n Ashland: Free clothing closets are held from 10 a.m. to noon the third Saturday of the month at Bethany Evangelical Congregational Church, 1238 Market St. For more information, call the church at 570-875-3000.
n Frackville: The Frackville Area Senior Citizens group is sponsoring a trip to Virginia Beach, Va., for "Christmas Spirit at Sea" Dec. 9 to 11. The trip is three days, two nights and the cost is $365 double occupancy and includes two nights lodging, two breakfasts and two dinners and the "Christmas Spirit at Sea" dinner cruise, Botanical Gardens at Norfolk as well as the Virginia Beach Holiday Lights at the Beach and the Air and Space Museum. Participants will also visit the Virginia Living Museum and go on a guided tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Tax and gratuities are included. For reservations or more information, call Marie at 570-874-2774 or Grant at 570-874-3531.
n Lansford: The Panther Valley School District will welcome students back to school for the 2013-14 school year on Monday. It will be a full day. The time schedules are: High school, ninth through 12th grades, 7:35 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.; middle school, sixth to eighth grades, 8 a.m. to 2:52 p.m.; elementary, first through fifth grades, 8:58 a.m. to 3:27 p.m. Freshman orientation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. today.
n McAdoo: The final day for collection of all 2013 borough, Hazleton Area school board and Schuylkill County taxes is Dec. 31. Collection hours are listed at the top of each tax bill. Anyone paying by mail should enclose the entire notice and a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the remittance if a receipt is required. For more information regarding the taxes, call Andrew DeBalko, McAdoo borough tax collector, at 570-929-1628.
n McAdoo: All Saints Prep classes, formerly known as CCD classes, will begin at All Saints Parish at 4:15 p.m. Sept. 3. Parents can register children by enclosing their payment in the collection basket.
n McAdoo: The borough is looking for letters from people who may be interested in serving on the zoning hearing board. Anyone interested should send correspondence to the Borough of McAdoo, 23 N. Hancock St., McAdoo, PA 18237.
n Shenandoah: All is in place for the annual Shenandoah Heritage Day and Parade of Nations set for Saturday. The parade will start at 10 a.m. and include some 21 nations representing the community's ethnic mosaic. Lineup will be on North Jardin Street and participants will go south on Jardin to Cherry Street, east on Cherry to Main Street and north on Main through the downtown district to Washington Street, the Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial and Girard Park. The Shenandoah Valley and Nativity BVM high school bands will march, as will the Hawk Mountain Highlanders and Perseverance Jazz Band. Activities will go on throughout the day in the park, including continues entertainment that will feature the polka recording artists John Stevens and the Doubleshot band, Autumn Mauer, Shania Graff and the Perseverance band. There will also be a wide variety of ethnic food offered by local groups, plus vendors, myriad artisans and crafters and other activities. The park's northern section includes a wooded mountainside area that offers hiking and nature opportunities. The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society's history center at 201 S. Main St. and the Schuylkill Historical Fire Society Museum at 105 S. Jardin St. will be open throughout the day for visitors. The various ethnic groups in the Shenandoah mosaic have decorated store windows in the downtown area with displays representing their heritage and visitors are invited to walk the business district to view them. The revitalization group Downtown Shenandoah Inc. is the event sponsor and invites Shenandoah residents, former residents and the general public to enjoy the community's special day. For more information, call the DSI downtown center, 116 N. Main St., at 570-462-2060.