DURHAM -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Crash Prevention Network -- NC will hold a "Candlelight Vigil of Hope and Remembrance" for victims of automobile crashes Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in the Durham County Commissioners Chambers, 200 E Main Street.
Keynote speaker will be NASCAR driver Scott Riggs, who lives in Bahama, and former television news anchor Tolly Carr. Carr was an anchor at Winston-Salem's WXII in 2007 when he struck and killed a pedestrian while driving while intoxicated.
MADD cites N. C. Department of Transportation statistics that in 2008 46,492 traffic crashes in the state involved 15- to 19-year-olds. Those crashes resulted in 81 fatalities and more than 8,000 injuries. Drinking was involved in 1,200 crashes, and just over half the young drivers were not wearing seat belts.
For more information, call Ollie C. Jeffers at (919) 475-5184.
Urban Bush Women kicks off
DURHAM -- The Urban Bush Women dance company kicks off its three-day residence at Duke University today with a free, public discussion.
The event takes place from 4:25 p.m. to 5:50 p.m. at the Ark on East Campus.
The company's artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar; American Dance Festival co-director Jodee Nimerichter; and ADF archivist Dean Jeffrey will discuss the ADF's Pearl Primus Archives at Duke and Zollar's "Walking With Pearl ..." dance series.
The residency concludes with a performance Thursday. The program includes the 2004 "Walking With Pearl ... African Diaries." For ticket information, call 684-4444 or visit www.tickets.duke.edu
Library group chief to speak
DURHAM -- The North Carolina Central University School of Library and Information Sciences will host a talk today at 6:30 p.m. by American Library Association President Camila Alire. The talk will be in the H.M. Michaux, Jr. School of Education Building auditorium on the corner of Lincoln and Cecil streets.
In an address titled "Whose Job Is It Anyway?: Library Advocacy From the Frontlines," Alire will focus on her role in expanding library access for all people. A reception will follow the presentation.
Alire's address marks the third consecutive year NCCU's School of Library and Information Sciences has had the honor of hosting the current or incoming ALA president.
Alire is the first Hispanic person to serve as ALA president.
Entrepreneur to speak at NCCU
June Arunga, a young entrepreneur from Ghana, will speak at North Carolina Central University on Thursday.
Her tour is sponsored by the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy and the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation.
Arunga is the founder of Open Quest Media, a film production company in New York City. Arunga started producing films in 2000 after she took a 5,000-mile journey through Africa to figure out whether there was a future for her in Africa. The result was the film "The Devil's Footpath." She has since produced three additional documentaries.
Born in Kenya, Arunga is a law-school graduate of the University of Buckingham in England. An advocate of freer markets and international trade, Arunga was named one of the "100 Most Creative People in Business" by Fast Company magazine in 2009. She currently lives in Ghana, but also spends time in the United States.
More information about Arunga can be found at: http://www.economicthinking.org/Footpath/
Durham Tech gets Skill-Up grant
DURHAM -- Durham Technical Community College recently received a $50,000 Project Skill-Up grant to provide free short-term training to those whose income has been adversely affected by decreased tobacco production and other changes in the tobacco industry. The grant was awarded through the N.C. Community College System from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission. Training from Project Skill-Up includes keyboarding and Microsoft Office; biotechnology; medical office procedures, nursing assistant, phlebotomy, and esthetician. Training will also be offered in construction, HVAC and welding; commercial driver's license permit preparation, employability skills and entrepreneurship training.
Applicants must be at least 18 and a resident of Durham or Orange Counties. They must provide information about how the changes in tobacco production have affected their income or their family. Call Durham Tech's Corporate and Continuing Education Division at 919-536-7222, ext. 4011, or email mcleank@durhamtech.edu to make an appointment.
'Piecework' performance
DURHAM -- The Touring Theatre Company of North Carolina will perform works from "Piecework," a collection of poems by Barbara Presnell, at Durham Technical Community College on today at 2 p.m.
The event will be held in the college's Educational Resources Center. The poems focus on displaced textile workers in the state, and are both moving and amusing. The production provides a window on North Carolina history as well as the current economic crisis. "Piecework" is sponsored by Durham Tech Foundation's Viva/Vive the Arts program. The event is free and open to the public.
Durham Tech is off the Durham Freeway (147 South) at Exit 10, Briggs Avenue. For information, contact 919-536-7223, ext. 8004.
