Local briefs

The 10th annual Rotary Club garage sale will be held April 19-21 at the National Guard Armory in Brainerd.

Times for the event are 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 20 and 9 a.m. to noon April 21.

All proceeds from the sale will be used in community service projects in the Brainerd/Baxter area.

The Rotary Club is accepting donations for the fund raiser. Anyone with items to donate can have them picked up by calling Jim Alderman at 829-3379.

Bataan memorial march set Saturday

The Bataan Memorial Death March will be held Saturday.

The 25-mile march will begin and end at the Brainerd Training and Community Center. It is open to the public.

Times for the day's events are as follows:

-- 6 to 7 a.m., registration and check-in.

-- 7 to 8 a.m., formation.

-- 8 a.m., the march begins.

-- 1:30 to 6:30 p.m., spaghetti and brat feed.

-- 5 to 5:30 p.m., wreath laying and award ceremony.

-- 6:30 p.m., Bataan survivors share their experience.

For more information about participation call Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 194th Infantry at 828-2571.

The event is a memorial to the soldiers and civilians who were forced to march from the Bataan Peninsula to Camp O'Donnell, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines in 1942. Of the 78,000 individuals who were forced to complete the 55-mile march, about 66,000 survived.

Many soldiers from the original Brainerd Army National Guard tank unit were part of this historic event.

Reading specialistto talk to parents

Al Greenfield, a reading specialist with the Department of Children, Families and Learning, will give a free presentation on a parent's role in a child's language and reading development at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Mississippi Horizons School cafeteria.

The discussion will involve the development of vocabulary, brain research on language development, the need for human interaction and involvement and how all of the above relate to the learning of language and reading from birth to age 12. Children's books will be discussed and practical suggestions of what helps language and reading development will be given.

This presentation is intended for parents, volunteers and other interested adults.

The event is sponsored by Brainerd Community Education and Brainerd Public Schools.

District 4 DFL convention set

WALKER -- The Senate District 4 DFL endorsing convention will be Monday at the Walker-Hackensack-Akeley High School auditorium.

Registration will begin at 6:15 p.m. with the convention beginning at 7 p.m. Delegates will endorse candidates for House Districts 4A and 4B and senator for District 4. Guests are welcome.

For more information, contact Shirley Frederick at 675-6443.

District 12 GOP convention set

The Crow Wing County Republican Convention will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at Franklin Junior High School in Brainerd.

Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The agenda for this convention includes the election of delegates and alternates to the 8th District and State conventions, said Sue Hilgart, deputy chair of Crow Wing County. Delegates also will discuss resolutions that were passed at the precinct caucuses to pass on to the 8th District and State conventions.

Crow Wing County will host the 8th Congressional District Convention on April 29 at Pequot Lakes School.

At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Republican delegates from Senate District 12 and House District 12A will endorse candidates for Senate and House. Dale Walz has announced his candidacy and intends to seek the endorsement in House District 12A. Paul Koering has announced his intentions to seek the endorsement in the Senate District 12 race. Any other interested candidates are welcome to appear before the convention.