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OPEN HOUSE
St. Joseph's Catholic Academy in Boalsburg will be hosting an open house on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 6:30 p.m. St. Joseph's is Centre County's only Catholic high school. At the open house, families will meet teachers and administration, tour the school and learn about its competitive sports and growing fine arts programs. Bonus! All families who attend will be entered into a drawing for a $500 tuition voucher. This event is a must for families who are interested in St. Joseph's Catholic Academy's traditional, classical education grounded in faith which serves as an extension of the family. For more info and RSVP, go to www.stjoeacad.org or call Kathy at 814-574-8644.
FUN NIGHT
Liberty Baptist Church in Blanchard invites everyone to a Family Fun Night at the church on Jan. 26. The fun starts at 6 p.m. with a Bounce house, games for all ages and food. All ages are welcome. Liberty Baptist Church has a really nice gym that is spacious enough for basketball and volleyball to be enjoyed, and a fellowship hall for playing board games and more. Call Joyce at 570-962-3355 for more detail.
CANTATA
The Christians with Rhythm Christmas Cantata that was originally planned earlier this month and canceled because of a winter storm, has been rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 28, at 3 p.m. at the Howard Christian Church. The public is invited to attend.
LEARN TO HUSTLE
There will be a ballroom dance on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 4, from 2-5 p.m., at Lambert Hall in Bellefonte. There will be a hustle lesson from 2-2:30 p.m. with dancing to follow. Cost is $10/person and participants should bring a snack to share. Call/text 717-543-8348 for more info.
CEMETERY MEETINGS
The annual Hublersburg Cemetery meeting will be Saturday, Jan. 27, at 10 a.m., at the Walker Township building. All lot owners are encouraged to attend. The cemetery association is always looking for volunteers and board members. For more info about the Hublersburg Cemetery, please call Chuck at 814-383-4092.
Jacksonville Cemetery Association will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 1 p.m., at the Marion Township building. All lot owners and those interested in the well-being of the association are encouraged to come and to bring any ideas or concerns you may have. For more info, call Pam at 814-383-2562.
LIONS NEWS
Howard Area Lions will hold their Lions Bingo at the Beech Creek Fire Company social hall on Feb. 8 and Feb. 22. Doors and the kitchen open at 5:30 p.m. and Bingo begins at 6:30 p.m.
Milesburg Lions Club holds their Bingo every Thursday evening at the Milesburg Community Center. Doors open at 5 p.m. and games begin at 6:45 p.m.
Howard Area Lions Food Bank dates of distribution will be on Feb. 5 for Centre County residents and on Feb. 19 for those individuals who live in Beech Creek Borough and BC Township.
Please remember to bring your sturdy boxes back each month. The Lions are having trouble finding enough sturdy boxes, so if you have any larger boxes that will work for food distribution please bring them along so there will be enough boxes to fill for food bank recipients each month. The small produce boxes will not work since larger boxes are needed.
Howard Area Lions will meet for their monthly dinner meeting on Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. The meeting and meal will be served by the volunteers at the Friendship Community Center in Beech Creek.
Howard Area Lions is 90 members strong, and individuals are always invited to become a part of this organization. Both men and women are eligible to become club members. There are currently only four "Lady Lions" who are members of the club, and those ladies would love to see more of their female peers become Lions and serve with them.
Howard Lions Club needs men and women of all ages to help with the many activities that take place during the year. There are a lot of retired Lions who take on the majority of the tasks, but younger members are needed to keep the ranks of the club strong and more helpers will ensure that activities and fundraising events continue to run flawlessly.
The Lions motto is "We Serve," and the club members certainly do many things throughout the year to contribute to the wellbeing of our local communities. Our local club financially supports three local fire companies and several local youth baseball/softball organizations. The club also provides free medical equipment to people in need, feeds local residents through their monthly food bank program and runs a Cash Bingo. Lion volunteers are also needed when their food wagons are set up at the Orviston Celebration and at Punkin Chunkin, and when they are hosting their annual Sweetheart Dinner in February or parking cars during Grange Fair in the summer.
You don't have to live in Howard to become a part of this incredible organization. Howard Area Lions Club has members who live in Blanchard, Beech Creek, Mill Hall, Lock Haven, Centre Hall, Julian, Milesburg, Snow Shoe, Bellefonte and all those little hollows and villages in between.
If you'd like to become a member you can ask any Lion member for an application, or call Lion Lloyd at 814-355-1776 to request an application be mailed or emailed to you. (I've never known a person to be turned down for Howard Area Lions membership!)
Mark your calendars that the Howard Lions Club will host their annual Sweetheart Dinner on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Howard fire hall. The meal will be served at noon and is open to residents age 60 and over that live in the Lions servicing area, which includes Blanchard, Beech Creek, Howard, Hublersburg, Hunter Run, Jacksonville, Lamar, Marsh Creek, Mount Eagle, Monument, Orviston and all the little communities in between.
The meal is free and begins at noon, but it's best to come early for a seat with your sweetheart or friends. Couples as well as widows/widowers and friends are encouraged to attend. There's always plenty of food to enjoy along with some small games of chance raffles.
FIRE CO. NEWS
Centre Hall Fire Company will hold their first Friday of the month Bingo on Feb. 2 at the fire station. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; early bird game is at 6:30 p.m. and regular Bingo starts at 7 p.m. Food and rip tickets are also available.
Tickets are also available for Centre Hall Fire Company's Gun Raffle set for May 18, 2024. Tickets are $10.
The Philipsburg Fire Department and the Columbia Fire Company are having a benefit dinner for Steve Huber, who was diagnosed with Hypopharyngeal cancer in November. Steve has been a firefighter for more than 50 years and is currently a member at Reliance Fire Company.
The fire companies will be hosting a Spaghetti Dinner on Feb. 10 from 1-4 p.m. at the Columbia fire station, 140 Curtin St., Osceola Mills. Meals will be $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. There will also be a 50/50 raffle along with a Chinese auction. Proceeds from the spaghetti dinner will help Steve with his travel and medical expenses. Monetary donations for Steve can also be made by mail to the Columbia Fire Company. Be sure to put Steve's name on the memo line of your check.
Millheim Fire Company has tickets for their cash and gun raffle planned in April on sale now. Tickets are $20 or bargain priced at 6/$100. Tickets will be available at the Amish Wedding Supper being held at the fire station on March 2 or from any fire company member.
COUNTRY JAM
The Back Porch String Band will host their Country Jam at the Yearick Center in Howard on Sunday, Jan. 28. Bring your instrument and play along, or come to enjoy the afternoon of toe-tappin', hand-clappin' music that runs from 2-6 p.m. Bring a snack to share and a few dollars to drop into the donation basket that is collected to benefit the Howard Fire Company.
LITTLE LEAGUE
Howard Youth League is having t-ball and baseball signups, and all children are invited to play. The league is for boys and girls born on or before Aug. 31, 2020, or for preschoolers who will turn four before Aug. 31, 2024. Signups will be held on Feb. 8, from 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the Howard United Methodist Church. Parents will need to bring their drivers license, the birth certificate of each child and the $50 registration fee for each child. Paperwork will need to be completed at the sign-up so that your child will be eligible to participate.
A mandatory parents meeting has also been scheduled for Feb. 18 at 2 p.m.
SAUSAGE SALE
Howard Fire Company, in partnership with Hilltop Farms, is having a sausage sale fundraiser. Orders for hot Italian sausage, sweet Italian stuffed sausage, breakfast sage loose sausage, salt and pepper loose sausage, pans of scrapple and ground beef are being accepted until Thursday, Feb.1. Orders can be called in to Hilltop Farms at 814-625-0170, or see the fire company's Facebook page for the prices and an order form that can be mailed along with payment. Order pickup will be on Saturday, Feb. 10, between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
SOUP SALE
Howard United Methodist Church is holding a Soup Sale on Thursday, Feb. 15, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the church's fellowship hall. Eat in meals include bowls of soup, a piece of pie, a roll and your drink for $8. Take-out quarts of soup in freezable containers are also available for $8 each. Flavors are vegetable beef, ham and bean, chicken corn and chicken noodle.
Proceeds from the soup sales are used to help others in the community who are in the midst of hardships
AMBULANCE
MEMBERSHIP
It's time to renew your Beech Creek-Blanchard Ambulance membership for another year.
Applications were mailed to local residents in the area, but if you didn't receive one and would like to get a membership you may drop by the Beech Creek fire station to get a membership application or call to have an application mailed to you. The cost of an ambulance membership for the year starting on Feb. 1, 2024 for an individual is $35 and the cost for a couple is $70. A family membership will be $75.
Beech Creek-Blanchard Ambulance Association serves residents that live in the town of Beech Creek and Beech Creek Township in Clinton County along with residents living in the towns of Blanchard and Howard and the nearby townships of Curtin, Howard, Liberty and Marion in Centre County.
For more information about the ambulance membership or if you might be interested in joining the BC-B Fire Company you may call the fire station at 570-962-2382.
WINTER FESTIVAL
The 4th Annual Howard Winter Festival is planned for Saturday, March 9, at Howard Community Park. A rain/snow date of March 16 has also been announced in case Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.
Craft vendors are needed for the event. A vendor space is $20 and you must provide your own tent/canopies and tables. This is an outdoor event that takes place from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. In addition to numerous food and craft vendors, there will also be horse drawn carriage rides, a chili cook-off (this year the chili cook-off is open to all scouting troops), a basket raffle and a host of outdoor activities. Dress warm and come to support the local Howard Scout Troop 353.
For more info call Patti at 814-625-2182.
TREASURE HUNT
State Representative Paul Takac, of Centre County's 82nd district, and his staff are offering free information and assistance with applying for LiHeap, checking to see if there may be unclaimed funds in your name and a variety of other services and benefits that people can take advantage of. Elderly residents are especially encouraged to seek assistance in renewing their vehicle registrations, obtaining handicap placards for your vehicles, qualifying for prescription drug programs and more benefits that are out there to help.
LiHeap is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program that is now accepting applications to help low income families pay their utility (electric and heating) bills through a cash grant.
Takac's staff will also be available to help individuals and businesses find out if the PA Treasury is holding funds that are yours from sources such as closed bank accounts, uncashed checks, lost stocks and bonds, contents of safe deposit boxes that have been forgotten and expired gift cards.
Representative Takacs staff has office hours at the Snow Shoe Township Building, 268 Oldside Road, in Clarence, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month; at his district office at 216 W. Hamilton Ave., State College, and at the Howard United Methodist Church, 144 West Main St., Howard, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Thursday. It's best to call beforehand to inquire about what paperwork (social security cards, tax returns, copies of your electric or heating bills) you may need to bring along with you when you meet with staff to receive their help. Call 814-308-0569 for help from Representative Takac's staff.
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Howard Happenings is written and compiled by Tammy Coakley who can be reached by email at tammysue0115@gmail.com or by telephone at 814-625-2684.