GARY

Statehouse rally to support schools

The Gary Community School Corp. and other Indiana districts will rally to support school children Tuesday at the Statehouse rotunda in Indianapolis.

The rally starts at 2 p.m. on the second floor, 200 W. Washington St., on the corner of Washington Street and Capitol Avenue. Indianapolis is on Eastern Standard Time.

Participants are asked to allow enough time to park and to go through security. There are parking garages in many buildings around the Statehouse.

Supporters of public education, including parents, teachers, students, school administrators and employees are invited.

The Indiana General Assembly may change the property tax circuit breaker in support of property tax relief, but the proposed caps mean the Gary Community School Corp. will lose $9 million or more each year, as much as 24.7 percent of its annual budget -- while other districts lose nothing, administrators said.

People are asked to wear T-shirts or buttons in support of schools. Signs must be hand-held and not attached to sticks or similar objects. The public is not allowed to hang or post signs, flags, banners or decorations on Statehouse property.

For more information, call (219) 881-5481.

To contact legislators, call state Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, (800) 382-9467; state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary, (800) 382-9842; and state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, (800) 382-9842.

MUNSTER

Park Board meeting Tuesday at Town Hall

The Munster Park Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The public is invited to attend the meeting in Conference Room A of Town Hall,1005 Ridge Road.

Call (219) 836-PARK for information on the agenda.

SCHERERVILLE

Public invited for park plan presentation

The Schererville Park Board and Parks Department will host a community presentation of the 2008-2012 park and recreation master plan.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Schererville Town Hall, 10 E. Joliet St.

GARY

Pending legislation discussed today

State Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, and Reps. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, and Vernon Smith, D-Gary, host a legislative forum at noon today at Gary City Hall's council chambers, 401 Broadway.

The discussion includes legislation pending before the Indiana General Assembly.

WEST LAFAYETTE

Latino Leadership parley is March 1

More than 200 students from Indiana colleges and high schools are expected to come to Purdue University's Latino Cultural Center on March 1 for the Latino Leadership Conference.

The conference, Lideres sin Fronteras, or Leaders Without Borders, is a joint effort between Purdue and Indiana universities.

Purdue President France A. Córdova is expected to speak. Pegine Echevarria will give the event's keynote address.

Echevarria was a member of a gang and was kicked out of her first high school while growing up in New York City. She eventually earned a master's degree in social work and started two businesses, which she sold at a profit. She also designed and directed a Latino family support center that was named one of the top 10 in the country by The Harvard Group Review.

She is has written several books, including her latest "Sometimes You Need to Kick Your Own Butt." She also has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, NPR and "The Montel Williams Show."

Issues facing Latino college students will be addressed at the conference, which will feature workshops and panel discussions with representatives from several colleges and universities.

The conference begins with breakfast and registration at 8 a.m. at the LCC at 600 N. Russell St. It ends with a closing ceremony at 5 p.m.

The registration fee is $10 and due Thursday. To register, go online to http://www.purdue.edu/lcc/illc08/

Sponsors and conference hosts include the centers at Purdue and IU, the Purdue provost's office, the Purdue Latino Faculty/Staff Association, Indiana University Libraries, Ivy Tech State College-Lafayette, State Farm Insurance, Del Real Auto, J P Morgan Chase & Co., State Farm Insurance and Purdue alumnus Emilio Cordova.