The Southwestern Colorado Area Health Education Center and The Colorado Trust will present “The Health Equity Learning Series,” regularly scheduled webinars.

The webinars, originating in Denver, will be broadcast to viewers in Southwest Colorado and will cover topics about the disparities and gaps in the health-care system. The first presenter will be Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink.

The presentation will be at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Keller Williams building, 700 Main Ave. Arrive early for complimentary lunch. Registration is required.

To register, visit http://swcahec.org/2013-registration .

Speaking forum to look at nonviolence

Mercy Regional Medical Center will host “Quality Outcomes Rely on Quality Communication: Speaking NVC for a Just Hospital Culture,” a free education series on nonviolent communication by Wes Taylor, service excellence manager at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore.

Participants will learn the basic principles of nonviolent communication and how to use it in a natural way; how to identify their own and others’ needs; how to meet those needs in a mutually satisfying way; and how to receive critical and hostile messages without taking them personally, giving in or losing self-esteem.

Community sessions will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 27 and 2 to 3 p.m. Feb. 28. An in-depth workshop for advance practitioners of nonviolent communication will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 28. All sessions will take place in conference room A/B at Mercy Regional Medical Center.

To register, call Stephanie Dial at 764-2342.

Free income-tax return preparation available

Free income-tax return preparation will be offered on Saturdays in March and April through the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.

Returns are prepared by appointment only. Locations vary. This service is for people with incomes up to about $52,000. Taxpayers must bring Social Security cards for themselves and all dependents.

Taxpayers also must bring photo ID. Bring all 2013 income tax-related documents, such as W-2s, 1099-Rs, etc., and a copy of their 2012 return if available. If filing jointly, both taxpayers must be present. Complex tax returns are outside the VITA program scope.

To make an appointment, call 335-9776. For more information, email [email protected] .

Nominations of adult role models sought

San Juan Basin Health Department, supporting the Celebrating Healthy Communities Coalition, is seeking nominations of adults whom youths see as positive role models in La Plata County.

Youths younger than 21 can nominate an adult who exemplifies positive qualities including: modeling responsible, healthy behavior or inspiring a youngster to be a better person or positively impacting the lives of young people in the community. The adult could be a parent, family member, community elder, teacher, coach, neighbor, group leader or other adult. Every time a youth submits a nomination, his/her name is entered into a drawing to win a Kindle Fire HD.

To get nomination forums, visit www.sjbhd.org/celebrating-healthy-communities . Nominations are due by March 15 and award winners will be notified in April.

For more information, email Kara Collins at [email protected] or call 335-2046.

‘Las Marthas’ to be shown Thursday

Community Cinema, presented by Mancos Public Library, and the Independent Television Service will offer an advance screening of “Las Marthas” at 6 p.m. Thursday at Mancos Public Library, Community Meeting Room, 211 E. First St., Mancos.

Dating from the aftermath of the U.S.-Mexico War, the annual colonial-inspired Martha Washington Society debutante ball in Laredo, Texas, is unlike any other. The film follows two Mexican American girls carrying this gilded tradition on their shoulders during a time of economic uncertainty and tension over immigration.

For more information, visit www.pbs.org/independentlens/las-marthas .

Herald Staff