STATEWIDE

• The National Endowment for the Arts and Poetry Foundation, and Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest organizers are inviting schools to participate in classroom and schoolwide contests, advancing a school representative to the state competition on March 27. State champions will advance to the national finals on April 28-29 in Washington, D.C.

Amanda Fujiki from Provo's Meridian School was selected as the 2007 Utah Poetry Out Loud champion and represented the state in the 2007 National Finals in Washington, D.C., last May.

Program materials are available for download on the Web site, www.poetryoutloud.org.

COUNTYWIDE

• The Rural Housing Development Corporation is seeking volunteers to help families build their homes in Utah County. The Mutual Self-Help Program enables low- to moderate-income families to provide sweat equity to build their own homes. For more information on becoming a Mutual Self-Help Program volunteer or a participant, contact Karen at (801) 375-2205 ext. 103.

OREM

• Habitat for Humanity of Utah County will be sponsoring Habitat Night at the Flash at 7 p.m. on Friday at the McKay Events Center at Utah Valley State College. The Flash will be taking on Colorado in NBA D-League basketball. Tickets cost $7 per person and must be purchased in advance at the Habitat for Humanity office, 1119 S. 1680 West. Proceeds from the planned annual event will benefit local Habitat building efforts.

PROVO

• A free home-maintenance class for first-time home buyers and other interested community members will be at 6:30 p.m. today at Habitat ReStore, 626 N. Freedom Blvd. The class is part of a five-session course offered locally every five months. This month's class will be about electrical repairs, changing furnace filters and gutter and downspout care.

• Penguin Young Readers Group announced the winner of the Ranger's Apprentice sweepstakes. Hundreds of entry forms were distributed to all 50 states through a chapter sampler included in a nationally distributed in-store floor display, and 11-year-old Julian Kai Kau from Provo was chosen. Kau won round-trip airfare and travel for himself plus a guardian to the closest stop on the "Ranger's Apprentice: The Battle for Skandia" tour to meet author John Flanagan and have lunch with him.

"I am glad I won a contest that matters," Kau said in a news release. "It is not very often that you meet the person who writes the books you like to read."

• The Centennial Middle School ballroom dance team placed first in the nation in its division at the Dancesport Nationals competition at Brigham Young University on March 13-15. Centennial students Vashti Reed and Lydia Nielsen won first place in their individual division categories (with their partners).