Free Math Tutoring Returns

Grover Walker has resumed free math tutoring sessions every Saturday at McAlester Public Library. The spring schedule runs through May 23. There is no fee for the instruction, and students are asked to provide their own transportation, paper and pens.

Each Saturday’s schedule begins at 9:45 a.m. with seventh and eighth grade instruction. Algebra I starts at 10:30 a.m.; Geometry follows at 11:30 a.m.

From 12:30-1:30 p.m., Walker concentrates on Algebra II, Calculus, Engineering and Trigonometry tutoring.

Anyone with questions may contact him at 918-423-5019.

Free Program on Diabetes Management

Mary S. Ames will be the speaker at a free “Journey for Control” program at McAlester Public Library at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22. She will present information about lifestyle modifications, blood glucose monitoring and creating a health care team. The public is invited to attend the program, to be held in the Whiteacre Room East. The Merck company is providing some of the educational materials used in the presentation.

Staff Picks: Shalesa Has Novel Ideas

Here are the latest in a series of staff book recommendations, taken from the display near the front desk. Library Aide (and outreach gal) Darlene Rising offers her favorites in the current display. Library Aide Shalesa Spears gave us this list in her recent display:

*Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson–Melinda Sordino is an outcast. She busted an end of summer party; now her old friends ignore her and people who don’t know her glare. She stops speaking and retreats into her mind for solace, yet there is something there she doesn’t want to confront. She tries to ignore it but it won’t go away until there is a painful confrontation. Once this happens she can’t be silent.

*Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell–This is the tale of Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled ruthless daughter of a wealthy plantation owner who arrives at young womanhood just in time to see the Civil War sweep away the life her upbringing has prepared her for.

*The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan–Book Three of the Wheel of Time series, the Great Hunt takes us further into the world of Aes Sedai, the one power, the Dragon and the impending last battle.

*The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson–Book Two of Mistborn series. The Lord Ruler has been defeated. But was it a mistake? The mist is killing people, Luthadel is besieged and Vin is still unsure of her place in the world. That is, until she hears the drumming. Could it be the Well? Could she be the Hero of Age?

*The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni–The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth and wholly magical. It’s the story of Panchaali, a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

*The Taking by Dean Koontz–The television, radio and internet are gone. With the ceaseless rain now comes an obscuring fog. A small group has gathered to deal with the community damage, but also because they feel the need to band together against some unknown threat, some enemy they cannot identify or even imagine.

*Bliss to You by Trixie Koontz–Simple heartfelt instructions for living a happy life are given by Trixie, a deceased golden retriever. Trixie has an eight-step countdown to finding bliss that had me laughing until I cried; yet it has a simple truth behind it.

*Daughter of the Forest–Sorcha is the seventh child and only daughter of Lord Colum of Sevenwaters. To reclaim the lives of her brothers, Sorcha leaves the only safe place she has ever known, and embarks on a journey filled with pain, loss and terror.

Seminar Night Focuses on Toxic Relationships

Sandra L. Brown, co-author of “Women Who Love Psychopaths: Inside the Relationships of Inevitable Harm” with Dr. Liane Leedom, will present a live teleconference lecture at McAlester Public Library Thursday, Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Whiteacre Room East. The program is the first of a series of “Seminar Nights” to be held at the library in the coming months.

 The lecture, free to the public, is titled “Why Is This Relationship So Much More INTENSE Than Others? Understanding Pathology in Relationships.”

 “This topic will be of interest to both the general public and those in the counseling professions,” said Assistant Librarian Kathy McGilberry. “We hope to offer more programs like this in the coming months, including lectures by self-help and motivational experts like Jack Canfield of ‘Chicken Soup’ fame.”

 Brown is a psychotherapist, lecturer and consultant in the field of psychopathology. She has written “How to Spot a Dangerous Man Before You Get Involved” and “Counseling Victims of Violence.”  Brown’s “Institute for Relational Harm Reduction and Public Psychopathy Education” this week began publishing a new online magazine, which can be found at www.saferelationshipsmagazine.com .

A donated copy of “Women Who Love Psychopaths” will be given away as a door prize at the close of the lecture.

Essays, Book Choices, Displays Highlight Presidential Theme

With the country looking toward Washington, D.C. and the inauguration of Barack Obama as 44^th U.S. President, McAlester Public Library has launched its own parade of inaugural events beginning with an essay contest.

 “The historic inauguration of our nation’s first African-American President just one day after Martin Luther King Day provided the inspiration for our contest,” said Head Librarian Christine Sauro.

 The theme for the essay/short story contest is “A Dream Realized.” Entries of 1000 words or less should develop this theme. Members of the Night Readers book club will serve as judges.

 First, second and third place winners will be announced on Presidents Day Feb. 16. The contest opened on Monday, Jan. 5 and deadline for entry is Feb. 5. A complete list of rules is available at the front desk, or on the library’s website at www.mcalesterlibrary.net.

 The semi-annual “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma” reading and discussion series will also follow a Presidential theme. Beginning Thursday, Feb. 26, participants will read and discuss a series of five books about the first years of the republic.

 “American Icons: The American Presidency, 1789-1815” will be the spring theme. The series includes two biographies, one history and two novels.

 Dr. Carol Sue Humphrey of Oklahoma Baptist University helped develop the series, which looks at Presidents Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison. She will be one of the presenters.

 “Books are now available for those who wish to participate in this challenging and lively discussion series,” said Sauro. “A complete schedule of ‘Let’s Talk’ events will be announced in February.”

 Other Presidential events and displays will include:
*A special display in February highlighting the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth;

*A screening of a 1940 movie about Lincoln’s life, starring Raymond Massey, at the February “Arthouse Theater;” and

*A special double feature for the February “Second Saturday Cinema,” with comedies starring Kevin Kline and Chris Rock as unlikely Presidents.

 “We’re hoping the public will help us inaugurate 2009 by participating in any of these special events,” Sauro said.