Tuesday, March 5

COMMUNITY · State Farm agent Jason Long will lead a workshop entitled “Let’s talk money,” about the basics of money management. The workshop begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Bank of LaFayette Community Room, 104 N. Main Street in LaFayette. For more information, call 706-638-0008.

COMMUNITY · The La Fayette-Walker County Public Library will have their Ready to Read Story Time on Tuesday, March 5, at 10:30 a.m. This program prepares children for school with books, songs, games and activities.

COMMUNITY · Chattanooga Valley Lions Club meets the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 7:30 p.m. at 76 John Thompson Road in Flintstone, between Chattanooga Valley Elementary and Middle Schools. For more information, call LeBron Carden at 706-820-9452 or Leon Ellis at 706-931-2551. The clubhouse may be rented out for events such as showers and birthday parties. Call Mary Tittle at 423-443-5634.

COMMUNITY · A Breastfeeding class will be offered from 6:30-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at Erlanger East (Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga). This class is designed to help participants make an informed choice about breastfeeding. Learn breastfeeding basics, what to expect the first few weeks and special tips for success. Concerns about returning to work/school will also be discussed. This course is coordinated by a board-certified lactation consultant. Registration fee is $30. Call Erlanger’s HealthLink at (423) 778-LINK (5465) to register.

COMMUNITY · Dalton Science Café, informal get-togethers on all things science, is held from 7-8 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month at the Dalton Freight Depot. On Tuesday, March 5, the program is “The other side of the big bang theory.”

COMMUNITY · A basic genealogy class will be held from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Chickamauga Public Library. Bring names, birth dates and death dates of immediate family members. Sponsored by the Friends of the Chickamauga Public Library. Class is free of charge. Space is limited. Call 706-375-3004 to reserve a space.

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 first Wash Me Pink Color Run to benefit Susan G. Komen will be held Saturday, March 9. The 5K color run course begins at 9 a.m. at 1104 Redwine Cove, in Dalton. Registration is from 7 a.m.-8:45 a.m. Color washers will douse participants with Komen color at the color stations strategically placed throughout the course. Parking passes cost $5 if pre-purchased and $10 at the venue, and are required for each car. Visit washmepink.com.

Wednesday, March 6

COMMUNITY · The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) is teaming with Mohawk Industries to help fill job vacancies for experienced twisting operators at its manufacturing facility in Calhoun. Recruitments will be held from 8 a.m.-noon on Wednesday, March 6, and Monday, March 11 at the GDOL’s Rome Career Center, at 462 Riverside Parkway and at the GDOL’s Dalton Career Center, at 1406 Chattanooga Avenue. Applicants should bring copies of their resume and be prepared to interview. The company requires a minimum of six months manufacturing/tufting machine experience. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age due to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. They must also have a high school diploma or a General Education Diploma (GED) and bring two forms of identification. Mohawk offers a number of benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance, competitive salaries, healthy life centers, and a 401k plan. For more information, contact Kelly Gribble at the Rome Career Center at (706) 295-6051 or kelly.gribble@gdol.ga.gov, or Jackie Goolsby at the Dalton Career Center at (706) 272-2301 or Jackie.goolsby@gdol.ga.gov

COMMUNITY · The Salute to Senior Service program, sponsored by Home Instead, Inc., the franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care network, honors the contributions of adults 65 and older who give at least 15 hours a month of volunteer service to their favorite causes. Nominations for outstanding senior volunteers will be accepted until March 31. State winners then will be selected by popular vote at SalutetoSeniorService.com. Online voting will take place from April 15 -30. Senior care professionals, family caregivers, adult children of aging parents and older adults also may self-nominate. To complete and submit a nomination form online for a senior age 65 or older who volunteers at least 15 hours a month, and to view the contest’s official rules, visit SalutetoSeniorService.com. Completed nomination forms also can be mailed to Salute to Senior Service, P.O. Box 285, Bellevue, NE 68005. For more information, call 706-277-5721.

COMMUNITY · Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is seeking public comment on its amended general management plan. The plan changes provide guidance for making informed decisions about the future of park resource conditions and visitor experiences within the Lookout Mountain Battlefield unit of the park. The National Park Service has developed two preliminary alternative management concepts for the battlefield for public review, comment, suggestions, and advice. The preliminary alternatives and proposed changes to management zoning for Lookout Mountain can be viewed at: www.parkplanning.nps.gov/chch. Comments can be submitted electronically through the website until April 8.

COMMUNITY · A Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Seminar will be held from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, March 6, at

Erlanger Baroness (Plaza Surgery Waiting Room) in Chattanooga. Area residents who are overweight and /or with health problems related to obesity are invited to learn more about the Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery Center at Erlanger. It is a free seminar and registration is required. Call Erlanger’s HealthLink at (423) 778-LINK (5465) to register. Visit Erlanger’s You Tube Channel at www.youtube.com/erlangerhealth and click The Weight Loss Program under Playlist to watch first-hand accounts from those who have gone through the program.

COMMUNITY · A Cholestech Lipid and Glucose Screening will be offered from 8-10 a.m. Wednesday, March 6, at Erlanger North (Morrison Springs Road) in Chattanooga. Lipid & Glucose Screening with results while you wait. A lipid panel will show HDL, LDL, Total cholesterol, non-HDL, cholesterol ratio and triglycerides. A 12-hour fast is required to produce an accurate result. No eating or drinking coffee prior to the test, but please drink water the night before and morning of testing. Reservations are required, no walk-ins will be taken. Lipid plus Glucose is $25. Call Erlanger’s HealthLink at (423) 778-LINK (5465) for information.

COMMUNITY · The Chickamauga Public Library, 306 Cove Road in Chickamauga, will exhibit a “Time Line of Chickamauga from 1820-1899” now through Saturday, March 30. Regular library hours are Tuesday from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon.

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.

COMMUNITY · Seniors and Friends of Fort Oglethorpe meet from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, at Constitution Hall on Forrest Road in Fort Oglethorpe, for games, crafts, refreshments and blood pressure and blood sugar checks. For information or transportation, call Peggy Stanfield at 706-866-1369.

Thursday, March 7

EDUCATION · College-bound students and their families are invited to a free FAFSA workshop at Dalton State College Thursday, March 7, from 1-7 p.m. The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and is the essential first step to receiving financial aid, said Carol Jones, Director of Financial Aid for Dalton State. The workshop will be held in the James E. Brown Center at the north end of the campus. Participants are asked to bring 2012 tax information to expedite the application process. For more information, contact Carol Jones at cjones@daltonstate.edu or call 706-272-4545.

COMMUNITY · The Chickamauga Public Library will hold a “Ready to R.E.A.D” story time program at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 7. The library is at 306 Cove Road in Chickamauga.

COMMUNITY · Spring sale dates at the Sparrow’s Nest are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday, March 7 and Friday, March 8, and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, March 9. Register by Friday, March 1, to consign items. The Sparrow's Nest is a seasonal children’s consignment sale hosted by Ringgold United Methodist Church. Individuals who consign items may receive 70 percent of their sales price. The remaining proceeds are used to provide assistance to community members in need. The Sparrow’s Nest is set up to help provide early shopping for struggling families, foster parents and first time moms. The main entrance to the sale is adjacent to the main church parking lot off of Highway 41 (Nashville Street) in Ringgold. A stroller and wheelchair accessible entrance is off of Sparks Street. Both entrance doors will be opened to the public at 9 a.m.

COMMUNITY · A Man-to-Man Support Group (for prostate cancer patients, their spouses, friends and family) begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at Erlanger Baroness in Chattanooga. For more information, call (423) 855-2778.

COMMUNITY · A Diabetes Education Class will be offered from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 7, 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.