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

YouthBuild Bogalusa

YouthBuild Bogalusa (YBB) is enrolling students for its program. To gain entry in the program, a student will need to be between the ages of 16-24, and have not graduated from high school or earned his or her HISET. The new applicant will take the TABE placement test, in order to gain entry in the program. There will be testing for placement, Monday through Thursday every week from 9 a.m. until noon. YBB offers opportunities in educational aid in passing the HISET, Carpentry Skills (NCCER Certification/OSHA 30), mentoring, AmeriCorps (educational stipend/award), CNA, and welding, along with life skills (community involvement/leadership skills). YBB provides monetary incentives to learn — up to $500 every two weeks. YBB also has a full-time Case Manager and Counselor on staff. If you have any interest in the program or know of any one that will benefit from the program, visit YBB at 1242 Austin St. in Bogalusa, or call 985-545-1622.

Crape myrtle pruning demonstration

The LSU AgCenter will offer a crape myrtle pruning demonstration at the LSU AgCenter’s Washington Parish office (1104-B Bene St. in Franklinton) at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23. General principles for pruning landscape plants will also be discussed. If you plan to come and would like to be notified of cancellation due to inclement weather or illness, call 985-277-1850 or 985-839-7855, or send an e-mail to mhferguson@agcenter.lsu.edu, to pre-register. For accommodations for persons with disabilities, contact LSU AgCenter at least one week before the event.

NAACP meeting

The Washington Parish branch of the NAACP will hold its meeting Thursday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. Call President Tate at 985-718-8988 for the call-in number.

City MCCA toast

The City of Bogalusa will have a toast with MCCA King Johnny Passman and MCCA Queen Theresa Wascom at Bogalusa City Hall on Friday, Feb. 25, at 10 a.m.

Magic City Madness

Join together with the Bogalusa Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission for “Magic City Madness — A Celebration of Bogalusa” in the month of March. The competition will be from March 6-12 and there will be a points system. Purchase a wristband for the Shamrock Shuffle for 20 points. Visit a local small business, post a photo in the business to Facebook, tag the business, and tag Bogalusa Parks, Recreation and Culture while including the hashtag “#magiccitymadness” for 1 point. Make a purchase at a local small business, post a photo of the receipt to Facebook, tag the business, and tag Bogalusa Parks, Recreation and Culture while including the hashtag “#magiccitymadness” for 5 points. Visit a local park, post a photo from the park to Facebook and tag Bogalusa, Parks Recreation and Culture while including the hashtag “#magiccitymadness” for 3 points. All posts must be dated between March 6-12, 2022. Points will be calculated and the winner will be awarded a grand prize. If there is a tie, the winner will be drawn from eligible participants.

Bogalusa Balloon Festival

The Bogalusa Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission will be presenting the “Bogalusa Balloon Festival” from May 20-22 at George R. Carr Memorial Airfield, located at 401 Walker St. in Bogalusa. More information will be released in the future.

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.
• The Bogalusa branch receives current copies of local and national newspapers, as well as popular magazine publications. The public is invited to sit in the comfortable reading center to enjoy their favorites.