Youth orchestras to perform at OHS

The La Crosse Area Youth Symphony Orchestras fall concert will be held starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at Onalaska High School.

Tickets will be available at the door for $8, with senior citizens and student tickets costing $4. Children 5 and younger will be admitted free.

The Philharmonic Orchestra, the intermediate string orchestra, is under the direction of Linda Lebbaken of Onalaska. The Philharmonic will perform “Celtic Fiddle Tune” by Elliot Del Borgo, “Mariachi!” by John O’Neill, “Alla Tchaikovsky” arranged by Richard Meyer, and “A Birch Bay Celebration” by Richard Meyer.

The Youth Symphony Orchestra, the advanced orchestra, is under the direction of Randall Mastin of Viroqua. This group will perform “Danse Infernale” and “Berceuse and Finale” from the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky and “Symphony No. 1” by Beethoven.

For more information, log onto www.lyso.org.

Girl Scout cookies arrive this weekend

The cookies are here! Girl Scouts throughout Badgerland Council will start delivering cookies the weekend of Nov. 14 to all who pre-ordered cookies during the door-to-door sale.

For those missed in the door-to-door campaign, cookie booths hosted by Girl Scout troops at grocery stores or other area businesses are another way to get cookies and support the Girl Scouts.

For information on local cookie booths, log on to www.gsbadgerland.org and see if a troop has a local cookie booth planned.

People also can call Girl Scouts of Wisconsin- Badgerland Council at 1-800-236-2710 to order cookies to be shipped directly.

Museum plans kids safety program

The Children’s Museum of La Crosse will offer free admission on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a day devoted to promoting safety.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with presentations from the Onalaska Fire Department and Coulee Region Humane Society and a musical performance by Hans Mayer among the highlights.

Participants also can check out dozens of hands-on safety stations to learn about germs and H1N1 flue prevention, preventing hypothermia and frostbite, winter outdoor activity safety (sledding, ice skating, skiing, etc.) and much more. The first 250 families will receive free carbon monoxide detectors.

The museum’s regular admission of $5 per person will resume from 1:30 to 5 p.m. after the free safety activities.

Gallery highlights Quenten Brown art

Quenten Brown of Onalaska, an art teacher at West Salem High School, has an exhibit of his work this month at the Lincoln Gallery, which is on the second floor of Lincoln Middle School, 510 S. Ninth St. in La Crosse.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays or by appointment.

This exhibit features some of the most recent paintings and mixed media works by Brown. Brown’s work has been described as “abstraction with allusions to landscapes.” Approximately 15 pieces will be on display.

A reception for Brown, who has been teaching at West Salem for 10 years and plays in the band Paxico, will be held at the gallery from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Some of Brown’s paintings can be seen online in the gallery section of www.portalwisconsin.org or under the “Hot Links” section at www.couleenews.com.

String Ties to give holiday show

The Holmen Area Foundation will sponsor a holiday concert by local String Ties on Sunday, Dec. 13, starting at 3 p.m. in the Trygve Mathison Performing Arts Center at Holmen High School.

The bluegrass quartet includes bass player Larry Dalton, banjo player Tommy Pfaff, mandolin player Wayne Beezley and guitarist Dan Sebranek. After the concert there will be refreshments and a chance to meet the musicians.

There will also be a mitten and glove tree at the concert to assist needy families who need warm clothing for their children during the winter months.

Cost is $10, with a $2 discount for senior citizens.

Gospel choir plans Christmas concert

The Coulee Region Gospel Choir will present “Christmas Fantasia” on Saturday, Nov. 28, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Sand Lake Wesleyan Church, N5761 Hwy. SN in Onalaska.

The program, which takes the place of the choir’s traditional outdoor nativity pageant/concert in Holmen, will open with a brass quintet. The choir will sing several styles of Christmas favorites.

The event also will feature special guest performers including Katherine Weber singing from Handel’s “Messiah,” and Steven Marking, a world-class baritone singer who grew up in Holmen and lives in New York.

Deb Welander, Dean Gunnarson and Ruth Ann Granum direct the choir.

A minimum donation of $5 per person is asked to help cover expenses.

Snake, amphibian expert to give talk at Audubon meeting

The Coulee Region Audubon Society will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18, in the Myrick Hixon EcoPark building just off La Crosse Street in La Crosse. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Matt Heater, vice-president of the Coulee Region Herpetological Society, will give a presentation on the native reptiles and amphibians of Wisconsin. He will bring live, exotic reptiles and amphibians for his presentation.

Heater is an avid outdoorsman and an independent reptile researcher. He has been researching timber rattlesnakes in the Coulee Region since 2002 in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and has taken part in other survey and research projects with Massasauga rattlesnakes, wood turtles, cricket frogs, glass lizards, box turtles, black rat snakes, ringneck snakes and blue-spotted salamanders.

He has worked in the pet industry for 15 years and has owned more than 3,000 reptiles and amphibians of over 200 species. He has bred five species of herps in captivity and has worked with one out of six of the venomous snake species of the world.

Matt is an avid photographer and videographer and is especially interested in taking pictures and videos of reptiles and amphibians. He is currently working on a DVD field guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Wisconsin.

Sierra Club talk to focus on transit

The Sierra Club will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. at the new Myrick Hixon Ecopark building.

Charlie Weeth, president of Livable Neighborhoods will present “Complete Streets,” a program about providing safe and accessible infrastructure for all transit choices, improving the quality of life for all residents of a community, reducing “carbon footprints,” reducing land used for roads and for parking and improving individual health. All are welcome.

VA extends Agent Orange benefits to cover more ailments

Relying on an independent study by the Institute of Medicine, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki decided to establish a service-connection for Vietnam veterans with three specific illnesses based on the latest evidence of an association with the herbicides referred to as Agent Orange.

The illnesses affected by the recent decision are B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia; Parkinson’s disease; and ischemic heart disease.

Used in Vietnam to defoliate trees and remove concealment for the enemy, Agent Orange left a legacy of suffering and disability that continues to the present. Between January 1965 and April 1970, an estimated 2.6 million military personnel who served in Vietnam were potentially exposed to sprayed Agent Orange.

In practical terms, veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a “presumed” illness don’t have to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This “presumption” simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits.

The secretary’s decision brings to 15 the number of presumed illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Additional information about Agent Orange and VA’s services and programs for veterans exposed to the chemical are available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.

Western offers basic class on computing

Western Technical College students in the computer support specialist program will offer two basic computer skills sessions as part of a team-building class.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18, the session will be held from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m., in the Business Education Center, room 110, on the La Crosse campus. On Thursday, Nov. 19, from 1:30 to 3 p.m., the session will be held in the Business Education Center, room 205.

Training will cover use of Blackboard, PowerPoint, e-mailing, and other basic computer skills.

Registration for the training is encouraged, but not required. To register, e-mail heilmang@westerntc.edu or call 789-4764.

UW-L Screaming Eagles plan concert

The UW-La Crosse Screaming Eagles marching band will perform its annual revue concert on Sunday, Nov. 15.

The band will play music from its performances during the 2009 season. The concert begins at 2 p.m. in Mitchell Hall. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to help band members pay for a trip to Mexico in January.

The concert will feature music from the band’s halftime shows and other community and on-campus performances this fall. The UW-L pom pon squad and color guard also will be featured.

The band is directed by Andrew Lee Tucker.

Eagles band members for rent

People who need help getting their yards cleaned up or assistance with a long household to-do list can turn to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Screaming Eagles marching band for help.

Band members are once again offering their “Rent-an-Eagle” fundraiser. Members of the band will help with any and all general maintenance work, including yard work, seasonal cleaning, preparation for winter and more.

Band members are looking for work to help pay for a trip to Mexico in January. Cost of their services is a donation toward the trip.

To reserve a band member, call 785-6733 and leave a detailed message with name, phone number and a brief description of tasks that need doing. A band member will return the call to set up a time to help.

Pop band Quietdrive coming to UW-L

The pop and punk band Quietdrive from Minneapolis will perform at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The group takes the stage at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in Valhalla, in Cartwright Center-Gunning Addition.

Quietdrive has emerged as one of the hardest-working bands in the country. The band has performed more than 900 shows since 2005. It gained national attention by covering the 1983 Cyndi Lauper song “Time After Time” on its debut album, “When All That’s Left is You.” The song reached No. 23 on the American Top 40. The band is touring by highlighting its second album, “Deliverance,” released in October 2008.

Admission is $10 and $5 for UW-L students. For tickets or more information, call (608) 785-8898.

Museum offers parents a break

The Children’s Museum of La Crosse has parents’ night out events planned over the upcoming months on Friday nights.

The nights are meant for children ages 3 to 11 and will includes supervised museum exploration and play, light snack, and games and activities.

Parents can drop off children starting at 5:30 p.m. and pick them up by 8 p.m. on these dates: Nov. 13, Jan. 8, Feb. 12, March 19 and April 9. Cost is $10 per child for museum members, $15 for nonmembers. Registration and payment in advance is required.

Alzheimers registry seeks participants

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute at the University of Wisconsin of Medicine and Public Health and Franciscan Skemp Healthcare are recruiting for the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention.

To be eligible for participation, people must:

Banks collecting for troops, Iraqi kids

Employees at the La Crosse and Onalaska offices of M&I Bank are collecting items for troops in Iraq through Operation Homefront as part of M&I Community Day, a nationwide mobilization of M&I employees to benefit the communities in which they work.

The collection of items for the military troops and school supplies for the children of Iraq runs through Nov. 20. The general public, as well as M&I customers and employees, are invited to donate items in the lobby of the M&I Bank offices in La Crosse and Onalaska during regular banking hours.

Items that can be donated include, beef jerky, drink mixes, shaving cream, disposable shaving razors, shampoo, books, puzzle books and school supplies to be donated to children in Iraq.

New brochures cover car insurance issue

As new auto insurance laws begin to take effect in our state in the next year, the Wisconsin Association for Justice has released two brochures containing helpful information for Wisconsin auto insurance policyholders.

The first, “Understanding Auto Insurance," describes the basics about auto insurance and what is required of drivers in Wisconsin under the law as recently changed. The second, titled “What To Do If You Are In a Traffic Accident," informs them of proper steps to take to protect themselves by gathering necessary information at the time of the accident.

The brochures will be distributed to state legislators, news outlets and WAJ members across Wisconsin. The brochures are also available by contacting the Wisconsin Association for Justice office or view them online at www.wisjustice.org/consumerresources.

Bus tour planned to view swans

WINONA, Minn. n A swan watch bus tour is planned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, for close-up views of migrating tundra swans and other waterfowl on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

The bus will depart from Winona for the six hour tour which will include a stop at Brownsville, Minn., where participants will be able to observe nearly 20,000 swans. Interpreters will be on-board to answer questions; binoculars, spotting scopes and brochures will be supplied.

There is limited seating and reservations are required. Cost is $20 per person which includes a hot lunch.

For more information or to make a reservation, contact Lisa Pember prior to Nov. 6 at (507) 452-4232.

Roller derby team seeks members

The La Crosse Skating Sirens, the area’s newest roller derby team, are seeking adult women to join the team or serve as referees.

No experience is required and all skating levels are welcome.

The Sirens are looking to expand their roster and are having open practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10 p.m. in the old rubber mill building on St. Andrew Street.

The Sirens, a nonprofit organization, are an all-woman, skater-owned, flat-track roller derby league founded in April 2009 by Melissa Larivee and Leslie Malekovic. The Sirens follow the guidelines and standards set forth by Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

For more information, log onto www.SkatingSirens.com.

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