Army National Guard Spec. Brian A. Taylor has graduated from Basic Combat training at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla.

During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission and received instruction and training exercises in drill and ceremonies, Army history, core values and traditions, military courtesy, military justice, physical fitness, first aid, rifle marksmanship, weapons use, map reading and land navigation, foot marches, armed and unarmed combat, and field maneuvers and tactics.

In 2004, the specialist graduated from Piper High School and received a bachelor's degree in 2008 from the University of Florida.

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Sunrise residents can have their children, 10 years old and younger, write letters to Santa.

Send letters to Santa’s special mailbox at Leisure Service Department, located at the Civic Center, 10610 W. Oakland Park Blvd. or the U.S. Post Office, 3225 Hiatus Road, between Nov. 26 and Dec. 15.

Santa will reply as long as parents make sure their letter is in no later than Dec. 15, is readable and includes a correct return address.

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The city has introduced new payment options for its Utilities customers. Utilizing Western Union’s Speedpay system, customers can make credit card, debit card or check payments online or by phone. Speedpay can be accessed via the payment options page or by calling 1-866-537-9041. A $2.75 convenience fee applies to all Speedpay transactions.

Sunrise Utilities customers can also choose monthly automatic bank drafting, which carries no transaction fee, mail-in payments, or in-person payments at one of three locations featuring walk-up windows and drop boxes: City Hall, 10770 W. Oakland Park Blvd.; Village Civic Center, 6800 Sunset Strip; and New River Civic Center, 60 Weston Road.

Customers also can access their account information online, which includes account status, prior bills and consumption patterns.
Call 954-746-3232.

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Democratic candidate for president Sen. Barack Obama will address the nation in a television broadcast from the BankAtlantic Center on Wednesday.

The public is invited to the event but reservations are strongly suggested. Those interested in attending can go here to reserve a spot or pick up "preferred" tickets at one of the following locations:

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at the African-American Research Library, 2650 Sistrunk Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Miramar City Hall 2300 Civic Center Place, Miramar,

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Tamarac Branch Library, 8701 W. Commercial Blvd., Tamarac

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Lauderhill Mall, 1501 NW 40 Ave., Lauderhill

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Northwest Regional Library,
3151 University Drive, Coral Springs

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Tamarac Branch Library, 8701 W. Commercial Blvd, Tamarac, FL 33321

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Lauderhill Mall, 1501 NW 40 Avenue,
Lauderhill, FL 33313

Florida's Campaign for Change Table at Northwest Regional Library,
3151 University Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33065

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Students at Harvard Academy in Sunrise have collected 2,500 pounds of food and supplies to help victims of Hurricane Ike in Haiti and Texas.

The canned food drive began after the storm and will continue to help until the disaster conditions subside, said Seemee Chan, the school's director.

"We started the food/clothing/supply drive after the hurricane that affected Texas and Haiti because we have families in those areas that are affected," Chan said. "It kind of snowballed into two and a half tons we collected."

Chan added that although the school has previously done similar projects, they have never had this kind of overwhelming response.

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PHOTO: A crowd gathers at the 10th annual Women's Safewalk/5K Run at Markham Park in Sunrise. The walk raised money to provide safety, counseling, food and clothing to battered women and children.
Staff photo/Marta Mikulan Martin
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The Village Shoppes at Pine Plaza in Sunrise will have a free Family Sun Day.

The shopping center, at the corner of State Road 7 and Northwest 44th Street, will have the event to observe national Make a Difference Day, on Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Planned activities for the day include face painting for kids, entertainment, health screenings, and demonstrations by the Sunrise Police Department's K9 Unit. DNA and fingerprinting kits will be distributed by Broward Sheriff's Office representatives, and car seat safety inspections will also be available.

For information, call 954-627-9377

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For the first time ever, Sawgrass Mills Mall will open its doors at midnight on Nov. 28, Black Friday, to give shoppers more of a chance to take advantage of holiday shopping deals. The 21-and-a-half hour shopping event will last until 9:30 p.m.

Stores at the mall include Coach Factory, Just Cavalli, LACOSTE, Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole Outlet Store, Stuart Weitzman, Theory, PUMA, The Gap Outlet, plus anchor stores such as Nordstrom Rack, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH and Neiman Marcus Last Call.

For more information about the mall, at 12801 W. Sunrise Blvd., visit www.simon.com.

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A Sunrise couple who enjoys domestic partnership rights under the Broward County ordinance, hope that voters will defeat a state constitutional amendment that would define a marriage between a man and a woman as the only legally recognized domestic union in the state.

Helene Milman and Wayne Rauen have been together for 25 years. They say if they want to get married, they will, but for the moment, they are happy with the current circumstances of their relationship.

"If we got married, I would lose $13,000 a year from my deceased husband's social security," Milman said. "That's a lot of money for a senior citizen."

They made a video for an organization called Say No to Amendment 2. It can be viewed here.

For more information, see the story in the Oct. 28 issue of the Sunrise Forum.

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