Laura Jane Hyde

Indiana fourth and eighth graders' reading scores are declining, according to an Issue Alert by The Indiana Youth Institute.

The winner of the 2006 Monroe County Postcard Contest will be announced at 5:30 p.m. Friday at City Hall.

A smoky speakeasy, an elegant piano bar and women in flapper-style costumes dancing the Charleston will be seen in Bloomington this week.

The Monroe County Community School Corporation will present a wellness plan to MCCSC principals Monday that will outline ways to promote healthy diets in local schools.

The Heart Project, a women's heart disease awareness organization, will hold "Untax My Heart," a jewelry sale and fundraiser Saturday. Proceeds from the event will go to support the Women's Heart Foundation. The Heart Project collects unwanted costume jewelry all year long and will sell it at the event, located at the 10th and College Building courtyard. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In a brown warehouse-like building near the railroad tracks on Allen Street, one would hardly expect to find an eclectic mix of thousands of compact discs and diverse musical instruments from all over the world. But that is exactly what is found in suite 137. That office houses Rock Paper Scissors, a company that publicizes and markets world music and reggae labels in the United States for clients around the world. Dmitri Vietze owns the business and tries to overlap music and culture to help people understand different cultures through the world of music. Rock Paper Scissors serves a niche market in the music industry. The company caters to journalists who are considering coverage of its clients, clients who are looking for publicity success and music fans looking for new and old sounds from around the globe, according to the company's Web site. It is not uncommon for Vietze and his three employees to talk to clients in France, Germany, Spain and India on any given day.

Matthew Herndon recently received Bloomington's first "Outstanding Black Male Leader of Tomorrow" award. The City of Bloomington Commission on the Status of Black Males honored the Bloomington High School North junior with the award.

The IU Art Museum will hold "Horses and Horsemanship" as part of its free Noon Talk series today from 12:15 to 1 p.m. in the museum's Special Exhibition Gallery.

Bridgette Z. Savage of Stanford, Ind., recently wrote and illustrated her new book "Fly Like the Wind." The book is based on the true story of a horse, Fly, and her rider George Barrett in the American Civil War. Savage got the idea to write the story from the Working Men's Institute in New Harmony, Ind., where she came across the mare's skeleton, along with a four-page account of the mare's life titled, "The Story of Old Fly." The book tells of Barrett and Fly's experiences in the Civil War in the Union Army's 1st Calvary, 28th Regiment, and how their friendship carried them through the war.

Belly dancers with colorful costumes, exotic jewelry, convulsing hip movements and bare midriffs will migrate to Bloomington this weekend. But even though there will be special performances and workshops dedicated to the ancient art form this weekend, students can participate in belly dancing events year-round. The Bloomington Area Arts Council and Different Drummer Belly Dancers will host a Tribal: Pura, a tribal style belly dance workshop and "An Evening of Belly Dance" on Saturday.

Superheroes like Catwoman, Captain Planet, Pizza Express Man and Superwoman made appearances Wednesday and Thursday nights at Suburban Lanes for this year's superhero-themed Bowl for Kids' Sake IU Bowl party. The IU Bowl raised $22,000, and more donations are coming in. The organization had hoped to raise $32,000. Revenue from the event will go to support about one-third of the organization's operating budget, said Renee Tetrick, an IU student and Big Brothers Big Sisters intern.

To commemorate Spay Day USA, the Monroe County Humane Association and Pets ALIVE Spay/Neuter Clinic will partner to provide 360 spay or neuter surgeries for $5 per pet to low-income Monroe County residents. Spay Day USA is a spay and neuter campaign that began in 1995 and is now part of the Doris Day Animal Foundation. Vouchers for surgeries are available for purchase this Saturday and Sunday at Kmart West, and March 4 and 5 at Kmart East. Vouchers can then be redeemed at Pets ALIVE Spay/Neuter Clinic anytime before July 1.

IU superheroes will take over Suburban Lanes two nights this week. Big Brothers Big Sisters will hold this year's superhero-themed Bowl for Kids' Sake IU Bowl fundraiser the evenings of Feb. 22 and 23. Revenue from the event supports about one-third of the organization's operating budget, said Renee Tetrick, an IU student and BBBS intern. Last year, the IU Bowl raised $20,000, and this year the organization's goal is $32,000.

The Bloomington Community Band, an all-adult volunteer band, has an opening for a percussionist. The band, which has about 50 members, plays about 20 concerts a year at civic events and public gatherings in Monroe County and surrounding areas. The band always welcomes new members, but it particularly needs a percussionist who can read music.

The Bloomington Area Arts Council and Monroe County Civic Theater will present "Sleeping Beauty" at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Feb. 25 and 26 at the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium, 122. S. Walnut St. Catherine Wilkerson's version of this well-known fairy tale is part of the 2005-06 Performance Series at the John Waldron Arts Center.

On Tuesday afternoon,graduate students Dan Wolfe and Cesar Kobashikawa hovered over a computer to work out details on their upcoming video game. Kobashikawa clutched his notebook that held the detailed profiles of the game's characters. These students can legitimately claim they are doing their homework. Wolfe and Kobashikawa are students in the Masters of Immersive Media Environments program. Wolfe is working on his thesis about online game development communities, a combination of online groups, forums, blogs, wikis, tutorials and Web sites where programmers, artists and designers can come together to talk about games.

An archeologist who excavates castles built during the Crusades will offer his commentary on Dan Brown's best-selling and controversial book "The Da Vinci Code." Michael Fuller, professor of archaeology at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, is scheduled to discuss his perspective at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures in a free lecture titled "'The Da Vinci Code,' Templars and Archaeology." The event is sponsored by the Central Indiana Society of the Archaeological Institute of America.

South Central Indiana Small Business Development Center and inVenture will partner Feb. 8 to present Genius Groups, a 10-part entrepreneurial development series to help small business owners prosper.

Middle Way House, Inc., a domestic violence and rape crisis center in Bloomington, raised more than $20,000 at a benefit art auction it held Saturday at the IU Foundation. "Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time," Middle Way House Legal Advocacy Coordinator Patricia Cummings said. "Things went very smoothly." Cummings said between 125 and 150 people showed up for the event, which featured about 31 items in the live auction and about 60 pieces in the silent auction.

Middle Way House, Inc., a domestic violence and rape crisis center in Bloomington, is holding a benefit art auction at 7 p.m. Saturday the IU Foundation on the 45/46 Bypass.