Fifty volunteers are needed to help build a portion of a new public trail for hiking and biking north of New Castle on Saturday, Sept. 20. This moderately climbing 3-mile loop overlooks the town at 6,615 feet.Volunteers working on this trail for the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) project will be treated to a day of hard work and stewardship of public lands, breakfast snacks, prizes and dinner. Workers will be able to help choose the final name for the new trail.The trails work is best suited for people aged 14 or older, and no trail building experience is necessary. For more information or to volunteer, call RFOV at 927-8241, or toll-free at 877-662-5220 , or e-mail rfov@sopris.net.Several entities have made this trail a reality for the Town of New Castle. Besides RFOV, homeowners, the town of New Castle and the Bureau of Land Management in Glenwood Springs have collaborated on this project. Major project sponsors include the Aspen Skiing Company Environment Foundation, Colorado State Trails Program and Castle Valley Ranch.RFOV is a nonprofit organization promoting volunteer stewardship of public lands by completing trail work and conservation projects.If you want to see Phil Shaffer’s face light up, just ask him about his son Andy’s career. Shaffer and his wife Judy went to Denver for an extended Labor Day weekend to watch their son live his dream – to be a racecar mechanic on a winning team in a major racing event.The younger Shaffer received numerous scholarships for his auto mechanic abilities when he graduated from Rifle High School in 1999, and went on to Russell Racing School in Sonoma, Calif., for a year. He became a Team 1 mechanic for the Michael Valiente Lynx Racing Team, which competes in the Toyota Atlantic Series, an open-wheeled small Indy car, two stages down from the Indianapolis cars. “It was great to see him (Andy) in all his gear, his big jacket and gloves and all,” said the elder Shaffer. “We hadn’t seen him for six months, and during the race, we could only see him for 3-5 seconds at a time (during the pit stops). But we did get to visit with him for a good day and a half.””Now they’re in the hunt for team points for the championship, and the last race of the season will be in late September. The team took second place at the Denver Grand Prix. I got to talk to Michael (Valiente), and he gave credit to the team mechanics, which made me so proud,” said Shaffer.”We always stressed to Andy, `Always give your best, there is no option,'” continued the elder Shaffer. “If we had to do it all over again, go through everything, we’d still push him in that direction. He knows he is doing the right thing and contributing to a team effort. The team traveled over 35,000 miles this year, and they all felt the sacrifices to get to where they are. But the cup of victory is so sweet.”YouthZone is offering parenting classes in communities across the county again this fall. The Parenting with Love and Logic class coaches parents to teach responsibility and life skills by solving their own problems. The class will be offered on Wednesdays in the YouthZone Rifle office and Tuesdays in Glenwood Office in late September, October and November. On Thursdays, two classes will be held, one in Spanish and one in English at Basalt Middle School.The Parenting your Teen When Things are out of Control class gives seven steps to re-establish authority and reclaim lost love within the family. Get ideas to stop inappropriate behavior and troubleshoot future problems.This class will be offered at both Rifle and Glenwood YouthZone offices in September and October. Call 945-9300, 625-3141, or 963-0618 to sign up. Classes are $135/person, or $150/couple, and scholarships are available.The menu for the CMC Senior Nutrition Luncheon for Monday, Sept. 15, at the New Castle Community Center will be baked pork chops, potatoes with cream gravy, stir-fried zucchini, baked tomatoes, and sherbet.Kay’s column, “New Castle News,” appears every other Thursday. Please call 984-2308 or email vasilaki@rof.net with news tips or inspirations.