The 8th grade Health Education students at Warren's Flynn Middle School have become advocates for their peers by speaking through their writing. The students spent many hours researching, collaborating and learning the publishing and writing process as they put together a series of 11 encyclopedias. These volumes include health information articles ranging from alcohol to weight training with many health topics that affect the young community in between. The students wrote all the articles. In some cases, they wrote from their own experiences with the goal of helping others to make sound decisions.

The students' teacher, Wilda Nance, says the main goal of the project is to promote reading and writing. She is thrilled with the outcome. Nance is incredibly proud of her students. "This project has given a sense of achievement and accomplishment to the students and makes them feel like they can make a difference," she explains. 

These encyclopedias will be on display in the Troy Library's Teen Resource Center until July 30. Come take a look!

Are you interested in downloading free eAudibooks this summer? Now you can, thanks to Audiobook Community's SYNC campaign.

The SYNC campaign is designed to get more young adults listening to audiobooks. From July 1 through September 1, two audiobooks will be available each week for download: one best sellter and one classic. Each week, both books will share a common theme. All audiobooks used in the SYNC campaign are in the MP3 format and will work with both PCs and Macs. They can be transferred to a wide array of mobile devices.

Additionally, OverDrive is distributing all of the SYNC titles. To download titles, you will need to install the OverDrive Media Console. After you have downloaded your titles from SYNC, be sure to check out other free OverDrive downloadable ebooks and eaudiobooks that are available from the Troy Public Library here.

For more on SYNC, including the release schedule for free eAudiobooks, go here. To download this week's selections, go here.

Voter Guides for the August 3, 2010, Primary Election are available on the League of Women Voters of Michigan web site at http://www.lwvmi.org/. The Guides cover the races for Governor, US Representative, State Senator and State Representative.

The Guides provide non-partisan information about running candidates. Each candidate is given an opportunity to provide biographical information and to answer a number of questions on issues important to the office being sought. Responses are included as submitted and have not been edited, except for space.

For voters in Oakland County, the LWV Oakland Area has Voter Guides for races happening in Oakland County. There are also several candidate forums scheduled for July. 

Local voters can use Publius to get a sample ballot with integrated candidate information. Voters can also use the Secretary of State's Voter Information Center to get a sample ballot.