PICKENS — The Pickens YMCA will open registration for the Bethlehem Ridge Soccer Club’s spring recreational soccer season from Jan. 1 through Feb. 10.

The program is open to kids ages 4-15. The season will begin the week of Feb. 20 and end on April 29. All games and practices will be held at the Pickens YMCA.

Registration can be completed at the Easley, Pickens or Powdersville YMCA branches, as well as online at pcymca.net. Sponsorships and volunteer coaching opportunities are also available. Contact the YMCA at (864) 878-8380 or email Clarissa Suttle at clarissa@pcymca.net for more information.

YMCA officials believe children need to be a part of something bigger than themselves to help strengthen values, sportsmanship, leadership skills and the importance of relationship building and diversity. The YMCA soccer program allows children to actively develop individually through healthy competition in a positive and encouraging environment.

COUNTY — Region I-4A recently announced its 2016 all-region high school football team.

Players from both Daniel and Pickens were selected.

Pickens’ Cole Seaborn was selected as a linebacker.

Daniel had nine players chosen. On offense, Billy Bruce was picked at running back, while Daymon Greene was a selection at guard. Both Kahare Teasley and Donovan Morris were selected at offensive tackle, and Nick Muchow was picked as the team’s punter and kicker.

On defense, three players were chosen for the defensive line, including Miles “Boogie” Turmon, Kahlil Anderson and Palmer Story. Jake Venables was picked as a linebacker, and Malik Watt was selected at defensive back.

All-region selections are voted on by region coaches.

CENTRAL — Lost a loved one? Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home is sponsoring another Grief Support Group beginning Monday, Jan. 9, at 6 p.m.

The group will meet for eight Mondays at the funeral home. Issues to be discussed include: Understanding Your Grief, Exploring Your Feelings of Loss, How to Nurture Yourself and Dealing With New Life.

The group leader is Dr. Roger Lovette. There is no charge.

Interested? Call the funeral home at (864) 639-2411 or email linda@rolbinsonfuneralhomes.com.

UPSTATE — The public alert notification sirens around the Oconee Nuclear Station will be tested on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at approximately 11:50 a.m.

The 65 sirens within 10 miles of the Oconee Nuclear Station will be tested for three-minutes to assure each siren works properly. This full-cycle siren test is performed once each quarter in cooperation with emergency officials in Oconee and Pickens counties, who are responsible for sounding the sirens.

Hearing a siren does not mean to evacuate. In an emergency, sirens are sounded as a signal for residents to tune to a local radio or TV station that would carry an emergency alerting message. County officials use these stations to provide information to the public. If sirens are heard and residents are unsure if it is a test or an emergency, they should tune to their local radio or TV station.

For more information about the public alert notification sirens, residents can refer to information available on www.duke-energy.com.

CLEMSON — This new year, physical fitness expert Kellie Walters has advice for adolescent resolving to make changes to their appearance: focus on being healthy and strong and don’t worry about weight or looks.

“Remember, there are many different body types,” Walters said. “Standardizing body image inevitably creates the impression there is a right way and wrong way to look.”

Walters, a doctoral student in Clemson University’s parks, recreation and tourism management department, researches the relationship between physical activity and psychosocial health in adolescent girls and women. She offered these five New Year’s resolutions for adolescent girls and young women.

Ignore the scale — for the most part. Approximately 75 percent of adolescent girls report being dissatisfied with their bodies and a desire to be thinner. Walters also co-founded Smart Fit Girls, an after-school fitness program that teaches adolescent girls how to love their bodies. The program doesn’t measure height or weight, but concentrates on health and wellness education and improving body image and self-esteem, which usually provides longer-lasting health results.

Recognize the mother – daughter parallel. Research suggests that mothers are the primary agents of their daughters’ concept of body image, dwarfing the effect of media that is widely reported. “When a mother calls herself fat every day, they might not realize the impact they’re having on their daughter. These girls internalize it.” Walters urges adolescent girls to recognize this impact and engage parents in a thoughtful way in order to have a constructive conversation.

Practice a positive attitude. When girls and women take a look in the mirror, a majority of what they say about what they see is negative. Walters said girls only damage themselves with more anxiety and pressure with this approach, so she recommends concentrating on things they like about themselves instead.

Be aware of your digital self. Girls should be aware of the pictures they take and how they post them to social media. Duck faces, arched backs and photo filters that remove acne and “enhance” an image only further promote an attitude and perception of beauty that many feel they need to live up to. “I saw a photo on social of a student I know with a ton of health food in the background,” Walters said, laughing. “I like to think Smart Fit Girls had something to do with that.”

Get strong, share the fitness culture. The days of girls being relegated to cardiovascular exercise are long gone. Smart Fit Girls focuses on weightlifting, for example, which has been proven to attenuate bone loss later in life and lessen the likelihood of osteoporosis in both men and women.

“Weightlifting has been shown to improve adolescent girls’ and adult women’s physical and emotional health,” Walters said. “Women can achieve a sense of empowerment from strengthening their bodies.” If a service like Smart Fit Girls or Girls on the Run isn’t readily available, Walters recommends seeking out parks and recreation agencies that offer similar programs or simply forming groups of likeminded girls who want to empower their bodies while improving their self-esteem.

SIX MILE — The Pickens County Legislative Delegation will hold its annual public meeting at the community room at Six Mile Town Hall, located at 106 S. Main St., on Jan. 9.

Reports from organizations and boards will be heard starting at 5:30 p.m. The floor will be opened for public comments at 6 p.m.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend the meeting. Residents will have an opportunity to ask questions of and make comments to members of the Pickens County Legislative Delegation, and members of the delegation will comment on various issues that may be introduced in the upcoming session of the General Assembly, which convenes on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

The legislative delegation consists of Sens. Thomas Alexander and Rex Rice, and Reps. Joshua Putnam, Davey Hiott, Neal Collins and Gary Clary.

For more information, call (864) 850-7070.