City/area digest

Seat belt, safety seat enforcement

COLUMBUS -- The Platte County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a special enforcement from May 19-June 1 with a focus on child safety seat and seat belt usage.

The special enforcement, made possible by a grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, will include saturation patrols and roadside checkpoints in the area.

The highway safety office reported that 70 percent of the state’s 227 accident fatalities in 2007 were not wearing seat belts.

Summer Dance Camp planned

COLUMBUS -- Summer Dance Camp 2008 is planned for kids grades K-2 from 9-11:30 a.m. and grades 3-5 and 6-8 from 1-4 p.m. at North Park Elementary School June 16-19.

Deadline to register for this camp is June 1. Cost of $40 per dancer includes a T-shirt. The camp will be instructed by Lynette's Dance Studio alumni and current Nebraska Wesleyan Dance Team members Jenna Davies and Angie Zulkoski (former Miss Columbus). No experience is required.

To register, call Jenna at (402) 910-6467 or e-mail jdavies@nebrwesleyan.edu.

‘Cancer Fighting Flea Market’ set

COLUMBUS -- A “Cancer Fighting Flea Market” is scheduled from noon-6 p.m. June 6, and from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 7, at the Izaak Walton cabin grounds, south of Highway 30 across the river bridge.

Booth rentals are $10 for one day or $15 for two days, with all rental proceeds going to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Booths are 16 feet square; renters are responsible for set-up, providing their own tables, and clean up of space at end of sale. Deadline for renting and pre-payment of booths is May 31.

For more information or to rent a booth, call one of the following numbers: 564-8172; 562-3412; or 564-6167. Leave name, contact number and number of booths requested and call will be returned.

Emphysema study held by UNMC

OMAHA -- University of Nebraska Medical Center is looking for participants for a national study on an investigational drug for emphysema.

UNMC is one of 13 sites in the United States involved in a clinical trial designed to evaluate the effects of a new drug on certain receptors in the lung.

During the two-year study, participants will need to make about 15 visits to UNMC for various tests including x-ray, CT scans, lung function and blood screenings. Participants in the trial must be age 45 or older, have been diagnosed with emphysema by a CT scan, have a history of smoking more than 10 packs of cigarettes per year, and who have not smoked for the past 12 months.

Anyone interested in enrolling in the study can call toll-free (888) 483-7720. This study is sponsored by Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.