01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 4, 2005

COMMUNITY NOTES

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: St. Anne's Hospital has scheduled programs for this month. All events are free and held at St. Anne's Hospital unless otherwise noted. Free valet parking is available from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at the hospital's main entrance on South Main Street. For more information about any program, call the number listed or visit www.saintanneshospital.org.

Wednesday and Thursday, May 11 and 12 -- free cancer screening from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Hudner Oncology Center, Osborn and Forest streets. To make an appointment, call (800) 488-5959 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Thursday, May 12 -- Stroke: It's a Matter of Time, with speaker Patricia Mullins, clinical nurse educator and coordinator of the hospital's stroke team. She will provide information on stroke signs, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Nannery Conference Room, Nursing contact hours will be awarded. Admission is $10.

Saturday, May 14 -- Slade's Ferry Bank Get Moving Walk. The 3.5-mile walk will benefit the Hudner Oncology Center. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the walk will start at 9 from the Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, 251 Stonehaven Rd. For a brochure and registration forms, call (508) 235-5057.

Wednesday, May 25 -- Toward a Healthy Wellbeing: Positive Emotions with Joan Vitello, a former vice president for patient care services at St. Anne's. She will discuss how positive emotions such as joy, hope and optimism can lead to better performance at work, better physical health and better resistance to depression. The talk is part of the monthly Just for You speaker series, from 6 to 7 p.m. at the FIRSTFED Center for Breast Care at St. Anne's Hospital. To register, call (508) 235-5289.

Education and support for people with cancer. The following free programs are designed for people with cancer. Participants may join at any time and need not be patients at St. Anne's Hospital. To register or for more information, call Karyl Benoit, oncology outreach coordinator, at (508) 674-5600, ext. 2515.

bd10rr:Get Fit, Live Fit is a weekly fitness program for women with cancer that includes range of motion, cardiovascular, toning and flexibility exercises. Meets from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Mondays and from 9 to 10 a.m. Thursdays.

Relaxing Yoga for men and women with cancer. An eight-week program for participants at all levels; no experience required. Fridays, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Common Ground, a weekly education and support group for men and their families coping with prostate cancer. Mondays, 9 to 10:30 a.m.

Journeys, a discussion and support program for women with recent cancer diagnoses. Cofacilitated by a clinical social worker and oncology certified nurse practitioner, the program offers health-related topics and mutual support. Meets on select Tuesdays from 4 to 5 p.m.

General cancer support group. Weekly support for all people with an active cancer. Spouses, family and friends also welcome. Meets Wednesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. at The Oncology Center at St. Anne's Hospital.

Life, Part II, a general support program for cancer patients and their families. This program is held Thursdays at the Oncology Center, 480 Hawthorn St., North Dartmouth. For more information, call David Molloy, (508) 679-5858, ext. 1043.

DINNER DANCE: The Knights of Columbus, MSGR. Jean Prevost Council #12380, will hold a Portuguese night dinner dance at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at the Liberal Club, 20 Star St. The menu, prepared by Brantal's Catering, will include pork, potatoes, chicken Mozambique, rice and salad. Dancing, to the music of The Meltones, will follow. Tickets are $14 and may be purchased by calling Ray Pelletier at (508) 674-1146.

CAMP CACHALOT ALUMNI: The Camp Cachalot Alumni Association will hold its Homecoming 2005 reunion from noon to 8 p.m., Saturday, July 9, at Camp Cachalot, Plymouth, Mass. Activities will include guided historical tours of the camp, an alumni social, dinner in Prescott Hall and an evening campfire. The cost is $20 for members of the alumni association and $25 for others. The deadline to register is July 1. For more information, visit the Web site at www.cachalotalumni.org

CELIAC SPRUE: The Celiac Sprue Support Group of Southeast New England will host a dining out experience at the Waterstreet Cafe, Fall River on Sunday, May 22. The cost of the gluten-free buffet is $22. To make reservations by Friday, May 13, call Kathi Thiboutot at (401) 624-8888. No walk-ins will be accepted. Celiac sprue is a disorder of the small intestines caused by sensitivity to the protein gluten.

RED AND BLACK BRUNCH: The B.M.C. Durfee High School Alumni Association will hold its annual Red and Black Brunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 22, at the Fall River Country Club, 4232 N. Main St.

Tickets are $17.50 and are available by calling Colleen A. Taylor at (508) 675-6169 or Steven A. Camara at (508) 678-1463.

Participants are encouraged to wear red and black attire.

The 2005 Red and Black Spirit of Teaching Award will also be presented.

TRIBUTE TO FDR: Bristol Community College, 777 Elsbree St., has on display photos and excerpts of presidential speeches of the late President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the college library in the Farley Learning Resources Center.

President Roosevelt had strong ties to the Fall River-New Bedford region. He visited Fall River several times to meet with his longtime personal secretary, Louis McHenry Howe, who lived on Locust Street, and also visited his mother's ancestral home in Fairhaven.

HEALTH VAN: Southcoast Mobile Health Services will be at the following locations from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. this month for free health screenings:

Tuesday, May 17, Wal-Mart, New Harbor Mall.

Offered will be blood pressure checks, total cholesterol, glucose screening, basic vision evaluations, pregnancy testing, colorectal screening kits and medical referrals. Also offered will be pneumonia and tetanus diphtheria vaccines. The van is wheelchair accessible.

CLAM BOIL: The Knights of Columbus 4th Degree Bishop Stang Assembly will host a clam boil prepared by members of The St. John's Fishing Club at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 14, at the F.O.O. Eagles Club 570 at 520 Locust St.

After the meal, disc jockey Rick Mello will offer karaoke.

Tickets are $15 and may be reserved by May 11 by calling Ray Pelletier at (508) 674-1146.

PAINT RECYCLING: The Department of Public Works is offering a surplus paint drop-off program for residents to safely dispose of the products.

The drop-off center is located at the Department of Public Works Complex, off Rodman Street. The program will operate from 8 a.m to 2 p.m. on Fridays of nonholiday weeks and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month.

The program continues until the end of October.

Items accepted include latex paint, oil-based paints, stains, varnish thinners and polyurethane. Other items -- lead paint, creosote, pesticides and driveway and roofing materials -- should be put aside until the next hazardous household waste collection day.

GRANDMOTHERS' TEA: Charlton Memorial Hospital's childbirth education department will hold a new program, the Grandmothers' Tea, to help grandmothers-to-be to enjoy the childbirth experience with their expectant daughters and daughters-in-law.

A question-and-answer period will follow. The cost is $10 for families.

The tea will be held on Sundays, May 15, July 15 and Sept. 18, at Charlton Memorial Hospital, Mooney Room, 363 Highland Ave.

TREE PLANTING: Volunteers are needed to help plant trees in Pulaski Park on Saturday, May 14. The park is at Pulaski and Warren streets and the planting will begin at 9 a.m.

The trees were obtained by the Greater Fall River Council of Churches from the state Department of Conservation and a Recreation-Mass Releaf Ministry grant.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: The mayor's community service scholarships will be available to any high school senior who lives in Fall River and will be continuing his or her education at a two- or four-year institution.

Applications are available at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, B.M.C. Durfee High School and Bishop Connolly High School. Applications are also available at the mayor's office, on the sixth floor of the Government Center. The deadline is May 27.

Applications may be turned in to Youth Services coordinator Christian McCloskey, on the fourth floor of the Government Center, or they may be mailed to his attention.

ANNUAL CENSUS: The Fall River Board of Election Commissioners is requesting that residents respond to the annual city census being mailed this week. Registered voters who do not respond may be put on an inactive list. An accurate census benefits the city because many aid programs use the statistics to distribute money for health, education, highways, job training and school-lunch programs.

Anyone temporarily away from home, such as students, service members, and federal personnel who want to retain a permanent address in Fall River, should be listed with parents or other relatives. If residents did not receive census forms or if they have any questions, they should call (508) 324-2630.

Residents should make any corrections and return the forms as soon as possible.

Drop-off boxes have been placed at the Government Center lobby, 1 Government Center; Store 24, 1237 Pleasant St.; A & J Seabra Supermarket, 440 Stafford Rd.; Shaws Supermarkets at 4171 N. Main St. and 465 William Canning Blvd.; Stop & Shop Supermarkets at 213 Marianno Bishop Blvd., and 501 Rodman St.; Vaillancourt's Variety Store at 696 Eastern Ave.; and the Khmer Buddist Temple, 7645 Highland Ave.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: The Fall River Garden Club will award a $500 scholarship to a Massachusetts high school senior or a student enrolled in a college or university who plans to major in horticulture, landscape design, botany, forestry, environmental concerns or other related subjects. Applicants must submit a transcript, two letters of reference, a brief essay of goals and aspirations, and a list of school, community and volunteer activities by May 27 to: Fall River Garden Club Scholarhsip Committee, c/o Mrs. Raymond Phillips, 10 Merritt St., Fall River, Mass. 02720.

SMOKING PROGRAM: The Partners for Clean Air, a program of The Center for Human Services Inc., is launching a health initiative with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Ready, Set, Quit. The pilot program will encourage Fall River and New Bedford residents to quit smoking by offering them telephone support through 1-800-Try-To-Stop and a free two-week supply of the nicotine patch. The two cities were chosen for the pilot program because of the high smoking rate among residents.

Interested participants should call 1-800-Try-To-Stop and after a brief evaluation to determine eligibility, they will be sent a free two-week supply of nicotine patches by mail.

TALENT SHOW: The Fall River Council on Aging will host its second annual talent show at 11 a.m. May 25, at the Niagara-Maplewood Senior Center, 690 Stafford Rd. Organizers of the event are looking for seniors who will sing, dance, play a musical instrument, tell jokes, read a poem or put on a skit. To sign up, call Patty Linhares at (508) 324-2717.

DRIVING PROGRAM: The Registry of Motor Vehicles will offer a free, hourlong presentation called Shifting Gears at 11 a.m., May 12, at the North End Senior Center, 101 President Ave. The program's goal is to educate and encourage the elderly to be the best possible drivers by focusing on issues relating to their age group. The workshop will also provide a checklist of 15 warning signs of unsafe driving. The presentation will include information on how to obtain a disabled plate or placard.

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: The Fall River Scholarship Foundation will award more than $20,000 in scholarships in June to both new and returning applicants. Applications are available from the guidance counselors at the three Fall River high schools or by mail. Interested students may also call James Rogers, foundation president, at (508) 675-0800 for an application.