Banned Books Week

Throughout the week the Western Pocono Community Library will have displays to help emphasize the importance of the First Amendment and the power of unrestricted literature. Today at 6:30 p.m., Banned Books Week will be celebrated with a discussion about "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey.For more information or to save a seat for the discussion, call 570-992-7934.PV band parentsPleasant Valley Band Parents will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday in the band room.PVE fire focusFire Safety will be featured from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Pleasant Valley Elementary School on Friday.Open auditionsOn Oct. 8 and 15, beginning at 6:30 p.m, Storybook Theatre, Western Pocono Community Library's Teen Drama Club, will be holding open auditions for the club's upcoming play "Beauty and the Beast." This club is open to all teens ages 13 to 18 who are interested in acting, singing, dancing, stage crew, sound, etc.Audition packets will be available at the library beginning Thursday. For more information or to reserve a time slot for auditions, contact Patti at 570-992-7934 or email at

WPCL6@ptd.netHabitat golf outingMonroe County Habitat for Humanity's Annual Golf Tournament will be held Friday at Buck Hill Falls Golf Course. Sponsorships and registration are available now for purchase at the website:

http://www.habitatmc.org/get-involved/golf2015.PVI dancetimePleasant Valley Intermediate School's PVI fourth, fifth, sixth grades Meet Your Friends Dance is being held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.Farm TourThe Monroe County Conservation District and the Penn State Cooperative Extension are hosting the 2015 Farm Tour from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.The self-guided tour will provide participants the opportunity to visit local farms to learn about their available products and farm management.The sites include: Blue Ridge Winery, 239 Blue Ridge Road, Saylorsburg, 610-895-4205; Apple Ridge Farm, 1198 Pennel Road, Saylorsburg, 610-381-6152; Pohopoco Creek Alpacas, 216 Merwinsburg Road, Effort, 570-242-3587; Josie Porter Farm, 6514 Cherry Valley Road, Stroudsburg, 570-992-0899; Borger Farms, 540 Silver Springs Blvd., Kresgeville, 484-809-4503; Stryker Farm, 3045 Mountain Road, Saylorsburg, 570-269-2995; The Garden of Giving, 2556 Rising Hill Drive, McMichaels, 570-402-1282.For more information contact Penn State Extension, 724 Phillips Street, Suite 201, Stroudsburg PA 18360 570-421-6430 or

MonroeExt@psu.edu. or the Monroe County Conservation District, 8050 Running Valley Road, Stroudsburg PA 18360 570-629-3060 or

monroecd@ptd.net.Garden tourThe Garden of Giving in McMichaels will have a garden tour from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and a garlic planting Oct. 17. The garlic will be harvested and distributed next year to area neighbors in need.The garden has been chosen as a partner organization of the United Way again.In August Liz Vazquez and a group from Sanofi Pasteur picked corn, the Effort United Methodist and Reeders youth groups picked, packed and distributed the corn and other fresh organic produce, including eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, green beans and garlic to eight local food banks.September brought the garden another successful fill the truck event at the Pocono Summit Tractor Supply, involvement from volunteers on the United Way Day of Caring and the Rev. Deb Sheffey's group from Salem St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Kresgeville working in the garden the latter part of the month.The Garden of Giving is a great place for scouting, youth and church groups to learn and have fun while giving to their community, and also welcomes team leaders with gardening knowledge to guide the groups. The Garden of Giving is always in need of chicken feed, volunteers to help with the chickens and eggs, data entry, in the office, on the website, in the garden and at fundraising events.Russ Fisher is heading a new fundraising committee. Anyone interested in joining him in his efforts can call 570-460-0112.For more information contact the Garden of Giving at 570-402-1282 or email

GardenOfGiving@gmail.com.Youth clothing driveOur Lady Queen of Peace Church's Youth Ministry is holding a clothing drive and more one day only, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in McCawley Hall.Collected will be clothing and shoes, men's and women's, children's and baby's (wearable items only); accessories, such as handbags, purses and backpacks, hats, gloves, scarves and belts; household items, including pillows, blankets, quilts and sheets, curtains and table linen; hard toys and soft toys - all toys; all baby gear - in usable condition, such as strollers, swings, high chairs, bouncers.Donors should be sure to bring items in plastic bags, no loose clothing. Hard toys should be placed in cardboard boxes.Pet blessingOur Lady Queen of Peace Church will hold a pet blessing at 10 a.m. Saturday by the Jesus statue.After the blessing, participants are invited to bring their animals to Brookmont Nursing Home for some quality time with the residents there. All pets welcome for this special blessing.Art workshopsPocono Arts will be offering workshops for children beginning in October with artist Susan Field. The first series of workshops, Artist a Day, is for children in grades three through six.It will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, with other classes on Oct. 24, Nov. 7, and Nov. 21.For more information, including session costs, and to register, call Pocono Arts at 570-476-4460.Movie nightEffort UMC's Youth group, PANDAS, will hold a movie night from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. "Big Hero 6" will be the featured movie. The community is invited.Turkey dinnerOrders for Salem-St. Paul's Church, Kresgeville, for turkey takeout dinners for Oct. 17 are due to Linda Serfass by Sunday. She can be reached at 610-377-1689.The platter includes turkey with gravy, filling, green beans, applesauce, roll and choice of cake.Orders for either quarts or pints of celery seed dressing are also being accepted.Checks or money orders are to be made out to Salem-St. Paul's.Dog Adoption DaySafe Haven Pet Rescue will hold a dog adoption day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday at Ace Hardware, Route 209, Brodheadsville (next to Dunkelberger's).Many young dogs will be available for meeting and getting to know. Safe Haven requires a pre-adoption application with references and a home visit before adoption.For more information about Safe Haven, and to find a list of dogs available for adoption and adoption applications, visit

www.SafeHavenPa.org or contact Safe Haven at

SafeHaven@epix.net. Join Safe Haven Pa on Facebook.Zion pet blessingZion Lutheran in Brodheadsville will hold a pet blessing at 2 p.m. Sunday.Ross supervisorsRoss Township supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the Ross Township Municipal Building, 258 Anchorage Road, Saylorsburg.Young at HeartThe Young at Heart Seniors will meet at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Polk Township Fire House in Kresgeville.Refreshments will be an ice cream social.Visitors are welcomeFor more information contact Janet at 570-722-3895.Date changeThe stained glass workshop will begin on Oct 12 not this Monday as previously announced in Eldred Township.Prayer shawlThe Prayer Shawl Ministry Group, meeting at Effort UMC, will gather together from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.Mert Wolfe is the leader for the group. One does not have to be a member of the church in order to participate.If you knit or crochet or would like to learn how to, you are welcomed to join us is the group's invitation.Chestnuthill supervisorsChestnuthill Township Supervisors are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the municipal building in Brodheadsville.Mission mealWest End Missions will hold its free meal from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Gilbert.Eldred HalloweenThe annual Halloween Parade for Eldred Township will be on Oct. 18, with the rain date the next Sunday.The registration deadline is Oct. 11.Due to the growth of the parade, registrations on the day of the parade are no longer accepted. Unregistered participants are welcome to walk the day of the parade, but they must be in St. Matthew's Church grove for line-up no later than 12:30 p.m. Only those who are preregistered applicants will be judged. Judging begins at 12:15 and the parade at 1 p.m.There is no fee for registering, however each participant is asked to bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to the PVEN.For judging categories and other information, contact Barbara Borger at 610-381-3797 or at

barbara1@ptd.netLegion scheduleThe West End Home Association is slated to meet at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Post Home in Gilbert.PVAG eventsA special annual business meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 11 at Pleasant Valley Assembly of God Church, Brodheadsville.On Oct. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Missionates will hold an annual yard sale fundraiser.Blood driveCornerstone Community Church, 388 Polk Township Road, Kresgeville, will hold an American Red Cross blood drive from 1 to 6 p.m. Oct. 21.Contact Adele Argot at 717-933-4028 or

arargot3@verizon.net. Contact the Times News at 800-443-0377 or

tneditor@tnonline.com.