SEPTEMBER

“LISTENING” WORSHIP: UMCC Greats Bend’s Alive Together worship service at 6:00-7:30pm for the entire month of September. A new series called “Listening” will cover topis of Difficulty of Listening, Listening to Others, God Listens to Us, Discernment. Contact the church for more information 570-879-4506.

SEPTEMBER 9

CREATIVE CRAYONS CLOSING: Friday, September 9th, Creative Crayons in Hallstead is unfortunately ending services as a child care provider. While this is a blow to Mrs. Conklin and her staff on a personal level, they did nothing but care and love our communities children and helped them grow and learn. There will be a liquidation sale of the toys, furniture, etc of what is in the center. If you have any questions, call Sara at the center 570-879-0944.

MUM SALE: Friday, September 9th at 9:00am, SOLD OUT at Schneiders Market, Sponsored by SCDA Hometown Days Committee.

SEPTEMBER 10

SPAGHETTI DINNER: Knights of Columbus Council 356 in Great Bend. A spaghetti and homemade meatball dinner with salad, bread homemade dessert and beverages, take-outs available.

SEPTEMBER 11

ICE CREAM SOCIAL: Sunday, September 11th at 10:30am. South Gibson UMC on Rte 2067 Sunday School will be having an Ice Cream Social following their 10:30am worship.

NICHOLSON BRIDGE DAY: Sunday, September 11th from 9am to 4pm Intersection Rt 92 and Main Street in Nicholson, Pa. Many vendors with arts, crafts, antiques, food, live music and entertainment, Chicken BBQ, Children’s games, carriage rides. For more information call 570-942-6747

SEPTEMBER 16

Bible Study Class: Every Friday beginning September 16th at 7:00pm in the Trinity Center, 380 Franklin Street in Great Bend, PA. Moderated by Sister Bridget. Light refreshments will be served, for additional information please contact Marcie Maholick at 570-879-4965.

Local Author’s Luncheon: Friday, September 16th beginning at 11:30am at the Stone Bridge Inn & Restaurant near Elk Mountain. Guest speaker is Natalie Harnett, author of award winning novel The Hollow Ground. Natalie will be speaking and book signing at 12:30. For more information, call the library at 570-785-5590.

SEPTEMBER 17

Good News Lunch: Saturday, September 17 at noon, at St Marks Church in New Milford. Free meals, all are welcome!

SEPTEMBER 20

MOUNTAIN VIEW GARDEN CLUB MEETING: Tuesday September 20, the Mountain View Garden Club will hold their meeting at the Fire Hall on Route 106 in Clifford at 7:00. A presentation will be done by Trevor Kashuba from Corky’s Garden Center in Justus. The public is invited. For more information, contact Membership Chair Mary Ann O’Peck at 570-785-5691 or maopecko2000@yahoo.com

EVERY WEDNESDAY

LUPO’S CHICKEN SPIEDIE SANDWICHES & SALADS: Susquehanna High School Football Confession Stand, 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. All proceeds go to SEA students for their Science trips to Costa Rica & Iceland next June.

In 1978, when a small group of local, amateur naturalists first contacted The Nature Conservancy about a seemingly nondescript wetlands area in northeastern Pennsylvania, regional directors of the international environmental organization were immediately interested. The Nature Conservancy purchases valuable wilderness areas in order to protect them, and their decision to acquire the land that was to become the Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve reserve was based on several important factors: the diverse wetlands areas, which contribute to the ecological health of a bioregion; the diversity of plant and animal species; and the presence of a small stand of balsam firs growing wild there. The balsam fir normally thrives in northern woodlands, and it is believed that these trees make up one of the southernmost stands in the U.S.

Besides the rare balsams, the Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve features many species of trees that tell a unique tale about this particular area and its human and natural history. On Sunday, September 11, at 2 PM, Hank Hartman a retired forester and longtime member of the preserve stewardship committee, will lead a walk to identify some of these trees, discuss their special qualities and describe some of the modern environmental challenges affecting them.

Other indigenous trees at the preserve include maple, ash, a few species of oak, shadbush (named because they flower around the time the shad are running in the rivers), black cherry and many others. There is even a rare American elm. Walk participants will notice a line of sugar maples along the main trail, planted for convenient sugar tapping by the farm family who lived on the land almost a hundred years ago. Apple trees and a lilac, half hidden in goldenrod and hardhack give further evidence of human habitation in what is now a wildlife refuge. Dense, dark patches of scotch and Austrian pines are remnants of the pine plantations planted by the Conservation Corps during the Depression more than seventy years ago and never thinned.

Mr. Hartman will give tips for identifying trees by their bark, leaves, cones and other characteristics. He will point out damage caused by insect species from remote places and explain why trees—and the humans who are concerned about them—have such difficulty combatting these pests. The walk will last approximately two hours.

The Florence Shelly Preserve is located one mile north of Thompson, PA on Route 171. The walk is free and there is no need to make reservations. The trails are quite flat, but tree roots and rocks have made them very uneven, so wear sturdy shoes and come prepared to walk carefully. Parking is available in the lot just opposite Stack Road. If we’ve had recent rains, you are urged to wear shoes appropriate for walking in wetlands.

The Towanda Public Library, 104 Main Street, Towanda PA, will have the pleasure of working with local artist, Stefiny Thomas, as she shares her knowledge and enthusiasm in a series of artist residency workshops sponsored by the Northern Tier Partnership for Arts in Education of the Bradford County Regional Arts Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

These workshops will explore beginner drawing and painting techniques as well as color theory, paper mache mask-making and recycled sculpture art. A final exhibit of all created art works will be on October 22 from 3 to 5 pm at the Towanda Public Library with refreshments provided.

The workshops begin September 12 and 14 and covers the basics of drawing techniques. September 19, 21, 26 and 28 is the Recycled Sculpture series. Bring in all of your recycling and turn it into a beautiful piece of art. October 3 and 5 covers Intro to Painting and Color Theory. October 10 and 12 will be Paper Mache Mask Making workshops. All of these classes are from 4pm to 6 pm each day and held at the Towanda Public Library. These workshops are free and open to all ages. Come to one workshops or come to them all. Individuals must register for the workshops through Anya Hudyncia at the Bradford County Regional Arts Council as space is limited. She can be reached at (570)268-2787 and also by email at ntpaie@bcrac.org.

The Northern Tier Partnership for Arts in Education strives to provide intensive on-going arts experiences that affirm the creative potential of each person, enhance technical knowledge and ability, inspire creativity, stimulate the expression of personal vision, and applaud excellence. The Northern Tier Partnership is one of many regional service providers selected by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to work in partnership with the state in designing and creating initiatives to make a significant impact on arts in education programs across the state.  The NTPAIE is facilitated by the Bradford County Regional Arts Council and serves Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Sullivan, Tioga, and Wyoming Counties. If interested in hosting workshops similar to these, please contact Anya Hudyncia at the BCRAC.

The BCRAC, established in 1976, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and supporting a thriving regional arts community by advocating for the Arts, cultivating quality arts programming and preserving Bradford County's historic theatres as venues for performances, community events, and movies. For more information, visit BCRAC online at www.bcrac.org or www.facebook.com/BCRAC.

The Children’s Center of Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties is located at the Tannery Place, 498 S. Main St., Montrose, PA.  Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania is a Multidisciplinary Team,  comprised of volunteers from Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties.  Offices represented on this team consist of members of the District Attorney Offices, Local and State Law Enforcement Offices, Child Protective Services, Victims Services, Medical Providers and Mental Health Providers, who oversee the program.

The Children’s Center invites individuals and families to join them at the inaugural Breaking Clays for Kids shooting event on Saturday, September 17th, 9:00 AM at Rock Mountain Sporting Clays, 674 Leon Mitchell Rd., Springville, PA.  Funds raised from this event will underwrite expenses for The Children’s Center.

The Shoot begins with registration and breakfast at 9:00 AM, followed by a shotgun start at 10:00 AM.  Seventeen stations will be made available to the participants that day.  Immediately following the shoot, an awards luncheon will take place at the Pavilion.  Top Gun Prizes will be awarded to the Male, Female and Youth with the best score. 

The supports and services of The Children’s Center, a Child Advocacy Center, are free to all children of abuse or victimization.  The Children’s Center is a child-friendly environment which meets the needs of the individual and allows the child to tell their story in comfort and safety.  The mission of the CAC is to provide a safe, comfortable environment for children and their families as they go through the interviewing and examination processes after disclosing some type of traumatic experience.  For additional information on The Children’s Center or the Breaking Clays for Kids event, contact Janine at 570-823-5144, ext. 270.

Pictured (l-r) are members of The Children’s Center Team:  Maggie McNamara, Victim/Witness Coordinator, Susquehanna County DA’s office; Michelle Graziano, Susquehanna County Children and Youth Services, Michael Zimmerman, CEO; Diane Hardy, Forensic Interviewer/Outreach Coordinator, Children’s Center; Patty Skrynski, Wyoming County Children and Youth Services; Ellen DiPhillips, volunteer, Children’s Center; Melissa Bickelman, Program Manager Women’s Resource Center of Susquehanna County; Jeff Mitchell, Wyoming County District Attorney, Janine Fortney, Director The Children’s Center;  Corporal Rebecca Warner, Pennsylvania State Police, Tunkhannock Barracks; Janet Mackay, Executive Director Victim Resource Center, Emily Way, CRNP, PSANE NEPA Community Health Care Montrose. Missing from the photo was Robert Klein, Susquehanna County District Attorney.

Susquehanna County, PA (August 29, 2016) Are you helping a friend, neighbor, someone with a disability with their shopping, doctor appointments, housework?  Are you helping your elderly parents by frequently going to their home to provide assistance?  Have you had your aging parent move in with you because she couldn’t live alone any longer?  If you answered yes to any of these questions you are a caregiver.

The need for this type of caregiving is on the rise while those providing the care for family and friends are getting stressed out.  Being a caregiver often has many challenges and also rewards.  Caregivers develop special relationships with those they assist.  There can be a deepening of the family relationships; times of reminiscing, open discussions of old, unresolved issues.

There are also additional stressors.  Being a caregiver can create financial strain by additional car trips to appointments, additional costs if you have someone move in with you.  There are demands on your limited time.

In order to address the stressors and maximize the positives, the B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging, Inc. and Meadow View Senior Living Center are piloting a caregivers’ support group.  Each month will offer education and resources from financial and caregiver relief programs including: consideration of insurance choices, training on how to properly give care, bed baths, and transferring in and out of bed.

The group will meet on the third Wednesday of each month from 1:00 – 2:00 PM, beginning April 20, 2016, at the Area Agency on Aging office in Montrose.  For more information or to register call the Area Agency on Aging at 570-278-3751 or 1-800-634-3746.

For more information on services, please call 1-800-634-3746. B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging, Inc. are funded in part by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging; the United Way of Bradford County; the United Way of Susquehanna County; and the Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Tioga County Commissioners.

Finding the fun in history will be the goal of a mid September program at the Northern Wayne Community Library.

Entitled "History Games," the program will have a kind of TV game-show format and will be hosted by Lew and Linda Lee. Both are longtime members of the Wayne County Historical Society, and Linda is on the society's list of speakers. The two live in northern Wayne's Preston Township, and their ties to the town and its surroundings go way back.

Linda was born in Starlight, in Wayne's Buckingham Township and grew up during the 1940s and '50s on a small family farm in Pleasant Mount. One of the talks she gives is entitled "A Farmer’s Daughter: Growing Up in Rural Wayne County." Husband, Lew was born and grew up during those same decades in the Preston village of Orson.

This will be the third history program the pair has given at the library. The two will be showing early photos and maps of northern Wayne and inviting audience members to identify people who figured in the area's history, to name and locate villages that have essentially disappeared and to recall significant dates in a narrative that begins in the early 1800s.

Part of the library's "Second Wednesday" program series, "History Games" will be September 14th, starting at 7 p.m. The library is in the village of Lakewood, right off the Crosstown Highway (Pa. Route 370) and next door to the Preston School. For further information, call 570-798-2444.