The briefs

Overcoming anxiety talk Jan. 31

"Overcoming Anxiety -- How to Defeat Your Inner Fears" will be discussed from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Jan. 31 at Alexian Center for Mental Health, 3350 Salt Creek Lane, Unit 114, Arlington Heights. The free lecture will be presented by Alan Weintraub, former director of Panic and Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Forest Hospital. Call Maxine at (847) 952-7464 to register.

District 214 offers arts, writing contest

Members of the communities served by Northwest Suburban High School District 214 are invited to enter the annual Arts Unlimited Community Writing & Art Contest co-sponsored by the district and the Daily Herald.

The contest is for original poetry, prose and visual art, with entries due by Feb. 1.

Poetry submissions may be in any style on any subject. Prose may be either fiction or nonfiction with a 1,500-word limit. Visual art must be 2-D media, color or grayscale, submitted as either a photograph or copy.

No entries will be returned. Three winners will be named in each category.

Two copies of each entry should be mailed to Liz Schrenk, Arts Unlimited 214, Elk Grove High School, 500 W. Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. The entrant's name, address, and telephone number must be recorded on the back of one copy of the entry, leaving the other copy with the title only and no other identifying information.

For more information, e-mail Liz Schrenk at liz.schrenk@d214.org.