Nominations open for Cole award

The Portland Foundation is accepting nominations for the 28th annual Jack Cole Award for Volunteerism.

The award was established by the foundation’s board of trustees to honor Cole’s work as its first executive director.

Nominations should be by letter of recommendation and include the nominee’s name, address and a brief background describing why the nominee deserves the award.

The winner will receive a commemorative plaque and a nominal cash award to be presented to the volunteer’s charity of choice.  The award will be presented at the Foundation’s annual meeting on May 28.

Deadline for nominations is March 14. They should be sent to the foundation office at 107 S. Meridian St., Portland.  For more information, contact the foundation office at (260) 726-4260.

Diabetes cooking

There’s a new cooking program coming up in Dunkirk.

Dining with Diabetes, a  four-session program focused on preparing healthy meals, will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 4, Feb. 11, Feb. 18 and Feb. 25 at West Jay Community Center, 125 Hoover St.

The free class will be discussing the basics of nutrition and providing recipes for participants to try.

To register, call (260) 726-4707.

Heart 101

A free community education series about heart disease prevention has another session slated for next month.

Cardiologist Todd Brophy will discuss heart disease and provide tips on prevention and early diagnosis at 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Mercer Health Marion Campus, 8106 Booster Drive, Maria Stein, Ohio.

Reservations are not required. For additional information, contact Mercer Health at [email protected] or (419) 678-5247.