In brief: NIC plans public forum

North Idaho College is holding a public forum on the proposed Education Corridor at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

College trustees, NIC President Priscilla Bell and representatives from the University of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State College and the city of Coeur d’Alene will answer questions about the proposal. Questions can be submitted in advance to board@nic.edu, or submitted during the forum.

College trustees support using foregone taxes, money from the college’s reserves and increasing tuition to purchase a 17-acre mill site adjacent to campus. The $10 million purchase would be a step toward creating an Education Corridor.

Trustees are expected to approve the 2008-09 budget, which includes funds for the purchase, at itsMay 28 board meeting.

Thursday’s forum will be in Room 106 of the Meyer Health and Sciences Building.

Comment sought on U.S. 95 upgrade

Local transportation officials are inviting the public to comment on ways to improve the U.S. Highway 95 corridor in Kootenai County.

With limited funding available for improvements, low-cost options will be required. The Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization is heading up efforts to examine those options with a mobility study.

Options on the table include closing medians at nonsignalized intersections, restricting turns at nonsignalized intersections, adding signals at half-mile intervals, removing some signals and other alternatives.

The Coeur d’Alene Chamber and KMPO are holding a meeting about the study on Tuesday, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Silver Lake Motel, 6160 N. Sunshine St. in Coeur d’Alene.

More information is available at www.kmpo.net or by calling (800) 698-1927.

NIC students honored at BPA

North Idaho College Students Daena McRobbie, Jenny Rollins, Victoria Day, and Patty Siple, recently earned national honors at the Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference in Reno, Nev.

NIC BPA chapter members joined more than 6,000 other conference delegates from across the nation to participate in national-level business skill competitions, workshops, general sessions and national officer candidate campaigns and elections.

NIC’s BPA chapter was also acknowledged locally for its achievements by receiving the 2007-08 Associated Students of North Idaho College Club of the Year Award.

BPA is a national organization for college, high school and middle school students preparing for careers in business and information technology occupations.

NIC hosts CAD contest

North Idaho College hosted students from Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, Clark Fork, Lake City, Riverbend Professional-Technical Academy and Wallace high schools in the 2008 High School Computer Aided Design Technology Competition.

During the contest, students were presented with problems they attempted to solve by utilizing CAD and board drafting skills.

Each winner received a medal that was designed by the current NIC drafting students and produced by the students in NIC’s Machine Technology program.

Tea and Tunes at CdA library

The Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave., will host Tea and Tunes, a free concert series beginning May 28, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The concert will feature music from the “Great American Songbook,” performed by The Eclectics.

For more information call 769-2315.

Playhouse presents ‘Into the Woods’

The Lake City Playhouse, 1320 E. Garden Ave., will be showing “Into the Woods” through next Saturday. Thursday through Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m.

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods” blends well-known tales of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Little Red Riding Hood with an original story of a childless baker and his wife, who desperately want children, but must remove the curse standing in their way.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $13 for seniors and students, and $10 for children 12 and under.

Call 667-1323 for reservations.

SANDPOINT

Lecture series begins Monday

Global warming is the topic of a series of lectures beginning Monday in Sandpoint.

The presentations are sponsored by several local conservation organizations including ClimateCAN, the Kinnickinnick Chapter of the Native Plant Society, the Wilderness Society and the Idaho Conservation League.

The first lecture is at 6 p.m., Monday at Sandpoint High School auditorium and will be on geothermal energy.

It will be followed by a lecture on plant-climate relationships at 9:45 a.m., next Saturday at Sandpoint Community Hall, 204 S. First Ave.

Other lectures will continue in the fall.

For more information, visit www.climatecan.org.