Poland breifs

Horticulture students host Holiday Open House

Students in the Horticulture Program at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center host their annual Holiday Open House through Dec. 19 at the school’s floral shop.

The Holiday Open House features silk wreaths, swags and arrangements, fresh mixed pine and spruce wreaths, fresh table centerpieces, pine roping and poinsettias all prepared by students in the program.

The floral shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday through Dec. 19. Orders can also be placed for any of the holiday items until Dec. 19.

To place an order or for more information, contact Mary June Emerson, Horticulture instructor, at 330-729-4000, extension 1672.

Explore the farm in winter

Explore what seasonal changes winter has brought to the diverse habitats along the Mindy Henning Nature Trail tomorrow at 2 p.m. Meet at MetroParks Bikeway Trailhead at MetroParks Farm. Moderate difficulty, two miles.

Poland Shepherd of the Valley honors employee

LPN Norma Cohol has been named Employee of the Month for November at Shepherd of the Valley-Poland.

She has has been employed by Shepherd of the Valley for more than 20 years, transferring to SOV-Poland last December. She joined the night shift in December 2010 and brought with her that extra added element needed to complete the third shift.

Cohol currently resides in Hubbard with her husband, Dennis, and children, Brianna and Mitchell.

For more information, contact Kelly Stansloski at 330-726-7110, extension 0 or via email at kstansloski@shepherdofthevalley.com.

Local health care benefit firm expands

National Healthcare Access, Inc. (NHA) has announced the opening of an office in San Diego, becoming the third location nationally for the Poland-based employee healthcare benefits firm.

The Poland office, in addition to remaining the company’s headquarters, will now house its national customer service center.

NHA has routinely ranked as one of the highest performing agencies in the states in which it does business. This success, Frank Caparso, co-founder. stresses, is due to employees staying true to the company’s mission of improving clients’ understanding of health plans while working to control costs and supporting any challenge they experience.

Founded in 1991, NHA is an employee benefits agency that administers group benefit plans for local and national employers. The company has a strong focus on service and administration to develop cost-effective and successful healthcare programs for its clients.

For more information, visit www.NHCAI.com or contact Tim Cerimele or Dan Caparso at 330-707-1900 or 800-216-5841.

Santa’s calling your house

Boardman Park will be assisting Santa with a direct line from the North Pole to the community. Parents who would like their children, ages 3 to 8, to receive a phone call from Santa can pick up a form at the Boardman Park office or download it from www.boardmanpark.com.

Completed forms should be returned to the park office, 375 Boardman-Poland Road, Boardman, or faxed to 330-726-4562. The deadline for forms is Tuesday.

Santa will only have time for one call per family so it is important to be home during your scheduled time. There is no fee for the call.

Boardman Park hosts Senior Fun Day

Seniors are invited to come to Boardman Park on Dec. 15 and Dec. 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Senior Fun Day will include activities such as exercising, crafts, Bingo, lunch and blood pressure screening.

The event will take place in the Lariccia Family Community Center. Cost is $1.

To RSVP, call 330-965-0482.

Holiday musical features lyrics by local teacher

Kandace Cleland, a theater teacher at Canfield, wrote the lyrics for the upcoming one act musical “Where’s Rudolph?” at the Trinity Playhouse in Lisbon.

The show will feature the Stage Left Youth Players and music by Jodine Pilmer.

There will be shows today at 7 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets for these shows are $8 for adults and $6 for students and senior citizens.

In addition, there will be noon matinees on Dec. 10 and 17 that will include Lunch with Santa.

Tickets are $13 for adults and $11 for students and seniors.

To make reservations, e-mail stageleftseats@yahoo.com.

Benefit concert at Canfield High School Thursday

Canfield High School will host a concert to benefit the Dorothy Day House in Youngstown on Thursday in the high school auditorium at 7:30. The event features the band JD Eicher and the Goodnights.

Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door the night of the show. To purchase tickets, or get more information, contact Alexa Billy at 330-402-5144.