Tamaqua news

Community service

This week's Community Lenten Service, sponsored by the Tamaqua Ministerium, will be held at Primitive Methodist Church, 57 Hunter St. The service will begin at noon and will be followed by a light luncheon.

The public is welcome to attend.

TOPS

The Tamaqua Chapter of Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) meets every Wednesday, from 6-8 p.m., in the Tamaqua Salvation Army Community Center, 105 W. Broad St. The meeting includes a short business session and a program.

Frances Houser was named TOPS Loser of the Week at the Feb. 24 meeting. Leader Bernie Kunkel provided an inspirational reading entitled "A Serious Valentine Verse." Members discussed the upcoming State Recognition Days, which are scheduled to be held April 23-24 in Wilkes-Barre.

This week's meeting will include an election of officers.

For more information, stop by a meeting or call Nancy Barron at (570) 668-4651 or Bernie Kunkel at (570) 645-7702. Information is also available on the Web at TOPS.org.

Anyone interested in learning more may attend the meeting without obligation.

Recycling

Wednesday is the day for curbside recycling pickup for all residents of Tamaqua.

All recyclable items must be placed in the containers issued to each borough household. Any other containers, such as plastic bags and cardboard boxes, will be emptied and left behind.

Anyone who needs a recycling container may contact borough hall at (570) 668-3444.

Collection bins for cardboard have been moved to the Tamaqua Transfer Station on Sewage Treatment Plant Road.

Collection bins for newspaper can be found at the Tamaqua Borough Garage on East Broad Street.

Writing lectures

Due to last week's inclement weather, the Black Diamond Writers Network had to postpone several of its scheduled writing lectures. The series of lectures and discussions are designed to help aspiring writers get started and how to get published. The re-scheduled sessions will be held March 4, 7-8 p.m. at the Tamaqua Public Library; March 9, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the Dimmick Memorial Library Annex, Jim Thorpe; and March 11, 6:30-7:30 p.m., at the Lehighton Memorial Library.

The group is also sponsoring a writers' conference on April 17, at the Schuylkill County Council for the Arts, Pottsvile.

For more information, or to register, call Kathy at (570) 645-3059 or log on to www.blackdiamondwriters.blogspot.com.