Across the area

AFSCME retirees to meet Wednesday

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Retirees Subchapter 8306 will meet at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the Union Hall on Patch Way Road, Duncansville.

The executive board will meet at 12:30 p.m.

Railway employees to meet Wednesday

The National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees will meet at 11 a.m. Wednesday Nov. 5, at Prime Sirloin Buffet, Duncansville.

Blair County Sheriff Jim Ott will be the guest speaker. He will discuss scams and frauds.

NARVRE is the only chartered national organization whose sole purpose is to protect pension rights.

All retired, veteran and present railway employees (and their spouses) are invited to attend the meeting of NARVRE Unit 173, Altoona. Members and nonmembers are welcome.

For further information, call Jim Bacza, unit president, at 814-934-1673 or Steve Phillips, unit vice president, at 814-886-2113.

School retirees to meet Tuesday

The Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees (PASR) meets regularly on the first Tuesday of every month at 11:30 a.m.

The Nov. 4 meeting will be held at Marzoni’s in Duncansville. This is a self-pay lunch. Monetary donations will be collected for the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home.

The group welcomes new members who have been employed by local school districts or Intermediate Units and are now retired.

Swinging Squares sets dances for Nov.

The Swinging Squares Square and Round Dance Club meets every Thursday evening at the Jaggard Street United Methodist Church.

Prerounds are from 6 to 6:30 p.m., class lessons are from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and the club dance is from 8 to 9 p.m.

The November dance schedule is:

Nov. 6 — Favorite Sports Team Night (wear your favorite team’s T-shirt, jersey, etc.).

Nov. 13 — Veterans Day dance (wear red, white and blue).

Nov. 20 — Regular dance.

Nov. 27 — No dance. Happy Thanksgiving!

For more information, call Donna at 814-934-7779.

Nursing alumni to meet Monday

The Altoona/Mercy Schools of Nursing Alumni Association will hold the regular general meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3, at Perkins Restaurant, 3300 Pleasant Valley Blvd., Altoona. Members are invited to attend.

Small-Town Christmas seeks participants

Mainline Trailblazers Troop 814 will sponsor the ninth annual “A Small-Town Christmas” on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Gallitzin. There will be many activities throughout the day, including cookies with Santa, a scavenger hunt, tree throwing contest, horse drawn carriage rides, live nativity, gingerbread house contest, vendors, a basket raffle, tree lighting and parade.

Organizers are seeking vendors (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and participants for the parade (lineup begins at 5:15 p.m. at the Gallitzin Fire Hall and the parade begins at 6 p.m.) prizes will be awarded. For more information, contact Lori Shaw at 814-207-0437.

Ebensburg seeks parade participants

Organizers of Ebensburg’s annual Christmas parade are seeking participants for this year’s event at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, in downtown Ebensburg.

The parade is one of the many events offered as part of the “Dickens of a Christmas” event Dec. 5-7. Parade entrants can be vehicles, floats, first responder vehicles, dance and/or walking groups, etc. This year’s theme is “200 Years of Ebensburg.” Monetary prizes will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners.

“Dickens of a Christmas” is based on Charles Dickens and the Victorian-era. This family-oriented Victorian celebration will consist of a Christmas parade, a Christmas Tea, three Craft Fairs, sleigh rides, a Santa Pub Crawl, Christmas Tree Toss, Live Nativity Festival, Fat Bike Beer Fest, Breakfast with Santa, a Gingerbread House Contest, Holiday Light Displays and much more.

Check out the “Event Summary” page at www

.EbensburgDickens.com for a list of activities.

A walking group of participants dressed in Dickens-era clothing will be assembling at line-up at the Ebensburg Library starting at 10 a.m. Anyone is welcome to join this group. Parade entry forms and event information can be found at www.EbensburgDickens.com under the Announcements section or by calling the borough office at 814-472-8414. All entries for the parade must be submitted by Friday, Nov. 14.

Dickens of a Christmas is organized and hosted by the Ebensburg Main Street Partnership.

Trout Unlimited to host presentation

The John Kennedy Chapter of Trout Unlimited will host a special presentation by Jamie SanFilippo, owner/operator of American Fly Fishing Company, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Allegheny Volunteer Fire Department firehall, 651 Sugar Run Road, Altoona. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Jamie’s presentation will discuss Central PA’s world class Wild Brown Trout and Native Brook Trout fisheries, which include Spring Creek, Fishing Creek, Penns Creek, Spruce Creek and the Little Juniata River. Each of these streams have their own “personality” with different insect hatches and fish behavior.

Jamie began fly fishing after graduating from Penn State and quickly joined local conservation groups and women fly fishing initiatives. Jamie is a certified fly fishing guide and fishing skills instructor through the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and is currently a board member and past president of the Spring Creek Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

She is a streamside mentor for the Veteran Service Program of Spring Creek TU and is also involved with many fly fishing camps and programs for women and children of all ages throughout the year.

If you have any questions, contact Scott Kavanagh at 814-515-4788 or johnkennedytu@gmail.com

Area clubs and nonprofits can email articles and photos to community@altoonamirror.com. For more information, call Brenda Carberry, community news coordinator, at 814-946-7459.