HALLOWELL – John Glaser, grassroots manager for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, will discuss the consequences of privatization on Social Security and the impact on seniors and other beneficiaries at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Senior Spectrum William Cohen Center, Town Farm Road.

For more information, contact the Senior Spectrum’s Information Help Line at 1-800-639-1553.

School events

HALLOWELL – Evergreen Sudbury School, Town Farm Road, will be open to area students, parents and the community during winter vacation on Feb. 21 to 25. Regular school activities and special events will be planned, free to the public.

Students, staff, volunteers and parents will be present to answer questions about Evergreen, the Sudbury Valley School model and its principles and practices.

For reservations, call 622-9790. Walk-ins will be accommodated on a space-available basis. Evergreen will serve a daily lunch for a nominal fee.

Speaker training

PORTLAND – The Maine Speakout Project will hold training for speakers in Orono, Portland and Bangor in February and March. Each free session will last a full day, with lunch provided.

Participants will learn about developing and telling a personal story for educational purposes, speaking and working with a co-speaker, facilitating non-divisive dialogue, responding to difficult or hostile responses effectively and how to refer resources for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Training will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, at the University of Maine at Orono Student Memorial Union; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at Community Counseling Center, 343 Forest Ave., Portland; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bangor.

For more information or to sign up, call Pam McCann at 874-1030. Visit www.mainespeakout.org for more information on the organization.

Spring auction

FALMOUTH – The Falmouth Lions Club will host its first annual Spring Ahead Auction from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at the Woodlands Country Club in support of Riding to the Top Therapeutic Riding Center, based in Windham.

Items with a spring theme will be donated by Maine businesses, including four-star inns, restaurants, spas and furniture. Products will be available in silent and live auction format and the evening will be led by a professional auctioneer followed by dancing to a live band.

Riding to the Top has a satellite location at the Pineland Farms Equestrian Center in New Gloucester. Funds raised will provide support for the expansion of the Windham facility, enabling clients to ride all year long.

For questions or to make a donation, contact Paulette Shepard, special events assistant, or call 892-2813, ext. 14.

Art competition

AUGUSTA – The Maine Arts Commission announces a competition for artwork to be acquired by purchase or commission for the University of Southern Maine John Mitchell Center, Gorham, which will serve technology and engineering college students.

Approximately $26,000 is available for the purchase through Maine’s Percent for Art law, which reserves 1 percent of the construction funds for state-funded building projects to provide artwork for the public areas of buildings.

All professional artists may apply. The school’s selection committee will pick the work for the site. Deadline for submission is April 8.

For a prospectus outlining potential sites at the school and guidelines for consideration, visit the commission’s opportunities page at www.mainearts.com, e-mail Donna McNeil, contemporary arts and public art associate, at [email protected] or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Percent for Art Competition, Maine Arts Commission, 193 State St., 25 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.

Water workshop

PORTLAND – The Portland Water District and Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District are sponsoring a water education workshop, “Healthy Water Healthy People.”

The innovative water quality education program is sponsored by Project WET and the Hach Scientific Foundation. It offers a series of hands-on activities for middle and high school students, featuring water quality monitoring methods and analysis.

A training workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, at the water district’s Nixon Training Room.

Participants will be given background information, an overview of activities and hands-on practice with test kits. The cost, including books, is $20.

For more information or to register, contact Lynne Richard, environmental education coordinator, Portland Water District, 1 White Rock Road, Standish, ME 04084; 1-207-774-5961, ext. 3324, or e-mail [email protected].