PITTSBURG, Kan. — The week ahead looks to be full of learning opportunities for all ages, beginning with a daylong conference Tuesday at Pittsburg State University called “Terrorism, War, and the Challenge Facing the U.S. in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
It is to be conducted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Overman Student Center. It is free and open to the public.
Organizers said the goal of the conference is to clarify the complex issues and challenges the U.S. faces in that turbulent part of the world now that the nation’s focus has shifted from Iraq.
Paul Zagorski, a member of the faculty in PSU’s department of social sciences, said the seven speakers and panelists for the day have either academic or on-the-ground military experience in Afghanistan and Pakistan. One is a former Afghan army officer.
The day’s events will conclude with a wrap-up panel involving all of the program participants.
The conference is sponsored by the International Academic Affairs Committee, the department of social sciences and the International Studies Program. For more information, people may contact the department of social sciences at 620-235-4325.
During the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting Tuesday night, three local entities will learn whether their loan payments have been forgiven. The city staff is recommending that the commissioners forgive the loan payments for Stockade Brands Inc. in the amount of $25,833, NPC International Inc. in the amount of $46,667, and the Family Resource Center in the amount of $98,750. All three have met the employment targets stipulated in their loan documents with the city.
On Wednesday, the Pittsburg Area Business Education Alliance is sponsoring Career Opportunities in Crawford County Day, an event that typically draws more than 300 students.
It will be conducted at Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine St. The event will allow juniors and seniors from Pittsburg High School, St. Mary’s-Colgan High School, Frontenac High School, Girard High School, Covenant Harvest, Southeast High School in Cherokee and Northeast High School in Arma to learn about opportunities that are available to them after graduation.
The session will have information on options that include full-time work, postsecondary education and the military.
Nature lovers and fans of the creepy crawly should note that on Thursday, a spider expert will conduct a show and tell at PSU that is free and open to the public.
The program begins at 7 p.m. in Room 102 of Yates Hall, 1702 S. Joplin St. Faculty member Joy Reed will talk about and display tarantulas during her presentation, “Spider Talk,” at the Sperry-Galligar Audubon Society meeting.
Reed is a contributing editor for the American Tarantula Society, a member of the British Tarantula Society, and is recognized as a tarantula breeder who keeps 400 spiders.
She has looked for tarantulas in the desert Southwest and traveled to Peru to look for rain forest tarantulas with arachnologist Rick West, one of the world’s leading authorities on tarantulas.
Light refreshments will be served.
On Friday, the Pittsburg Public Library’s Talking Heads discussion group continues with the Great Courses Series, in which participants watch a 30-minute DVD lecture and then open the floor for discussion. New participants are welcome, and they may attend one, two or all three sessions. The schedule: Philosophy of the Mind, 9 a.m.; History of the U.S., 10 a.m.; and Books That Have Made History, 11 a.m. For more information, people may call 620-231-8110.
It may be a shameless plug, but my theater class will present a stage adaptation of the classic fairy tale “Snow White” at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Memorial Auditorium, 503 N. Pine St. Tickets are $2 and may be purchased at the door.
