Women's Spring Thing event planned next Tuesday

The Women's Spring Thing event "Oh, the Hats We Wear" with presenter Judy Sandstrom will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Blessed Sacrament Jubilee Center.

A salad and sandwich supper will start at 6, with the featured speaker to start at 7.

Sandstrom, a woman of faith, is the administrator of the Employee Assistance Program for Family Resources of Greater Nebraska PC. She believes in recognizing and affirming the value of each person, and she will assist in naming roles and hats, and how each person can use them as a blessing for others. She will challenge everyone to recognize the hats we wear and how to best celebrate our lives and the giftedness that we have to offer others in our every day living.

Tickets are $10 and should be purchased by Friday by calling Sister Nadine Heimann at 384-0532, ext. 202.

Bloodmobile March results announced

Eighty-two persons were present to donate whole blood at the Red Cross Bloodmobile the week of March 24.

Lynette Meyer and Paul Snodgrass were first-time donors.

Kay Blowers, Rosalie Roscoe, and Roger Roscoe reached the one-gallon level. Carol Howard and Steven Stoppkotte reached the three-gallon level. Arlette Elshof reached the four-gallon level. Gloria Schlachter and Vicki Sims reached the five-gallon level. Randy Leiser reached the six-gallon level. Margie Swanek reached the seven-gallon level. Robert Dubas reached the eight-gallon level. Fred Tustin, Jr. reached the nine-gallon level. Robert Wortman reached the 23-gallon level.

The Central Plains Chapters of the American Red Cross will hold a bloodmobile Monday through Friday at 404 E. Third St. Call 382-3790 to schedule an appointment.

Grand Island open burn dates are April 20 to May 2

The Grand Island Fire Department would like to inform residents of Grand Island that open burn dates will run from Sunday through May 3.

The open burning period is scheduled twice a year, beginning on the third Sunday in April and then again on the second Sunday in October. Both run for a 14-day period and are observed between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

No permit is required but residents must follow ordinance stipulations. Open fires should be constantly attended until the fire is extinguished and a water supply should be readily available at all times.

For more information about the open burn period, call the Grand Island Fire Department at City Hall at 385-5444 or any of the four fire stations in town.

* hastings

City conducts high visibility enforcements

On Saturday, the Nebraska State Patrol Troop C Headquarters, assisted by the Hastings Police Department, conducted a night of high visibility enforcements in an effort to encourage safe driving and remove impaired drivers from roadways.

The special enforcement efforts included a DUI checkpoint and saturation patrols in and around Hastings and Adams County.

Five people were arrested for DUI and one juvenile was cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol. Three motorists were cited for driving during suspension and five people were cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

The enforcement is part of a series of spring selectives planned for Troop C, which is based in Grand Island. Overtime hours for the selectives are paid for, in part, with a nearly $9,000 grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.

The next special enforcement will take place on May 5.

* lincoln

Babbitt to lecture at Lied Center on state's water

Bruce Babbitt, U.S. secretary of the interior from 1993 to 2001, will lecture Tuesday on "Nebraska's Water Future: Feast or Famine?"

The lecture, which originates from the Lied Center for Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will be simulcast at the Communications Building at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The simulcast begins at 7 p.m.

Appointed secretary of the interior by President Bill Clinton, Babbitt led the creation of the forest plan in the Pacific Northwest, restoration of the Florida Everglades, passage of the California Desert Protection Act, and legislation for the National Wildlife Refuge system.

Babbitt's lecture is the final event in the 20th season of the Thompson forum, the theme of which is "Changing Nature."

All lectures and simulcasts are free and open to the public. To RSVP or for more information, call Judy Holoubeck at (308) 865-8503.

* silver creek

Dubas to hold town hall meetings

Sen. Annette Dubas will be holding two town hall meetings on Saturday.

The first will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the American Legion Building in Silver Creek. The second will start at 11 a.m. in the Senior Center in Polk.

Dubas will briefly speak about her legislation and then will take questions from constituents.

For more information on upcoming meetings and dates, visit the senator's Web site at www.annettedubas.com.