District 55 representative to visit county

BRADENTON --

State Rep. Darryl E. Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, will hold a town hall meeting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at the 13th Avenue Community Center, 201 13th Ave. W.

Rouson, whose District 55 includes a sliver of Manatee County, will give a legislative update on the 2008 session and listen to concerns of constituents.

For more information, call Rouson's office at 708-8570.

Scholarships awarded

BRADENTON - Attorneys Scott Kallins, Melton Little and James Delgado awarded scholarships to Manatee County high school students.

The KLD Scholarships totaled $16,000 and were presented to 12 students at the El Conquistador Country Club on Wednesday.

The 2008 KLD scholarship winners are: Lisa Baker (Bayshore), Caitlin Burns (Manatee School for the Arts), Matthew Cowles (Sarasota Military Academy), Brett Burhenne (Sarasota Military Academy), Heather Dearlove (Bradenton Christian), Megan Guice (Lakewood Ranch), Ashley Hall (PACE Center for Girls), Issac Lima (Southeast), Taylor Morgan (Manatee), Marissa Ortiz (Bradenton Prep), Maria Perez (Palmetto) and Dacia Thompson (Saint Stephen's).

The students were chosen out of 61 applicants based on essays in which they outlined their plans and goals.

Coalition to meet

BRADENTON - The Early Learning Coalition of Manatee County Inc. has scheduled a Strategic Planning Committee meeting for noon Wednesday at Jobs Etc., 1112 Manatee Avenue East.

For information, call Linda Jimenez at 714-7449 ext. 149.

Plant confab coming

PALMETTO - The Florida Native Plant Society will hold its 28th annual state conference May 15-18 at the Manatee Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd., Palmetto.

The Mangrove, Pinellas, Serenoa and Suncoast chapters of the Florida Native Plant Society are the hosts.

More than 50 presentations and workshops will be held for horticulturists, environmental professionals, gardeners, nature enthusiasts and the general public.

Children's Conference also will be held where young people can learn about native plants, participate in a Native American field trip to Emerson Point and create environmental art.

For more information and to register, visit the Web site at www.fnps.org.

- Herald staff reports

IN BRIEF