West metro town briefs

Updated: August 27, 2008 - 1:34 AM

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WAYZATA

Cadillacs, chrome and a good cause

The Wayzata Rotary Charity Auto Show is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 7 on Mill Street in downtown Wayzata.

The event will feature the best of vintage, classic, custom, foreign and specialty cars, as well as high-mileage vehicles. Proceeds will benefit international and local projects.

There is no admission fee for spectators, but car owners will be charged $15 per vehicle they enter in the show.

For more details, go to www.wayzatarotary.org.

CHANHASSEN

Arboretum exhibit features barn art

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is opening an exhibit today featuring Michele Pope Melina's oil paintings of picturesque barns.

Melina has assembled "The Painted Barn: An Artist's Tribute" as part of the Arboretum's 50th anniversary celebration.

The award-winning artist, who grew up in rural Virginia, says she has had a lifelong affection for barns. "I remember them built to be big and strong and weather any storm. ... As our new neighborhoods encroach upon the old farms, we start to notice how precious they seem -- until they are inevitably removed," she said in a news release. "My goal for this exhibition is to encourage viewers to hold onto tradition by sharing stories and memories of our past. This was a special time, this age of barns."

The exhibit will continue through Oct. 26 at the Arboretum's Reedy Gallery, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chanhassen.

ST. LOUIS PARK

Play about Wellstone opens next week

The play "Wellstone!" will open Tuesday at the Sabes Jewish Community Center, 4330 S. Cedar Lake Road, St. Louis Park, kicking off the center's 2008-09 Performing Arts Professional Season. The show, by Mark Rosenwinkel, will run through Sept. 21.

Tickets are $16 to $20. For information or tickets, go to www.sabesjcc.org or call 952-381-3499.

HENNEPIN COUNTY

Watershed board has two openings

Hennepin County is seeking applicants for two seats on the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District Board. The people who hold the seats now, Robert Kojetin of Edina and Corrine Lynch of Eden Prairie, are seeking reappointment, but others can apply.

The board plans conservation of natural resources and coordinates management of water and related land areas that cover about 50 square miles that drain into Nine Mile Creek in Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Richfield.

Meetings are held about once a month. Applicants must live in the district. The deadline for applying is Sept. 4, with interviews to be held by the County Board on Sept. 9.

For more information, contact Yolanda McCrary at 612-348-3257 or yolanda.mccrary@co.hennepin.mn.us.

Sheriff's Office offers citizens' academy

The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is sponsoring a Citizen Law Enforcement Academy to give residents a closer look at the workings of the office.

Participants will be able to observe a range of policing activities from DWI and narcotics enforcement to K-9 operations, crime labs and the county jail.

Participants must be at least 18 years old and will be screened for criminal backgrounds. The academy, which is free, will hold nine weekly classes, scheduled from 6:30 to 9:45 p.m. Sept. 25 through Nov. 20.

Applications are available at www.hennepinsheriff.org, or call Sgt. Kathy Hughes at 612-596-1720 with questions.

Hourlong writing labs offered at libraries

The Hennepin County Library, in collaboration with the Loft Literary Center, is offering free writing labs for adults this fall.

The "First Pages" curriculum consists of 14 creative writing labs. Six will be presented at libraries this fall, with more labs to be presented in the winter and spring. The labs each last one hour.

Topics this fall include "The Fine Print: How Do I Get Published?," "How to Start Your Memoir: For Writers 55 and Older," "No Fear, No Rhyme Poetry: Write Your First Poem," "The Parent Trap: Finding Time to Write," "Taking Your Idea From Brainstorm to Page" and "What Would You Like to Write?"

For details on where you can take the classes and how to sign up, go to www.hclib.org.

WEST METRO AREA

Edina Rotary Club ranks near the top

Four Rotary clubs in the Twin Cities area ranked among the top in the world for giving to the Rotary Foundation in 2007-08, Rotary International has announced.

The Rotary Club of Edina ranked eighth out of more than 30,000 clubs worldwide in giving and second in the world in giving per member. Only a club in Pakistan donated more per member.

Other top-performing Twin Cities Rotary Clubs were City of Lakes in Minneapolis, 23rd; Minneapolis No. 9, 28th; and Apple Valley, 44th.

Rotary emphasizes service, high ethical standards in business and advancement of international understanding. The foundation gives money for a wide range of projects ranging from polio eradication and efforts to dig wells in Africa to scholarships that allow college students to study overseas.

NEW HOPE, CRYSTAL, ROBBINSDALE

Getting a look behind the scenes at the P.D.

Residents of all ages are invited to participate in a Citizens' Police Academy offered by the Robbinsdale, New Hope and Crystal police departments.

Officers from the three cities will lead the six-week program, to be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday evenings beginning Sept. 11. Topics to be covered include patrol tactics, crime-scene processing, juvenile crime and crime-prevention strategies. The program is open to residents of the three cities, but space is limited.

To register or get more information, call New Hope police Sgt. Scott Slawson at 763-531-5170; Crystal police Sgt. Stephanie Fealy at 763-531-1011, or Robbinsdale Sgt. Patrick Foley at 763-531-1220.