A dinner to raise money for the Bruce F. Vento Science Educator Scholarship Fund will take place Sept. 15 at the Prom Center, 484 Inwood Ave. N., Oakdale. Vento, who has represented the St. Paul area in the 4th Congressional District since 1977, is retiring at the end of the current term because of his ongoing battle with cancer.

The St. Paul Foundation has established the fund to award scholarships to third- and fourth-year college students from the 4th District who are pursuing degrees in science education. Vento is a former public school science teacher and union member.

The dinner is $50 per plate, half of which is tax-deductible. Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. For information, call Laura Testor, 651-291-8340.

A previous dinner in Washington, D.C., on June 27 raised more than $500,000 to help endow the fund.

At the Minnesota AFL-CIO convention Aug. 29 in Rochester, Vento received the Medallion Award, the Minnesota AFL-CIO's highest honor. Bernard L. Brommer, president of the state federation, praised Vento for his tireless support of working families and the environment, and read a litany of causes Vento has championed. 'The next time someone says public office is not an honorable profession,' Brommer said, 'remember Bruce F. Vento.'

This article is edited from one that appears in the Sept. 13 issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org