Jeslyn Arts Center marks five years

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Jeslyn Performing Arts Center invites the public to celebrate its fifth year in business by attending the annual Fall Open House and Registration on July 31st, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Jeslyn is located at 1030 Fourth Ave., Huntington, W.Va.

This event is free of charge and open to the public. Come experience class demonstrations, tea parties, faculty “meet-and-greets,” tours of the facility and more. Learn about all the special activities planned throughout the session for the “Fifth Year Extravaganza.”

Registration for the fall session will also take place. Space is limited in all classes, so those interested should stop by to get signed up.

Class offerings for the fall include ballet, modern, hip-hop, theater, Mini Movers, yoga, pilates, zumba and more.

Information will also be available on our many programs and services designed to meet your needs, such as special event rentals and party planning, adult wellness classes, Charm Club manners classes, private Pilates reformer sessions, weekend workshops, and our upcoming holiday production. Organizers hope to make its fifth year the biggest and best one yet.

For more information, call Jeslyn Performing Arts Center at 304-697-0602 or visit the Web site at www.jeslyn.org.

Ag agency launches pilot program

The Southern Ohio Agricultural & Community Development Foundation is announcing the Next Step Agricultural Pilot Program.

This is a pilot program designed to facilitate growing a beginning entrepreneur’s agricultural enterprise to the next level.

Next Step is geared towards agricultural projects that are innovative, value added, technological or ag bioresources in nature.

Eligible applicants must reside within the 22 counties the foundation currently serves and cannot have operated a farm for more than 5 years.

Eligibility for this program is not based on a history of tobacco production or quota ownership like other SOACDF programs are.

SOACDF will award up to four grants at a maximum of $25,000 each. The grants will be 50 percent cost shares with the awardees.

Applications, including a business plan, will be accepted for the Next Step Agricultural Pilot Program from Aug. 1-31 and are available at the SOACDF office, your local Farm Service Agency or online at www.soacdf.net.

For more information about the program please call the SOACDF office at (937) 393-2700.

King’s Daughters offers wheelchair clinic every month

Ashland, Ky. —King’s Daughters Medical Center offers a specialized service called a wheelchair clinic for patients who would benefit from having a power wheelchair or scooter.

The clinic takes place once a month at the King’s Daughters Outpatient Services Center, 480 23rd St., Ashland.

The next clinics will take place today and Wednesday, Aug. 11.

A physician referral is not needed but appointments are required and can be made by calling (606) 408-4648.

The clinic is designed so all the information needed for assessing a wheelchair-bound patient can be obtained at one time by the appropriate healthcare specialists. Physical medicine and rehabilitation physician Scott Akers, M.D., leads the team, assisted by a nurse, a physical therapist and a certified assistive technology specialist. Each patient assessment takes about an hour.

Procurement center hosts women in business discussion

GALLIPOLIS — The Southern Ohio Procurement Outreach Center and the Ohio University PTAC are sponsoring an “Ohio Women Business Roundtable Discussion” July 29 from 10 am to 12 pm at Ohio Valley Bank Annex Conference Room in Gallipolis.

It will be July 29 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ohio Valley Bank Annex Conference Room. 143, Third Ave., Gallipolis.

This event is free and open to the public.

To register, call the Southern Ohio Procurement Outreach Center: (740) 377-4550 or go to their Web site at http://sopoc.ecenterdirect.com.

Prescription drug abuse forum set

Huntington, W.Va. — Over the past decade, the abuse of prescription drugs in Cabell County has increased among adults and youth with profoundly negative effects on individuals, families, and communities throughout the area.

In order to consider ways to address prescription drug abuse, the Cabell County Substance Abuse Prevention Partnership (CCSAPP) is joining with the WV Prevention Resource Center, the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being, and many local organizations to sponsor community discussions throughout Cabell County in July, August, and September. The discussions will bring together members of the community in thoughtful conversations about what can be done.

The forum will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Milton Baptist Church multipurpose room at 1123 Church Street, Milton.

The ideas that surface at the community forums will be brought together in a community-wide Prescription Drug Abuse Summit that will be held in September.

Prescription drug abuse is a complex issue that requires the involvement of nearly every sector of the community: law enforcement, education, health care, churches, businesses, neighbors, government, and social services. In the community forums and community-wide Prescription Drug Abuse Summit, individuals of diverse backgrounds can come together to develop action plans for improving local conditions and the quality of life.

For more information about attending or sponsoring a community forum in your neighborhood or organization, please contact Anne McGee at anne.mcgee@unitedwayrivercities.org or (304) 523-8929 ext. 5.