From 5:15-7 p.m. this Thursday at Waimea School Cafeteria the monthly meeting will honor and thank Waimea’s and North Hawaii’s first responders — police, fire and EMTs, plus volunteer fire departments, CERT volunteers and Pohakuloa Training Area responders. The everyday community heroes and volunteers step up to help protect residents in emergencies.

Donations of working serviceable items are now accepted for the garage sale to begin at 7 a.m. this Saturday. Donations in the meantime can be left outside the garage door at 68-1783 Lua Kula Place in Waikoloa Village, where the event will take place. Help with the garage sale or monetary donations Saturday are also welcome.

From 2-4 p.m. this Thursday, and the last Thursday of each month, cancer patients and their families are invited to attend the free group meeting. The gathering provides educational presentations on a variety of topics of interest, as well as an informal discussion in a relaxed and supportive environment.

The Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and Keck Observatory are sponsoring the free Waimea Solar System Walk from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. this Saturday beginning at Keck Observatory Headquarters along Mamalahoa Highway and continuing to the CFHT offices. The walk turns Waimea into a scale model of the solar system with the sun at Keck and Pluto/dwarf planets at CFHT.

The Hawaii Island Landscape Association and University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension will host the seventh annual Landscape Management Conference and Trade Show Nov. 10 at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. The event provides practical management tools for professional landscape gardeners, nurserymen, arborists, tree trimmers and property managers, and is open to the public.

The main lobby at North Hawaii Community Hospital is closed now through Nov. 3 while flooring in the area is replaced. This is the last phase of the hospital’s large-scale flooring replacement project that started last November.

This Thursday, a short presentation will be shared from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Waimea School cafeteria about a future master plan for transit and paratransit service islandwide being prepared by Mass Transit Agency (MTA). The goal is to improve service so it is safe, reliable and accessible to all users.

From 10-11:30 a.m. this Saturday, the public can join Chef Gayle Yogi to learn how to prepare easy, fresh and nutritious recipes at Thelma Parker Memorial Library in Waimea. Sponsored by Blue Zones Project, the goal is to share recipes for healthy food that tastes great, making better food choices irresistible.

Boyd Bond will give the second of three Hawaiian history talks at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at North Kohala Library in Kapaau.

From 2-3 p.m. Oct. 28, more than 20 of the group’s members will hold the quarterly meeting at Paniolo Restaurant in Waimea. Two or three members make presentations about a local charitable activity. Members then vote for the one they wish to fund that quarter, and write their donations directly to the selected charity. Visitors and new members are welcome.