradise.”

On Saturday, May 14 at 6:00 AM, Ron Milliken will guide his twenty-fifth annual walk in the preserve. Especially popular among experienced birders, this walk covers a wide area of the preserve, with the result that participants can expect to locate between 60 and 65 bird species. An enthusiastic and tireless naturalist himself, Milliken typically arrives at the preserve before daybreak and keeps trekking throughout the morning, though participants are free to leave the group at any time they wish.

The following Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 AM Evan Mann, a local birder and walk leader, will conduct a leisurely walk around the preserve, providing an excellent education about the birds that live year-round at the preserve and those that migrate through. Besides identifying birds that are nesting in the preserve’s diverse ecological niches, he will discuss the habits of the various species and offer helpful pneumonic tricks for identifying them by their songs.

On both walks participants can expect to discover tree swallows, wrens, and sparrows in the brushy meadows. The deep boreal bog, Weir’s Pond, attracts eastern bluebirds nesting in dead snags, swamp sparrows, and belted kingfishers. Warblers—small, vocal, and earth-colored—show up in a number of different habitats. Hawks can be spied hunting in open areas, while the preserve’s pristine brook and dense woodlands offer ideal habitats for the northern water thrush, Baltimore orioles, scarlet tanagers and least flycatchers. Plews Swamp, on the northern end of the preserve, is  the preferred habitat for families of wood ducks, mallards, and red-winged blackbirds.

The walks are free, and you do not need to make reservations. Both walks begin at the Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve parking lot one mile north of Thompson on Route 171, opposite Stack Road. The terrain is mostly flat, but be advised that the trails are narrow and uneven, with stones and tree roots. If it’s been raining recently, be sure to wear protective footwear. Bring your binoculars, and come prepared to spend a morning, or mornings, exploring the fascinating world of birds. For further information, contact Trebbe Johnson, 570/396-0293.

Lexonville, PA – Equines for Freedom will be hosting their first Endless Mountains Wine Fest on May 29, 2016 from 12:00PM until 5:00PM at Creekside Grove in Lenoxville, PA.  Equines for Freedom invites the public to come and sip some local wine, snack on delicious food and shop specialty retailers to help raise money for their Equine Therapy Program used to treat Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Local participating wineries to include Capra Collina, Case Quattro, Hidden Creek, Lucchi Family Winery and Maiolatesi Wine Cellars.  Food Vendors will be selling mouthwatering eats and treats.

Food and wine aren’t the only attractive features of this event.  There will also be a variety of local retailers displaying their unique and beautiful wares for purchase. Patrons may also relax with a chair massage while enjoying live music provided by Erich and Friends!

Located at Marely’s Mission Newton Township Campus, 2150 Port Royal Rd in Clarks Summit, the mission of Equines for Freedom is “to provide equine-assisted PTSD treatment to current and former U.S. service members, regardless of the source of trauma or their characterization of service, at no charge to the service member.” 

Founded in 2015 as a 501 C-3 Non-Profit Organization, Equines for Freedom continues to work vigorously to help our Veterans heal with equine-assisted EMDR.  This proven trauma therapy coupled with the power of healing provided by horses is offered FREE of charge to those Veterans suffering from PTSD.   If you are interested in donating to this worthy cause, please visit http://equinesforfreedom.org/donate.  If you are unable to make a monetary donation, the organization is still in need of volunteers who can donate their time and talent.  For more information, please call: 570-665-2483 or email: eff@equinesforfreedom.org.