According to recent data released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Children's Bureua, in the United States, 423,000 children are currently living without permanent families. Of the children currently in the public foster care system, 115,000 are eligible for adoption, but nearly 40 percent of them will wait more than three years in foster care before ever finding a home.

About two percent, or 1.5 million, of all the children in the country are products of adoption. In 2011, the public foster care system had 401,000 children enrolled. While 51,000 children were adopted domestically (from within the United States), the public foster care system gained 252,000 new children in 2011. In North Carolina alone, 2,234 children are without homes and are waiting on their forever homes.

For the 18th year, youth from area United Methodist churches joined hundreds of thousands of students around the nation and the world last weekend to fast for 30 hours and collect canned goods and donations for Macon County CareNet and donations for World Vision.

In addition, youth led and attended worship services, slept in cardboard “houses,” learned more about world hunger issues, and volunteered at CareNet and Habitat for Humanity.

As of Monday, the result of their efforts included 7,104 cans collected for CareNet; $1,704 donated to CareNet; $1,750 donated to World Vision; 408 backpacks filled with food for distribution to local school children; six blankets made for the United Methodist Home for Children; and 2,440 nails sorted for Habitat.

Macon Pride, local recycling advocates, commends the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Franklin for their efforts to “reduce, reuse, and recycle.”

The UU green sanctuary exhibits many recognized energy savings features and use of recycled materials throughout, including greener carpeting, and Icynene insulation.

“Our building and the activities within express our mission of caring for the earth and environmental justice,” said team member Bonnie Gramlich.

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The Macon County Beekeepers’ Association is holding Beekeeping School.

The public is invited to come and learn the basics of beekeeping. Topics covered will include basic hive construction, honeybee biology, colony management, handling your bees, and harvesting your honey crop. Introduced pests and diseases have made beekeeping more difficult and we will discuss methods for overcoming these problems. Each session will cover various aspects of beekeeping presented by local beekeepers. Times for questions and discussion will be allotted throughout the school.

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