All things arts. That's what the Warren Arts and Craft Beer Festival on April 25th in Down-town Washington will be all about. Original works of art in an array of styles, belly dancing, live music, cloggers, food and beer are all on tap for this festive event. Presented by the Wash-

ington Business Improvement District, craft beer was added to this year's event line-up! The festival takes place

along Route 57 through-out downtown and runs from 10am to 4pm, with the beer tent open from 11:30am to 4pm (rain date April 26th). The Arts Festival is being presented through a grant from the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission, among other event spon-sors. There are still some

openings for artists wishing to sign up and be eligible for cash prizes. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three winning artists (original works only): first, second and peoples choice. Attend-

ees are encouraged to vote for their favorite artists in the people's choice category. This event has grown

in the past three years, with dozens of partici-pating artists, re-sale vendors and participat-ing Washington businesses, and more, drawing large crowds throughout the day. There will be special activities during the day, from live music, demon-strations, horse drawn carriage rides, a perfor-mance by the Warren County Cloggers, belly dancing and kids activi-ties, including a free craft project sponsored

by Washington BoroughClean Communities. In the past artists have

showcased all art stylesincluding painting andpottery to jewelry and everything in between. There is a $15 charge

for artists with originalworks and it is $25 ($35day of show) for allresale vendors. Vendingspots are 10 feet by10feet. If you are inter-ested in registering, please contact the WBID office at 908-689-4800 or visit www. washingtonbid.org. This event has been a sell outfor the past two years. Pre-registration is highly recommended.

Donations are needed for a rummage sale to be held April 24th from 9am to 4pm, and April 25th from 9am to noon (bag sale day) at the Franklin Twp. Volunteer Fire Station, located at 37 Second Street in New Village. Call Karen to arrange drop-offs at 908-689-3677. N O R W E S C A P

Career and Life Tran-sitions Center for Women provides free

employment readiness training. To learn more about the services the Career and Life Transi-tions Center offers, register for their upcom-ing information meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 23rd or Thursday, April 30th at 10am by calling 908-835-2624. Pre-registration is required. Artisan and antique

vendors are wanted for the Belvidere in Bloom Summer Festival on

June 20th from 9am to 5pm in Belvidere. For more information, visit belvidereinbloom.com or call 908-386-8707 by April 30th. The Pet Adoption

League is holding a Fill-A-Truck fund-raiser on May 2nd from 11am to 2:30pm at Arbys on Rt. 57 in Mansfield. Acceptable items are new or gently used clothing in all sizes, shoes, blankets, curtains, etc. in bags. Arbys is also support-ing PAL the same date by donating 15 percent of all proceeds between 11am and 2:30pm. For more information, visit www.palpets.org or call 973-584-0095. One hundred percent of the proceeds benefit home-less animals in our area. Vendors are wanted

for the St. Jude Knights of Columbus 3rd annual outdoor flea market on May 9th at St. Jude Church on Eisenhower Road in Blairstown. Vendor

spaces include two parking lot spaces. For more information, call Tom at 201-787-5364.Fresh, refrigerated

and frozen foods are available to northwest-ern NJ residents at reduced prices through the Jolin Food Box program. The food assistance program offers a variety of order-ing options, from breakfast-lunch-dinner combination packs to boxes of dinner entrees to special packages just for children. Each month features a variety of high-quality menu items from seafood and poultry to baked goods and prepared meals. Interested residents can find more information and order online with a credit card at www. jolinfoodbox.com or by calling Project Self-Sufficiency at 973-940-3500. The next deadline for placing an order is May 12th; delivery will be made to Project Self-Sufficiency on May 23rd. For more information, call 973-940-3500, or visit proj ectselfsufficiency.org. Looking for an excit-

ing, affordable vaca-tion from May 31st through June 6th to benefit Haven of Hope for Kids? Enjoy a trip to Pigeon Forge and to the Smoky Mountains, complete with six live musical productions, a guided tour of the Smoky Mountains, free time in Gatlinburg and much more. This seven-day vacation includes travel, six

breakfasts and four dinners. Your participa-tion has an added benefit of supporting the Haven of Hope for Kids, a local non-profit organization that provides cost-free country retreats for families caring for a child with cancer or other life threatening illness. For reservations, call Gladys at 908-459-9210 or 862-220-2693. Payment in full is due at the time of the reserva-tion. Hackettstown High

School classmates of 1975 are requested to contact Cindy Mincev-ich at 908-637-6171 to update their contact information for their 40 year reunion planned for Memorial Day weekend. Deer Valley

Sportsmens Associa-tion of Blairstown is looking for land to lease in the Blairstown, Hardwick, Knowlton, Hope, Frelinghuysen, Stillwater or White Twp. areas. All mem-bers belong to the National Rifle Associa-tion and hunt-alongs are done before new mem-bers are voted into this association. Several of the associations proper-ties are semi-wild and licensed by the State of NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife. They stock phesants, partridge and sometimes quail. All leased property is posted and trespassers are vigorously prosecuted. If you own property, either wooded or fileds with brushy cover, and would like to speak with someone about leasing the property, please contact Robert McDow-ell at 973-948-4001; James Guild Jr. at 973-

875-9266; TimothyCussen at 908-637-4408; Brian Rosemeier at 908-362-6598; or James Craig at 908-278-5149. The associa-tion is a rounded groupincluding doctors, lawyers, police, contrac-tors, farmers, a formerdirector of Fish andGame, and they arewell-known and respected in the Blair-stown area. Public Notice: In

accordance with the Adequate Notice provision of the OpenPublic Meetings Act,please be advised thatthe 2015 meeting sched-ule for the Warren County Transportation Advisory Council is as follows: May 14th, July9th (location TBD), September 10th and November 12th at1:30pm. Meetings willbe held in the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Meeting Room at theWayne Dumont Jr. Adminisration Building,located at 165 Co. Rt.519 South in Belvidere. Public Notice: In

accordance with the Adequate Notice provision of the OpenPublic Meetings Act,please be advised thatthe 2015 meeting sched-ule for the Warren County Mental Health Board is as follows: May 19th, June 16th,July 21st, August 18th,September 15th, Octo-ber 20th, November17th and December 15that 5pm. Meetings will beheld in rooms 123A and B at Warren CountyCommunity College,located at 475 Rt. 57 in Washington.Happy birthday

wishes are sent to ReneKoehler and Ashley Ricker who will be becelebrating on April 24th.We love hearing from

you! Send yourbirthdays,

anniversaries and tidbits of info to:

The PRESS,1 Broadway,

Bangor, PA 18013thepressmail@gmail.comVisit Us 24/7 online atthepressnewsonline.com

It seemed like the snow would never melt, but the spring peepers are starting to sing, foretelling of warmer days ahead. The spring season brings so many wonderful things- green grass, flowers, and baby wildlife, but it also brings some less pleasant crawling critters. One of these is the flea.Dormant life stages of

the flea become active with the warmer tempera-tures and when the adults start moving around, they begin seeking out food so they can reproduce. One of those food sources is the blood of your pet. Unlike ticks, which will feed and then leave to lay their eggs elsewhere, fleas will live on your pet, continuing to feed and lay eggs. Those eggs will drop off into the environ-ment- your house. They hatch into larvae which develop into pupae (like a cocoon) and then into adults to continue the cycle.While pets with fleas

may do some scratching, if they have an allergy to the fleas, the itchiness can be very intense and the pet can create open sores and infections from the scratching. Fleas are also the vector for Bartonella henselae, the bacteria which causes cat-scratch fever. When the cat grooms herself, she will ingest some of flea feces and become infected. The bacteria congregates in the nail beds and saliva so if the cat bites or scratches someone, the person can become infected. Dogs and cats can also get tapeworms from eating the fleas when they groom or chew them-selves.So, we need to keep

these pesky creatures off of your pet. The good news is, there are many products we have avail-able that are safe and effective in controlling fleas. The topicals, Front-line (for dogs and cats), Revolution (mainly for cats) and Vectra 3D (only for dogs) have been our first line of defense of

By Crew Vice President of Public Relations Stephen RozekOn March 28th,

Venturing Crew 276 traveled to Camp Somers to meet mem-bers of New Jersey Search and Rescue team to learn about Search and Rescue.The program started in

the camps Health Lodge where we learned about many different pieces of search and rescue equipment, search techniques, hazards you would encounter while doing a search, first aid, differ-ent types of search and rescue teams such as dog teams, mountain

rescue teams, dive teams and much more!

What is special about the NJSAR team is that in addition to being made up of volunteers, their service is free. Plus, they are not just your basic search and rescue team, they are also a dog team and mountain rescue team. After some class time,

we headed outside to see their trailer. What I thought was a really intriguing piece of equipment was their back board for traumatic patients unable to walk to safety. Instead of just being a typical back board with the straps and head support, they have a clear piece of plastic that protects the face of the victim. The back board can be detached into two pieces so that it can be put on

two team members backs and can be easily hiked in to where thesituation is.My favorite part of this

program was learning about all of the different things required to dosearch and rescue. This trip was great and

our crew plans on help-ing train their search dogs by playing Hideand Seek in the future.Venturing is a youth

development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 through 20 years of age.Venturing Crew 276 meets monthly in Byram Township at theLakeland Emergency Squad building. For more information,

visit www.venturecrew 276.com.

years and are still quite effective in most areas. These are applied monthly and kill adult fleas as well as control-ling eggs and larvae.We also have numerous

oral medications for flea control. Capstar is tablet that when given, will kill fleas within minutes. If only lasts for a day, so we usually use this initially to start getting things under control while other longer-acting medications are taking effect. Comfor-tis is a chewable tablet that will kill fleas for a month. Both Capstar and Comfortis are safe for dogs and cats. The newest treatments we have came out last spring- they are Nexgard and Bravecto. Both of these products are chewable and kill ticks as well as fleas. Nexgard is given once monthly and Bravecto lasts for three months with each dose. These two medications are only for use in dogs.Another way to keep the

flea population under control is to use an insect growth regulator (IGR), which prevents the eggs and larvae from develop-ing into adults. Sentinel, a chewable heartworm preventative, contains milbemycin which controls heartworm, roundworms, hookworms and whipworms and also lufenuron which is an IGR.If there is a current infes-

tation, also treating the environment with frequent vacuuming, washing of bedding and use of house treatments such as sprays, will get everything back to normal faster. However, it is still most important to treat all the pets in the household. If there are animals other than dogs and cats, please ask us about what is safe and effective to use.We customize flea

control for each house-hold based on many factors, so please come in for an appointment so we can discuss what will work best to keep your pets and your house flea-free this seaon.

Free Legal Expunge-ment Process Seminar: April 22nd, 7pm-9pm. Project Self- Sufficiencys Warren Co. outreach site, 35 Main St., Blairstown. The forum will discuss the steps necessary for officially erasing a defendants criminal record. Advance regis-tration reqd. To regis-ter, call 973-940-3500.

Pet Adoption Leagues 5th Annual Pasta Dinner: April 24th, 5pm-8pm. Panther Valley Ecumenical Church, 1490 Rt. 517, Allamuchy. Take out is also avail. FMI, visit palpets.org, email info@palpets.org or call 973-584-0095. 100% of proceeds go toward helping homeless animals in our area.

North Warren Regional Interact Clubs 7th Annual Community Talent Show: April 24th, 7pm. NWRHS audito-rium. Tickets sold at the door. All Proceeds benefit local nonprofit mighty-quinn.org and the Todd Quinn family.

Rummage Sale: April 24th, 9am-4pm, & April 25th, 9am-noon.Franklin Twp. Vol. Fire Station, 37 2nd St., New Village Bag Sale: April 25th.

Tea & the Mad Hatter: April 25th, noon.

Warren Co. Library, 2 Shotwell Dr., Belvidere. Learn the history of tea & some of Lewis Carols social comments on the Victorian Age. Proper tea-etiquette will be discussed. Wear a hat & receive a prize! Reservations reqd. Call 908-475-6322 or visit www.warrenlib.org.

Free Community Dinner Sponsored by the 1st Presbyterian Church of Blairstown Mission Ministry: April 25th, 6pm. Bring your favorite casserole & enjoy each others company. FMI, call 908-362-5254 or email fpcb@ptd.net.

Tricky Tray to Benefit St. Peter & Paul Church: April 25th. Doors open at 6pm, drawing 7:30pm. Inde-pendence Twp. Firehouse, 24 Cemetery Rd., Great Meadows. FMI, call Corinne at 908-459-5929 to reserve. 50/50 raffle, instant-win table. Free coffee & dessert, hot food for sale by firemen.

Essential Skills for Career Success Advancing from Job Readiness to Career Development: April 30th, 8:30am-3pm. NORWESCAP Career & Life Transitions Center office, Fleming-ton. FMI & pre-registration, call 908-835-2624.

Free History & Archaeology Careers Seminar: April 30th, 6:30pm-8pm. Project Self-Sufficiency, 127 Mill St., Newton. Open to teens & adults. Gregory Lattanzi, Asst. Curator, Bureau of Archaeology & Ethnog-raphy at Newark State Museum, joined by archivist, author & historian Merritt Ierley & Sussex Co. historian, author & lecturer Wayne McCabe. Questions from the audience will be welcome. Registra-tion reqd. FMI or to register, call 973-940-3500.

6th Annual Dora Pedersen 5K: May 2nd, 8:30am. Northwest Christian School, 92 Co. Rd. 519 (Newton Halsey Rd.), Newton. Packet pickup & registration at 7am in NCS gymna-sium. Registration, course map & complete event info. can be found at ncsnj.org.

Baby Prom: May 2nd, 1pm. Warren Co. Library Headquarters, 2 Shotwell Dr., Belvidere. Get decked out in styles from any decade & dance to sweet tunes, make corsages & boutonnieres, & pose for photos. For toddlers thru 1st graders (& their parents, too). Free & open to the public. Register at www. warrenlib.org.

Pet Adoption Week-end: May 2nd & 3rd, 10am-3pm. Blairstown Agway Pet Center. Ft. Dr. Bethany Summers of Blairstown Animal Hospital, P.A.L. cats & kittens & more. NW FFA bake sale & face painting. Boy Scout Troop 2010 doing park-ing & 50 flat screen TV raffle.

Skylands Tea Party: May 6th, 6:30pm. Conference Room, Diner N. of Newton, Rt 206. Guest Speaker: Sussex Co. Freeholder & candidate for NJ Assembly Gail Pheo-bus. All Skylands Tea Party meetings open to the public.

Fish & Chips Dinner: May 7th, 7pm-9pm. Tranquility Community House, 4 Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 611) at Rt. 517. Presented by Young Adult Group of Tran-quility UMC. Eat-in or take-out. Baked goods will also be sold. Advance ticket purchase recommended. Call 908-850-1092 or 973-786-5318.

St. Jude Knights of Columbus 3rd Annual Outdoor Flea Market: May 9th, 9am to 3pm. St. Jude Church parking lot, Eisenhower Rd., Blairstown. FMI, call Tom at 201-787-5364.

Ervin Sonny Shipp Memorial Trout Fish-ing Contest: May 9th, 8am-4pm. Blair Lake, Blair Academy. $5 donation requested for those 17-65. Prizes & gifts.

Ervin Sonny Shipps Memorial Service & Concert: May 9th, 2pm-5pm. 1st Presbyte-rian Church of Blair-stown, 1 Historic Main St., Blairstown. A salute to the great Patriots of the US.

Blairstown, Knowlton& Hope

A&P, Alpine Meats, Animal Mansion, Ash Plumbing, Asian Combat Arts, A-Tech, Auto, Blair Tile, Blair Tire & Auto, Blairstown Agway, Blairstown Chiropractic, Blairstown Country Florist, Blairstown Municipal Building, Blairstown Eye Associates, Blue Ridge Lumber, Buckwood, Building Specialties, Burgdorff, BuzzWorks, Caffe Nelle Cucine, Cannon Country Real Estate, Columbia Post Office, Custom Colonial, Dales Clocks, Dale's Market, David Krawski Dentist, DogHouse, Dominick Pizza, Dr. Magalio: Dentist, Ellias Restaurant, First Hope Bank, Fitness Empire, Fountain Mall Laundromat, Frank's Pizza, Gallery 23, Geo's Pizza, Gourmet Gallery, Grand Rental Station, Hair Company, Hairs 2 You, Historic Blairstown Theatre, Hope Deli, Hope Haircutters, Imagine Computers, JD Liquors, John Deere, Kozimors Upholstery, Knowlton Municipal Building, Lakeland Bank, Lebduska Accounting, Marksboro Deli, Mark D. Nelke: DMD, Medical Associate, Mediterranean Diner, Napa, Nature's Harvest, New HoHo, North Warren Farm & Garden, North Warren Pharmacy, North Warren Truck Repair, Old Stillwater General Store, Pizza Express, PNC Bank, Post Office (Both Locations), Post Time Pub, R. Keiling, Race's Farm Market, Radio Shack, Remax, Shell Gas Station, Skyland Bank, Smitty's, Sunrise, Nutrition Center, Sun Velocity, Sunoco, The Auto Shop, The Inn at

Millrace Pond, Tile Ware-house, Tractor Supply,Tramontin Harley-Davidson, US Gas, Voulas Hairway toHeaven, Village Green, Warren County Library, Wells Fargo, Wilbur's Coun-try Store, Wine & Spirits, Woman to Woman

BelvidereA&P, Al's Pizza, ACI Truck Stop, Bagel Smith, Belvidere Diner, Belvidere Spa, Clucas Farm, Curves,Dee Doo's, Dr. Amannda Richline, Food Mart, Four Sisters Winery, H&R Block, Hearth Shop, Hickory Mortgage, Little Johns Pizza, Mediterranean River-side Designs, Riverton Hotel & Restaurant, Rosal Jewel-ers, Short Stop, Skee's Busy Bee, Skoogy's, Steckel's Shell, Station, Thisilldous, Uncle Buck's Diner, US Gas, Vincent Haircuttery & Plus, Zack's, Zeeks

WashingtonA&P, Bagelsmith, FliegauffJewelers, Home Instead Senior Care, Kaffe Kaprys, Lost Ladies, Mediterranean Bistro, MWC Racing, Pride-N-Groom, Quick Check, Rossi, Second Time Around, Shopper Stop,Silver Stars Bagel, Smith Dodge, Stanley's Pizza, Town Market, WashingtonDiner, Washington Shoe

NewtonA&G Pizza, Back in Motion, BMW Dealership, Charm, Co. Seat, Dunkin Donuts,Hampton Diner, Ho Hos, HobbyTown, Holiday Inn, Home Furniture, Ware-house, Kathy's Restaurant, Newton News Stand,Optical Center, PB&J, Quick Check, Shop Rite, Skylands Sport Shop, Springboard Shoppe, Superior ShowerDoors, The Chatter Box,VW-Audi Dealership, Weis

HackettstownA & P, Bachs Home Health-care, Cozy Corner, Golden Skillet, Hacktettstown Freepublic Library, HackettstownGuns & Ammo, Hackett-stown Sandwich Shoppe, Hackettstown RegionalMedical Center, Mama's Pizza/Cafe Baci, O'Neill'sJewelers. Prickley Pear, Quick Check #2, Riverstar Diner, Tranquility GeneralStore, Valley Bagel, Weis, Willow Caf

ColumbiaAyers, Roses Cafe

Hello, fellow readers! Last week we spoke

about the importance of testing your soils pH before adding supple-ments as lawns and different plants require different pH levels. John from Bangor, PA asked how to test his soil. Sure you can buy a pH test probe and there's the tried and true soil tests offered through your local extension office. But there are fun, science project-like ways of testing soil pH that you and your kids will love.Snag a cup of soil about

six inches below the surface. Be sure the area has not been limed or fertilized within the past six weeks and the sample is free of sticks, rocks or mulch.Pour two cups of

distilled water (available at the drug store) into a pot. Dont use spring or tap water as they will impact pH. Chop and add one cup of red cabbage and bring to a boil. Simmer for five minutes, then allow it to

cool for a half hour. Strain off the liquid which should be bluish purple showing a neutral pH. Pour two inches into a clean cup and add two teaspoonful of soil. Wait thirty minutes then check the color. If purple or violet, the soil pH is near seven or neutral. Pink means the soil is acidic. The more acidic the soil, the brighter the pink. Blue or green means an alkaline pH - the brighter green, the more alkaline.Theres a vinegar and

baking soda option you can play with too. Put two teaspoons of soil into two separate containers. Add half cup of white vinegar to the soil in one container. If it fizzes, your soil is alkaline. If no fizz, add enough distilled water to the other container to make the soil muddy. Pour half cup of baking soda into that cup; if it fizzes, your soil is acidic. If neither sample fizzes, you likely have a neutral pH which is good. Most plants and lawns love neutral. There are naysayers

who claim vinegar and baking soda are not a strong enough to give an accurate result. But I say why not have some fun first, then spend a few bucks on a pH soil test kit or a pack of pH test strips. That way you can test your test results and maybe poo-poo the naysayers. As you can see, pH testing can bring out the kid in all of us!Garden dilemmas? askmarystone.com

(NAPSI)With winter finally behind us, its time to focus on getting your yard prepped and ready to enjoy! Here are some tips that can help make your time and effort more productive and rewarding. Dont try to get every-

thing done in just one weekend. Make sure the lawn has a chance to wake up and come back to life during the early spring months. If you are patient, the sun and soil will often do much of the prep work for you. Give your yard a

thorough raking before you treat the grass or mow for the first time. Raking pulls up any thatch that may have accumulated over the winter and highlights any dead spots or com-pacted areas that need special attention. If your lawn is compacted, loosen the soil so the grass can start growing again. Its easier to rid your

lawn of weeds before

they have a chance to form. Early spring is a good time to apply herbicides to prevent the weeds from developing. Low spots in a lawn

can cause poor drainage, lead to poor growing conditions for grass and make mowing a challenge. Use a shovel to cut away areas that are raised and fill in

spaces that are depressed.Using the right tools

for various lawn care projects can pay dividends, particularly when it comes to getting the job done right the first time.Start your spring-

cleaning tasks with a deep clean of your deck, siding and driveway for an instant curb appeal boost. The Briggs & Stratton POWERflow+ pressure washer offers a high-pressure option for deep cleaning or high-flow option for longer-reaching and faster-rinsing cycles. It can also be used on delicate surfaces, such as your patio furniture.Its 7-in-1 nozzle with

one-handed operation saves time and elimi-nates the need for multiple trips. It even

has a detergent tank that works to deliver power soaping on demand and a fold-down handle design for compact storage.If your yard has an

uneven terrain, the Troy-Bilt Mustang Zero-Turn Lawn Mower is made to handle such tasks. It has a Kohler engine, comes with mulching capabilities and has an integrated rear hitch that allows you to use dump carts, spreaders and other tow-behind attachments. You can also attach a garden hose to quickly and easily clean the underside of a deck.The Troy-Bilt FLEX,

available exclusively at Lowes, is a whole new approach to yard care. It features a single-base engine that powers four different attachments including a wide-area mower, leaf blower, pressure washer and snow thrower, freeing up a lot of space in your garage. It allows you to easily transition from one job to the next as each attachment clicks right into the base engine.The attachments are

sold separately so hom-eowners can customize their system. This allows customers to save money and up to 60 percent of garage storage space when compared to the purchase of individual, one-use products.For more information,

visit www.Lowes.com.