The Colorado United Way network will celebrate “National 2-1-1 Day” on Wednesday in recognition of the free, confidential, easy-to-remember phone number that connects Colorado residents to essential, non-emergency community information and services.

These services include: healthcare, rent and mortgage assistance, food and shelter, job training, transportation, childcare, senior care, veteran services and more. By dialing 2-1-1, calls are answered by live, highly-trained, Client Service Representatives who will navigate them through their situation by assessing their needs and then matching them to the best and closest resource in their community.

Western Colorado 2-1-1 covers the counties of Archuleta, Delta, Dolores, Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Lake, La Plata, Mesa, Montezuma, Montrose, Ouray, Pitkin, San Juan and San Miguel. Community members seeking assistance also can access information through the Colorado 2-1-1 app, available for free for Android and Apple devices and through the 2-1-1 Colorado online database.

For more information, visit https://211colorado.communityos.org/cms/node/142.

Fort Lewis committees to meet Thursday

The Presidential Evaluation Committee of the Board of Trustees for Fort Lewis College will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday, followed by the Business Affairs Committee at 1:30 p.m. and the Academic & Student Affairs Committee at 2:45 p.m.

The meetings will be held in the President’s Conference Room, 2503 Berndt Hall, at FLC.

For more information, call Peggy Sharp at 247-7437 or email [email protected].

BAAM! to host band Badly Bent at BHS

Bayfield Association for the Advancement of Music! (BAAM!) will host a Valentine’s Day concert featuring the bluegrass-Badly Bent Band on Friday at the new performing arts center at Bayfield High School.

This concert is a fundraiser for the Bayfield School District’s music department and its Instrument Drive. The cost is $12 per person or $20 per couple. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., the band will play at 7:30 p.m. Participants can enter to win dinner for two.

To purchase tickets, visit Bottom Shelf Brewery, Tuning Fork, the BHS office or call 884-9900.

Discover ‘The One’ at our Humane Society

Best Friends Animal Society and the La Plata County Humane Society will offer $10 adoptions during “The One” promotion from Friday to Monday for senior and Lonely Heart animals.

For more information, visit http://bestfriends.org/TheOne/.

The Florida Grange is going dancing

The Florida Grange, 656 Colorado Highway 172, will host a free dance from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Windwolf Productions will supply the music.

Ignacio library to host children’s book club

The Ignacio Community Library, 470 Goddard Ave., will host the Inklings Book Club from 4 to 5 p.m. every Tuesday.

The program is open to children in second and third grades. Snacks will be provided. Sign-up is required. To sign up, call 563-9287.

Tax Help Colorado does taxes for free

Southwest Colorado Community College is hosting Tax Help Colorado for the third year in a row. Anyone who had a household income lower than $53,000 in 2014 is eligible for free income tax preparation through the Tax Help program. Thirty IRS certified students and volunteers from Southwest Colorado Community College and Fort Lewis College will provide the free, confidential service. No appointment is necessary.

The Tax Help Colorado Durango site will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, through March 7. The site also will be open 5-9 p.m., Feb. 16 and 5-9 p.m. Feb. 24 in Room 201 at the Southwest Colorado Community College’s East Campus.

The Mancos site will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays, Feb. 6, 20, 27 and March 6 in Room 104 at the Southwest Colorado Community College’s West Campus in Mancos.

Clients must bring the following items:

Current photo identification.

Social Security cards, or ITINs, for every person on the return.

A copy of your 2013 tax return, if possible.

All W-2s, Form 1099s, interest statements, dividend statements and all other income-related documents.

Proof of mortgage interest, property taxes, day care payments, college education expenses, charitable contributions and all other tax-deductible expenses.

For college expenses, clients should bring their Form 1098T from their college along with records of expenses paid for books, fees, supplies and tuition.

Form 1095-A, 1095-B or 1095-C Affordable Health Care Statements if you or any member of your household received tax credits to pay for health insurance.

Bank account and routing numbers if you plan to get your available tax refund electronically deposited into your bank account.

For more information, contact Site Coordinator Kathy Elliott at [email protected] and 749-2838.

Grants available for highway safety issues

To address traffic safety issues, Colorado Department of Transportation’s Office of Transportation Safety offers grant funds through the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to agencies, organizations and tribal governments within the state of Colorado that provide programs, projects, services and strategies that are intended to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries resulting from traffic crashes on Colorado roadways.

Grant applications are due April 1. Priority funding will be given for projects that address key traffic safety issues in the state, including impaired driving, occupant protection, pedestrian safety and distracted driving. The grant period will be three years. The first-year grant cycle will begin on or after Oct. 1. Funding for the second and third years will be based on satisfactory performance, adherence to the program specifications, the availability of funding and the submission of required second- and third-year application and budget updates.

For more information and applications, visit www.codot.gov/business/grants/safetygrants/ots-fy-2016-funding-opportunities. For more information, email Carol Gould at [email protected].

Herald Staff