BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Hearing center to offer free screenings today

The Eugene Hearing and Speech Center, 1500 West 12th Ave., will mark Better Hearing and Speech Month by offering free hearing and speech screenings from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. today.

Hearing screenings will be offered for individuals at least 5 years old and speech screenings for youngsters 3 to 5 years old.

Appointments are recommended. Call 485-8521.

Tag sale at firehouse

to benefit community fair

Proceeds from a rummage sale this Friday through Sunday at the Blachly Fire Station on Highway 36 will benefit the Blachly Community Fair.

Sale hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Peace advocates to hold picnic at playground

A "peacenik" picnic, sponsored by the Justice Not War Coalition, will be held at 5 p.m. Sunday at the children's playground area in Maurie Jacobs Park.

Participants are invited to bring food and instruments and to meet with others committed to peace. The free event will be rescheduled if it rains.

For more information, call 343-8548.

UO faculty to speak

at forum for peace

CORRECTION (ran 5/23/03): The Eugene Forum for Peace Education will be held Sunday, June 1. A brief on page C2 Thursday gave the incorrect date.

The Eugene Forum for Peace Education will meet 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday in the training room at Eugene Water & Electric Board, 500 E. Fourth Ave.

University of Oregon faculty will present a number of topics relating to peace, the United States, terrorism and war, and Operation: Iraqi Freedom and its potential consequences on the country. An open roundtable discussion will follow the presentations.

The Eugene Forum for Peace Education is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote inter-racial and inter-religious peace. The session is open to the public and is free. Reservations are requested.

For more information, call 913-3982.

Republican women plan lunch meeting Monday

The Republican Women of Central Lane will hold a meeting Monday at the Ramada Inn, 225 Coburg Road. Lunch, which costs $8, will be at 11:30 a.m. The meeting will be at noon.

Reservations are required and may be arranged by calling 344-4753.

Agency seeks comment on dredging proposal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating an application for a five-year permit from Weyerhaeuser to perform annual dredging in the McKenzie Slough.

The dredging in a diversion channel is intended to provide a reliable water supply to the company's Springfield paper mill for plant operations and fire protection.

About 3,000 cubic yards of material would be removed each year in a 2.9-acre area. The material would be deposited nearby, behind a berm.

Weyerhaeuser proposes to take steps to control sediment and erosion and reduce the amount of silt that moves back into the waterway, the corps said.

The agency will accept public comments on the proposal through June 5. For project details, call 465-6878.

Land use group's director to speak at meeting

Bob Stacey, the new executive director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, will give the keynote speech tonight at the Friends of Eugene annual meeting.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 1376 Olive St. It's open to the public.

The 1000 Friends legal team represented Friends of Eugene and other local petitioners in its challenge to the city's approval of the West Eugene Parkway.

Stacey will talk about efforts to protect quality of life through conservation of farm and forest lands, protection of natural and historic resources and promotion of more compact cities, especially in Lane County.

He formerly was executive director of policy and planning for TriMet, the public transit agency for the Portland area. He also served as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

Members of public can visit historic mausoleum

Historic Hope Abbey Mausoleum, located in Eugene's Masonic Cemetery, will be open to the public daily over Memorial Day weekend.

The Egyptian Revival mausoleum, currently under renovation after years of neglect, will be open without charge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday through Monday. The main gate of the cemetery is at University Street and 25th Avenue.