Stop identity theft with a shredder

The Durham County Department of General Services invites residents to participate in a Shred-a-Thon today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the South Court Building parking lot on the corner of Shannon road and University Drive.

This event is hosted by Merrill Lynch and will allow citizens to shred their personal documents and help protect them from identity theft. Shredding will be provided by Document Security Services, a division of Orange Recycling Services. Individuals are limited to three boxes of documents. Shredding is not permitted for any large paperclips, plastic binders, plastic transparencies, metal-ring binders or plastic notebooks. The N.C. Attorney General's office will be on hand to provide information on how individuals can protect themselves from identity theft.

Candidates forum scheduled

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce will host a Candidates Forum for persons seeking election to the Durham City Council from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Hilton, 3800 Hillsborough Road.

Confirmed attendees are:

* Mayor William V. "Bill" Bell

* Councilman Thomas Stith

* Farad Ali

* Councilman Eugene A. Brown

* Councilwoman Diane Catotti

* Laney Funderburk

* David Harris

* Steve Monks

* David Thompson Jr.

* Melodie Parrish

* Victoria Peterson

* Joe Williams

A brief meet-and-greet with the candidates will be held at the beginning of the forum. This event is free and open to the public.

Croquet tourney sign ups

The Durham Central Park Cup Croquet Tournament, a fundraiser and part of the "Meals from the Market" series, is now signing up those who would like to compete.

This event will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 30, at Durham Central Park, 701 Foster St. Playoff competition will be arranged as teams sign up.

Prices are $15 for adults, $10 for adolescents (12-17) and $5 for children (3-11); toddlers under 3 get in for free.

For more information, visit www.durhamcentralpark.org/croquet.html.

Youth Orchestra holding open house

Durham Youth Orchestra will hold an open house for interested young musicians and their families from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27, at Rogers-Herr Middle School, 911 Cornwallis Road.

Refreshments will be served, questions answered and future auditions scheduled.

For more information, call Nancy Quinn at 479-4706, e-mail nancyrayquinn@yahoo.com or visit www.durhamyo.org.

Postal station celebrates its customers

Shannon Station Post Office, 3710 Shannon Road, will hold its annual Customer Appreciation Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28.

Highlighting the event will be the post office's Automated Postal Center (APC), which now offers customer incentives during its 24-hour availability. The Do-It-Yourself and WIN Sweepstakes is designed to show customers how to save time at post office locations by using the APC kiosk, and how to win cash just for using it.

Free refreshments will be served and the public is invited.

What's on the calendar

The Durham section of the NCNW will host the N.C. Coalition State meeting from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, at St. Joseph's AME Church, 2521 Fayetteville St.

NCNW is a community service organization with special emphasis on education, health and the family unit. Presenters will include members of the Health Awareness Committee.

For registration information, call Lousie J. Gooch at 361-2100.

Durham Parks and Recreation will host the grand opening of the Northgate Dog Park, 300 W. Club Blvd., in conjunction with the "Woofstock" and Skyhoundz competition today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A multitude of canines and their owners are expected to participate in the celebration.