Briefs: Burnsville Arts Center taking donations for food shelf

The Burnsville Performing Arts Center and the Burnsville Convention and Visitors Bureau are working with 360 Communities this holiday season to restock local food shelves.

Bring a nonperishable food item to the Arts Center at 12600 Nicollet Av. during regular business hours or before any performance through Jan. 1 and it will be donated to a local food shelf. Items needed include canned fruit, cereal, canned tuna or chicken, boxed ready-made meals like Tuna Helper or Chicken Helper, and cooking oil.

Two large circular bins are located in the Arts Center's lobby for the collections.

Handling the holidays with Alzheimer's Managing the holidays with a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease will be the topic of a talk Wednesday at a Lakeville senior living center.

The Rev. Marty Jones, chaplain at Highview Hills Senior Center, will speak at 1 p.m. in the center's movie theater at 20150 Highview Av.

Jones will talk about the gift of the present and using spiritual traditions as a way of staying grounded. There will be free supervised activities in the art room for guests with Alzheimer's so their caregivers may attend the seminar.

Sign up at the Lakeville Senior Center by Monday. For more information, call the Lakeville Senior Center at 952-985-4622.

Disaster plan update for county underway During the past decade, there have been six federally declared disasters in Dakota County.

Since 2000, federal law has required all states and counties to have an "all-hazard mitigation plan" to rank disasters by severity and identify ways to minimize risk.

The plans must be updated every five years, and Dakota County now is updating its plan, which will be available for public review early next year.

For more information or to take a short online survey to help the county identify priorities, see www.startribune.com/a43.

How to recycle your holiday lights Is there a light on the Christmas tree that won't light on one side?

The county recycling center is accepting lights and cords for free until Jan. 15 as part of the seasonal "Recycle Your Holidays" program created by the Recycling Association of Minnesota.

Last year, more than 100,000 pounds of holiday string lights were recycled across the state.

Besides dropping off lights at the Recycling Zone, located at 3365 Dodd Road in Eagan, residents can find other collection sites by visiting www.re cycleminnesota.org.

Mentors needed for 60 kids in county Kids 'n' Kinship is holding an orientation session on Tuesday to line up more adults to mentor children in Dakota County.

The program estimates that there are more than 60 children waiting for mentors.

Individuals, couples and families are among those who can volunteer. Some training can be provided.

RSVP at 952-892-6368. For more information, go to www. kidsnkinship.org.