n Millersburg: The Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art has announced a partnership with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. In a release, the center's director for creative programming, Alexis Dow Campbell, said the center's Ned Smith Gallery, which permanently exhibits the work of its namesake, will now be called the Ned Smith Gallery Presented by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Throughout his career, according to the release, Ned Smith enjoyed a collaborative relationship with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. He worked as a staff illustrator for the agency, creating more than 120 cover paintings for Pennsylvania Game News magazine. In the 1960s he began a monthly column called "Gone for the Day" that was enduringly popular. The column ran for four years, and in 1971 was republished in book form and is currently in its 11th printing. Smith also produced several of the Game Commission's "Working Together for Wildlife" prints, including the classic "Dutch Country Bluebirds." "The relationship between the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art is tightly knit," Stephen Quigley, the center's executive director, said in the release. "The relationship lives in the present with our ability to share resources and it looks to the future as we use Ned's legacy to expand our partnership in environmental education and conservation," Quigley added. "Clearly there is a long and storied relationship between Ned Smith and the Pennsylvania Game Commission," Carol Roe, Game Commission executive director, said.
n Minersville: The 28th annual Minersville Area Food Drive will run through Feb. 28, Chairman Edward M. Butler said in a press release. The purpose, he said, is to "provide disadvantaged individuals of the Minersville area with food during the holidays season and into the new year." Donations of nonperishable items can be made by calling 570-544-2739. Monetary donations can be mailed to: Minersville Area Food Drive Committee, 529 Lytle St., Minersville, PA 17954. Food will be packaged and distributed Dec. 14 and volunteers are needed to help with the process, Butler said. Last year, more than 21,000 cans, packaged food and other nonperishable items including turkeys and other meats were collected and distributed at Christmastime, he added. "All this was made possible because of the generosity and caring of individuals in the Minersville area," Butler said in the release. For more information about the drive, call Butler at the aforementioned phone number.
n Mount Carmel: The Mount Carmel Area Public Library, 30 S. Oak St., is observing library amnesty month. All late fees will be forgiven with return of any overdue library item. The deadline is Jan. 31. For more information, call 570-339-0703.
n Pottsville: David J. Dutcavich, Schuylkill County prothonotary, released the following report for December: New civil lawsuits, 111; divorces filed, 26; divorces granted, 34; passports issued, 66; remittance to the commonwealth, $4,290.77; remittance to the county, $29,770.72.
n Ringtown: Mayor Albert Breznik Jr. reminded residents during a recent meeting of the borough council that snow must be removed from sidewalks after winter weather events. He said about 25 residents didn't comply with the borough ordinance after this winter's first snow event. The ordinance requires that property owners are required to remove snow and ice from their pavements within 12 hours after a snow or ice event. "There is a snow removal ordinance for residents who have public sidewalks, and from here on in we're going to start to enforce it," Breznik said.
n Summit Hill: A Miller-Keystone blood drive will be held at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 123 W. White St., from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in memory of Paige Rex. To schedule an appointment, contact Brian Buzik at 570-645-7564.
n Tamaqua: The Tamaqua Community Arts Center, 125 Pine St., offers the following events: Open stages the second and fourth Thursdays of the month in which the public is invited to showcase talents; acting classes and workshops; adult clay and sculpting class from 6 to 8 p.m. Mondays and 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays; kids' pottery sculpting class from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays for children ages 9 to 15; Coal Cracker Chorus practice, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Mondays with new members always welcome; high school writers' club from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays. For more information, visit www.tacp.info/arts-center-happenings online.