On Tuesday, Jan. 10, a special election will be held in Buckingham County and other localities that comprise the 22nd State Senate District. This special election is required to fill the unexpired term of Sen. Tom Garrett, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November. The special election on Jan. 10 will be open to all registered voters with all regular precincts open from 6 a.m.-7 p.m. that day. For more information, visit the website of the Virginia Department of Elections at www.elections.virginia.gov or call the Buckingham Elections Office at (434) 969-4304.

Third Liberty Baptist Church, C.G. Woodson Road, will feature the combined voices of the Mt. Pero Choir and Third Liberty Choir at its Christmas concert at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

First Baptist Church in Dillwyn will present its Christmas cantata, “O Night Divine” Sunday at 11 a.m. (live on WVHL 92.9 FM). There will be a Christmas Eve service on Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. On Dec. 25, Sunday school will be at 10:15 a.m., with worship service at 11 a.m.

Maysville Presbyterian Church, Buckingham Court House, will hold its “Miracle of Love” cantata on Sunday at 10 a.m.

New Hope Baptist Church, C.G. Woodson Road, will have its Christmas program and Advent candle lighting on Sunday at 5 p.m.

A free beekeeping basics workshop will be offered Thursday, Jan. 5 at the Cumberland Extension Office from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Topics covered will be general bee information, basic equipment, timelines, social order, bee biology and further education opportunities. Those wishing to participate are asked to register by calling the Cumberland Extension Office at (804) 492-4390.

The USDA has announced new conservation opportunities to improve water quality and restore wildlife habitat that offer farmers and ranchers more opportunities to participate in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). The announcement includes new CRP practices to protect water quality and adds more than a million acres targeted to benefit wildlife, pollinators and wetlands. Known as Clean Lakes, Estuaries and Rivers (CLEAR), this new conservation initiative will add new tools that can help improve water quality. CLEAR will assist landowners with the cost of building bioreactors and saturated buffers that filter nitrates and other nutrients from tile-drained cropland. Early estimates indicate that CLEAR could help reduce nitrate runoff by as much as 40 percent over traditional conservation methods.

CLEAR may cover up to 90 percent of the cost to install these new practices through incentives and cost-sharing. These new methods are especially important in areas where traditional buffers have been insufficient to prevent nutrients from reaching bodies of water. For more information, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/conservation or contact your local FSA office. The telephone number for the FSA office for Cumberland and Buckingham residents is (434) 983-4757.

On Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 6:30 p.m., there will be a free beef cattle reproduction workshop at the Cumberland High and Middle School cafeteria complex. Dr. Lincoln Montgomery-Rodgers, of Agrarian Veterinary Services, and Dr. Robert Whitcare of ST Genetics will be leading the workshop. Dinner will be provided, but registration is required. To register, call the Cumberland Extension Office at (804) 492-4390.

There will be a blood drive in honor of Jessy Warner on Wednesday, Dec. 21 from 2-7 p.m. at Browns Chapel, 1711 Gravel Hill Road, Dillwyn. For more information, call Pastor Rebecca Cook at (434) 983-2400.

Janet Miller is a writer, poet and retired educator. Her email is address janet.miller@farmvilleherald.com