LINN COUNTY

Is your haunted house safe?

Albany fighters are offering their help in making sure that any haunted houses planned for Halloween are safe.

"If you are planning a haunted house this year, the Albany Fire Department would like an opportunity to help you create a safe environment," Chief Kevin Kreitman said in a press statement.

People may call the fire department at 917-7700 to schedule a no-charge evaluation of the facility to review lighting, exitways and other possible areas where safety hazards may crop up.

Grade-school girls invited to sleepover

Girls in grades 2-5 are invited to a night of games and activities with the Girl Scouts of Santiam Council. The group will host a sleepover event starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, with pickup at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Admission is $20 for those who register by Oct. 17, and $25 after that date.

For more information about the event or how to get involved in Girl Scouts, contact Michelle Laseter at 1-800-875-2451 or mlaseter@girlscoutsofsantiam.org.

Girl Scouts of Santiam Council serves more than 3,000 girls in six counties through a variety of programs. Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. is a United Way organization.

Health care will be topic of Dems' meeting

The Linn County Democrats will hold their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at a new location: Pop's Branding Iron, 901 Pacific Blvd. S.E. Social hour is at 5:30 p.m. with the meeting at 6:30. Visitors are welcome.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Michael Huntington, who will talk about health care and former Gov. John Kitzhaber's Archimedes Project.

For more information, contact Loyd Henion at 926-4061 or lhenion@comcast.net.

Posse giving rides to special-needs children

Linn County Sheriff's Mounted Posse is having its free, semi-annual ride for children in the mid-valley with special needs, and their families.

The ride begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road, Albany. Refreshments will be served.

Posse members bring their horses for children to ride around the arena, with guidance from the members. Riders must be at least 2 years old. Release forms will be available at the door.

For more information, call Betty Allen at 928-2859.

ALBANY

Credit union to host college savings seminar

Central Willamette Community Credit Union is offering a free seminar on saving for college from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at the credit union's adminstrative office, 7101 Supra Drive S.W.

The seminar is hosted and presented by Bob Polski, a registered representative for the Financial Network Investment Corporation.

Child care and light hors d'oeuvres will be provided.

RSVP to Linda Jorgensen or Megan Snow by calling 1-800-950-4536, Ext. 7570.

Friends of Library schedule book sale

The annual book sale sponsored by the Friends of the Albany Public Library will be held Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 18-20, at the Linn County Fair & Expo Center.

This is the second year the sale will be held at the expo center. Organizers moved the event after outgrowing the space at Albany's main library. More than 20,000 books were available for sale last year.

Members of the "Friends" are entitled to a special sale preview and purchase opportunity from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17.

General public sale hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Proceeds are used to support special library programs, such as the young readers' summer reading program.

This year's sale chairwoman is Nancy Powell. For more information, call 928-4400 or 926-5686.