A.A. Meetings- If you drink, that’s your business. If you want to be sober, that’s our business. A.A. 833 Broad Swamp Rd., Kingstree, Thursdays at 7 p.m. (843) 697-3321.

Traffic Safety Checkpoints- The Lane, Greeleyville, and Kingstree Police Departments will be conducting traffic safety checkpoints during the month of January.
Traffic Safety Checkpoints The Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting traffic safety checkpoints during the month of January.

Support group- If you are a parent or guardian with a child or children with special needs and may be interested in becoming a part of a parent-to-parent support group, please contact Tommy and Michelle Russell at 843-373-0912 or 843-356-5714 or email them at pillaroutreach@yahoo.com.

Seniors Patrol- The Kingstree Police Department is offering a seniors patrol wellness check. Any elderly, ill or bedridden resident of the Town of Kingstree who would like for the police department to contact them on a regular basis should call Chief Robert Ford.
Chief Ford can be reached at 355-5435 or come by the police department and leave your name, phone number and address.

Memory Dish - Hospice Care of South Carolina's Grief Support Group, known as the "Memory Dish" is held the second Thursday of each month from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. at the Williamsburg Technical Col-lege (Administrative Office Building Conference Room). The Memory Dish is conducted by Chaplain Willis Broughton. The contact number for this group is: (843) 213-8507.

Tidelands Hospice- Tidelands Community Hos-pice, Inc. holds a regular grief support group once a month in its Kingstree office The group meets on the third Monday of each month from 1 to 2 p.m. The hospice office is located at 205 Martin Luther King Blvd., Kingstree (by the Bank of Greeleyville).

Program- Taking Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) Weight Program will meet on Thursdays at 9:15 a.m. at Ina Miles Store.For more information contact Lillie Jean at (843) 355-3002 or Ann at (843) 382-9696.

Senior Bingo-  The senior citizens in Lane invite any senior citizen to join them each first and third Tuesday at Lane Recreation Center on Broomstraw Rd. for “Senior Bingo.”

Banquet- The Georgetown Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. will be hosting its annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther Kin, Jr. Scholarship Banquet on January 14, at 7 p.m. at the Glisson Center, Bethel AME Church, Georgetown. Featured speaker for the banquet will be Dr. Luns C. Richardson, president of Morris College of Sumter.

Weight Watchers- Weight Watchers 2012 meetings will be held at the First Baptist Church of Kingstree. Classes are on Thursdays at 5 p.m.

Yard Sale- Corrie House Garments of Grace Ministries of Sandy Bay Pentecostal Holiness Church, located at the end of Sandy Bay Rd., will have an indoor yard sale every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Screenings- Williamsburg County School District Office of Special Services, located at 500 North Academy Street, Kingstree, 843-355-5533, will hold child find screenings each month.

Session #1- Williamsburg County First Steps will host Session #1 of the Child Care Training and Professional Development on Saturday, January 14, at 8:30 a.m. in the Williamsburg County School District Annex Staff Development Room located at 500 North Academy Street, Kingstree. Mrs. Jessica Flowers, a master certified trainer with the Center for Child Care and Career Development (CCCCD) and founder of Ripple Effect an Early Childhood Specialist organization will conduct the training.  
The training will focus on information from the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundation of Early Learning Model (CSEFEL). At the completion of this session, providers will receive 5.0 credit hours from the Department of Social Services (DSS) in Child Growth & Development. This training session is free to all participants.
  For more information about this training, please contact Carletta S. Isreal, executive director at (843) 355-1031.

Reunion-  Kingstree High School Class of 1964 will hold its annual reunion on Saturday, January 28, at Uncle Monty’s, 10117 Browns Ferry Road, Georgetown from 11 a.m. until. Barbecue served at 12 noon. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share.All class members, faculty and friends are invited.  Additional information may be received from Tommy Bishop at (843) 382-2195; Paul Jacobs at (843) 382-8118; Jane Coward Richardson at (843) 382-9891 or Barbara Nexsen Lansche at (704) 975-1941.

Meeting- Williamsburg County DSN Board will be having their monthly board meeting on Wednesday, January 18, at 4 p.m. at Williamsburg County Disabilities and Special Needs Board, 61 Greenlee Street, Kingstree.

Applications- Student applications for the Williamsburg County Magnet School of the Arts (WCMSA) are available at the WCMSA and online.  Please return all 2012-2013 applications to the WCMSA, 710 Third Avenue, Kingstree, South Carolina by January 27. All questions  concerning audition and admission for the Magnet School are handled by the District’s Art Coordinator, Jennifer Holliday, at (843) 355-5571, or administrators at the Magnet School at (843) 355-1506.

Calendar-  W.M. Anderson Primary School will be celebrating the following events within the month of January.  Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.
19- Parent Workshop “Celebrating the Role of Males in the Lives of Children”  9 a.m.
Oratorical Contest- 26- second nine weeks Perfect Attendance Celebration 1 p.m.
27- second nine weeks Honor’s Program 9 a.m.

Conference- The 41st Annual South Carolina Pork Conference will be January 18 to January 20, at the Best Western Landmark Resort Motel in Myrtle Beach providing the opportunity to discuss particular farm needs with industry leaders. Registration begins at 2 p.m. on January 18. For more information contact Chad Truesdale with the SC Pork Board at (803) 734-2218 or email ctruesd@scda.sc.gov.

Meeting- The Annual South Carolina Peanut Growers Association Annual meeting will be January 26, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Orangeburg Baptist Family Life Center, 2875 Columbia Rd., Columbia. For more information contact Brad Boozer with the SC Peanut Board at (803) 734-2225.

Meeting- The South Carolina Beekeepers Association will hold its annual spring meeting on Saturday, March 3, in Columbia at the Palmetto GBA Center which is located off exit 19, I-77, .7 miles on right on Farrow Road. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the meeting program will get underway at 8:30 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. For further information, contact Mike Hood, executive secretary – SCBA at (864) 656-0346 or mhood@clemson.edu or visit www.scstatebeekeepers.org.

Meeting- The South Carolina Cotton Grower’s Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 19, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Cinema Rooms 117S, Orangeburg Mall Circle in Orangeburg. All growers and others interested in the cotton industry are invited to attend. Lunch will be provided and EPA pesticide credits will be offered.
For more information contact Tre’ Coleman, SCDA Marketing Specialist and SC Cotton Board Director, (864) 665-5154, tcoleman@scda.sc.gov.

Book Signing- The Friends of the Williamsburg County Library in Kingstree will host well-known historian, Dr. John Chandler Griffin, on January 19, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.  For more information turn to page 4 of The News.

Gala- Asbury United Methodist Church will host its 2012 Heart and Soul Valentine Gala, Friday, February 10, at 7 p.m. at the J. Miller Community Center on Hwy. 521 Andrews. For more information about tickets prices, please call  843-325-7523.

Exhibition- The C. Williams Rush Gallery of African-American Arts and Collectables, 200 Hampton Ave., Kingstree, will hold an exhibition “African Americans in History” from February 1 to February 29. A reception is scheduled for February 4, from 4 p.m. to  – 6 p.m.  For information about the Gallery and upcoming exhibitions call (803) 397-1859.

Volunteers- Williamsburg County Library and Williamsburg Enterprise Community Commission, Inc., is looking for volunteers interested in helping prepare tax returns under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.  Volunteers will prepare BASIC federal and state tax returns for free a few hours each week from January through April.  As volunteers you will be trained and certified using IRS materials.
Volunteers are needed to work three to four hours per week.  Individuals interested in volunteering or who would like more information about the VITA program should contact Williamsburg Enterprise Community Commission, Inc., at 843-355-9070.

Meeting- The Williamsburg County Library Board of Trustees will have a board meeting on Tuesday, January 24, at 6 p.m. at the Hemingway Library.  The Hemingway Library is located at 306 North Main Street, Hemingway.

Meeting- Vital Aging of Williamsburg County, Inc. will hold it’s monthly Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday January 18, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Kingstree Wellness Center at 912 4th Avenue, Kingstree. For more information, please call (843)354-5496 if you have any questions.