The Middlesboro Daily News will publish local events in the community calendar free of charge as space allows. We do not accept submissions called in via phone. All submissions should be emailed to beth.key@harlandaily.com or dropped off at our office, 1275 North 25th Street, Middlesboro. Submissions should be received no later than four business days prior to the event. If received in time, it will be published one or two days prior to the event. Announcements are also available at middlesborodailynews.com.

DEC. 13

The Middlesboro Independent Schools Local Planning Committee will conduct a public forum at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Middlesboro Middle School, located at 4400 Cumberland Avenue in Middlesboro. This meeting is an informal gathering to encourage local participation through community suggestions relative to future utilization of existing school facilities and construction of new school facilities. These community suggestions or recommendations will be closely monitored by the Local Planning Committee. This meeting will be immediately followed by the Middlesboro Independent Schools Local Planning Committee.

DEC. 14

Middlesboro businessman and musician Larry Cadle will be the featured guest at the open house at the Bell County Historical Society & Museum at 4 p.m. on Dec. 14. Cadle will also be signing copies of his recently published book, “Dead Reckoning,” a novel set in the 50s and describing life in Middlesboro and rural areas. The public is welcome to the open house and admission is free.

The Bell County Cooperative Extension Service in partnership with Bell-Whitley will offer a free parenting class at 10 a.m. on Dec. 14 at the Bell County Extension Office. To register, call the office at 606-337-2376.

Heritage Christian Academy Winter Festival is scheduled for Dec. 14, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. There will be games, prizes, food, a Country Store, a festival of trees, inflatables, talent show, the crowning of the Royal Court and much more. A live auction will begin at 8 p.m.

DEC. 15

Santa is coming to the Harrogate Book Station from noon to 2 p.m. on Dec. 15 for age 3 to 12. There will be games, snacks and crafts.

DEC. 23

“Waiting for the Christmas Guest” Christmas play at Indian Creek Baptist Church will begin at 6 p.m. on Dec. 23. Food and refreshments will be served following the play and Santa will be arriving.

TUESDAYS

Stand in the Gap Coalition (SIGCO), a 501(c)3 nonprofit, faith-based organization, along with local churches in the Tri-State area is hosting an evening out for grandparents and caregivers by providing childcare on the second Tuesday of each month. SIGCO is now located at 325 Straight Creek Road, New Tazewell, Tennessee. A service of SIGCO is to provide free saliva based drug testing kits with instructions, called Give Me a Reason (GMAR). For more information on the evening out, addiction treatment or how you can help “Stand in the Gap“ call 423-300-1302 or email standntgap@gmail.com or mail P.O. Box 539, Cumberland Gap TN 37724.

JAN. 19

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Diversity Breakfast, sponsored by the SKCTC Office of Diversity & Inclusion, will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Jan. 19 at Benham Schoolhouse Inn. All are welcome to celebrate. The special presentation and fellowship are free to all. For $10.95 per person, breakfast includes fluffy scrambled eggs, country sausage, cinnamon fried apples, biscuits & gravy, orange juice, milk, and coffee. For more information, contact Carolyn Sundy at 606-589-3052 or Erica Farmer 606-248-2180.

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Free rat bait is available at the Bell County Cooperative Extension Service, located in the basement of the Bell County Courthouse in Pineville. Business hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Rat Bait Program is sponsored by Bell County Farm Bureau and the Bell County Cooperative Extension Service. For more information, call 606-337-2376.

Several posts of the American Legion will provide new coats and new toys to some eligible Appalachian youth in several counties (McCreary, Pulaski, Whitley and Bell counties) of eastern and southeastern Kentucky during this holiday/winter season. If you wish to support this effort with monetary donations, new coats, or new toys, please contact the Legion representative at Hope.4.estrn.kentuckians@gmail.com.

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.

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.

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.