In brief: Ice age group plans eight-mile hike

The Cheney-Spokane chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute is offering an eight-mile hike that’s not for the faint of heart.

The hike from Lyons Ferry State Park to Palouse Falls State Park on March 14 will explore botany, zoology and early Indian history as well as geologic features left by giant prehistoric floods that washed through the region.

Lyons Ferry State Park is near the Palouse River’s confluence with the Snake River, about 12 miles southeast of Washtucna.

Hike leaders Lloyd Stoess and Gene Kiver warn that the hike will cover steep ascents and descents that shouldn’t be attempted by anyone with serious heart or vertigo problems, or by those who are unable to hike three miles without a break.

To register, call Melanie Bell at 954-4242 or send her an e-mail at mbell4242@comcast.net. Registration costs $10 for chapter members, $12 for others.

Cliff/Cannon

Expert talk opens Bloomsday season

Dick Beardsley, a marathon expert, will help kick off the Bloomsday training season by hosting a talk tonight at 7 at Lewis and Clark High School.

The talk will cover Beardsley’s “Duel in the Sun” with Alberto Salazar at the 1982 Boston Marathon, and also his struggles to recover from addiction to pain medication after a series of accidents.

The event is sponsored by the Lilac Bloomsday Association.

Online registration and information for Bloomsday 2009 is open at www.bloomsdayrun.org. The entry deadline is April 14.

NorthTown

NorthTown will simulcast documentary

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the documentary “A Powerful Noise,” followed by a town hall discussion with experts and celebrity activists will be simulcast from New York to the Regal Cinema at NorthTown Mall, 4750 N. Division St., on March 5. The documentary and discussion also will be simulcast in more than 450 movie theaters nationwide.

Panelists and celebrity activists include Dr. Helene Gayle, CARE president and CEO; Christy Turlington Burns, model, filmmaker and CARE advocate for maternal health; and Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, New York Times columnist and author.

The documentary focuses on the lives of three women: a young widow in Vietnam, a mother in Bosnia and a matriarch in Mali. But, it has been said to also be a catalyst for change and a compelling reminder that the solution to global poverty and injustice lies in the ability of women and girls to have a voice in their societies.

Tickets are available at participating Regal Cinema box offices and at www.FathomEvents.com.

Gonzaga

Barbie party benefits Hillyard programs

The Northeast Youth Center’s Kids Helping Kids program’s 11th annual Beyond Pink Barbie Party is scheduled for March 7 at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at Gonzaga University, in Cataldo Hall. The party is for kids ages 4 to 8.

Kids can go pink crazy – they’re encouraged to wear pink (Barbie’s favorite color), bring their own Barbie, dance and sing to Barbie’s CD, and get their nails done in Barbie’s salon. They’ll even ride in a limousine. Pink lemonade and snacks will be served.

Tickets are $24 and includes one chaperone. Reservations are required.

The money raised from the party will support scholarship funding for children’s programs in the Hillyard community.

To register and for more information, call 482-0708 or visit www.spokaneneyc.org.

Spokane Community College

SCC plans arts, crafts and food show

The Community College Spring Arts, Crafts and Food Show will be March 7-8 at Spokane Community College, 1810 N. Greene St., in the Lair-Student Center, Building 6. The fair will be open March 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and March 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event will include artists and crafters from the Pacific Northwest, along with a number of food vendors.

Proceeds from the fair will support student scholarships and leadership activities sponsored through the SCC environmental science clubs, including agribusiness, horticulture, natural resources and water resources.

For more information, call Darcy Staudinger 533-7216.

Whitworth University

S-R’s Jim Kershner will discuss his book

The Spokesman-Review columnist and author, Jim Kershner, will discuss his book, “Carl Maxey: A Fighting Life,” today at 7:30 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre of Weyerhaeuser Hall on the Whitworth University Campus, 300 W. Hawthorne Road.

Part of Whitworth’s celebration of Black History Month, Kershner will discuss the life of the first African-American in Spokane to pass the bar exam.

For more information, call 777-3275.

From staff reports