South metro news briefs: Wasps close several city parks in Prior Lake

More bug problems are popping up in Scott County, only this time it isn't skeeters, it's a bug that eats skeeters.

Officials in Prior Lake have closed several city parks for up to two weeks due to an infestation of sand wasps.

The parks involved include Boudins, Cardinal Ridge, Fish Point, Green Oaks, Island View, North Shore Oaks, Sand Point Parks and the volleyball court at Sand Point Beach.

The parks shut down by July 25 and were expected to stay closed for 10 to 14 days, the period during which the wasps remain an annoyance.

The wasps "almost never sting humans," and they "eat flies and mosquitoes and are expected to disappear within a two-week period," an official announcement said. The city's website will carry updates.

Rural Scott County has been a major hot spot for mosquitoes this summer.

Shakopee police are looking for the owners of a bunch of bikes and other assorted property that has turned up.

The announcement went up late last week, with a promise to destroy or auction the items after two weeks.

The list includes an iPod, a silver wallet, an AT&T flip phone, a 9mm Luger gun, some BMW keys, two mens' watches and many other items, including a "black wallet w/student ID" and "MN license plates" — no word on why the cops can't find the owners of the latter two themselves.

Hastings is taking applications for a police chief to take the place of Paul Schnell, who left the department July 21 to become police chief in Maplewood.

The city is accepting applications until Friday, Aug. 9.

For more details and links to the full job description, visit www.ci.hastings.mn.us/Police/Index.htm.

The Government Center's Professional Development Center, 200 4th Av. W. in Shakopee, is the site for hands-on computer basics classes. Teachers are from the Science Museum of Minnesota Computer Education Center.

Classes include:

• E-mail Basics, Aug. 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Set up a free e-mail account, send and receive messages, and add attachments.

• Word Basics, Aug. 13 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Enter and edit text in a word processing program, apply formatting and save files. Must know how to use a keyboard and mouse.

• Word, Part 2, Aug. 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.: Page layout, margins, page breaks, AutoCorrect, AutoFormat, page numbers, headers, footers, lists, tabs and tables.

Professors and students from Inver Hills Community College and Metropolitan State University will honor the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims this fall by planting an orchard in Newtown, Conn.

The orchard is to be part of Newtown's public Victory Garden. It is to be set up Oct. 5 with a tree-planting ceremony and communitywide planting. Produce will go to local food shelves.

The Twin Cities participants have been involved in a community garden project on the Inver Hills campus. They hope to take eight students who have worked on the local garden to Newtown to work on the planting.

A fund has been set up to support the students. Tax-deductible donations can be made online at give.inver hills.edu, under "Sandy Hook Victory Garden." Donations by mail, with "Sandy Hook Victory Garden" on the check, may be sent to the Inver Hills Foundation, 2500 E. 80th St., Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076.