Two Carbon County agencies that aim to help families have become one.

On Wednesday, members of the Carbon County Child and Family Collaborative Board and the Interagency Council of Carbon County voted to merge the two groups in the hopes of creating a larger network to help children, families and senior citizens in the county. The new name of the group will be the Carbon County Interagency and Family Collaborative Board.Members of both agencies agreed that this move would be for the best as they move forward. The two organizations worked together annually on the Legislative Brunch, now known as the Human Services Priority Brunch.Jeanne Miller, co-chairwoman of the Child and Family Collaborative, said the hopes for the merger will be to help generate more funding for the county, as well as provide resources.The group will continue to meet every other month moving forward. Future meeting dates will be 9 a.m. on Jan. 14, March 11, May 13, July 8, Sept. 9 and Nov. 10, at the Carbon County Emergency Management Agency in Nesquehoning.The newly formed board then voted on officers. The new officers, who will serve a two-year term, are Commissioner Wayne Nothstein and Jamie Drake, co-chairs; Evalynn Kuehner, vice chair; Larissa Kimmel, secretary; and Mindy Graver, treasurer.The group also discussed:• Area Agency on Aging in Palmerton received notice that Carbon County received $225,000 of the $50 million from Pennsylvania Lottery money to use for health services in the county. Cheri Santore, director of the agency, said she will be meeting with the commissioners to see how to spend the money on the county's senior citizens.• Nothstein announced that the Human Services Priority Brunch has been changed to April 17. The brunch will be held at Whispering Pines in Penn Forest Township.• The next Grandparents Raising Grandchildren meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 25 at the Lehigh Carbon Community College Jim Thorpe campus, 1100 Center St. Miller urged everyone to encourage grandparents raising grandchildren to come check out the group.• Blue Mountain Health System is having a senior health fair from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday at the Lehighton Recreation Center, 243 S. Eighth St., Lehighton. There will be flu shots and other screenings at the event.• Monthly support group for caregivers meetings through the Alzheimer's Association are held the second Tuesday of each month from 7-8 p.m. in the third floor conference room at Palmerton Hospital.• The Program of Wellness, Empowerment and Recovery in Lehighton, which provides behavioral health services, received a $500 grant to organize an Arts in the Park event to support the arts in the recovery process. The event is in the planning stages and is expected to take place in May.• Jean Zimmerman of Shepherd House Food Pantries said in October, the nine food pantries in Carbon County served 1,086 households, which breaks down to 920 children, 494 elderly and 1,554 adults served. This equates to 26,721 meals provided for the month.• Behavioral Health Associates and the Pyramid Sports Performance Center have joined together to start a program for school-aged children to try to combat childhood obesity through education.• A PROSPER yard sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at L.B. Morris Elementary in Jim Thorpe. Money raised from the sale benefits the children in the program, providing child care, meals and incentives to parents to attend the program.