• Team Megan Relay for Life is hosting a community dance on Friday, April 9 featuring Pastime Band. Join us and “Dance for More Birthdays” at the Jacksonville Community Center from 7-11 p.m. Tickets will go on sale at Kitty Stone Elementary on April 1st for $20 a person. You may contact rboyles@jacksonville.k12.al.us to reserve your tickets. Finger foods will be provided, drinks will be sold and a silent auction will be held with gifts from area businesses. There will also be special entertainment from some local dance groups and A People’s Choice Dance Contest. Dress will be casual/ festive as we celebrate and pay tribute to Megan Brittain and others who have fought and continue to fight the battle against cancer.

• Jehovah’s Witnesses of the Jacksonville Congregation will observe the memorial of the death of Christ Jesus after sundown Tuesday, March 30 at 7 p.m. at 5911 Alabama Highway 204. The memorial service will be conducted by Freddie Bennett, a minister from the local congregation, who will also discuss in detail the events that occurred during Jesus’ last days on earth, why he instituted thenLord’s Evening Meal, why he used unleavened bread and red wine and more.

• St. Paul’s CME Church, located at 319 Vann Street SE, will present “The Last Supper, a Living Drama,” Thursday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. and “Seven Last Words of Christ,” On Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. For more information call 782-1217.

• The First Presbyterian Church will have a Maundy Thursday Communion service on April 1 At 7 P.M.

• Jack Plunk, Principal Planner for EARPDC, will speak on “Making Jacksonville More Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendly” at the Thursday, April 1st meeting of the ACE Quality of Life and Infrastructure committees.  Interested residents are invited to attend and bring a sack lunch.  The group will meet from 11:30 to 1 pm at JSU’s Gamecock Center (behind Stephenson Gym). Parking is available.  Call Susan Di Biase 435-7136 for details.

• Hatcher Avenue Baptist Church will present “Worth It All” on Friday, April 2 at 7 p.m. and Easter morning April 4 and 10:30 a.m. This will be a journey through the Bible, beginning with the creation of Adam into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Songs will be performed by HABC Drama Team. For more information, call Brenda James at 256-310-2651.

• Jacksonville State University’s Drama Department presents The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The comedy by Alfred Uhry will be performed at Ernest Stone Performing Arts Center’s Mainstage, April 8, 9, 10 at 7:00 p.m. and April 11 at 2:00 p.m. All tickets are $5.00. Reservations recommended - Call 256-782-5648

• Ladies, come pray with us on the square in Jacksonville the first Thursday of each month at 10 AM. We will be praying for our city: our churches and pastors, our schools and children, our officials and businesses. If you have questions, call Polly Angelette at 435-7016

• TEAM MEGAN Relay for Life will have a Sping Fling/ Birthday Bash for kids of all ages on Saturday, April 10th from 10 a.m. -2 p.m. at Kitty Stone Elementary. Admission for children is $5, parents attend free. All children must be supervised by an adult. There will be games, blow-ups, relays, tattoos, hair painting, birthday surprises and lots more fun! Pizza, cupcakes, ice cream and snacks will be sold during the event. There will also be a used book sale and a cake auction with delicious cakes baked by Kitty Stone’s lunchroom staff. “Imagine a World with More Birthdays!” and a huge celebration to honor the memory of Megan Brittain. A Megan Memorial Wall will also be on display at the event.

• The White Plains Over the Hill Gang will hold its spring golf classic on Friday, April 16 at Pine Hill Country Club. It will be a three-man scramble (18 holes) Cost is $50 per pseron and $10 for two mulligans. Sign-in will be at 11 a.m. with a noon lunch and 1 p.m. shotgun start. For more information call Jeff Barnwell at 310-4000 or 435-2483 or Bruce Faulkner at 238-3519 or 236-6987.

• Turbo Fitness classes are now at Jacksonville’s Community Center! Come break a hard sweat in 30-minute sessions using a variety of workouts. Classes are every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. For $40 a month, you can get an extreme workout twice a week! Sign up today!

• West Side Baptist Church has enjoyed a good response to the new Cafe’ Style Worship Service on Sunday mornings in the Youth Center (formerly the fellowship Hall) located at 713 Mountain St. NW at 8:30 a.m. the past several weeks. The church extends to the community a renewed invitation to come an experience this service. The service features a relaxed acoustic style worship featuring rotating acoustic worship leaders and Biblical based messages that are relevant to daily life.  There will be coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea and donuts available beginning at 8:00 a.m. when the Youth Center is opened for the morning experiences at West Side. Child care will be available and Bible study small groups will follow at 9:30 a.m. The church also invites couples aged 19 to 35 to come and experience a new Bible study class on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. There are classes for children of the young couples during this Bible Study time too. For more information please call the church office at 435-6111 on Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to noon. Bill Caudle, pastor, invites you to join us for these new experiences at West Side.

• Jacksonville Fire Department is looking for information and items relating to the history of the department. If you have anything to share, call David Bell at 310-8961.

• Tax Counseling for the Elderly provides free tax assistance in the community. RSVP Volunteers help people with basic tax returns. This service is available to everyone with priority given to the elderly. There is no charge for this service. Help will be available at the Jacksonville Community Center Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Free Beginner Knitting Classes all day every Wednesday at HomePlace Farm Yarns at Yvie’s in Alexandria.  Come join us to Sip, Sit and Knit at Yvie’s, 7534 US Highway 431, Alexandria, AL. Questions call Diane at 452-5206.

• The White Plains “Over the Hill Gang” now has DVDs available of the Coach Richard Madden Celebration and Basketball Court Dedication ceremony held on Nov. 14, 2009. For more information contact Alvin Robertson at 256-236-8780.

• The New Life Sunday School class of Jacksonville First United Methodist invites you to a study of “A Case for a Creator” by Lee Strobel.  The book is based on the author’s belief that his road to atheism was paved by science...but, ironically so was his later journey to God. The class meets each Sunday morning at 9:45 on the 2nd floor of the Sunday School wing. The study group offers information, support and fellowship that will enhance Christian growth with the goal being to educate, network and apply their beliefs using relevant and challenging Bible-based materials.

• Belly Dancing classes are underway. For more information call Brenda Callahan at 435-2405 after 4:30 or call 435-8115.

• Urban Dance classes for ages 8-13 and 15 and up.  If more information is needed, please come by the community center or call 256-435-8115.  

• Art classes for children beginning soon at the Jacksonville Community Center! For more information call 256-435-8115.

• The Senior Adult Wellness Program at JSU. For more information and costs of classes, please contact Abby Fleetwood @ 782-5523 or by email afleetwood@jsu.edu.

• Thursdays are fundays at The Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department is hosting every Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Jacksonville Community Center. Residents are encouraged to bring their favorite board game to share.

• The Public Library Board of Trustees meets the third Wednesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 200 Clinton S.E. Anyone needing accommodations is asked to contact librarian Barbara Rowell at 435-6332.

• The Jacksonville High School Golden Eagle Band is looking for donations to their Clyde Cox Memorial Fund. This fund goes directly to the purchase of instruments for students to use. All donations are tax-deductible. You can send donations to JHS Band Boosters, PO Box 208, Jacksonville, AL 36265. Please mark them for the Clyde Cox fund. For more information, call the JHS band room at 782-8834.

• A senior dance for those 55 years young is held at the Senior Center from 6:30-9:30 p.m. the second Friday night of each month- so make plans to attend!!! Music, fun, friends, and food make the evening really good!!! The Fun Tyme Band will be there to provide the music. $5 per couple, $3 for single.

• Alcoholics Anonymous meets at noon each Thursday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 400 Chinabee Ave., just off the Square. Call 847-0909 for more information.

• The Friday Night Opry Show is presented Friday nights from 6:30-9:30 at the Golden Saw Music Hall in the Williams community. For more information call 435-4696.

• A Narcotics Anonymous group meets from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at First United Methodist Church behind McDonald’s. For more information call 435-4881.

• The Calhoun County Stamp Club meets at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays in Room 327 Stone Building, Jacksonville State University, corner of Church Avenue and 11th Street. Business, APS sales books and sharing items of philatelic interest take place during the first meeting; program and discussion, review of APS sales books during the second. Visitors and new members are welcome. Call 782-8044, 782-5604 or 435-7491 for more information.

• Celebrate Recovery, a Christ-centered 12 step program, meets every Friday night at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville. Dinner is served at 5:30. Large group meetings with worship and praise bands and guest speakers begin at 6:30. Small share/support groups meet after that at 7:30 followed with cake and fellowship. Call 225-2492 for more information.

• A thrift store, God’s Abundance, is open at 5818 McClellan Blvd., in the Lenlock Shopping Center. The store helps support men and women who have been incarcerated because of drug and alcohol problems. Donations are taken during open hours only. Call operational manager Jackie Tettleton at 205-706-6048 for more information.

• Countryside Hospice will now be providing a free community Grief and Bereavement Support Group in the Gadsden area. This free service is an outreach to aid people in the community, who have lost friends and loved ones, with the grieving process. The group is open to anyone that is interested, not solely family and friends served by a hospice organization. The group will be held in the education room at the TakeCare Health Systems facility, located at 851 Goodyear Ave. Gadsden AL, 35903. Groups will be on the 2nd Tuesday of the Month (October 12th, November 9th, and December 14th of 2009) from 2pm to 3pm. For more information please feel free to contact Countryside Hospice at (256) 782-3560 or 1-888-235-3909.