Charlie Zahm, an interpreter of American folk songs, will appear at the Olde Yellow Meeting House Aug. 6 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Admission is free to this early Americana concert. A guided tour of the historic cemetery, focusing on the graves of Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, will begin at 6:30 p.m. The tour and concert are sponsored by the Friends of the Olde Yellow Meeting House and the Upper Freehold Baptist Church. The Olde Yellow Meeting House is at 72 Yellow Meeting House Road in Upper Freehold Township, off Route 526.

For more information, call Bill Wentzien at (609) 259-2534 or e-mail billwentzien@netzero.net.

AHS Class of ’85 slates

20-year reunion

The Allentown High School Class of 1985 will hold its 20-year reunion Oct. 28 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at Spano’s at The White Sands, Point Pleasant. E-mail Holly at sshoff8@yahoo.com; or call Lisa, (609) 758-8820, or Karen, (732) 928-8186.

Cook College offers horse

management course

Cook College at Rutgers University will offer a semester-long horse management course for continuing education students in the fall semester.

This course is designed for new or potential horse owners and horse enthusiasts, and is offered in two modes: classroom and online. The classroom course will be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings from Sept. 1 to Dec. 13. Access to the Internet is required for the online version and recommended for the “traditional” course, since class notes will be available online.

The 14-week class provides an introduction to the anatomy, physiology, nutrition and behavior of a horse. Management techniques and the practical aspects of horse care, including stabling, shoeing/hoof care, common diseases and emergency care, will be discussed in classroom lectures. Students will further benefit from live demonstrations and hands-on training. In addition to the classroom lectures and demonstrations, optional field trips may be offered throughout the program schedule.

For both versions of the class, registrants must have a high school diploma in order to enroll. The cost is $475 for single registration or $455 for multi-person registration if paid prior to Aug. 18. After Aug. 18, the fee is $515. For more information, or to register, call (732) 932-9271 or visit www.esc.rutgers.edu and click on the Horse Management Course headline.

Course to focus on

protecting food supply

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture is offering a Department of Homeland Security course titled “Preparedness and Response to Agricultural Terrorism.”

The three-day course is designed to provide participants with an understanding of the skills needed to prepare for, respond to and recover from a terrorist attack to agriculture — the nation’s food supply.

The course will train participants to:

• Recognize possible targets of opportunity in their region;

• Understand the steps needed to prepare for and respond to a terrorist attack on the nation’s agricultural industry;

• Understand the local, state and federal resources available for such prevention/deterrence;

• Understand how an integrated response would be organized to respond to an agricultural terrorism event; and

• Possess the necessary knowledge to effectively become aware of plant or animal diseases, farm-to-fork food processing, and thus to prevent and/or deter agricultural terrorist incidents.

The course is geared toward supervisor/management-level individuals in any aspect of food production — preproduction (soil preparation, seed and input handling), growing/raising, harvesting/

processing, transportation (from farm to plant to store), delivery and final distribution. In addition, others who should attend are Office of Emergency Management and other emergency planners from local and state government, research/extension services, veterinarians, wildlife officials, and CART/SART (County Animal Response Team, State Animal Response Team) members.

The course is open to U.S. citizens ages 18 and over and will be held Sept. 27-29 at the New Jersey State Police headquarters in Hamilton (eight hours each day). The course is free, but seating is limited to 40 participants. Registration is required by Aug. 26. Photo identification will be required, and class participants will be chosen based on their functions and responsibilities.

For more information, contact Holly Chmil at holly.chmil@ag.state.nj.us or fax (609) 777-8395.

Recent graduates sought for AmeriCorps program

The New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), Paterson, is recruiting recent college graduates from Monmouth County to join AmeriCorps.

The program prepares grads for careers in public service and social services through community service assignments and various educational activities. Individuals are expected to work 40 hours per week with at-risk children and teens, and homeless and impoverished families. Assignments are throughout northern New Jersey. In exchange for a year of service, AmeriCorps members receive a living stipend, full health benefits and an educational award of $4,725 for students loans or to attend graduate school.

The next class of the program will begin and September and end in mid-August. For more information, call Jennifer Shukaitis at the NJCDC at (973) 413-1623.

Instructors needed for community education

Millstone Township Community Education is looking for instructors for the fall season, particularly for Spanish or Italian conversational language instruction, knitting, technology and oil painting. For more information, e-mail Barbara Schulze, director of community education, at schulzb@millstone.k12.nj.us or call (732) 446-6802, ext. 17.

Freehold Regional H.S. to hold 40th reunion

The combined class of 1965 of Freehold Regional High School (Central and Southern) will be having their 40th reunion on Nov. 19. For details, call Jeanne Muly Burke at (732) 974-8077 or Harry Carter at (732) 431-1639.

Allentown preschool to hold open house Aug. 11

The Allentown Co-op Christian Preschool will hold an open house Aug. 11 from 10 to 11 a.m. at 23 Church St., Allentown.

The school offers classes for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet the teachers and visit the classrooms.

For more information, call (609) 259-0885.

Local residents chosen for state posts

Several direct appointments were submitted recently by acting Gov. Richard J. Codey to the Secretary of State.

Among the appointees are Freehold residents Robert B. Sensale and Darryl Banks, who have been nominated for reappointment to the state Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired Rehabilitation; Robert L. Simmons of Wall Township, Motor Vehicles Affordability and Fairness Task Force; Gerald M. Collincini of Freehold, Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; and John Kocubinski of Allentown, Soil Conservation Commission.

Women’s group to host fashion show, luncheon

Monmouth Women’s Connection will sponsor “School Daze Fashion Show Brunch” Aug. 17 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Main Street Bistro, 30 E. Main St., Freehold (second-floor entrance from the parking lot). The program will feature back-to-school fashions from various local retailers. The cost is $15, and reservations are required by Aug. 12. Call Mary, (732) 446-9503, or Maria, (732) 446-4612.