Briefcase

Free oral cancer screenings offered

April is oral cancer awareness month. Several local dentists’ are offering free oral cancer screenings. Contact a local office listed below to schedule a free cancer screening. Participating clinics include:

• Dr. Monte Burtch, 745-3600, Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon

• Dr. Craig Mullett, 376-0452, Tuesday from 8 to 11 a.m.

• Walther Dental Center, 376-9449, call to schedule an appointment.

Mat-Su CVB ‘ExTRAVELganza’ set for Friday

Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting its 25th anniversary wine tasting and travel auction ExTRAVELganza Friday at Evangelo’s in Wasilla. Tickets are $35 and include the wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, jazz band and more. Come bid on exciting Alaska travel packages, goods from local merchants and even a seven-day cruise with Princess Cruises. The Mat-Su CVB also has luggage tag raffle tickets for sale for those who can’t make the event. For $20, you get a luggage tag and are entered to win two round-trip tickets anywhere Alaska Airlines flies. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 746-5000.

Fund-raiser to benefit Special Olympics

Supermarket chain Safeway, which owns Carrs, has partnered with Special Olympics on a fund-raising promotion that continues through May 1.

Last April, the Safeway Foundation raised $10.7 million during its annual Support for People with Disabilities Campaign. Based on that success, the store pledged to continue its efforts to support people with disabilities through the Easter Seals and Special Olympics organizations.

In Alaska, the campaign will help achieve the following:

• Maintain high-quality training and competition opportunities for more than 2,000 athletes and thousands of volunteers statewide.

• Enhance the quality of coaches training to assure that every athlete has a quality experience.

• Assist with housing, ground transportation and sport venues at the Winter and Summer Games

• Assist in outreaching to an additional 8,000 adults and children with intellectual disabilities across Alaska who could benefit from participation in Special Olympics.

Booth space available for July 9 garden fair

Booth space is available now for the second annual Mid-Summer Garden and Art Faire, set from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., July 9 in downtown Palmer.

This year’s theme is “Creating a Fertile Networking Environment for Gardeners and Friends” and funds raised benefit the Mat-Su Special Santa Program, which gave gifts to 3,500 Mat-Su Valley children in 2010. Booths costs $100 for the day. For more information, or to apply for a booth, email midsummergardenfaire@gmail.com.

Women of Science and Technology Day’ is Saturday

A “Women of Science and Technology Day” is April 30 at the Mat Su College off Trunk Road. All girls in kindergarten through 12th-grade are invited to register and attend the hands-on workshops. Cost is $5 per girl. Workshops for girls in kindergarten through third-grade are from 10 a.m. to noon. And workshops for girls in fourth through 12th grades are from 1 to 4 p.m. Workshops will be led by professional women who work in the fields of science and technology. Register online at girlscoutsalaska.org, click on Programs, then Registrations, then Program Event. Or, register by calling the Girl Scouts of Alaska at (907) 248-2250.

For more information, contact jalexander@girlscoutsalaksa.org, or 376-3822.

Toastmasters meets Tuesdays

Toastmasters group meets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., Tuesdays at Wasilla Area Seniors Inc, 1301 S Century Cir. Toastmasters helps people develop better communication and leaderships skills, think quicker and more clearly on their feet, builds self-confidence and strong leadership qualities. For more information, contact Dennis Moore at djmoore611@gci.net; Angela Ritchey at angritchey@yahoo.com, or visit matsutm.org.