Late March to early April RC events:

March 27 at 4:45 p.m.: A lecture by 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner, Hank Klibanoff, no charge

March 29 at 6:30 p.m.: A senior voice recital by Rose Stephens-Booker

April 1 at 7:30 p.m.: A reading of his short story “Boone: A Biography” by Robert Morgan, no charge. This is Morgan’s latest book; it was placed on The Washington Post’s “Best Books of 2007″ list.

April 2-April 5 at 8:00 p.m.: Theatre production “Four Dogs and a Bone”, mature content and limited seating, $7 for general public, $5 for senior citizens and students

April 3 at 7:30 p.m.: A lecture by Sandra Harding “Gender and Science: New Issues”, no charge

April 5 at 8:00 p.m.: A swing dance with Martha and the Moodswingers in Alumni Gym, $5 (lessons at 1:00 and 2:15, $5 per person per session)

April 7 at 7:30 p.m.: A lecture by Joseph Cummins “Anything for a Vote: Mudslinging…”, no charge

April 12 at 8:00 p.m.: Kandinsky’s Trio Concert: 20th Anniversary Season Finale, $15 for general public, $10 for senior citizens and students

April 13 at 3:00 p.m.: Roanoke College’s Children’s Choir: “A Little Spring Music“, $17 for general public, $14 for senior citizens, $11 for children 12 and under, at The Jefferson Center.

April 15 at 7:30 p.m.: A lecture by Alan Dershowitz, a continuation of RC’s series “Exploration and Discovery”

April 17 at 7:30 p.m.: The Roanoke College Wind and Jazz ensembles will present a joint concert in Olin Theatre, no charge

Roanoke College News and Public Calendar

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All it took was one look at the design for the Peterson Style Bluebird House in the “Birds in Bloom” book to hook Tom Clifton into building one. The retired GE electronics technician has a knack for woodworking, and he’s been using it for the sake of bluebird conservation for almost eight years now. Clifton has built hundreds of houses for at least five counties, and maintains several bluebird trails himself.

The bluebirds in Salem, Roanoke, and Botetourt need your help! Trail monitors are needed for Green Hill Park in Salem, the Countryside Golf Course in Roanoke, and Greenfield Park in Botetourt.

If you’re interested in donating three to four hours of your time a week, walking through parks or golf courses, call or e-mail Tom Clifton, 389-2942, tomclif@rev.net, or call Earl Morris at 776-1640.

Trail volunteers do a weekly check of each house on their designated trail. It involves opening the box, identifying the species, counting the eggs and hatchlings, and troubleshooting predator problems. Volunteers are trained and supervised several times before having to care for the birds on their own. For more information about bluebirds, visit The Virginia Bluebird Society.

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The Salem Civic Center has issued an updated schedule, including The Better Living Home Expo March 28-30, My Little Pony Live! April 5-6, A Roanoke Symphony Orchestra Performance with Art Garfunkel April 11, Arthur Live! May 6-7, and many more. Visit The Salem Civic Center’s website and calendar for more information.

We’ve just updated our Salem crime map with offenses through March 17 and our Roanoke County crime map with offenses through March 15 — the most recent data available.

In western Roanoke County for this period, you’ll find some larcenies, some burglaries, and even an aggravated assault. The Salem Police Department provides information on more crimes, so keep that in mind as you look at the two maps. That’s why you’ll find things such as an embezzlement and “evading — failure to stop.”

To see how this compares with other localities, we also have a crime map for Roanoke. All this comes by way of our Datasphere site, run by data delivery editor Matt Chittum.

Got thoughts on crime in Salem and western Roanoke County? Share your views by clicking on “comments.”

On March 18, Roanoke College will host a presentation by Dr. Patrick E. Murphy from the University of Notre Dame entitled “Ethical Business in the 21st century”.

Murphy will focus on ethical principles and actions undertaken by leading ethical firms and will offer several suggestions to enhance the role of ethics in corporations for the future. Here is a link to a PDF of his paper, entitled “An ethical basis for relationship marketing: a virtue ethics perspective”, on Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide’s website.

This lecture is free to the public and Roanoke College students. It will be held in Roanoke College’s Colket Center, in Pickle Lounge. The event is sponsored by the Notre Dame Club of the Blue Ridge.

He is the Co-Director of the Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide. A Marketing professor at the Mendoza College of Business, a member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1984, and a faculty member and Marketing department chair at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Dr. Murphy specializes in marketing ethics and business.

For more information, contact the Notre Dame Club of the Blue Ridge at 384-6822.

Longwood Park in Salem was overflowing with little kids carrying baskets Saturday for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The warm weather made it truly feel like spring. Here are images from the mad dash.

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The Six Wags Dog Park in Salem will hold an easter egg hunt just for dogs on Saturday, March 22. Our pet blogger has details — and a cutesy photo of a dog with bunny ears — on the Happy Wag.

The Rotary Club has selected the honorees for the Josten’s Trophy and will award them next week before they host the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball National Championship next week at the Salem Civic Center.

The semi-finals are Friday, March 21, 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The consolation game is Saturday, March 22, at 1:30 p.m. with the championship game at 4 p.m. Tournament books are available by calling the Salem Civic Center at (540) 375-3004 or the ODAC Office at (540) 389-7373.

The Josten’s trophy is a national award created by the Salem Rotary Club and Josten’s Inc. to honor the most outstanding men’s and women’s Division III basketball players and student-athletes of the year. This is the 11th year the club is giving the award. Here’s a link to the ODAC site with the names and more information on the awards.

Eight students from Glenvar High School will be featured in a musical performance at the Jefferson Center on April 10.

Here’s the scoop: Many of you are familiar with the annual show that the students from the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio put on each year at The Jefferson Center. This year, it packed the auditorium for two straight shows.

Well, Kevin — whose studio is in the Cave Spring area — also teaches at the Roanoke County Center for the Performing Arts and has a similar show coming up featuring the center’s students on Thursday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m.

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Were you at the Statler Brothers’ farewell concert — which was at the Salem Civic Center on Oct. 26, 2002?

If so, you might see yourself on TV either Thursday, March 13 or Friday, March 15. Blue Ridge PBS is airing “The Statler Brothers Farewell Concert” at 7 p.m. each night.

That concert was the only time the Staunton-based country music quartet ever allowed an indoor concert to be videotaped. Viewers will also have an opportunity to receive a copy of the group’s new book, “The Statler Brothers: Random Memories,” autographed by group members and authors Harold Reid and Don Reid.

For more information about “The Statler Brothers Farewell Concert” and the autographed book, visit blueridgepbs.org. And if you were at the show, click “comment” below to share a remembrance.