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SEPTEMBER 14 - 20, 2010
Outreach boosts patrons at Kendall Branch Library
BY RICHARD YAGER
Verizon, FHP launch campaign to stop texting while driving
W
ith Kendall lacking a government center, its oldest branch library gradually is taking on part of that role with dramatic increases in use this year. Based on patron count alone, it amounts to a 25 percent gain during this year compared to 2009. Javier Corredor, Kendall Branch Library manager, and his assistant, Nadja Howerton, say they spend almost equal time administering outreach services as they do readership operations at the neighborhood facility, now beginning its fourth decade since opening in July 1980. “Many local residents just needing some kind of help are coming here, many searching for new jobs and placement information,” said Corredor, now in his
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LIBRARY, page 4
BY CHUCK HAMBY
V
Librarian Nadja Howerton and Javier Corredor, manager, check newest books at Kendall Branch Library.
W. Kendall senior center honors Dr. Olga Martinez
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BY RICHARD YAGER
A
ided by a $2 million state grant approved in 2008, ground was broken on Sept. 8 for the Dr. Olga Maria Martinez Senior Center in West Kendall by Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe Martinez and officials of the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers (LHANC). Located on a parcel near N. Kendall Drive at SW 152nd Avenue, the center has been designed to house an estimated 50 older individuals, as well as 150 socially isolated seniors from the area, according to Commissioner Martinez. The West Kendall center was planned to include class-
Dr. Olga Martinez Senior Center (artist’s rendering)
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erizon Wireless and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) recently announced the launch of the “Danger Thumbs” campaign to make the state’s roads safer by urging young Florida drivers to stop texting on their wireless phones when behind the wheel. While texting drivers of any age can create a hazard on the roads, the campaign targets young, inexperienced motorists who also are generally the most prolific users of wireless text messaging. The campaign is kicking off with a series of presentations by FHP officers at high school driver’s education classes across the state. “Driving and texting is clearly unsafe
SENIOR CENTER, page 4
TEXTING, page 4