ANOKA COUNTY

Parks and Rec offers winter day camps The Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department will hold one-day activities camps that include cross country skiing, snowshoeing, kick sledding and winter games Monday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park in Coon Rapids and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Wargo Nature Center in Lino Lakes.

The fee is $20. Preregistration is required. Call 651-429-8007 or register on-line at www.anokacountyparks.com.

$5,000 gift will help Riverfront park The Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department has received a $5,000 donation from BAE Systems Inc., a national defense contractor. The money is targeted for improvements at Riverfront Regional Park, near the BAE Systems facility in Fridley.

Waste facility has holiday closings The Anoka County Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 3230 101st Av. NE., Blaine, usually open Wednesdays from 2 to 8 p.m., will be closed Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. It will be open during regular Saturday hours, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., on Dec. 27 and Jan. 3.

Habitat for Humanity homes dedicated Habitat for Humanity dedicated four townhomes in Ramsey on Saturday.

The homes, in the 14800 block of Olivine Street NW, were sponsored by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The townhomes will house three families from Ethiopia and one from Kyrgyzstan. The families, who altogether have 12 children, will move in by January.

Thrivent has provided $436,300 toward the cost of the four new homes, built with help from the new homeowners and volunteers from Thrivent and from Lutheran churches. Sixteen Habitat homes have been built in Ramsey and eight more are planned.

The Pulse CO-Oximeter, invented by Masimo Corp. in 2005, can be used at fire scenes or homes where CO detectors have gone off, said Fire Chief John Malenick. The device, which is clipped on a finger, works in seconds to detect CO in the blood. No blood samples are needed.

The city paid $3,500, half of it covered by fundraisers, for the oximeter, said assistant fire chief Don Drusch. He said Masimo sales reps said the St. Anthony Fire Department is the first in the area to have the CO oximeters, although the devices have been ordered by the Minneapolis and St. Paul fire departments.

Firefighters will ring Salvation Army bells New Brighton firefighters will be bell ringers for the Salvation Army from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Cub Foods, 2600 Rice Creek Road.

Firefighters from across the metro area helped raise an estimated $19,000 this year for "Everyday Heroes Day," during which firefighters, police officers and EMTs collect donations for the charity.

Nominees sought for historic places list The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota is accepting nominations for its 2009 list of the 10 most endangered historic Minnesota places.

For a nomination form, visit www.mnpreservation.org or call the alliance office at 651-293-9047.

This will be the 16th year that the Alliance has released its annual list. The most endangered program is designed to shine a spotlight on historic sites and buildings that are in danger. Of the more than 100 places that appeared on the endangered list in years past, more than half were eventually preserved, alliance officials said in a news release.