WHAT'S UP

Meetings

Gaffney Masonic Lodge No. 186 meets on the second Tuesday every month at the Masonic Lodge located at 219 E. Floyd Baker Blvd. A meal is served at 6:45 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.

Christmas services

The Episcopal Church of the Incarnation on College Drive will hold special Christmas Eve services at 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.

A Christmas Eve service will be at 5:30 p.m. at Macedonia Baptist Church, 216 Macedonia Road. Dress is casual.

Limestone Presbyterian Church will hold its annual candlelight Christmas Eve service at 5 p.m. with special music and readings by members of the congregation. The church is located on Limestone Street across from Buford Street Drugs.

Holiday notices

The Town of Blacksburg will have the following garbage pick-up schedule during the holidays: Monday, Dec. 22, Wednesday's route; Tuesday, Dec. 30, Wednesday's route; Tuesday, Dec. 23, Thursday's route; and Wednesday, Dec. 31, Thursday's route.

The City of Gaffney Sanitation Department will observe Thursday, Dec. 25, as a holiday. That day's route will be picked up on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24; have carts out on the curbside by 7 a.m. that day.

Holiday hours

The Cherokee County Public Library in Gaffney and the Blacksburg Library will be closed Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Saturday, Dec. 27, and reopen on Monday, Dec. 29, at 9 a.m.

Iron City Ministries in Blacksburg will be closed Dec. 19-Jan. 4 and reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009.

Fund raisers

The Blacksburg Rotary Club is selling Benson's twopound fruit cakes to support its local charities. The cakes are $11 each and are available from any Blacksburg Rotary Club member and in Blacksburg at American Community Bank, Gordon Mortuary, The Blacksburg Times office, Kirby's Flowers, Palmetto Bank and Blacksburg primary, elementary and middle schools. In Gaffney, fruit cakes may be purchased at Correll Insurance Group, Gaffney Middle School or Foster Funeral Home.

Brookview Healthcare Center is selling a cookbook of its residents' and staff's favorite recipes, "From Our Family to Yours." The cookbook has over 350 recipes and is $10, with all profits going toward supporting special events at the facility. To purchase a cookbook, go by the facility or contact Mary Klein at 864-489-3101, ext. 53.

Support groups

Interim Healthcare Hospice will be hosting a Blacksburg Grief Support Group that will meet for six weeks at Iron City Place/Old Grammar School, beginning Jan. 13, 2009, from 10-11:30 a.m. This group is offered free of charge to anyone in the community who has experienced the death of a loved one. Call Interim Healthcare Hospice at 864-839-1310 to register or for additional information.

The Helping Hands Ministry of Limestone Missionary Baptist Church is giving away free clothing for men, women and children to anyone who needs it. If you are in need of clothing, go by the church on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m.; Wednesdays, 12-2 p.m.; and Thursdays, 5-6:30 p.m. Some canned foods are also available. For more information, call 864-489-8391 during the above hours.

Shady Grove Church Senior Missionary and Young Women's Auxiliary Christmas project is to help provide Christmas gifts for the residents at Brookview Nursing Home. They will be providing square boxes of facial tissue for each resident. Anyone who would like to participate in the effort may call Mary Jones at 490- 1027.

Support groups

AA meetings are held at 8 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the building behind Limestone Methodist Church on Carlisle Street. If you have a problem with alcohol, you are welcome to attend.

To find locations of Narcotics Anonymous meetings call the Narcotics Anonymous Helpline at 1-800-828- 5689. A group meets at St. Paul's Lutheran Church on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m. To contact a member of the local group, call 864-703-4880 (h) or 864-809-5901 (c).