Contact the Ridgeview Foundation by December 2010 for information about 2011 volunteer opportunities at (952) 442-6010 or [email protected].

There are new volunteer opportunities at Two Twelve Medical Center in Chaska or Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia.

Opening Feb. 1, 2011, Two Twelve Medical Center brings primary and specialty care together in one location, in addition to 24/7 emergency and urgent care.

By Chuck Friedbauer

About 100 teenagers and several Chaska Police officers attended the Nov. 5 event, called “Face2Face,” to get to know each other a little better and talk about community issues.

“I’ve been out biking with my friends when we’ve seen a cop, and they want to hide,” said local eighth-grader Ryan Bjerva. “But I don’t understand that, because that officer is just checking to make sure everything is safe.”

By Shawn Hogendorf

There’s Purple Pride and there are Packer Backers – and when it comes to football you’re either on one side of the fence or the other. It’s a rivalry – 50 years in the making – that has divided Minnesotans and Wisconsinites as much as it has brought them together.

Several members of the Carver County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse attended a training clinic hosted by the Meeker County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse on Sept. 23-26 in Meeker County.

Riders from Carver County included Judy Clasen of Waconia, Denise Herntier of Shakopee, and June Hilgers of Waconia.

Awards were given to members of the group as part of competitions held during the clinic. Honors received by the Carver County Sheriff’s Mounted Posse included:

* Team Obstacle competition, the three-member Carver County team took second place.

By Unsie Zuege

One of the best humorous Christmas stories of all time is “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” a novel by Barbara Robinson that pokes fun at the perennial church Christmas pageant.

There’s no better way to kick off the holiday season than to see the adaptation of it as presented by the Chaska Valley Family Theatre (CVFT), opening Friday, Nov. 26 at Chaska High School.

“Give Where You Live,” the CAP Agency annual fundraising campaign, continues through Jan. 31, 2011.

Checks can be mailed to the CAP Agency at 712 Canterbury Road South, Shakopee, MN 55379 and credit card donations can be made on line at www.capagency.org or by calling (952) 496-2125, ask for Fiscal Dept.

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum hosts “Making Spirits Bright,” celebrating nature – indoors and out – and running from Nov. 26 through Jan. 2. In the Oswald Visitor Center, visitors will gaze upon the Great Hall of Trees, several lofty fir trees adorned with handmade natural ornaments, all created by Arboretum volunteers and gardeners.

Auburn Homes & Services is taking orders for poinsettias to raise funds for the Chaska campus outdoor courtyard.

The sale features 6-inch poinsettias with 5 to 7 blooms in three color choices for $15. 10-inch poinsettias are also available with 15 to 20 blooms in four color choices for $30.

Enter a coloring contest for a chance to win a wagon ride with Santa Claus to the annual tree lighting in City Square Park in downtown Chaska on Saturday, Dec. 4.

Through the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), public health departments in Carver and Scott Counties are addressing obesity and tobacco, the leading preventable causes of illness and death, according to a Carver County Public Health and Environment press release.

SHIP, part of Minnesota’s nation-leading 2008 health reform law, strives to help Minnesotans lead longer, healthier lives by preventing the chronic disease risk factors of tobacco use and exposure, poor nutrition and physical inactivity, the release stated.