Calendar

Road to Recovery

Are you a cancer patient? Do you need a ride to and from your treatment sessions? A lack of transportation should not be the reason why cancer patients do not receive the life-saving cancer treatment they need. The American Cancer Society offers their Road to Recovery program to help transport cancer patients to and from their treatment. The Society has a toll-free number that you may call, and an operator will put you in touch with local volunteers that give cancer patients without personal transportation rides to and from their cancer treatment sessions. Give them a call at 1-800- ACS-2345.

Bereavement Support Group

Welcome to a community bereavement support group. A place to share your thoughts and feelings and grow together with others who have experienced the loss of a loved one.

First Thursday of every month

Where: United Community Bank, Community Room, Blairsville, Georgia

When: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.,

Third Thursday of every month

Where: Bank of Blairsville, Community Room, Blairsville, Georgia

When: 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Facilitator: Suzanne Repp, LCSW

The group is presented by Regency Hospice.

It is free of charge. Please call 1-800-577-8791 or 706-896-1251 for any further information.

GWRRA meets

Chapter J of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) meets the fourth Saturday of each month at Daniel's Steakhouse, Hiawassee, GA. We eat at 11 AM followed by the meeting at 12:00 during which rides and other activities are announced and discussed.

We encourage current members of the GWRRA and anyone interested in becoming a member to join us. All motorcyclists are welcome and we look forward to seeing participants from other chapters. There are great rides coming up and we hope many of you will join us.

For further information, contact Chapter Director, June Gottlieb, 706-896-7403 Tri-State Business Women

Formerly known as Business Women of Blairsville, the Tri-State Business Women is an organization of entrepreneurial women in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee who own and operate their own businesses and are a positive force in the community. Their vision and mission is to support one another in continuing success through networking and marketing.

If you are a woman in business in the area, there is a place for you to receive support, gain leads, and spread the word about your practice or business in the area.

Meetings are held every Tuesday of the month at 8 a.m. at Cook's Restaurant in Blairsville. For more information, please contact Susanne Johnson, President, at 706-781-1678 or Cathy Wheeler at 706-781-1050.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group

Prostate Cancer Support Group- 3rd Monday of every month from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at The Cancer Treatment Center Auditorium, 750 Deep South Road, Blairsville.

Blairsville Parkinson's Disease support group

Our group meets at 3 p.m. on the 2nd Wednesday of each month in the conference room of the Union County Public Library. For further information contact Paula Wilde at (706) 745- 6594 or Peter and Helen Schultze at (706) 745-9171.

The Experimental Aircraft Association

The Experimental Aircraft Association - local tri-state EAA Chapter #1211 meets the third Thursday, 7 p.m. of each month at Blairsville airport. For more information, contact Jim Olson at 828- 557-2446.

Alcoholics Anonymous

Blairsville group meets every Monday and Wednesday night at 8 p.m. and Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. at the Mountain Presbyterian Church on Hwy. 515. For more information call 706-994-4462.

T.O.P.S.

TOPS (Take Pounds Off Sensibly) wants you to make your own kind of music meeting place: Church of Christ. Time weigh in 5:00; meeting starts at 5:30. Join in the fun and get in the the music mood. Come and see what it's all about. For more information, call Trisha 706-781-5190, or Sandy at 706-745-1607.

Men's Morning Coffee Group

Regency Hospice announces Men's Morning Coffee Group at Mary Ann's Restaurant.

For men who have a lost spouse, partner, or experienced other losses and would like to share with other men, please join us on Tuesday at 10 a.m. We meet the first and third Tuesday morning of each month.

For more information call Suzanne Repp, Bereavement Counselor at Regency Hospice in Hiawassee, Ga., at 800-577-8791.

Ga. Mtn. Writers Club

We meet 10 a.m. to noon the second Wednesday of the month at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic church on the Young Harris Highway.

We have no membership dues or elected officers and meet to share our writings and provide helpful criticism, inspiration, motivation and encouragement to each other.

Everyone is welcome. You do not have to be a writer - just visit and enjoy listening to readings and discussion. You will be entertained - and maybe acquire a new interest.

Call for information: Larry Casey at 781-6636 or Ellie Dobson at 745-0678.

Attention HAMs and wannabe HAMs

North Georgia Tri-State A.R.C. (Amateur Radio Club) meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Branan Lodge in Blairsville. All of our meetings are open to the public.

For more information about joining the Club or becoming a HAM, call Don Deyton at 706-781-6665.

Knights of Columbus, North Georgia Council

Knights of Columbus, North Georgia Council, monthly meeting is on the second Thursday of the month and meets 7:30 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Blairsville. All active members are invited to attend the meeting and social hour.

School Prayer Group

On Mondays from 8:15 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., the Community Room at the Bank of Blairsville is open for Christians willing to join together in earnest prayer for our community's public, private and home schools. Drip in as your schedule permits.

"Pour out your heart like water

before the face of the Lord. Lift your

hands toward Him for the life of your

young children." Lamentations 2:19

Call Mitzi Brumley at 706-745-9175 for more information.

Winter Storytime

From December until May there is a new time at the Union County

Library for Storytime with Linda M. Foster. Each Monday at 12 Noon, all ages are welcome! Please join us starting December 3. Call 706- 745-7491 for more information.

New Cancer Support Group

At the United Community Bank in Hayesville, N.C. Patients, families and friends are all welcome to attend. United Community Bank is located at the corner of Hwy. 64 and Hwy. 69. Meeting time is 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The group will meet twice a month (on the 2nd and 4th Mondays). For more information, please call Janet Curns evenings at 828-389-0295.

MOAA

The Blue Ridge Mountains Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) meets the third Monday of each month at various area restaurants. All active duty, retired and reserve military and public health service officers are invited to attend.

For information please contact one of the following individuals, in North Carolina: Jim Ferrell at 828- 835-9203 and in Georgia: Jim Reynolds at 706-379-6601.

Union County Republican Party

Meets the 3rd Thursday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the Union County Library in Blairsville. For more info visit website at www.uniongop.org

Bereavement Support Group- TCF

Bereavement support group for parents that have lost a child. TCF Chapter meets at the Blairsville Library on the fourth Thursday of the month from 7:30-9:00 p.m. Contact information Kathy Malone 770-826- 8052.

Free Tax Prep and EFiling

Once again this year you will be able to get your Federal and State Income Tax returns prepared and efiled for free. Even though the program is sponsored by AARP, and there is an emphasis on those over 60, tax payers of all ages are eligible. Simply bring in all of your tax related documents, Social Security card(s), picture ID(s) and tax return(s) from last year, if available. Tax payers will be taken on a firstcome, first-served basis; no appointments will be taken. We will be able to assist most tax payers, unless there are some very complex issues such as rental income, farm income, K-1 investments, commercial business and a few others.

We will be preparing returns in Hiawassee and in Blairsville. The location in Hiawassee will be the Hiawassee United Methodist Church and will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. each Monday, beginning on February 4 and continuing through April 14. In Blairsville, the location will be the Jury Assembly Room on the lower level of the new Union County Courthouse, and will be from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday from February 5 through March 6. Beginning March 11, the location in Blairsville will move to the Cadence Bank Community Room and will continue each Tuesday and Thursday through April 15.

Sessions fill quickly, so get in line early to ensure getting a slot on that day's schedule. For more information call George Schwane at 706- 745-0694.

Narcotics Anonymous Weekly Meetings List

Mondays - 7 p.m. 12-Step meeting at Union County Annex Building located at 71 Hospital Street. This is an open meeting. Union County Anti-Drug Coalition

Tuesdays - 4 p.m. Open discussion meeting at Towns County Avita Community Partners. Meet at 1100 Jack Dayton Circle, Young Harris, Ga.

Tuesdays - 7 p.m. Discussion meeting at Union County Annex Building & New Hope Counseling at 71 Hospital St.

Wednesdays - 6 p.m. Open discussion meeting at Union County Avita Community Partners. 41 Hospital St., Suite 100, Blairsville.

Fridays - 8 p.m. Open discussion meeting at Union County Annex & New Hope Counseling, 71 Hospital St.

All the meetings are open & anyone can attend. For more information regarding any of these meetings, please call 706-897-9775, 706- 896-6263 or 706-745-4066.

Kiwanis Club

The Kiwanis Club meets at the Cobb's Mill Restaurant in Blairsville at 12:00 Noon each Monday. Come join in the fun with us. For more information, contact President Charlie Krick at (706)781-6793.

Bagpipe Instruction

The Appalachian Saint Andrew's Pipes and Drums bagpipe band is offering free instruction to all who want to learn how to play the Great Highland Bagpipe or learn Regimental Drumming. The band meets each Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon in the Parish Hall of Saint Clare's Episcopal Church for instruction and practice. For further information, please call 706-835-9071 or 706-745-3526.

Good Neighbors Auto Club

The next meeting of the Good Neighbors Auto Club will be on February 21st at the new Happy Gardens Chinese Restaurant in Murphy, NC at 7:00 PM. The restaurant is located just west of Murphy on the left across from Badcock Furniture. Members and the general public are welcome and will meet around 6:30 PM to enjoy the buffet at this new restaurant.

Raffle Sponsored by Friends of Library

Everyone is invited to Union County Library to visit the library during February and see our current raffle basket. The winner of this raffle will enjoy the glow of candlelight throughout the year. The all season candle basket features four jar candles in scents for each season, a candle lighter and a glass candle dish. The candles are hand poured in Blairsville.

Tickets are $1 each or six tickets for $5 and are available at Union County Library. The drawing will be Friday, February 29, 2008.

Friends of Union County Library is a non-profit organization with the goal of supporting and promoting the local library.

Regency Hospice announces Dining with Friends

For those who have lost a spouse, partner, friend, child or other relative and want to be with others with this same loss, we invite you to join us February 22 (Friday) for Dining With Friends. For "matters of the heart" please join us as we celebrate both Heart month and Valentines. A special treat will be shared. Hope to see you there. For more information, please call Suzanne Repp, Bereavement Counselor with Regency Hospice at 706-896-1251 or 1-800-577-8791. We will meet for lunch at Daniel's Steak House in Hiawassee, Ga., at 11:30 a.m. in the small dining room reserved for us.

C.C. & Tim Veazey Return to Unity Church of the Mountains

March 2nd, C.C. and Tim Veazey will be at the UCM. They will do the Sunday service at 10:30 a.m. and then at 12:30 p.m. they will do a concert. Everyone is welcome.

Unity Church of the Mountains is located at 627 Gainesville Hwy., Suite F, Blairsville. For more information, please call 706-745-8780.

Blue Ridge Writer's Conference

Find out how to give a great radio interview, how to write a great memoir even if you're not famous, or how to market yourself on the web at the 12th annual Blue Ridge Writers' Conference March 28 - 29 at North Georgia Technical College in Blairsville. Joshilyn Jackson, author of Gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia, will kick off the conference The program this year is packed with speakers to give help and inspiration to aspiring writers and interested readers. Other speakers include children's authors Lynn Cullen and Diane Shore, editor Brian Seidman of New south Books, essayist Steven Harvey, and more. For the complete program, please go to brmaa.net. Registration is $60 before March 6, $70 after that date. For more information, contact the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association at 706-632-2144.

Divine 3

Youngstown Baptist Church welcomes spiritual gospel singers, Divine 3 on Sunday, March 2 at 10 am. Please join us and enjoy this special service! Hwy 129 N. on the Right across from Heritage Propane.

Anne Oland, Pianist

Classical piano music performed by renowned Danish-born artist Presented by Brasstown Concert Association, Sunday, March 23 at 2:30 p.m.

Keith House, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, Tickets: Adults $14, Students $7. No reservations required. General Admission seating. For information call 828 389 2595 or email brasstownconcert@gmail.com

Blairsville Cruiser

The Blairsville Cruiser meeting will be held this Thursday February 28th, at 7:00 p.m.at Steve's Cookie Jar Restaurant. All are welcome, no matter what type of vehicle you love and enjoy. This month our guest speaker will be Jim Watson of Performance concepts. Jim Watson started Performance Concepts in 1996. Jim will be giving us a fun and exciting presentation on vehicle maintenance. Please come earlier than 7:00 if you wish to eat and socialize prior to the meeting. Remember you do not have to be a member to attend our meetings; membership forms will be available at each meeting.

Beginner Clogging Classes for Children

The Campbell Folk School Cloggers are starting a beginner clogging class for boys and girls up to 10 years old on Monday, March 3 at the John C. Campbell Folk School (Keith House at 4:45 p.m.) The 45 minute class is only .50 cents. Clogging shoes are not required.

For further information, contact Barbara at 706-781-3416 or just show up for class.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Come meet others who are facing the same challenge (relatives raising children.) Receive information on resources available to you and your child. Join us on Sunday, March 9 at United Community Bank, 63 Hwy. 515 in Blairsville from 2 - 4 p.m. The March Program will be presented by The Legacy Link, Inc.

For more information, please call Gail Bullock (706)745-4060 or Linda Davis (828-389-4233.)

Kiwanis Club

Pancake Breakfast

The Blairsville Kiwanis club presents our all you can eat pancake breakfast Saturday, march 8. Help us help local kids during our all you can eat pancake breakfast Saturday, march 8th @ the First United Methodist Church Cafeteria on hwy 515. The Blairsville Kiwanis provides scholarship, grants, aid and supplies for children in need. Get your pancakes, sausage, milk, coffee, and juice. Eat in or carry out. Suggested donation is only $4.00. Kids under 6 eat free. Get your breakfast and help the community @ the Blairsville Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast on Saturday March 8th from 7 a.m. - 10 a.m.