n Ashland: The Ashland Area Rotary will sponsor a free band concert presented by Cressona Band at 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at Eureka Park. Before the concert, the club will hold it's annual chicken dinner with pick up at the Little League concession stand. Cost is $9 and includes three pieces of chicken, baked potato, vegetable, cole slaw, roll, dessert and beverage. All proceeds will benefit the Rotary Charities.
n Frackville: North Schuylkill High School students Justine Paul and Lauren Damiter attended a recent meeting of the Frackville Rotary Club to inform the group that they had adopted Rotary International's Shelter Box Project as their senior project at the school. According to a Rotary press release, shelter boxes, which cost $1,000 each, consist of a tent-like structure, a small cook stove, water, food and other necessities, and are sent to areas of the world affected by disasters such as hurricanes, typhoons or earthquakes to offer temporary relief to people displaced by the events. The boxes are numbered so that each buyer of a shelter box can trace its location. They are stored in warehouses to await their need. When a disaster occurs, Rotarians said in the release, it is too late to begin raising the money to put together such life-saving implements, so the Shelter Box Project aims to have the items ready to be sent quickly to disaster areas. The club endorsed the project as an example of Rotary's motto, "Service Above Self," and pledged to support the students in their effort. Tom Graves, Frackville Rotarian and past district governor, told club members there were no cases of Polio III reported anywhere in the world last year. Rotary International initiated its Polio Plus Program in 1985 with the goal of eradicating all three strains of the polio virus. So far, the only areas on the planet still afflicted by the disabling disease are Nigeria and Pakistan, where resistance by religious extremists, ignorance and difficult topography have impaired the eradication efforts, according to the Rotary release. In Pakistan, several volunteers have been murdered by extremists in the past year as they attempted to inoculate the population, yet brave people persist in their efforts to rid the world of the affliction.
n Frackville: People who participated in the Frackville Rotary Club's free swim night on July 28 at the pool in Frackville Memorial Park may have had the impression they were transported to the Hawaiian islands. Disc jockey Drew featured music of the South Pacific, there was an aroma of barbecued pork and leis were presented to each participant as he/she walked into the pool's pavilion area, according to a Rotary press release. The event was sponsored by the club to promote the use of the borough's swimming pool. Rotarian John E. Domalakes, who distributed the leis, said more than 125 people participated in the event. Rotarians Noreen O'Boyle, Suzanne Domalakes, Joseph Walters and Karen Domalakes sold pulled pork sandwiches, chocolate desserts and pineapple-coconut cupcakes. To top off the event, Mother Nature provided a "spectacular double rainbow" over Frackville, according to the release.
n Girardville: The Rob Krick Heart Fund Committee meeting has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. today in St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church hall. Lottery ticket donations are still being accepted to be used in the floral arrangement that will be raffled off during Pioneer Day in Ashland Aug. 17. The ticket donations may be dropped off at Girardville Borough Hall any weekday during normal business hours.
n Minersville: The Sunshine Club of Heritage Hill will sponsor a Super Saturday Community Yard Sale beginning at 8 a.m. Sept. 7, according to Anna Kubilus. Anyone wanting to set up a table should call Anna at 570-544-6027 or Carol at 570-544-3157. Kubilus said food and refreshments will be available and entertainment will be by John and Joe.
n Orwigsburg: The 5K Run, Walk & Roll to benefit the Orwigsburg Veterans Memorial is set for 9 a.m. Sept. 7 at the memorial building, Washington and Grove streets, just off Route 443. Entry, if postmarked by Aug. 20, will be $25 general and $23 for active military personnel or veterans. A Fun Run will begin at 10 a.m. and the cost is $15 per entrant. After Aug. 20, add $5 for each category. Checks payable to Orwigsburg Memorial Restoration Run should be mailed to the Orwigsburg Memorial Task Force, P.0. Box 157, Orwigsburg, PA 17961. More information is available online at www.run4memorial.com.