Octorara townlively.com
FEBRUARY 7, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXIII • NO 49
Seniors luncheon offers food and fellowship BY FRANCINE FULTON
Local senior citizens now have a place to enjoy good food and fellowship as part of a new monthly seniors luncheon program being offered at Penningtonville Presbyterian Church in Atglen. The event was held for the
first time on Jan. 28, and it will continue on the fourth Sunday of each month from noon to 2 p.m. Each gathering will feature a homemade hot meal, followed by an activity or program. The op ening me e ting feature d bingo with small prizes for the winners. More than 25 seniors attended See Seniors luncheon pg 5
The blankets made by the Octorara FFA students will be distributed to local animal rescues.
Creating blankets of comfort BY FRANCINE FULTON
“They hoped that making these blankets would provide warmth, a soft texture to sleep on and a familiar scent that could help decrease stress for the animal.” and wanted to make it happen this year. When we talked about it at a chapter meeting, everyone was on board.” Octorara FFA members spent 16 hours cutting fabric and tying together the sides to make the colorful blankets, which feature dog pawprints and images of cats and dogs. The completed
blankets were presented to April Brade for distribution. Brade is a volunteer with Lucky Dawg Animal Rescue and leads Parkesburg Area Trap-NeuterReturn (TNR), an organization composed of volunteers who are committed to getting the stray cat population under control by utilizing the TNR method. “Trapping these animals in Parkesburg specifically has been a tireless and rewarding effort by community members. Octorara FFA members know that animals that have been on their own for a while may be mistrusting and need a period of time for socialization with people,” stated Talley. “They hoped that making these blankets would provide warmth, a soft texture to sleep on and a familiar scent that could help decrease stress for the animal during their transition off the streets, to foster homes or shelters and hopefully to a forever home.” FFA is open to students who are looking to pursue a career in
Phil Rudisill (left) and Donna Norris prepare salads to serve to seniors at the luncheon.
Church to host Valentine’s Day family dance BY FRANCINE FULTON
Building on the success of last year ’s event, Our Lady of Consolation Church will present its second annual Valentine’s Day family dance on Friday, Feb. 9. The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Schneider Parish Center, 2995 Cemetery Road, Parkesburg. The event will feature dancing and games, and food and snacks
See Blankets pg 3
will be available for purchase, including pizza hot dogs, chips and beverages. There will also be a cookie decorating station, a selfie station and a game station. The dance will take place in the building’s multipurpose room, which will be decorated with a Valentine’s Day theme. “We have a playlist of songs. It is a very kid-friendly playlist,” said Adrianna McCaw, youth minister, who is organizing the event along See Family dance pg 5
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doptable dogs and cats waiting for their permanent homes now have blankets to offer them warmth and comfort thanks to the efforts of the Octorara Junior-Senior Hig h S cho ol FFA memb ers who made 47 blankets that will be distributed to local rescue organizations. Octorara FFA high school students received a National FFA Living to Serve grant to make the fleece no-sew tie blankets, which was a first-time community service project. “FFA is really great because they offer these mini grants, and we were able to get $400 to purchase fabric and supplies to make the blankets,” explained Helena Martin Talley, FFA adviser. “It was something that was fairly easy and we could do in class.” The FFA members chose the program because they are aware of the increasing number of stray cats and dogs within the
Octorara Area School District. “I met with my FFA officers at the start of the year, and we talked about what activities we would like to do,” said Talley. “This is (a project) we talked about last year