IN BRIEF: Tickets now available for Gainesville chamber luncheon

Feb. 15—Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jennifer Shumate has announced that the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce's 102nd Annual Meeting & Awards Banquet luncheon will be Thursday, Feb. 29.

Anyone interested in buying tickets to the Feb. 29 luncheon or to just learn more about the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, visit https://shorturl.at/xAFNW.

Book of John at FBG

This Sunday at First Baptist-Gainesville, Pastor Jeff continues through the book of John with "Reality of the Call" from John 7:40-52.

There are two morning services each Sunday. The Early First service is contemporary. It is at 9 a.m. in the Summit. The more traditional service is at 11 a.m. and is also in the Summit. The Sunday School hour is 10-11 a.m. and there are classes for all ages.

Lots of studies and activities are offered each week at the church, 308 E. Broadway. Check it out at belongfbg.com or the FBGTx app. Call 940-665-4347 to find out more.

Farmers, Ranchers can make USDA payments online

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that most farm loan borrowers will be able to make payments to their direct loans online through the Pay My Loan feature on farmers.gov in early February.

Pay My Loan is part of a broader effort by USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) to streamline its processes, especially for producers who may have limited time during the planting or harvest seasons to visit a local FSA office; modernize and improve customer service; provide additional customer self-service tools; and expand credit access to assist more producers.

The Pay My Loan feature can be accessed at farmers.gov/loans.

AARP tax help now available

AARP tax assistance packets are now available at the Cooke County Library in downtown Gainesville.

This packets include instructions on how to prepare 2023 tax returns. Clients will need to fill out the booklet and then contact AARP, as per the instructions attached with it.

Clients will need to make appointments this year. Instructions on how to make appointments will be attached with the AARP paperwork. Appointments will be from 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays only. At this time, this service will be offered until Tuesday, April 9.

The library staff has no involvement with this service. The library is just the location, and the AARP Tax Aides are volunteers.

For any general questions, call the Cooke County Library at 940-668-5530. The library is located at 200 S. Weaver St.

Cooke County Library Spanish/bi-lingual storytime

Parents and their kids can join Ms. Og and Ms. Itzel for the Cooke County Library's first Spanish/Bi-Lingual children's storytime. The topic for this event, set for Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 10:30 a.m., will be Amor.

Just like the weekly children's class, this storytime will include songs, stories and a craft. This storytime will become a monthly event at the library. It will be held on the third Wednesday of each month. You don't want to miss this fun and new educational class.

For more information or questions on this event, please call the library at 940-668-5030.

In addition, the library will close Monday, Feb. 19, for President's Day. It will reopen Tuesday, Feb. 20, for normal business hours.

Tickets still available for NTMC fundraiser

The North Texas Medical Center Foundation is bringing back Dancing With Our Stars competition to raise money for its foundation's Heart of NTMC Campaign and the purchase of a Cardiac CT machine for the hospital.

Dancing With Our Stars is scheduled for Feb. 23 at 6 pm at Centennial Hall in Lindsay. The event, which is based on the long-running television show, will feature a competition including sets of dancers vying for the prestigious mirror-ball trophy, which is given to the best dancers as chosen by a panel of judges including professional dancers from the Metroplex.

Other awards include the People's Choice Award, which goes to the contestants who get the most public votes leading up to the event, and the Crowd Favorite Award which goes to the dancers who get the most votes from attendees at the event.

You can donate toward your favorite dancer at www.ntmcfoundation.org. That is also where you can see the featured dancers, buy tickets to attend the event, and buy raffle tickets and bid on silent auction items once the auction opens.

Tickets for the event are $100 each. That includes a catered meal, drinks, and of course the featured entertainment. Those that attend will be able to vote on their phones for their favorite dancer, as well as bid on silent auction items.

For more information on Dancing With Our Stars benefitting the NTMC Foundation, contact Darin Allred at (940) 612-8460 or by email at darin.allred@ntmconline.net.

Extension Farm and Ranch meeting Feb. 29

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will host the Tri-County Farmer and Rancher Symposium Feb. 29 at First Christian Church in Gainesville.

The meeting, hosted for farmers and ranchers in Cooke, Montague and Grayson counties, will run 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Signup is $50 and can be done at the door. A light breakfast and lunch are included, along with five Continuing Education Units.

Call Leslie Kittrell in the Cooke County Extension office at 940-668-5414 for more information, or send an email to Leslie.Kittrell@ag.tamu.edu.

Don't see your church or school or service club here?

Do you have news and pictures to share from your favorite church, school or service club? Do you think Register readers want to keep up with what you and others are up to?

Please, by all means, send your stuff to editor@gainesvilleregister.com by end of the day on Wednesday for publication in the weekend edition. Be sure to include your name and phone number in the email if we have any questions.

For more information, call 940-665-5511.