Special month  October is Parson’s Pantry Month and you can help needy pastors, retired pastors, widows of pastors, and married ministerial students by making a gift to Parson’s Pantry Inc. Make your tax-deductible check to Parson’s Pantry Inc. and mail to Parson’s Pantry, P.O. Box 777, Gaffney, SC 29342. One hundred percent of your gift will go to a needy family. For more information, call Ron and Karen Jackson, 864-489- 6709.

Fundraisers  For the past three years, Upstate Carolina Medical Center has had a basket auction to benefit a local charity. The different departments at the hospital are assigned a theme for their basket. The auction will be Nov. 12 from 2-4 p.m. in the cafeteria and the public is invited. Some of basket themes are Hannah Montana, Clemson, Carolina, The Gaffney Indians, Pampered Woman, Little Girl’s Spa, Baby’s First Christmas and Hello Kitty. This is a silent auction and you do not have to be present to win, but baskets must be picked up that day or on Saturday, Nov. 14, in ICU. Payment is by cash or check made payable to the charity selected.

Meeting  The annual CHAPS general membership meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 16, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the History and Arts Museum. Call 864-489- 3988 for more information.

Church news  The General Missionary Society of Limestone Missionary Baptist Church cordially invites the public to attend their annual Prayer Breakfast which will be held Saturday, Nov. 14. at 9 a.m. The guest speaker will be minister Martha McDowell of the Last Day Healing and Deliverance Church in Spartanburg.  New Mt. Zion Baptist Church will have “Hallelujah Night” events Saturday, Oct. 31 beginning at 6 p.m.

Class reunion  Members of the GHS Class of 1984 will have its 25-year reunion Saturday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. at Daddy Joe’s. For more information, call Chrissy Little, 487-7681, or Robin Harper, 488- 9902.  The GHS Class of 1969 will meet for lunch at the Aegean Pizza immediately following the homecoming assembly Friday, Oct. 23. Contact Mike Clary, 487- 1403, or Kathy Baines, 489-4501, if you plan to attend,  The Gaffney High School Class of 1979 will have its 30-year reunion on Saturday, Oct. 24, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Elks Club. A reception will be Friday, Oct. 23, at 8:30 a.m. at Gaffney High School Cafeteria. If planning to attend, RSVP to Charlotte Mosteller at charlotte. mosteller@ milliken. com.

Senior Center  The Senior Centers of Cherokee County’s “Ride for the Seniors” has been rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. and the first bike will leave at 10 a.m. The center is located at 499 W. Rutledge Ave. For more information, call Debbie Davenport, 864-489-3868.  The Senior Centers of Cherokee County, 499 W. Rutledge Ave., will have a Christmas show on Friday, Nov. 6, from 5:30-9 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. Vendors are wanted. Cost of a booth is $50 plus 10 percent donation of each day’s sales to the Senior Center. Admission to the show is free. For information or to register for a booth, contact Julie Humphries, 864-279-3447.

Halloween events  Buffalo Volunteer Fire Department will have a haunted house Oct. 23-25 and Oct. 29-31 at 137 Blackwell Road in Blacksburg. The horrors begin at 7 p.m. and admission is $5. For directions, call 864-839- 4500.  The Blacksburg Business Association will present the Halloween “Fright Night Street Dance” Oct. 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Prizes and candy will be given to those in attendance between the ages of one and 12-years old, in addition to a bonfire and a performance by the 16th Avenue Band.

Flu shots  Flu shots will be given Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the Meals on Wheels office, 403 W. Montgomery. Don’t let the bug catch you. Call 864-487-2730 to put your name on the list. Shots will be given from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. Medi-care HMOs accepted or if no insurance the cost is $25.

Special events  The City of Kings Mountain, N.C., will host the annual “Great Pumpkin Halloween Parade” Friday, Oct. 30. Participants will gather at City Hall Plaza at 10 a.m. for a send off by Mayor Rick Murphrey. The parade will start at the plaza on Cherokee and Gold streets and continue to Battleground Avenue, Mountain Street, down Railroad Avenue to the Gazebo at Patriots Park. The Mauney Children’s Library will provide entertainment, games, Halloween stories and songs. There will be an inflatable bounce castle and a hay stack search for Halloween goodies with one lucky individual in the three age groups finding the gold pumpkin and receiving a $25 gift certificate to a local toy store.  Kirby Memorial Baptist Church and the Boys and Girls Club of Cherokee County will be hosting a Fall Festival Oct. 28 at the local Boys and Girl’s Club on Pecan Street from 6-8 p.m. l Brookview Healthcare Center will have its annual Fall Festival Saturday, Nov. 14 from 4-7 p.m.

Blood drives  The following public blood drives are planned in Cherokee County during the coming weeks: SCC Cherokee Campus, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Upstate Carolina Medical Center, Friday,