MR. ROGERS: Fifty years ago today the show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” made its debut on television.

Now, 50 years later, Fred Rogers’ legacy of healthy childhood development through empathy and respect live on at the Fred Rogers Center in Latrobe, which houses his archives and supports the fields of early learning and children’s media.

BATTERIES: We did a little digging after Fran Rovito contacted us about how to dispose of nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries, a type of rechargeable battery.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says that people can find free battery and cell phone recycling through Call2Recycle Inc., a nonprofit organization. The battery recycling program is funded by battery and product manufacturers.

“Participating retail collection points include Batteries Plus, Battery Warehouse, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Radio Shack, Sears and Staples,” the DEP states.

You can also find a Call2Recycle drop-off site by calling 1-877-273-2925 or visiting www.call2recycle.org.

A reader searched on the site and found that the Home Depot and Staples, both in Olean, N.Y., both accept batteries. Our reader found that Best Buy accepts some batteries, too.

The organization recycles cell phones and their batteries, as well as a variety of rechargeable batteries.

If you have batteries that are damaged, defective or recalled, you can arrange to get a special kit from Call2Recycle so you can recycle it safely.

If you are in Elk County, you can recycle the following battery types at the Elk County Community Recycling Center: alkaline; nickel cadmium; mercury; zinc air; lithium; lithium ion; button cells such as silver, mercury or zinc air; lead-acid (AAA-D); lead-acid (wet, small sealed — not car tractor or motorcycle batteries); carbon air and carbon air with mercury.

Oddly enough, Call2Recycle announced that Sunday is National Battery Day. On that day, the organization is asking people to gather their old batteries and safely recycle them.