Thursday, Jan. 24

ENTERTAINMENT · On Thursday, Jan. 24, One Eleven restaurant in LaFayette will host a wine tasting in the restaurant’s banquet room. Admission will be $10, and includes wine and hors d' oeuvres.

GOVERNMENT · Walker County sole commissioner Bebe Heiskell will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, in the commissioners conference room, at the Walker County Courthouse annex on Duke Street in LaFayette.

COMMUNITY · Lafayette Physical Therapy will hold “fit and fun” sessions Tuesdays and Thursdays, through Jan. 31, from 10:30-11:30 a.m., at 120 West Villanow Street in LaFayette. For more information, call Vicki at 706-638-5983.

CHURCH · A year-round Parents Day Out program will be offered from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, at Rock Spring United Methodist Church, 3477 Peavine Road in Rock Spring. Children ages 6 months to 5 years old may participate. Bring your child to socialize and play in a Christian environment. There is no registration fee. Cost is $12 a day per child, or $10 a day per child for two or more siblings. Call 706-764-1404 for more information.

COMMUNITY · Girl Scouts have started taking orders for Girl Scout cookies. Orders will be taken through Feb. 10. Cookie deliveries and booth sales are March 1 - 24. For more information, visit girlscoutcsa.org or call 1-800-474-1912.

COMMUNITY · Registration deadline for the North Georgia Community YMCA Father/Daughter Dance (Friday, Feb. 8, 2013) is Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013. for girls ages 5-11. Cost is $75 per couple, $35 for each additional daughter. The dance will be held at the Colonnade in Ringgold. To register, call 706-935-2226 or go to ngaymca@ymcachattanooga.org.

COMMUNITY · The Walker County Health Department will offer a free, basic diabetes education class. The eight-hour series will be taught by nurse Linda Long. The second of two series will be held on Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Jan. 29 and 31, Feb. 5 and 7, at the Chickamauga Public Library. Call 706-638-5577 to register.

COMMUNITY · The United Way’s Center for Nonprofits (CNP) is offering workshops for local nonprofit organizations and their volunteers. Most sessions are offered at 630 Market Street, unless otherwise noted. To learn more, call Sara Collier at (423) 752-0329 or email saracollier@cnpchatt.org. You can also go and register online at cnpchatt.org. On Thursday, Jan. 24, from 9 a.m.-noon take Telling Your Story and learn the secrets to crafting great mission-based stories to share your case and to demonstrate your impact. Fees: $50 for members/$75 for nonmembers Partial scholarships are available for CNP members.

COMMUNITY · Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has partnered with local libraries to host Reading with Ringling Brothers. All branches of the Cherokee Regional Library System will be participating. Children who read five books will be rewarded with a free ticket to the circus at Philips Arena in Atlanta for Feb. 13-18. Children must be aged 2-12 to participate. Stop by your Walker or Dade County public library today to register for the program.

COMMUNITY · A Diabetes Education Class will be held from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at Erlanger Chattanooga Lifestyle Center. This class will explore ways to manage diabetes. Call 778-9400 for more information on physician referral and insurance reimbursement.

Friday, Jan. 25

ENTERTAINMENT · Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga (ETC) will open its 2013 season with AVENUE Q. The show will run weekends through Jan. 27; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Performances will take place at Eastgate Town Center, 5600 Brainerd Road in Chattanooga. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for students and are available at ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com or call 423-987-5141. Doors open 30 minutes before each performance. Free parking is available at the Eastgate Town Center.

ENTERTAINMENT · The Georgia Winery on Battlefield Highway in Ringgold will hold Ladies Night Out from 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25. This Ladies Night is all about New Year’s Resolutions and living a healthy lifestyle. Vendors include Dynamic Medical Center, Pure Barre, Rodan + Fields Dermatologists and Victorian Diva. Mini Massages will be provided by Massages by Carol and beauty services will be provided by Sephora. Earth Fare is supplying Hors d’ oeuvres and live music will be performed by Jordan Hallquist. Tickets cost $10 and are available at the winery’s website or at the door. Included in the ticket price is a pre-set tasting flight of five wines, one glass of wine and hors d’ oeuvres. Door prizes will be given away every 15 minutes beginning at 6:45 p.m. You must be present to win. Wine by the glass and wine slushies will also be available. Store items will sell for a 10 percent discount.

COMMUNITY · Lyerly United Methodist Church is selling cookbooks for $10 each. They can be purchased from any church member, or at Pine Ridge Outdoor Supply in Lyerly, or by sending $10 (plus $2.00 shipping and handling) to Lyerly United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 152, Lyerly, GA 30730, and a church cookbook will be mailed to you. For more information, call Jo Ann Mitchell at 706-895-2636.

COMMUNITY · January is National Blood Donor Month and Blood Assurance is asking area residents to add “saving lives” to their New Year’s resolutions. Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donors at any Blood Assurance will receive a long-sleeved t-shirt commemorating National Blood Donor Month. For more information, visit bloodassurance.org/blooddrives or call 1-800-962-0628.

COMMUNITY · Entries in the annual DNR “Give Wildlife a Chance” poster contest must be postmarked by Wednesday, March 27. This year’s theme is “Everyone can be a citizen scientist.” The contest is open to kindergarten through fifth-grade students in public and private schools and homeschool groups. Participants enter at the local school level with drawings that depict their observations of Georgia’s native nongame animals and plants. Visit georgiawildlife.com/PosterContest or botgarden.uga.edu for more information.

COMMUNITY · The Friends of the Catoosa County Library have used books for sale daily in the Friends’ Nook at the library. Hardbacks cost $1, paperbacks cost 50 cents. The library is at 108 Catoosa Circle (Benton Place campus off Battlefield Parkway) in Ringgold.

COMMUNITY · Overdue fines for items such as audiobooks, e-books, CDs, DVDs and event passes have now increased at PINES libraries around the state. Rates will vary by item. The fine for audiobooks on CD is 20 cents per day; while the fine for videos on DVD is 50 cents per day. The overdue fee for books, which increased on July 1 from 10 cents to 20 cents per day, will remain at that level after Jan. 1. Items checked out before Jan. 1, 2013, will be charged a late fee at the current rate even if they are returned on or after Jan. 1. Items checked out or renewed Jan. 1 or later will be charged the revised per day rate. The PINES software program will automatically apply the amount in effect at the time of checkout. Because a renewal is considered a new checkout, fines for renewals placed on Jan. 1 or after will accrue at the new rate. These overdue fine ncreases are the first made since 1999, according to PINES officials.

COMMUNITY · Registration is open for the sixth annual Berry Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K races to be run Saturday, March 23, at Berry College in Rome. The Berry Half Marathon raises funds for need-based scholarships to the local (Rome) elementary and middle school. Runners have given to Soles4Soles in past years, and organizers plan to continue to support this charity, as well as contribute $1 for each pair of shoes donated to help offset the cost of mailing the shoes to needed destinations. There will be collection boxes set up at race registration March 22 and 23. There will also continue to be a collection site for Medals4Mettle, a non-profit organization that facilitates the gifting of marathon, half marathon, and triathlon finishers’ medals to children and adults fighting debilitating diseases. To register for the 2013 Berry Half Marathon and further information on registration fees, visit: berryhalfmarathon.com.

Saturday, Jan. 26

CHURCH · Lyerly United Methodist Church will have a free movie night at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26. The movie “Fireproof,” will be shown. It is a feel-good drama with a strong agenda: stay married lead an honest life, and let your faith in a higher power help guide you. Starring Kirk Camerson and Erin Bethea. Free refreshments will be served halfway through the movie. All ages are invited. Call Michelle Floyd at 706-676-5645, for more information.

COMMUNITY · Rock Spring Athletic Association will hold Baseball and Softball sign ups every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. through Feb. 16, at Rock Spring Elementary School. For ages are 3-12.

COMMUNITY · A formal black tie gala to end domestic violence honoring the late Theresa Parker will be held from 7-11:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Walker County Civic Center in Rock Spring. Cost is $55. Enjoy entertainment, dinner and a silent auction. Proceeds benefit battered women and children. Call 423-413-6956 for more information.

CHURCH · The House of Prayer Baptist Church at Villanow will hold a Benefit Breakfast starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26. All proceeds go to the church youth fund. Enjoy a country breakfast and fellowship. Plates are served on a donation basis. Kenneth Jennings is pastor.

COMMUNITY · The LaFayette-Walker County Public Library is starting a new monthly series of Teen Programming called DIY Teen. The first program will be hosted on Saturday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m. The month’s theme is DIY Teen: Duct Tape Projects.

COMMUNITY · Zumba - A fun and effective workout to the beat of Latin and International music, meets every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Boynton United Methodist Church. Females only. Cost is $5 per class to pay the certified instructor. For more information, go to BoyntonUMC.org or call 706-866-2626. Boynton United Methodist is located at 4246 Boynton Drive in Ringgold, two miles west of I-75, south of Battlefield Parkway at Pine Grove and Boynton.

COMMUNITY · The Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center will host a Sandhill Crane biology presentation and “up close” visit with the center’s two resident cranes from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26. Dr. David Aborn, UTC professor of Ornithology, will speak. The program is geared toward adults and children age 12 and older. Space is limited. RSVP to 423-821-1160, ext. 0. Cost is $8 for members, $10 for non-members.

COMMUNITY · The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society will hold genealogy workshops in January and February at the Crown Gardens & Archives. On Jan. 26, from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Walking Back on the Paper Trail (intermediate level), and from 1-4:30 p.m., Finding of Women Ancestors, Beginning Cherokee Genealogy Research, and Rigor of Proof-Lineage Societies (all levels) will be offered. The cost is $35 for one workshop, $40 for a full day, or $70 for two full days. Sack lunches are available for $6. Email wmhs@optilink.us to enroll, and then mail your check to, WMHS, P. O. Box 6180, Dalton, GA 30722. Please call the Archives if you have any questions 706 278-0217.

COMMUNITY · The “BIG BIDS for JA Kids” Auction Party benefiting Junior Achievement of Chattanooga will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at the Bessie Smith Hall. Tickets cost $50 per couple or $25 per person and may be purchased at the door. In addition to the live auction, bidders will have the opportunity to also bid on terrific silent auction packages. The Big Bids for JA Kids online auction opens on Tuesday, Jan. 29, and runs through Thursday, Feb. 7. To bid, visit biddingforgood.com/bigbidsforjakids. For more information, visit jachatt.org.