Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

If you have any information for the Community Calendar, please email it to justin.schuver@bogalusadailynews.com.

NAACP virtual meeting

The Washington Parish branch of the NAACP will have a virtual meeting Thursday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. The call number is 425-436-6351 and the code is 7623346.

COVID-19 testing locations

To help lessen the burden at hospitals and clinics, Washington Parish citizens may also schedule a COVID-19 test at the following locations: Washington Parish Health Unit, 626 Carolina Ave. in Bogalusa, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., appointment is recommended (drive-up only), call 985-732-6615; Washington Parish Health Unit, 120 11th Ave. in Franklinton, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., appointment is recommended (drive-up only), call 985-839-5646, ext. 1; Walgreens, 217 Superior Ave. in Bogalusa, by appointment only and drive-thru only, visit online at www.walgreens.com/covid19testing or call 985-735-6434. Please note that most locations are experiencing a higher than normal request, and therefore the rapid test may not be available. Additional locations can be found online at ldh.la.gov/page/3934 and then click on the specific parish.

‘Sixty-four Parish Strong’ scholarship

The LSU College of Agriculture is once again sponsoring the “64 Parish Strong” scholarship program. The program offers a $1,000 scholarship to one eligible student from each parish. Students are automatically considered for this scholarship by being a Louisiana resident and submitted their College of Agriculture scholarship application by the deadline of Feb. 1. Scholarship criteria include must be accepted to LSU, must be majoring in agriculture, must submit an application, and should have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. To nominate a student or apply, visit online at conta.cc/3K2uaOh.

American Legion bingo returns

Bingo is back at the American Legion building every Thursday. Doors open at 5 p.m. and outstanding food will be served also. There is an ATM for your convenience.

Washington Parish alert system

Stay alert by enrolling in the Washington Parish Emergency Notification System. This alert system provides rapid notification of emergencies, critical events and urgent situations. The alert system can send notifications through the following methods: phone call, text, email or TTY/TTD service for the hearing impaired. Landline phones are automatically entered for the alert system. To receive alerts through a mobile phone or email, a citizen must register through one of the following options: call 985-282-2620, text “Alert” to 985-282-2620, or sign up online at www.hyper-reach.com/lawashingtonsignup.html. Citizens can also download the Hyper Reach Anywhere app to any smartphone. This alert system is completely free.

Bogalusa Help Center

It’s easy to smile when someone cares, and Bogalusa Help Center, our local food bank, cares. It is now a drive-through operation, located at 350 Martin Luther King Drive in Bogalusa. It is open from 8 a.m. until noon every Wednesday (except the fifth Wednesday of the month) providing food to those in need in our community. Since partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank/USDA, and along with generous donations from our community, BHC now distributes 35-40 pounds of food each month to over 400 families. These distributions include canned goods, meat, dry beans, peanut butter, fresh fruit and vegetables, etc. New clients can apply each week. They must provide: Name of head of the household; driver’s license or ID; address; number of persons in the household and ages; and SNAP or SSI printout, or proof of income of all in the household. Donations are always very much needed and appreciated. For more information, BHC may be reached at 985-735-6404 every Wednesday.

Ongoing services at the Bogalusa library

• The Bogalusa branch of the Washington Parish Library offers a variety of services throughout the year. Faxing is available for $1 per 20 pages, and copies can be made for 20 cents each (black and white) or 50 cents each for color. There is also free computers for use — the first five copies are free, and it is 10 cents a copy after the first five.
• If you are an E-book reader, check out the selections offered by the Washington Parish Library in partnership with four other library systems.
• Patrons have free access to ancestry.com at any Washington Parish Library, and free access to heritagequest.com from any home or personal device, as well as a large selection of genealogy materials at the Bogalusa and Franklinton branches.
• For students, the Homework Louisiana website offers a variety of assistance methods, including a live online tutor, “Skills Builder,” homework help and tutoring for kindergarten through basic college level, a writing center, a career center and an adult education center.

PAL Support Group

Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL) has a support group that meets at the ADAPT office, 216 Memphis St. in Bogalusa, every Tuesday from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Rhonda Gunnell, facilitator of the group, encourages parents and spouses of family members who are abuse or are addicted to drugs or alcohol to attend the meetings. The group is free of charge and offers help and hope to family members of the addict. For more information, call 985-735-0160.