Here are a selection of brief news items from this week’s paper edition, and possibly a few news briefs that didn’t make it in the paper.

WS park and ride set for expansion

The Interstate 90 park and ride near West Salem will be closed July 13 to Aug. 7 for reconstruction.

The facility is being expanded to accommodate 60 parking stalls, including three handicapped spaces.

The lot is located south of the West Salem I-90 off-ramp (Exit 12) on Highway C.

During construction, alternate parking will be available directly across from the existing lot on Highway C and on the west side of the Lloyd’s Speedshop (BP station).

WSHS volleyball skills camp set for August 10-12

The West Salem High School Panthers volleyball team will host a volleyball skills camp on Aug. 10-12 at the high school.

Session 1 (8 a.m. to noon) will be for girls who will be juniors or seniors in the fall. Session 2 (1 to 4 p.m.) will be for girls who will be freshmen or sophomores in the fall.

Brochures and registration forms can be picked up in the West Salem High School office. An early registration discount applies for all registration forms mailed by Aug. 4.

For more information, contact Darcy Sawyer at dsawyer@wsalem.k12. wi.us.

Entries sought for poetry contest

The West Salem Historical Society is conducting a poetry contest. The contest is open to all Coulee Region residents. Winners will be announced as part of Garland Days, which will be held Sept. 11-13.

Poetry categories are elementary and middle school, high school, amateur adult and professional adult.

Deadline for submissions is Aug. 1.

Library offers screening of ‘Doubt’

The Friends of the Onalaska Library’s Monday Night at the Movies series will offer a free screening of “Doubt,” starting Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, on July 13.

The show starts at 6 p.m. in Meeting Room A of the Onalaska Public Library. Coming up on July 27 is “The Tale of Despereaux.”

Book and bake sale set for July 18

The Friends of the Onalaska Library will have a book and bake sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 18 at the Onalaska Public Library meeting rooms in conjunction with the Onalaska citywide garage sale.

Gow to sing at Jazz in the Park concert

The Gertrude Salzer Gordon Jazz in the Park series, with the Great River Big Band, continues its 35th season at 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at the band half-shell in La Crosse’s Riverside Park.

Featured artists include vocalists from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Chancellor Joe Gow will take the microphone for renditions of Sammy Davis Jr.’s “Can’t We Be Friends” and Frank Sinatra’s “Luck, Be A Lady.” Alumni Tim Henke and Gina Jorgenson step out front with their renditions of “Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Goody, Goody,” “Street of Dreams,” “On A Wonderful Day Like Today” and “Orange Colored Sky.”

The band also will perform the second half of Benny Carter’s “Kansas City Suite.” Originally written for the Count Basie Orchestra, the five selections on this week’s performance feature saxophonists Jeff Ericson and Chip Schreader, along with trumpeter Scott Jensen and trombonist Marty Busch.

The concert is free. The rain site is the City Brewery Hospitality Center.

La Crosse to host Youth Outdoor Fest

All area youths are invited to take part in the La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department’s Youth Outdoor Fest, which will be held from 10 am. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Pettibone Lagoon.

The free event will offer the chance to try a variety of outdoor activities and check out area vendor displays relating to hiking, camping, fishing, canoeing and kayaking and archery. All equipment and bait for activities will be provided.

Hot dogs will be served, and there will be prize drawings.

Tech event set for July 23-24

The second annual Wisconsin Science & Technology Symposium on July 23-24 will bring together science and technology researchers, entrepreneurs and investors from across the state to help them share ideas and spark new collaborations.

Registration is open for the event, which is intended to encourage interdisciplinary research and offer valuable information and networking opportunities. Academic and industry researchers, entrepreneurs, business leaders and interested community members are encouraged to participate. Government officials and representatives from key companies also are expected to attend.

The symposium will be held at the Cartwright Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. It will feature the latest scientific discoveries from the UW System and Wisconsin clinical organizations in the areas of biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, tissue engineering, bioenergy and clinical sciences.

Participants will include representatives from the UW System, Marshfield Clinic, Aurora Health Care, BayCare Health Systems and private industry and state government.

For more information, including registration and sponsorship opportunities, log onto www.wisys.org. Questions may be directed to Mike Cenci at mcenci@wisys.org or Chandra Hawkins at hawkins.chan@uwlax.edu.

Paid building job training offered

Workforce Connections is recruiting unemployed adults for the Constructing Opportunities program, which is designed to help people build their employability skills to find and maintain employment in the construction industry.

Each participant will:

Complete one week of orientation and 14 weeks on-the-job training;

Learn construction skills;

Help build or renovate a home in La Crosse to be sold to an income-qualified family;

Be paid $8 per hour up to 24 hours per week; and

Complete first aid certification and a 10-hour online OSHA safety construction training.

For more information, contact Linda Zimmerman at (608) 785-7003 or at Zimmermanl@workforceconnections.org or log onto www.workforceconnections.org.

Informational seminars are set for July 15 and 30.

Izzo book is focus of aging program

Tom Thibodeau, a religious studies professor at Viterbo University, will discuss the main ideas covered in Dr. John Izzo’s book, “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die,” at a Successful Aging program talk on Tuesday, July 28.

Thibodeau will explore advice based on interviews with 235 of the wisest individuals, ranging in age from 60 to 106, selected from 15,000 nominees.

Thibodeau will help the audience explore some of the oldest secrets to happiness and give new meaning to the phrases “every day is a gift” and “live the moment.”

The program will be in Marycrest Auditorium on the second floor of the Franciscan Skemp La Crosse campus St. Francis Building, 700 West Ave. S. Free refreshments will be served from 2 to 2:30 p.m. The talk will begin at 2:30 and last until 3:30 p.m., with a half-hour to follow for questions.

The program is free and open to all.

Michael Robert to perform in Sparta

Contemporary Christian artist Michael Robert and his band will play two shows Sunday, July 12, at the Colonial Bowling and Banquet Center in Sparta. Also appearing will be Cross Over.

Food and drink will be available, with doors open at 12:30 p.m. There will be no cover charge, but donations are requested. The first concert will start at 2 p.m. and the second concert will start at 4:30.

He has two CDs, “I Come into Your Presence” and “Lift Up Your Voice.” Robert writes his own songs and his music is played on Christian radio stations all over the country.

Robert, who grew up on a ranch in Oregon, has been playing guitar since he was a kid. A self-proclaimed “’80s rocker,” Robert also plays acoustic praise and worship music.

OHS Class of 1999 plans reunion cruise

Onalaska High School students graduating in the Class of 1999 and their 21-and-older guests are invited to a 10-year reunion celebration aboard the Island Girl on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

Tickets for the reunion are being sold in advance and include one boarding pass for the private chartered cruise, one coupon for a complimentary tap beer/soda, a cash bar, light hors d’oeuvres and a raffle ticket for a chance to win cool prizes.

Deadline for registration is Aug. 20, and there are cash incentives for early bird registration. Tickets are available online at http://hilltoppers1999.eventbrite.com, with earlybird ticket discounts in effect through June 22.

Pine View to host Family Fun Day

FORT McCOY — All are invited to attend Family Fun Day, which will feature events from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 11, at the Pine View Recreation Area campground at Fort McCoy.

The events begin with Grandpa Nick’s Petting Farm from 9 a.m. to noon. A crafts event and a Fire Department Smokehouse and McGruff the Crime Dog event will begin at 10 a.m. The crafts events will end at 1 p.m., and the smokehouse and crime dog event will end at noon.

Inflatable games, including wrecking ball, three-in-one dragon bouncer, a water-bucket battle and Velcro wall climbing, will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Family games will begin at 1 p.m., and a five-event family relay race will begin at 1:45 p.m.

A brat fry will be held from noon to 2 p.m.

Free mini-golf will run from 3 to 5 p.m. A free movie and popcorn at 9 p.m. will end the events.

People wanting to attend Family Fun Day events should take Highway 21, enter Gate 19 and follow the signs to Pine View.

For more information, call 1-800-531-4703 or view the event flyer at www.mccoymwr.com/Flyers/Family%20Fun%20Day%20Jul%2009.pdf.

Area groups hatch plan to fight obesity

The Coulee Region Childhood Obesity Coalition, Gundersen Lutheran’s 500 Club, Viterbo University and Festival Foods are launching the Footsteps to Health Program July 2 at all area Festival Food stores.

Fruit and vegetable kiosks will be staffed at each store to offer shoppers the opportunity to taste different fruits and vegetables, learn how to choose them, and sample quick, tasty healthy ways to prepare them. A different fruit and vegetable is featured each month.

For more information, go to www.childhoodobesitycoalition.org.

To submit your information for a public service announcement, e-mail it to wsm.news@lee.net

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