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.

Children’s 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 3-11, and will includes supervised museum exploration and play, light snack and games/activities.

Parents can drop off children starting at 5:30 p.m. and pick them up by 8 p.m. on the following dates: 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.

Exhibit, play focus on Vietnam vets

The Pump House Regional Arts Center in La Crosse will host an exhibition featuring James Gill’s portraits of Wisconsin Vietnam veterans who were interviewed for the soon to be released Wisconsin Public Television documentary, “Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories.”

The exhibition at the Pump House runs Jan. 27 through March 13, 2010. The exhibition and reception is free and open to the public. The opening reception on Jan. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. will include a screening of selected interviews with La Crosse area veterans from the Wisconsin Public Television documentary.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Pump House is proud to host the premiere of “5,000 Pounds: Seven Soldiers’ Stories,” a new play by the award-winning local writer David Krump. This play details the lives and toils of seven soldiers in Vietnam in 1968. The play results from extensive research and interviews with Vietnam veterans. “5,000 Pounds: Seven Soldiers’ Stories” runs Feb. 4-6, 11-13, 19-20.

“5,000 Pounds” is directed by Anne Drecktrah and features the area’s finest actors, including Lance Newton, Colin Thelen, Brandon Harris, Alex Brick, Harrison DeCreny, Tim McCarren and Adam Petchel.

To order tickets or for more information contact the Pump House at 785-1434 or log onto www.thepumphouse.org.

Raffle to benefit Big Brothers

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the 7 Rivers Region has launched its “Start the New Year in a BIG Way Raffle.” Tickets are on sale at $20 each. The drawing will be held Jan. 15 at the BBBS office at 1707 Main Street, Suite 438, La Crosse.

Fifty prizes will be awarded, including one grand prize of $5,000. To buy raffle tickets, call 782-2227.

Storytelling class planned at OMS

Storyteller Sara Slayton will teach the art and craft of storytelling from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Jan. 19 through April 6, at Onalaska Middle School. The cost is $130.

Slayton will include a variety of story types, including multicultural tales, personal stories, fairytales and folktales, wisdom and peace tales, scary stories and thematic stories.

For more than 25 years, Slayton has worked in the field of early childhood education. As a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse instructor, she has taught courses in storytelling, diversity education and art, music and drama for children. She is a co-founder of the Bluff Country Talespinners Storytelling Guild.

For more information, call Karen Hansen at 785-6513 or e-mail hansen.kare@uwlax.edu.

A credit option is available for this program.

Youth orchestras plan auditions Jan. 13

The La Crosse Area Youth Symphony Orchestras will hold auditions for the second semester on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Lincoln Middle School in La Crosse.

Walk-in auditions will be accepted from 6 to 7 p.m. To register for an audition, log onto www.lyso.org.

Instrumentation needed in the intermediate level Philharmonic Orchestra include violin, viola, cello and bass.

Instrumentation needed in the advanced level Youth Symphony Orchestra include violin, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone and percussion.

For more information, call 788-0159.

La Crosse County 4-H offers six-week youth archery program

La Crosse County 4-H is offering an archery program led by certified 4-H leaders for youths in grades 3 and older.

The program, which starts Jan. 9, is offered for six sessions every other Saturday at La Crosse Archery, 1231 Oak Forest Drive in Onalaska.

Youths do not need to be 4-H members to participate in this program. The six sessions include a safety session, insurance, use of all archery equipment and the facility at a total cost of $10 (4-H members qualify for a special rate).

Dates of the program are Saturdays, Jan. 9 and 23, Feb. 6 and 20 and March 6 and 20. Shooting times are available at 8, 9 or 10 a.m. Participants also will be eligible for additional archery tournaments in the spring and summer.

To register or for more information, call the La Crosse County Extension office at 785-9593. Registrations are due Jan. 4 and will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

Winter road condition info available at 511

The 511 Traveler Information System, a service of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, has activated its winter road condition report feature. The report covers interstate highways and higher volume U.S. and state-numbered highways.

Winter road conditions are updated regularly as conditions change based on the field reporting from law enforcement and county highway departments. It does not include all highways at this time due to the limitations of the physical reporting requirements.

Information on winter road conditions can be obtained free by dialing 511 from a landline telephone or cell phone or by going online (www.511wi.gov).

In addition to winter road conditions, 511 provides information on incidents, including crashes and lane closures due to work zones. Information is provided by county or roadway segment.

511 traveler information is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can be obtained by using either voice recognition or a phone’s touchtone keypad for those using a telephone or cell phone.

If in a moving vehicle, only passengers should call 511.

For best service when calling 511, WisDOT recommends minimizing background noise, including radios or open windows. Some cell phone service providers do not supply direct access to Wisconsin’s 511 traveler information system. Alternatively, the information is available free by dialing 866-511-WISC.

Program offers discount on LED lights

LED (light emitting diode) holiday lights are a proven way to help consumers trim energy costs while trimming their trees. Focus on Energy, Wisconsin’s statewide energy efficiency and renewable energy resource, is offering financial incentives toward the purchase of Energy Star-qualified LED holiday light strings.

Now through Dec. 31, or while supplies last, Focus on Energy is offering a $3 instant reward, taken at the register, on the purchase of Energy Star-qualified LED holiday light strings at participating locations including Ace Hardware, Hardware Hank, Menards and Shopko. The rebate is limited to 12 light sets per customer.

Web site offers anti-drug resource

Anyone who needs a tool to educate a family member or other friend about illicit drugs or alcohol can now obtain it through a new Web site: waragainstdrugs.org

The Web site offers a sampling of two booklets, “10 Things Your Friends May Not Know About Drugs,” and “How to Talk to Friends About Drugs.” Readers who need an anchor to educate their kids, grandkids, or other adult friends can use the booklets to explain and show how dangerous illicit drugs are to the body and mind.

Leaders of children and adult groups, such as clubs, charities, scouts, 4-H, chambers of commerce, businesses can use the booklets to raise much-needed funds as well as build positive PR for themselves.

The Web site was founded by Henry Schroeder, a longtime community newspaper publisher.

American Legion revives support fund

Wisconsin’s largest veteran service organization re-launched its Troop & Family Support Fund on Veterans Day.

The Wisconsin American Legion Family, which includes the Legion, Auxiliary, Sons of the American Legion and Legion Riders, is ramping up its efforts in anticipation of the 32nd Infantry returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About 3,500 National Guard soldiers will be returning to Wisconsin, and their needs will be varied, ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder and family reunification issues to emergency financial relief and job reintegration.

To contribute to the fund, send checks payable to: Troop & Family Support Fund, Wisconsin American Legion, P.O. Box 388, Portage, WI 53901. People also can make a secure online donation by credit card at www.wilegion.org/howcanyouhelp.

“The Wisconsin American Legion Family stands ready to assist our troops and their families in communities across the state from Kenosha to Superior and Green Bay to Platteville. We are asking for the public’s assistance to make a difference in the lives of those who have given much in service to our country,” said Department Commander Leo A. Endres.

Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and 100 percent of all funds received directly benefit the troops and their families. Administrative costs are covered by the dues Legion members pay.

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.

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:

Be between the ages of 40 to 65.

Have a mother who survived to 75 or greater and a father who survived to 70 or greater without evidence of dementia.

Information obtained from participants in the study will then be used to identify people for appropriate research projects designed to better understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and delay or prevent its onset.

In the past, research into slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or preventing its onset was difficult because affected persons do not develop symptoms of the disease until their 70s.

For those who would like to learn more about the registry and possible participation, contact Sharon Schulz at 392-9505.

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.

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

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