Tamaqua's "Live the Green Dot" program is ready to take its next step and will sponsor a training seminar for those involved in the pub and restaurant industry. The hourlong training session will be from 11 a.m. to noon on April 7 at Vonz Restaurant in the Tamaqua Train Station.

The session is geared to help bar, club and restaurant owners and staff recognize signs of personal violence, offering them tools to prevent a crime from occurring in their establishment.The Green Dot Program is committed to ending violence, one green dot at a time. Tamaqua's program began in 2013, when Police Chief Rick Weaver noted an increase in serious crimes being committed within the borough, some alcohol-related. He researched programs to help end violence and enlisted the help and support of the Tamaqua Area Community Partnership's Safety Initiative Program. The initiative is coordinated by Leona Rega and works out of the Tamaqua Community Arts Center on Pine Street. Their combined efforts attracted a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.A four-day training session was held at the Lehigh Carbon Community College's Morgan Campus in Tamaqua. The Bystander Intervention program taught participants ways to respond to violent behavior, as it happens or when it's suspected. It was attended by dozens of interested people, community leaders and the general public alike.Statistics show that everyone, at one time or another, will be a bystander to a violent crime. Green Dot's core belief is that people can systematically reduce violence in a community, one neighborhood at a time.The event is open to the public. No registration is required for the training program, but preregistering is suggested to ensure adequate seating is available. For more information or to RSVP, call or text 570-656-5991 or email

bturrano@sarccschuylkill.org.