Community news briefs for June 10, 2004

Thursday, June 10, 2004 | 9:34 a.m.

All Abilities Expo scheduled Saturday

Henderson Parks and Recreation Department and the Southern Nevada Center for Independent Living are co-hosting the inaugural All Abilities Expo from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m Saturday at the Promenade at Liberty Pointe, 200 S. Green Valley Parkway.

The event will include a variety of vendors, displays and services available to individuals of all abilities, their families, caregivers and health care professionals.

Admission to the event is free.

And at 8 p.m. the Dancing Wheels will perform at the Pavilion at Liberty Pointe.

Admission to the performance is $3 for lawn seating, $5 for section C, $7 for section B, $9 for section A, and $12 for orchestra.

For tickets, call 267-4849 or purchase tickets online at cityofhenderson.com.

Concert planned at Winchester Center

Guitarist Raj Rathor, his trio and singer Diana Smith will perform at 7 p.m. Friday at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 S. McLeod Drive.

Chris Hermes plays double bass in the trio, and Joe Thomasula plays drums in a concert co-sponsored by the Guitar Society of Las Vegas.

Admission is $15; $10 for seniors and students; $7 for Guitar Society and Las Vegas Jazz Society members. Call 455-7340.

Concert to benefit City of Hope

Irish tenor John MacNally is planning a benefit concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the Greek Isles, in which a portion of the proceeds will be donated to City of Hope, an organization dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes and other life threatening diseases.

Also included in the evening is a demonstration of a new game show made popular in Australia by Shield International and is making its Las Vegas debut.

For more information, call 480-7109.

Political candidates will answer the public's questions

from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Sahara Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave. All candidates have been invited and will be in front of the audience. The audience can hand in written questions for one or all candidates to answer. Call 877-2438.

As part of the 2004 Workshop Series,

the Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada will present the program, Working with Youth Volunteers from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Paradise Community Center, 4775 McLeod Drive. Call 892-2321.

Henderson student peace essay winner

A Henderson high school student has been named state winner for Nevada in the 17th annual National Peace Essay Contest.

Erik Lin-Greenberg, a student at Valley High School, will receive a $1,000 college scholarship and will compete for national awards of up to $10,000.

More than 1,000 students from high schools nationwide and overseas participated in this year's contest, which is sponsored by the U.S. Institute for Peace.

Students conducted research and wrote essays on "Rebuilding Societies after Conflict," according to the institute. Lin-Greenberg's essay was titled "Rebuilding the Balkans: Greek and Bosnian Reconstruction."

Lin-Greenberg has been invited to represent Nevada in a special program for state-level winners in Washington, D.C., from June 19 to 24. Students will meet with senior U.S. government and foreign embassy officials, members of Congress and other experts involved in the making of American foreign policy, according to the Institute.

At the end of the program, the national first, second and third place winners will be announced and awarded $2,500 to $10,000 in college scholarships at a special banquet.

For more information, visit the institute's Web site at usip.org.

Youth receives trip to Australia

A Henderson middle school student has been selected as an ambassador to Australia by the Nevada People to People Program.

Greenspun Junior High School student Robert Cohen will travel to Sydney this month for a 16-day program of cultural exchange.

The program includes meetings with government officials, multicultural activities, outdoor exploration and visits to historic towns.

A special account has been established to assist Cohen with his travel costs to Australia. For contributions, contact his mother, Debra Cohen, at 379-2910.