EAST PALESTINE Library event welcomes new residents

EAST PALESTINE -- The East Palestine Memorial Public Library will be the place Nov. 12 for new city residents to meet and mingle.
Library Director Lisa Rohrbaugh said the library would be a good place for folks to meet because there hasn't been an active Welcome Wagon program in the city for several years.
The event will be at 6:30 p.m. She said anyone wishing to attend may bring children because there will be special activities for them. The Friends of the Library will serve refreshments.
There will be speakers from the city schools, city government and Social Concerns, the local humanitarian organization that provides clothes, food and other necessities to the needy.
"For the most part, it will be a chance for people new to the city to meet others and learn about their new town," she said. "I recently heard some people say that in moving to a small town, sometimes it's difficult to break the ice and meet people."
Rohrbaugh said she hopes the people who attend will forge friendships that will continue.
Rohrbaugh's philosophy is that the library should be a community centerpiece. The library sponsors annual prose and poetry contests and has a monthly book sale.
Besides books, videos and special programs such as story times for children, the library is also the site of a book club that has met continuously for about 10 years and a bridge club that meets from 2 to 4 p.m. each Wednesday. It had accommodated a yoga class that met in the community activity room until it outgrew the space and moved to the city's community center.
Rohrbaugh also said a chess club will be starting soon, and anyone interested in playing chess is invited to come to the first meeting at 5 p.m. Nov. 20.
The library is at 309 N. Market St.