West news briefs: Flu shot clinic on Sept. 30 in Bloomington

Bloomington Human Services and Public Health are hosting a flu shot clinic Tuesday, September 30, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The clinic will be at Creekside Community Center, 9801 Penn Ave. S. No appointment is necessary. Please bring your insurance card if you have coverage. Shots will be provided to those without insurance and unable to pay. For more information contact Human Services at 952-563-4944, TTY 952-563-4933 or e-mail humanservices@BloomingtonMN.gov.

Dan Tengwall has been named veterans service officer for Carver County.

Tengwall is a captain in the Minnesota National Guard, where he is a commander of a headquarters battery. The army awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding leadership during his tour of duty in Iraq 2009-2010. He has worked on pensions at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Minneapolis and served as a Veterans Service Representative for the Hennepin County Veterans Service Office.

The county's veterans service office provides guidance and assistance to veterans, their dependents and survivors in applying for state and federal veterans benefits.

"Speak! The Quality of Interactions Between Humans and Animals," will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday in the MacMillan Auditorium, Oswald Visitor Center, at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen.

The event will feature storyteller Kevin Kling talking about dogs in his life, nationally known expert Suzanne Clothier on human-animal relationships and a panel discussion on "Animal-Assisted Interactions in Practice." Also appearing will be Tanya Bailey, a social worker and animal-assisted interaction specialist, and her trained "therapy chicken" Woodstock.

The conference is being presented by the University of Minnesota's Nature-Based Therapeutics Program, a shared initiative with the arboretum and the Center for Spirituality and Healing.

Construction work on Bushaway Road, part of County Road 101, will start Sept. 25.

The winding road, which is said to be the first registered road after Minnesota became a state, is getting a $41 million renovation. Work includes widening and repaving the century-old road, putting in new sewers and adding an 8-foot-wide bike and pedestrian trail.

Starting this week, Eastman Lane and McGinty Road in Wayzata will be closed to traffic with only local access permitted.

Calvin Presbyterian Church in Long Lake will continue what has become a more-than-35-year tradition by holding its semiannual rummage and bake sale on Oct. 2-3. The public is welcome.

The sale, featuring gently used clothes and household items, as well as homemade baked goods, will start at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2. The first day, items will be half-price from 5 to 7 p.m. On Friday, Oct. 3, the hours will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and all you can fit into a bag will cost $3.

Calvin Church is located at the corner of Glendale and Grand streets. For directions or more information, call 952-473-5419.

Hard-core distance runners, casual walkers and kids with energy to burn are all invited to participate in the Autumn Woods Classic from 8:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 11 at the Elm Creek Park Reserve in Maple Grove.

The event will feature a 10K run, 5K run/walk and 1K kids' run. Team 5K and 10K categories are also available. Other family activities include musical entertainment, a climbing wall, kids' obstacle course, crafts and displays. Free mini pumpkins will be given to the first 400 1K runners.

The cost for the 10K and 5K races is $32 for same-day registration and $27 for preregistration. Cost for the 1K kids' run is $9 for same-day and $5 for preregistration. The preregistration deadline is Oct. 6. For more information visit www.ThreeRiversParks.org or call 763-559-6700.

A cleanup program expected to take place Oct. 4 in Orono is now canceled.

Plymouth's Parks and Recreation Department is seeking vendors for its third-annual Plymouth Pet Expo on Oct. 25.

The event will be held 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Plymouth Creek Center Fieldhouse, 14800 34th Av. N. Vendors offer pet care, merchandise, products, services or other expertise relating to domestic pets.

Last year's event hosted 35 vendors and was attended by more than 500 people. Register by Oct. 10. For vendor booth information, call Dan Lauer at 763-509-5283 or e-mail dlauer@plymouthmn.gov. For more information, go to www.plymouthmn.gov/petexpo.

Wayzata's police and fire departments will host a public safety open house on Monday, Oct. 6. The event will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 600 Rice St. E.

It will include fire trucks and a police car on display, a kitchen fire demo, police K-9 dog demo, representatives from other law enforcement and emergency personnel, face painters, giveaways and hot dogs.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 4-7 p.m. at the Big Woods and adjacent lawn of The Retreat recovery center at 1221 Wayzata Blvd. The event includes tours of the woods, tours of The Retreat, a short program at 5:30 p.m., a French horn quartet, hors d'oeuvres and special activities for children.

In 2004, four organizations — the city, The Retreat, the Trust for Public Land and the Minnesota Land Trust — preserved the Big Woods and bought the property for $1.6 million. The public park, a rare urban remnant of the historic Big Woods that once covered Minnesota and the eastern United States, is open year-round.