To place an event in the Community Calendar, email: beth.key@harlandaily.com or drop a written copy of the announcement by our office at 1275 North 25th Street, Middlesboro. Announcements will not be accepted by phone and should be submitted no later than four business days before the event. If received in time, it will be published one or two days before the event. Announcements are also available to view at www.middlesboronews.com. For more details, call 606-909-4145.

MAY 3

The annual National DAY OF PRAYER service will begin at noon on May 3 in the second floor courtroom (old courthouse) in Pineville. Bell County Judge-Executive Albey Brock and Pineville Mayor Scott Mason will lead the program. Local ministers, business and community leaders and other dignitaries will lead in prayer. For more information, contact Gerry Roan at 606-337-2237 or Debbie Gambrel at 606-337-6307.

The League of Women Voters will host a FORUMfor candidates for Bell County Jailer at 7 p.m. on May 3 the Middlesboro Library. Following the forum, there will be light refreshments and time to talk with the candidates one-on-one.

Crater Quilters will meet at 7 p.m. on May 3 at First Baptist Church in Middlesboro. Quilters and would-be quilters are welcome.

MAY 3, 10

The Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC) and the Kentucky Entrepreneur Network (KEN) are presenting a program designed for people interested in obtaining an entrepreneurial mindset, based on the book “Who Owns the Ice House” by Clifton Taulbert. Programs will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on the following dates: May 3 and 10. Programs will be held on SKCTC’s Middlesboro campus in the Troy Welch Science Building, room 238. Register at www.khic.eventbrite.com. The first 30 to register will receive a free copy of the book. For more information, contact Matt Huffman at 606-213-6696.

MAY 4-5

The annual Hwy. 421 YARD SALE will take place May 4-5. For more information, visit 421yardsale.com.

Harrogate BOOK STATION, located at 310 Bristol Road, will have a YARD SALE beginning at 9 a.m. on May 4 and 5. Any and all donations are welcomed. For more information, call 423-869-9777.

MAY 5

There will be an inside CHURCH SALE from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 5 at Winchester Avenue Church of God, located at 2015 Winchester West Winchester Avenue in Middlesboro. For more information, call 606-248-0300. Sponsored by the church ladies ministry department, all proceeds will go to the church.

There will be a YARD SALEto benefit the Tri-State Youth Choir from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 5 in the parking lot of Livesay Middle School in Harrogate, Tennessee. Anyone may rent a space/table for $20; if your proceeds are donated to the choir, the fee is waived. Proceeds go toward the choir’s mission trip this summer. To reserve a table or for more information, call 606-499-4501.

MAY 7

Cumberland Chapter No. 170 of the Order of the Eastern Star will hold their monthly meeting on May 7 at the Masonic Lodge Hall, located on Dr. Thomas Walker Road, one mile west of Rose Hill, Virginia. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting is at 7:30 p.m.

MAY 7, JUNE 4

MONDAYS R MURDER Book Club will meet at 10 a.m. on Mondays at the Middlesboro-Bell County Public Library. The schedule includes: May 7, Detective Inspector Huss by Helene Tursten; and June 4, The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen. To register, call the library at 606-248-4812.

MAY 11, 18

Middlesboro/Bell-Whitley REGISTRATION for preschool/Head Start for the 2018-2019 school year will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 11 and 18, by appointment only. Bring the following items: Proof of birth (birth certificate), immunization certificate, physical and proof of income. For more information, contact Abbie McBee or Macayla Asher at Bell-Whitley at 66-337-3044 or Middlesboro Elementary School at 606-242-8860.

MAY 11

Martin’s Station Masonic Lodge No. 188, located on Dr. Thomas Walker Road west of Rose Hill, Virginia, will have a FISH & CHICKEN DINNER on May 11 from 4-7:30 p.m. Menu will be fish or chicken tenders, fries, baked beans, slaw, hushpuppies, dessert and drinks. The cost is $8, age 6-12, $6. Carry out available. Proceeds will benefit the lodge’s Scholarship & Benevolence Fund.

MAY 13

Indian Creek Baptist Church will have a regular monthly SINGING at 6 p.m. on May 13 featuring the Bott’s, of LaFollette, and The Gospel Lights. Pastor Steve Moyers welcomes everyone.

MAY 14

Martin’s Station Masonic Lodge No. 188, A.F. & A.M., located on Dr. Thomas Walker Road, one mile west of Rose Hill, Virginia, will have their Stated Communication on May 14. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting is at 7:30 p.m. Members and visiting brethren are encouraged to attend.

MAY 15

The Bell-Whitley CAA, Inc., Board of Directors meeting will begin at 11 a.m. on May 15 at Pine Mountain State Park in Pineville. For more information, contact Suzanne Browning or Sandy Hoskins at 606-337-3044 or 606-549-3933.

TIME FOR TEA AND THEE, a book club for adults, meets at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays at the Middlesboro-Bell County Public Library. Relax with a cup of tea at these sessions. The schedule includes: May 15, In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume; June, Where She Went, Gayle Forman. Program leaders are Michele Lawson and Pamela Blank. To register, stop by or call the library at 606-248-4812.

MAY 19, 20

Registration is now open for the second annual “Tour De Kingdom Come,” a 36-mile road race which includes the scenic Little Shepherd trail, and first annual “Dash for Cash,” an up hill 2.7 mile time trial, scheduled May 19 and 20. A multi-event discount is offered for registering for both events. If you pre-register for “Tour De Kingdom Come” then you can select “Dash for Cash” time trial event for only $10 more. There will be cash awards for the top finishers in each category. Registration is available bikereg.com.

MAY 21

The 4-H junior homemaker club will meet at 4 p.m. on May 1 in the Extension Office. For more information, call 606-337-2376

MAY 24-27

The 88th Kentucky MOUNTAIN LAUREL FESTIVAL will be held May 24-27 in Bell County. All events are family-oriented; many are free and open to the public. For more information, call 606-337-6103 or check out Facebook and Twitter.

MAY 29

The Bell County Cooperative Extension Service will host a Try It Tuesday class on May 29. Participants will make clothes pin trivets — bring 40-50 clothes pins. To register, call 606-337-2376.

JUNE 2

“Love Makes A Home: The Life of Rebecca Boone,” a play by Kiesa Kay, will be presented at 8 p.m. on June 9 at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The play features the acting of Patti Louise Smith, and historically authentic tunes played by renowned old-time fiddler Bruce Greene.

The ART EXTRAVAGANZA FESTIVAL will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 2 in Cumberland Gap (521 Colwyn Avenue) featuring Appalachian arts and crafts from the Tri-State area with food, music and wine tasting. No charge for admission.

SEPT. 8

The Bell County Relay for Life will be held Sept. 8 at the Middlesboro City Hall parking lot. Register online at www.relayforlife.orge/bellky. For more information, contact Melissa Ramsey at 865-585-1071 or mramsey@arh.org.

• • • • • • •

PLANTS SALES are underway for the spring season. The Bell County Extension Office is offering a great variety of some of your favorite produce. Plants and pricing are as follows: Strawberries (All Star and Early Glow), bundles of 25 for $3.25; blueberries (Bluecrop and Patriot, at least one of each variety should be planted together to allow for cross-pollination), $6 per plant; blackberries (Natchez), $3 per plant; raspberries (TulaMagic), $3 per plant; asparagus(Jersey Knight), $1 per plant; and onions (Candy), $4 for a bundle of 60. Orders are now being accepted. Supplies for all of these plants are very limited. Contact the Bell County Extension Office at 606-337-2376 to place your order. Orders will be available for pick-up at the Extension Office in early April (notification will be sent).

GED classes are being offered to anyone 19 years or older. Improve your reading, writing and mathematical skills and study to receive your GED. For more information, contact the following: Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College Middlesboro campus at 606-248-3175, Bell County Council on Literacy at 606-248-2014 or the Pineville Learning Center at 606-337-3044.

Free RAT BAIT is available at the Bell County Cooperative Extension Service, located in the basement of the Bell County Courthouse in Pineville. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program is sponsored by the Bell County Farm Bureau and the Bell County Cooperative Extension Service. For more information, call 606-337-2376.

VOLUNTEERS are needed for the Kentucky Long Term Care Ombudsman Program (Cumberland Valley District) to read a while, play a game of checkers, discuss the day’s events, reminisce or just sit and watch TV with a local senior. If you currently visit someone in a long term care facility or would like to become involved, contact Arlene Gibson at 606-864-7391 ext. 119.

VOLUNTEERS are sought at the Middlesboro Senior Citizens Center for activity assistants, answering the phone, welcoming seniors and visitors, filing, crafting, historians, entertainment, instructors in tai chi, other forms of senior exercise and a variety of educational topics for seniors. For more information, call 606-248-2990 or stop by the center.

Free saliva-based drug testing kits are provided and sponsored through UNITE and Stand in the Gap Coalition (SIGCO). Give Me a Reason (GMAR) is designed for parents/guardians to use to talk with their children and randomly test them, which gives them a reason to say no when tempted or offered drugs. Kits can be obtained at 44 different distribution points (DP) throughout the Tri-State area and at the SIGCO office, located at 502 Pennlyn Avenue in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. For more information, contact the SIGCO office at 423-300-1302. To pick up a kit, stop by on Mondays from 1 to 5:30 p.m.

The American RED CROSS is seeking volunteers with flexible schedules to respond to single and multi-family home fires in the Lake Cumberland service area which includes Casey, Adair, Cumberland, Clinton, Russell, Pulaski, Wayne, McCreary, Whitley, Laurel, Clay, Knox, Bell and Harlan counties. Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteers respond to assist families with shelter, support and access to basic needs immediately following a home fire – often arriving on scene even as the fire is still burning. Volunteers may apply online by visiting http://www.redcross.org/volunteer or by contacting Chapter Executive Terry Burkhart at 859-253-1331 or terry.burkhart@redcross.org.

The Lighthouse HOMELESS SHELTER, located at 117 South Pine Street in Pineville, is open seven days a week. For more information, call 606-337-9736.

Kentucky JOB CORPS, located in Prestonsburg, is open to motivated, young people ages 16-24 meeting the federal income guidelines. The program offers career training, high school and college courses, job search assistance, housing and medical benefits. For more information, contact Cynthia Bohon at 606-433-5336 (office), 606-224-1722 (cell) or Bohon.Cynthia@jobcorps.org.

Lighthouse Lifeline of Bell County non-residential SUPPORT GROUPS are held at the Lighthouse Mission Center, located at 3609 Hwy. 119 in Pineville. For more information, contact Sharon Teaney at 606-269-2187 or Ules Baker at 606-670-1949. Men’s and women’s support groups meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, and at 1 p.m. on Thursdays. Youth support groups (ages 10-18) meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Lighthouse RAY OF HOPE Children’s Advocacy Center, located at 3619 Hwy. 119 in Pineville, is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. For information, call 606-337-9955.

The “Something Different” NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS group meets at 7 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays at the First Christian Church of Middlesboro, located at 2130 Cumberland Avenue. Meetings are open.

Lighthouse Mission Center, located at 3609 Hwy. 119 in Pineville, will have FOOD GIVEAWAYS at 11:30 a.m. on the third and fourth Tuesday of each month. Emergency food boxes are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information, call 606-337-1834.

A military SUPPORT GROUP for all active, separated or any former military men or women meets at 6:30 p.m. each first and third Monday of the month at the Middlesboro National Guard Armory, located on 30th Street. If you face financial, relationship, criminal, adjustment, substance abuse or other problems, this is for you.

GED CLASSES will be held on Tuesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Lighthouse Career Training Center, located at 980 Old Bell High Road off of U.S. 119 in Pineville. For more information, call 606-337-9955.

Benchmark Family Services, serving Bell, Harlan, Clay, Knox, Laurel and Whitley counties, invites you to become a FOSTER PARENT. Free orientation classes are held from 5-6 p.m. on any Tuesday. For more information, call 606-526-6992 or toll free at 866-526-6992.

Applications are available for the Lighthouse MEDICAL CLINIC, located at 3619 Hwy. 119 in Pineville, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Visits are by appointment only. For more information, call 606-337-9955.

NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS will meet at the Living Clean Group Wallsend Community Room in Pineville. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. on Mondays; at noon on Wednesdays, closed for addicts only; and at 3 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, call 606-499-0238 or 606-302-6972.

Narconon is reminding families that the use of addicting drugs is on the rise. Take steps to PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM DRUG USE. If you know anyone who is struggling get them the help they need. For a free brochure on the signs of addiction for all drugs, call 800-431-1754 or visit DrugAbuseSolution.com. Narconon also offers free screenings and referrals.