Last year North Eugene High School began an effort called Words Can Hurt.  The message was that the words that people use can be hurtful, sometimes more hurtful than they realize. 

The purpose of Words Can Hurt is to give all students and staff a shared message and a symbol for their common goal of making their school a safe and caring community.

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Friday morning North will hold an all-school assembly about standing together to make North a safe and caring environment for all.

Words Can Hurt will be reintroduced at the school assembly, and buttons with the message will be distributed around the school.

Students will follow the assembly with a class discussion of how each person can stand for each other and themselves.

All of these activities were created and will be run by students.

Second round collection has been extended for the North Eugene region through Jan. 10 due to volume of leaves, the City of Eugene said.

The mild weather has allowed the trees to hold on their leaves for a much longer period of time. Consequently the City has chosen to make adjustments to its second round of leaf collection.

This schedule change will postpone the second round collection for the Southeast region, which now begins Jan. 11 for both improved and unimproved streets.

For more information and collection schedule updates, go to www.eugene-or.gov/leaf or call 541-682-4800.

The Audubon Society of Lane County will be conducting their 70th Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, January 1, 2012.  This will be part of the National Audubon Society’s 112th Annual Christmas Bird Count. 

There will be 27 teams of bird watchers, each led by an expert birder, covering the standard 15 mile diameter circle. 

This circle includes all of Eugene, some of east Springfield, Coburg, Spencer Butte, Fern Ridge Lake, Alvadore and the area north of the Eugene Airport.  Some teams even start before daylight to search for owls. 

At the end of the day, the bird watchers gather to discuss the day’s activities, submit their list of the birds they saw and have a chili dinner.  

People who do not want to walk around all day looking for birds can submit a list of the birds they saw at their bird feeders in their back yards and that will be added to the totals.  Bird feeder watchers should call Herb Wisner at 541-344-3634 to receive information and the proper forms. 

For more information or to join this fun event, please call Dick Lamster at 541-343-8664.  Last year 130 species were seen and 82,34