Tax-Aide needs
local volunteers
AARP Tax-Aide, the nation’s largest free volunteer-run preparation and e-filing service is seeking volunteers to assist in tax preparations. All ages and backgrounds are welcome and volunteers are particularly needed in Sweet Home and Lebanon.
Tax counselors get free tax training and become Internal Revenue Service certified by passing the IRS exam. They help taxpayers one-on-one at tax sites at four sites in Linn County. Volunteers are also needed to greet the taxpayers and assist them in filling out an intake form.
Training is held in January for two weeks but new this year will be two Saturday classes to accommodate those who wish to volunteer but are still employed or going to school and cannot attend two full weeks. Classes on Saturdays will be held in both Linn and Benton counties.
Last year in Linn and Benton counties more than 60 AARP Tax Aide volunteers completed more than 3,200 federal and state returns for taxpayers at eight sites.
For more information on joining the Tax-Aide team, call Jan Huskey at (541) 928-3068, e-mail [email protected] or register on-line at http://www.aarp.org/taxaide.
Temporary I-5 lane closures
The Oregon Department of Transportation will close the right lanes of northbound and southbound Interstate 5 near Albany during nighttime hours through Thursday, Nov. 6.
ODOT maintenance crews will be repairing guardrail and concrete barrier between mileposts 236 and 237 between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The lane closures are not expected to create delays. Electronic message boards will alert drivers to the lane closures and motorists will be directed to the left lanes within the short construction zone.
Motorists are asked to reduce speed and travel through the area with caution.
B&G auction date
now this Saturday
The Boys and Girls Club of the Greater Santiam will hold its Fall Auction in Sweet Home at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Sweet Home club, 890 18th Ave.
The date has been changed from Friday to accommodate the Sweet Home High School football playoff game.
The 1980s-themed event includes live and silent auctions and a prime rib dinner from The Point. A no-host bar will be available.
Cost is $50 per person. The club must raise more than $1 million annually to maintain its current four locations and services.
Auction items include firearms, trips, auto detail packages, art, wine, massage, firewood and pellets, landscaping materials, and much more.
For more information, call (541) 367-6421.
Hope Center to
hold benefit sale
The Hope Center will hold a benefit sale from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 6-7, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at 12th Avenue and Kalmia Street.
This will be the last sale till spring. Items for sale include winter clothes for all ages and a large selection of housewares, books, videos, baby items and furniture.
Free gardening classes in SH
Spend your next few Thursday noon hours sharpening your gardening skills in free classes taught by Oregon State University-trained Master Gardeners from noon to 1 p.m. at the LBCC Sweet Home Center, room 101, 1661 Long St.
Topics include: “The Real Dirt on Garden Myths” on Nov. 6; “Small-scale Aquaponics” on Nov. 13; and “Incorporating Hardscape and Water Features in your Garden Design” on Nov. 20.
For more information, contact the LBCC Sweet Home Center at (541) 367-6901.
Genealogist to talk about Chautauqua
The Lebanon Genealogical Society will meet at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, in the Lebanon Library Community Room, 55 Academy St.
Kitty Buchner, a retired schoolteacher from Albany, will speak on the Chautauqua movement that presented programs in the late 19th century and early 20th century. This was one way that educational and entertainment programs were brought to the rural areas of America.
Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact Colleen Cook at (541) 928-1558 or Pat Dunn at (541) 258-5062.
Dine and dance
with Squarenaders
Sweet Home Squarenaders will hold a Thanksgiving Dinner Dance at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at Oak Heights school gym, 6th
Avenue and Elm Street.
Dinner will be served at 6:30, with the square dance following, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Square dance caller will be Jim Hattrick, and Jackie Gale will cue round dances.
Suggested donation is $8 for dinner or $15 for the dinner and dance.
For more information, call (541) 466-5536 or (541) 367-2150.
Sign up soon for A
Little Night Music
Sweet Home High School Symphonic Choir and Concert Band will present “A Little Night Music” from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, in the high school cafeteria.
The elegant evening of music and desserts is a fund-raiser for the band and choir programs. The choir and band will perform, as well as individual students who have qualified for the event. A variety of dessert choices and sparkling punch or coffee will be served.
Pre-ordering is necessary to indulge in the goodies. Tickets for the concert alone will be sold at the door for $5. Cost for pre-order tickets is $10 per person and seating is limited.
Tickets may be purchased from choir or band students or at The New Era, 1313 Main St.
For more information, call (541) 367-2135.
Ladies dinner in Lebanon Nov. 11
Local women are invited to participate in an After Five Connection dinner from 6 to 7:30 p.m Tuesday, Nov. 11, at King’s Coffee House, 651 Main St. in Lebanon.
Retired schoolteacher Jerri Wickert, who has raised puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind, will talk about “The Delights of Chocolate in our Life.” Also, a speaker from the Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital Gift Shop will share ideas for unique gifts, cards and other items.
Cost is $7, which includes dinner.
RSVPs are required. For information or to RSVP, contact Norma at (541) 259-5672 or [email protected], or Nancy at (541) 259-1396 or [email protected].
Farmers markets to
serve fall dinner
A Fall Festival dinner to benefit the Sweet Home/Lebanon farmers markets will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at the Sweet Home VFW Hall.
The menu features dishes made from locally grown ingredients, including lasagna a la Fraga, country baked ham and scalloped potatoes, followed by a chocolate torte dessert. Organic free-trade coffee and tea will be served, and alcoholic drinks can be purchased at the VFW cash bar.
Tickets are $20 per person. For more information, contact Jan Neilson at (541) 367-3891 or [email protected].
Meals on Wheels
weekly menu
Meals on Wheels, also known as Your Table or Ours, offers lunch at the Sweet Home Community Center to seniors over 60 at noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Senior Center serves a separate lunch on Wednesdays.
First-time diners are invited to come in and have a free lunch to give it a try.
Suggested donation is $3.50. All meals are served with milk, coffee or tea upon request and diabetic desserts are available on request.
The lunch menu on Friday, Nov. 7, is BBQ smokehouse chop or honey mustard chicken, Delmonico potatoes, peas and carrots, herb bread and pineapple.
The menu for Monday, Nov. 10, is beef patty with gravy or chicken patty with Dijon sauce, Lyonnaise potatoes, broccoli cuts, multigrain roll and apple crisp.
No meal will be served Tuesday, Nov. 11, due to Veterans Day.
For more information, call (541) 367-8843.