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Are you interested in learning more about your ancestry? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ History/Genealogy Library is now open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00am – 2:00pm. Call 482-8159 during these hours to arrange an appointment to use their services. All services are completley free including Family Search and Ancestry.
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Americans can start ordering free COVID-19 tests as of January 19th. Supplies are limited to four tests per valid residential address. The test(s) ship within 7-12 days of ordering. No doctor’s order or prescription is required to get the tests, nor is any payment card information. Place an order on the federal website covidtests.gov or through the United States Postal Service website.
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Tomorrow at 9:15pm, Miss. Alicia of the Jackson County Public Library will be hosting another wonderful story time. This month’s theme is dinosaurs; come out to hear a dino tale and create a hatching dinosaur coloring sheet.
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The annual Apalachiocola Oyster Cook-off is back! The cook-off and related activities benefit the Apalachicola Volunteer Fire Department and will be held in downtown Historic Apalachicola at Riverfront Park. The cook-off event features a silent auction, oysters galore, shrimp, smoked mullet, hot dogs, hamburgers, local beer, live music, kids’ activities, dancing performances, and a 5K run! Additionally, well-behaved dogs on a leash are welcome. Learn more at the Oyster Cook-off website or the Facebook event page. Tomorrow, Saturday the 15th, events begin at 8am with the 5K run while the cook-off runs from 12-5pm.
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The 11th annual Pensacola Mardi Gras starts tomorrow! There will be a special Mardi Gras Kick-Off Event held tomorrow, January 7th, in Seville Quarter at 5 PM. The floats will be parked on Jefferson St. south of Romana St. all the way down to Zarragossa, and Government Street between Palafox and Tarragona Streets. The event will feature the unveiling of the float themes and a blessing ceremony for each float. Learn more about the kick-off on the PMG website, and stay tuned for more posts on this year’s Pensacola Mardi Gras.
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The Calhoun County Recycling Program has implemented some changes to their program for 2022. As of January 1, 2022 the drop off location for recyclables will be at the Calhoun County Recycling facility located at: 17384 NW Magnolia Church Road. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8 AM – 2 PM. The Recyling Program continues to accept type 1 plastics, type 2 plastics, aluminum cans, newspaper, and cardboard. They would like to extend their thanks to the community for helping keep Calhoun County clean! on Welcome to 2022 everyone! The new year has officially begun and you may be feeling the annual societal pressure to create some New Year’s resolutions. However, Dr. Sophie Lazarus, a psychologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, believes resolutions should be put to the side. There is nothing inherently bad about setting a New Year’s resolution or using the New Year as an opprotunity to start working on new goals. However, if the drive to commit to resolutions is coming from a place of pressure or obligation, it can create unneeded stress in your life. This is especially true this year as the world continues to try and recover from a global pandemic and a string of worsening climate disasters. Resolutions can be grounding if created with understanding and self-kindness in mind but they can also put pressure on an already strained situation.
Dr. Lazarus instead advocates for entering the New Year with a general goal of self-improvement; “See if you can be a bit gentler with yourself or give yourself this same kind of grace that you might give to someone that you really love or care about who’s in a similarly challenging situation,” she says. Let go of the idea of perfection, the stress of self-critism, and the belief of having to prove ones worth to others. “So often in these times of stress, we tend to really focus on what’s wrong and what is unknown and what we need to worry about,” she says. “But there are ways that we can kind of try to shift our perspective and even just being more attentive, aware and grateful for the things that are going well or that are stable.”
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The annual Panama City Beach New Year’s Eve Beach Ball Drop is back! Head over to Panama City Beach on December 31st to enjoy two different opportunities to welcome in the New Year. There will be two seperate Beach Ball Drops to allow families to attend the festivities: the first is at 8 PM and the second will be at midnight. Additionally, the streets of Pier Park will be closed off to traffic for free live music, entertainment, fireworks, and good cheer!
on The 16th Annual Reagan Jam Session is scheduled for today from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The event is free and will be held at Madison Street Park. Food and drinks will be available for purchase from Penello’s Italian Food Truck.
The event will feature:
Old Country Band
2nd Time Around
Across the Street Band
Under the Influence
Traveling Angels Gospel
Bama Jam
Dry Creek Bluegrass Band
Jeff Peacock and friends
With Soloists:
Emma Reagan
Cierra Culbreth
Eric Aselon
Dickey Merritt
Beth Kidd
Janet Moneyham
Wells Draughn
Sonny Thompson
Wendell White
For more information call Royce Reagan at 850-526-6609.
on Dothan Leisure Services is once again bringing Dothan and surrounding areas Ice & Lights (located at 171 N. Foster St.) this year! Ice skating is available for $10/person (includes the skate rental) all week long as listed: Tuesday – Thursday, 10 AM – 9 PM; Friday, 10 AM – 10 PM; Saturday, 9 AM – 10 PM; Sunday, 1 PM – 8 PM. 
Additionally, there will be a themed special event tomorrow, December 21st. The hours are still 10 AM – 9 PM but there will be special events occurring in the evening. At 5 PM, Frozen characters will be onsite for photos and fun. Then, at 6 PM, Frozen the movie will play in Porter Park.
Visit the Ice Skate in Dothan website for more information and to get discount tickets.