Region Briefs
NATIONAL EPISCOPAL HEAD
Bishop to meet at St. James Church
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, nationwide head of the Episcopal Church, will hold services today at 11:30 a.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 25 South Third St.
The service is open to the public.
As part of his tour of the Wilmington area, Bishop Griswold will also have lunch at St. James and meet with clergy of the diocese and their spouses.
Earlier in the day, he will visit the homeless shelter and church at the Good Shepherd House on Queen Street.
Bishop Griswold is the leader of 2 million Episcopalians in the U.S. He serves as chief pastor of The Episcopal Church, president of the House of Bishops – a national body of all bishops of the Episcopal Church – and president or chairman of numerous Episcopal Church boards and agencies.
He took office in 1998 and will serve a nine-year term.
Bishop Griswold serves from the National Church Center in New York City.
PUBLIC MEETING AT LIBRARY
Annexation to be discussed
Citizens for a Sound Economy will hold its next meeting this evening to discuss annexation.
Attorneys representing residents of the annexed areas will be present, and local officials will discuss annexation, taxation and education issues.
The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Northeast Regional Library in Landfall Center, 1241 Military Cutoff.
The group is also organizing a bus trip to Raleigh next week to discuss annexation with the area’s representatives in the state legislature.
For more information on the meeting and the bus trip, call Joyce Fernando at 799-3434.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY
Trivia Bowl to be held at college
Southeastern Community College in Whiteville will sponsor the third annual African-American History Trivia Bowl at 7 p.m. today in the college auditorium.
The event is free and open to the public.
Last year’s champions, Guideway Elementary School students, will return to take on students from Hallsboro, Chadbourn, Evergreen and Tabor City middle schools.
The contest will involve questions about significant individuals and places in African-American history as well as questions about local history and current events relating to African-Americans.
For more information, call the college at 642-7141, ext. 287.
ONSLOW COUNTY
Tax assistance program offered
Senior citizens in Onslow County who are confused by their tax forms can get special help during a free tax assistance program being sponsored now through April by the AARP and the IRS.
Volunteer counselors trained by the IRS and the North Carolina Department of Revenue will be available through April 16 at the following times and sites:
* 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the Onslow County Public Library Meeting Room, 58 Doris Ave. E.
* 9 a.m. to 1p.m. Mondays at the Swansboro Branch Library, 1460 W. Corbett Ave.
* noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays at the Sneads Ferry Branch Library, 242 Sneads Ferry Road.
People using this service should bring their tax packages, including returns from the previous year and current W-2 forms, interest statements, Social Security information and proof of income and deductible expenses.
Briefly. . .
* The Whiteville City Board of Education will meet at 9 a.m. today at the Blockade Runner Hotel in Wrightsville Beach for a planning session.
* Lauren Westervelt, a Topsail High School ninth-grader, has been chosen for the second year to attend the 21st annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation.
The international meeting will be held Feb. 23 to 28 in Philadelphia. Lauren has been an active member at the sea turtle hospital since its inception.
