June is wedding season, and if you're starting to plan ahead for your own future nuptials, you know that the price can be steep. In fact, the average overall cost of a wedding in the United States is around $28,000. However, it is possible to have a memorable day while sticking to a realistic budget, advises the Oregon Society of CPAs. Here are some tips: . . .

Elder John Hart Sr. celebrates his 105th birthday on May 23 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Maranatha Church, NE 12th and Skidmore. The Skanner wishes many happy returns of the day to Elder Hart!
Posing for a family photo, siblings with their father and step mother: John Hart Jr., Pastor Mary Overstreet-Smith, Elder John Hart, and his new bride (they were married in December) Jeri Hart . . .
Julie Keefe photo

As the summer heats up, Americans will begin spending more time outside, grilling, playing outdoor sports, doing yard work, going to the beach--enjoying the sunshine. But there may be risk for something much more serious than a tan.  African Americans may not be as careful with their sun safety habits as their White counterparts, believing that the melanin in their darker skin is protecting them from skin cancer.  While skin cancer is less common in people with darker skin, people of color are at some risk for the disease. Unfortunately, African  Americans are often diagnosed at an advanced stage, when there is less chance for a cure. . . . 

Jefferson High School's 100the birthday observance will be commemorated with a three-day celebration and an all-class reunion spanning the years from 1909 through the class of 2012. On Thursday, May 28, a golf tournament kicks off at Riverside Golf and Country Club. The shotgun start will begin at 1 p.m. The entry price is $150, which covers golf, a cart, and dinner. Non-golfers can attend the post tournament dinner for a $20 fee, which includes a non-golfers goody bag. . . .

Grammy Nominated Patrick Lamb will perform at the Second Annual Dinner of Hope on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The dinner is being held by Oregon League of Minority Voters (OLMV), and will honor two outstanding Oregon Governors: The Honorable Victor Atiyeh and The Honorable Barbara Roberts. . . .

Benson High Rose Princess Shakhara Green introduces herself to the crowd at the Red Cross' annual Courting Donors blood drive. It was the first blood drive to feature the full Rose Court. The princesses introduced themselves and then performed a dance routine. They were also proclaimed to be Red Cross Ambassadors and judged the annual flower show.

The Oregon State Board of Pharmacy won the 2009 Fred T. Mahaffey Award for service and dedication to public health, at the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy convention ...  for being the first in the nation to battle methamphetamine by banning over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine products – a key ingredient in the manufacture of meth – making them available by prescription only ... Here, in accepting the Mahaffey Award, Schnabel is joined by NABP Immediate Past President Rich Palombo, Lew and The Skanner Publisher Bernie Foster, a public-at-large member of the Oregon Pharmacy Board.

Republicans are divided over how aggressively to go after Sonia Sotomayor, a family feud about the tone of the debate over confirming the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court.
There are concerns raised by an increasing number of GOP lawmakers and conservative leaders about the strident rhetoric that certain prominent Republicans have used to describe Sotomayor. Some are denouncing right-wing groups for their negative advertisements against the federal appeals judge. . . .

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's a police officer's nightmare scenario: Confronting someone who appears to be an armed suspect and opening fire, only to discover that person was actually an officer not in uniform.
It's the kind of mistake that haunts a department, opens it to scrutiny, and dominates headlines. While the phenomenon has happened around America, New York is home to several cases in the past few years.
FBI statistics don't specify the race of officers killed, and many community members and leaders say race is clearly the reason for the accidents. In the latest slaying, the officer who fired Dunton and two officers with him were white; the victim was black. . . .

Do you have a history with the legal system? Having trouble finding or maintaining housing because of it? Join the Better People organization for a panel discussion on the subject. While the talk will be crafted more for organizations helping ex-offenders, the public is welcome to attend. The forum will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on June 9 at the Central Library,

Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch. A reservation for the free forum should be made by June 5. Please call Tanisha Wells at Better People at 503-281-2663.