Booster Club

The Football Booster Club will meet at 6:30 tonight.ClarificationThe schedule for AARP and IRS-VITA/TCE Tax Program for the 2015 tax year for the West End will be handled by the AARP Tax Assistance Group from Lehighton at the Salem United Church of Christ off Route 209 in Gilbert from Feb. 1 to April 18.They will be at Salem UCC from 9 a.m. to noon Monday and Thursday mornings. First come, first served.If Pleasant Valley schools have a two-hour delay, the hours will be 10 a.m. to noon.Reach the church at 610-681-4733.Special meetingThe Eldred Township board of supervisors will hold a special meeting at 7 tonight at the Kunkletown Fire House in Kunkletown for the purpose of allowing representatives of DEP and DRBC to present information and take questions from the public relating to water extraction.Rotary celebrationThe West End Rotary Club will celebrate Tu B'Shevat Seder - New Year for the Trees at its Thursday meeting.Popcorn DayThe Western Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville will be celebrating National Popcorn Day Thursday with freshly popped popcorn from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Popcorn will be $1 and all proceeds benefit the library.Next Thursday the Western Pocono Community Library's Storybook Theatre will be celebrating its own rising stars by opening one of the rehearsals for its upcoming play to the public.This open rehearsal will be from 6:30 to 7:30

p.m.Jan. 28. It is a free open-to-the-public-of-all-ages program, though some restrictions on movement and sound will apply.For more information, contact the library at 570-992-7934.Zion SeniorsZion Lutheran Church Seniors Group will meet at 11 a.m. Thursday. Participants should bring a sandwich. Beverages are provided.WELL meetingThe West End Little League will hold its next meeting Thursday at the Chestnuthill Park Building on Route 715 in Brodheadsville.The meetings are open to the community and all members of the league.Community mealsOur Lady Queen of Peace's McCawley Hall is the site for weekly community meals, which are served from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.Call 570-730-1114 for cancellations.Bookworms meetWestern Pocono Community Library's adult book discussion group, Bookworms, meets at the library every third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.Contact the library at 570-992-7934 for the title being discussed or for more information about joining the group.Seniors menuThe Monroe County Seniors meeting at the Chestnut Hill site at Zion Lutheran in Brodheadsville will be served pork riblets on Friday and roast beef next Wednesday.Participants must call site manager Dolores Calaspro at 570-242-6770 or 570-420-3735 by 11 a.m. the day before if planning to eat the provided lunch.Little LeagueWest End Little League will hold the first day of the annual spring registration for all WELL divisions from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the PVHS old auditorium, by the guidance entrance.West End Little League is open to boys and girls ages 4-16 who live in the Pleasant Valley School District: Ross, Polk, Chestnuthill and Eldred townships.Food distributionEffort UMC's Food Pantry will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.It is for families going through emergency or other short-term situations that are not eligible for local, county or state programs and is limited to a 12-week lifetime duration per family.A valid driver's license or state ID with address proving residency in the West End is required.Orders dueThe Youth Group of Effort UMC is selling strombolis to help offset the cost of a summer retreat at Reach Work Camp.Orders must be in and paid for by this Sunday.For more information, call the church at 570-629-1890.Snowshoeing introThe West End Park and Open Space Commission, as part of the 2016 Parks for Good Living partnership with the Pocono Medical Center, HJP and Stroud Region Park groups, is offering an Introduction to Snowshoeing from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Chestnuthill Park, 221 Route 715, Brodheadsville. Participants will earn the basics and enjoy a stomp around the park. Limited equipment available. Call 570-992-9733 or

bkozen@ptd.net to register.Karaoke funThe members and their guests of the Gilbert Legion Post 927 are invited to join a night of karaoke fun from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday. Lou from Alternative Sounds will be present.Food and drinks will be available for purchase.Post 927 is a smoke-free post.Registration dueSalem UCC, Gilbert, is hosting a chili cook-off onJan. 30.Contestants are asked to register by this Sunday by calling 610-681-4733 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, Wednesday, Friday.Sunday supperOur Lady Queen of Peace Church hosts several free meals during the month.The next one will be Sunday, from 3 to 4 p.m.A senior lunch will be heldJan. 27. There is no charge.Meals are in McCawley Hall.Polk supersPolk Township Supervisors will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the municipal building on Polk Township Road, Kresgeville.Knit & CrochetZion Lutheran Church's Knit & Crochet Group will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the church complex in Brodheadsville.Newcomers are welcome.GOP meetsThe West End Republican Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Cherry's Sunset Family Restaurant in Kresgeville.The optional dinner is at 6 p.m.Membership consists of similar-minded folks from Chestnuthill, Eldred, Polk, Hamilton and Jackson townships and other areas.The Monroe Council of Republican Women will hold its Lincoln Day Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 6 at The Lodge at Mountain Springs Lake Resort in Reeders.The keynote speaker will be Stroudsburg native and former assistant director of the FBI Ron Hosko.Reservations are due at

mcrwpa@gmail.com by Jan. 28.Checks should be made payable to MCRW, P.O. Box 844, Stroudsburg, PA 18360Free PA parksThere are 18 national parks in Pennsylvania. In 2016, the National Park Service turns 100. The Park Service will offer 16 entrance-free admission on sites that do charge an entrance fee. The first date was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next will be from April 16 through 24, National Park Week.Closest to the West End waiving its fee is Steamtown National Historic Site. Free entrance all the time includes the following parks: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the national heritage corridor of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers in Easton, and several Philadelphia sites.For more information, go to

http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htmContact Adele Argot at 717-933-4028 or

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

tneditor@tnonline.com.