administrative changes

The Durham school district announces the following administrative appointments effective March 1:

Tom Seckler, currently principal at Little River Elementary, will assume the role of principal for Lucas Middle School located at 923 Snow Hill Road.

Eunice Sanders, Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services is retiring.

Debbie Pitman will assume the role of Assistant Superintendent of Student, Family and Community Services (formerly Student Support Services).

Kristin Bell, Executive Director of Exceptional Children's Department will report to Chief of Staff, Dr. Lewis Ferebee.

Area Superintendent, Stacey Wilson-Norman, will assume oversight of all elementary schools.

NCCU to host

poverty forum

WNCU 90.7 FM invites the public to listen to and participate in a town hall meeting, "The Faces of Poverty in North Carolina," at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the H.M. Michaux Jr. School of Education Auditorium.

The forum will provide an opportunity to examine poverty in the state's rural counties and inner-city neighborhoods. This event is a follow-up to the Truth and Hope Tour of Poverty sponsored by the N.C. NAACP, N.C. Justice Center and the UNC Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Forum participants include Jarvis Hall, professor of political science at NCCU and director of the Institute for Civic Engagement, Melinda Lawrence, director of the N.C. Justice Center, and others.

Those unable to attend can listen at www.wncu.org. For more information, contact Kimberley Pierce-Cartwright at 919-530-7833.

Trail work to begin on Summit Trail

Construction to improve the Summit Trail at Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area in Durham County will begin Monday, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.

The trail and all park facilities will remain open and available to the public during the construction period, but vehicles and construction equipment may be traveling on parts of the 0.6-mile trail in backcountry areas of the park. Other trails in the state natural area will be unaffected. The project is expected to be completed in approximately two weeks.

For further information on the project, contact officials at Eno River State Park at 919-383-1686.

BLET graduation

ceremony Tuesday

The Durham Police Department will hold graduation ceremonies for the BLET (Basic Law Enforcement Training) Academy #34 at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church, 504 W. Chapel Hill St.

The new Durham officers include 25 males and eight females, 21 to 39 years old. Eighteen have four-year college degrees, two have two-year degrees, and 10 have completed some college courses.

Six recruits are related to current or former Durham Police officers. Seven have served in the military, and six of the new recruits are fluent in Spanish.

The recruits have undergone 940.5 hours of academy training, which is 320.5 more hours of training than is required by the state. The additional training hours included instruction in Spanish for Law Enforcement, Verbal Judo and various report writing and intelligence gathering resources. Recruits received twice the mandated amount of training in firearms and driver training.

After graduation, the new recruits will each be assigned to a Police Training Officer for approximately six months.

Woman's club to

meet Wednesday

Bob Ashley, executive director of the Durham Preservation Society, spoke during the January meeting of the Durham Woman's Club. Morehead Hills, which includes the Hill House where the club meets, was the first neighborhood established away from downtown Durham and the railroad.

Many families that were important to Durham in its early years, such as the Watts, Carrs and Vickers, had homes in this area. Unfortunately, some of those grand homes were demolished. Durham has one of the largest number of Mid-Century Modernist Architecture homes in the country.

The next meeting of the club will be Wednesday. Liz Goodwin, owner of the North Durham Curves, will be the speaker. For more information contact Lynn Odom at momof3knights@nc.rr.com.

Library to host

herb discussion

Durham County Library will host "The Liberated Gardener: Tips for Easy, Sustainable, and Edible Gardens" at the East Regional Library, 211 Lick Creek Lane, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9.

This session will focus on growing herbs in pots and in the garden. While having fresh herbs will add new dimensions to your cooking, herbs are evergreen, fragrant, drought hardy and deer don't like them! Speaker Frank Hyman is a columnist for the Durham News and Urban Farm and a contributing editor for Horticulture.

County to offer

weight-loss help

Have you made a resolution to eat less, exercise more and lose some weight in 2012 or making an attempt to do so for the rest of your life? If you have, Durham County Cooperative Extension and Durham County Health Department have partnered to bring support for weight loss to two convenient locations in Durham County.

Eat Smart, Move More, Weigh Less, a 15-week weight-management program that uses strategies proven to work, can help guide and support individuals in the right direction toward weight loss. The program gives opportunities for participants to track their progress and keep a journal of healthy eating and physical activity.

Classes will be offered on Wednesdays at Campus Hills Recreation Center, located at 2000 S. Alston Ave. Classes run from Feb. 22 to May 30 from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.

Another class will be offered on Mondays at Edison Johnson Recreation Center, located at 600 W. Murray Ave. Classes run from Feb. 27 through June 11, from 6 to 7 p.m.

The cost for the 15-week class is $15. To register, call Pam Jordan-Carrington at 919-560-0536.