Poland Community Briefs

Boot drive

The Christmas at Our House fundraising boot drive will take place from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Nov. 27. Funds raised will help local Poland families during the holidays who have run into tough financial times. The funds are utilized to purchase food items for their Christmas dinner and purchase toys and gifts for the children. The committee wished to remind the public to watching out for firefighters in the intersections of Route 224, Route 616 and Route 170.

Learn to improve water quality on Nov. 24

Audubon Society/Mahoning Valley invites the public to learn how to improve water quality. Stephanie Dyer, Environmental Program Manager with Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, will help you understand how to become responsible water quality stewards. This program will take place on Nov. 24 from 7–8 p.m. at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm on Route 46 in Canfield. All are welcome. Call Wild Birds Unlimited at 330-629-2473 for details.

Friends of the Poland library to meet

The Friends of the Poland Library will meet on Dec. 1. Coffee and refreshments will be at 9:30 a.m. with the program and meeting to follow. The program will be given by Jessica Trickett and her topic will be “Holiday Fashions of Mid 19th Century to the present time.” Hostesses will be Kitty Heineman, Peg Shirey and Ann Trefethern. Donations of books, magazines, CD’s and DVD’s are accepted at each meeting for the Poland Friends of the Library book cart. The public is welcome. Dues are $10 yearly and new members are welcome.

Thanksgiving Workshop Service to be Nov. 22

The Poland Area Churches will be offering a Community Thanksgiving Worship Service on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. The service will take place at the Church of the Rock, located 7025 Luteran Road in Poland. Monsignor William Connell from Holy Family Parish will preach. All are welcome to join the choir, which will practice at 5:45 p.m.

An offering will be collected for the Poland Food Pantry, and worshippers are invited to bring non-perishable canned goods as well. Other Poland congregations participating are Heritage Presbyterian Church, Poland Presbyterian Church, Poland United Methodist Church and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church.

Children’s book drive at the Friends Bookstore

Bring in three once-read children’s books to the Friends Bookstore, located in the Poland library on Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and receive a voucher to Disney on Ice.

Chili cook off

The Youngstown Shrine Club will be hosting its annual Ray Dudik Memorial Chili Cook-off on Nov. 28. This indoor event will be before and during the Ohio State against Michigan college football game. The public is invited to this event in the club’s indoor hall at 1735 W. South Range Road (Route #165) in North Lima. There will be door prizes, food (Chili recipes for the tasting and judging), refreshments, fun and of course the best football rivalry in the country - OSU vs. UM. You are encouraged to bring your favorite chili recipe for tasting and judging. Tickets are only $25 and can be purchased at the door or in advance from Jim Hazlett, 330-533-1847. Doors open two hours before kickoff.

Doctor Who and Sherlock Program – WhoLock

Calling all Whovians and Sherlockians: come celebrate Christmas like a “Doctor” at the Poland library at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 - make sure your holidays are “Sherlocked.” This program is for anyone who has ever wanted to visit 221B Baker Street or take a ride in the TARDIS. There will be themed crafts, activities, games and prizes. This event is for teens and adults only.

Carlozzi hosts sixth Annual Funds and Food Drive

Carlozzi Financial Services is helping local families in need this holiday season. The public is invited to join Carlozzi Financial Services and their clients to give a monetary donation or a non-perishable food item to Second Harvest Food Bank. Monetary donations or non-perishable food items can be dropped off at Carlozzi Financial Services, located at 831 Southwestern Run, Suite 1, in Poland. For more information, visit www.CarlozziFinancialServices.com.

Library closings for the holiday season

All libraries in the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County system will be closed on the following dates for the holidays: Dec. 24 and 25, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

Playaway Launchpad learning tablets for children

The Library is now offering Playaway Launchpad learning tablets for children. They are currently available for checkout by checkout on Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County adult full-service library cards at Main library and the Austintown, Boardman, Newport and Poland branches. Playaway Launchpads are designed just for children and are pre-loaded with high-quality, ad-free apps that are both fun and educational. For more information, visit www.libraryvisit.org.

Downloadable magazines and newspapers

Magazines and newspapers are now available on the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County website through the Digital Catalog and Download Center powered by Overdrive.

The magazines and newspapers are available for digital checkout and can be read on a Nook or Nook app on smartphones and tablets. Magazines from Zinio are no longer available through the library. For more information, visit www.libraryvisit.org.

YWCA of Youngstown receives grant from Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley

YWCA of Youngstown received a $6,500 Ohio Benefit Bank Tax Assistance Capacity Building Grant from Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley.

The grant will allow the YWCA to continue assisting members of the community with free filing of income tax returns and other benefits. In 2015, the YWCA has assisted 146 clients through the Ohio Benefit Bank.

The Bistro at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center open to the public

Student-operated restaurant, The Bistro at Mahoning County Career Technical Center, is open for lunch hours to the public. The Bistro will be open Tuesdays-Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. for dine-in or carry out through the winter. The Bistro is run by students enrolled in the Culinary Arts Program at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center. This gives students the chance to gain experience in all facets of working in the restaurant industry, from working as kitchen staff, line cooks and the Sous Chef to waiting tables and hosting. The Bistro schedule is as follows: Dec. 1-3, 8-10; Jan. 5-7, 13, 14, 20, 21. The restaurant will also be open in February and March with dates being announced soon. Call the restaurant for more information or to make a reservation.

Giant Eagle Foundation awards grant to Second Harvest Food Bank

The Giant Eagle Foundation awarded Second Harvest Food Bank $10,000 to be used to help feed families in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Bonding with babies and books

Caregivers and their little ones who are 6-23 months can come to the Poland library at 10 a.m. on Nov. 25 for 20 minutes of language enrichment including rhymes, songs and stories, followed by time to play and socialize.

Thanksgiving holiday closing Nov. 26

All libraries in the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County (PLYMC) system will be closed for Thanksgiving on Nov. 26.

Summer Kent State graduates

Kent State University awarded nearly 1,700 degrees, with more than 350 accompanying institutional honors, and including 833 bachelor’s degrees, 414 master’s degrees, 65 doctoral degrees, 344 associate degrees and 16 educational specialist degrees during during the 2015 Summer Commencement ceremony. Local graduates include Gina Burns with an Associate of Arts; Joseph Diorio with a Master of Public Health from the College of Public Health; Sarah Dwinnells with a Master of Arts from the College of Education, Health and Human Services; John Hoffman with a Doctor of Philosophy from the College of Arts and Sciences; and Maeson Latsko with a Master of Arts from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Trim a tree in November

Stop in during regular library hours in November to decorate an ornament for the Poland library’s all-seasons tree.

Gamblers Anonymous meetings

Gamblers Anonymous, a 12-Step fellowship of compulsive gamblers who want to recover from their gambling addictions, will meet twice this week in the Youngstown-Warren area. A Gamblers Anonymous meeting takes place every Friday at Westminster Church, located at 119 Stadium Drive in Boardman, and another takes place every Sunday at Christ Church Presbyterian, located at 3425 Hopkins Road in Cornersburg. Both meetings begin promptly at 7:30 p.m. and last about one and a half hours. Those who believe gambling has affected any part of their lives are urged to attend.

14th International Exhibition of Botanical Art and Illustration

The Hunt Institute of Pittsburgh brings the work of 35 botanical documentation artists from around the world to the Weller Gallery at Fellows Riverside Garden. The exhibit will run through Jan. 10 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Bits and Pieces of Our History

Through December, the Melnick Museum at Fellows Riverside Gardens will showcase the Bits and Pieces of Our History exhibit, which takes a look at the very early years of Mill Creek Park. The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Bits and pieces of Mill Creek Park

Now though December 2015, visit the exhibit at Fellows Riverside Gardens-Melnick Museum that takes a look at the very early years of Mill Creek Park. The exhibit is open every day from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.