Allow the New Castle MOPS moms to watch your kids from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19, at the Apple Tree Community Center in New Castle while you shop or just enjoy a couple of hours to yourself this holiday season. Please provide lunch or snacks for your child. Donations will be used to benefit the New Castle MOPS chapter that will begin in September 2008. Please call Audry at 984-2379 or Sheila at 984-2481 with any questions or more information about MOPS.

The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) to Denver Water announces an opening for a Western Slope representative. The CAC is a 10-member volunteer standing committee, which facilitates public involvement on Denver Water policies and programs. The CAC has been involved with a number of issues including rates, water conservation, and Denver Waters long-range planning to ensure adequate water for customers in the future. Additional issues of interest to CAC members may also be addressed.Applicants must be a resident of Mesa, Delta, Montrose or Garfield counties, and have been a resident of Colorado for at least five years. The term of the position runs through December 2010.The CAC meets from 5-7 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at Denver Water, 1600 W. 12th Ave. in Denver. Regular attendance is important. Members are expected to participate in additional task-force activities. Some meetings may be attended via conference calls. For further information about the CAC and this position, contact Joe Sloan, Community Relations, Denver Water, (303) 628-6320; 1 (800) 610-6393, ext. 6320; joseph.sloan@denverwater.org, or Rick Sackbauer, Western Slope representative, (970) 845-2354 (W).The CAC will review applications at the Jan. 17 meeting. Interviews of selected candidates will be held at the February CAC meeting. Nominations will be sent to Denvers Board of Water Commissioners, who will make the final selection.

Donations are still being taken for the Henry Akim Gama fund at any Alpine Bank location. For more information, call 928-8813.

Elbra Wedgeworth will be visiting Glenwood Springs Jan. 21 to be the keynote speaker at the Garfield County Democratic Partys annual Martin Luther King Day Dinner. Many people are expected to be coming to the Roaring Fork Valley because of her efforts to bring the Democratic National convention to Denver. Denvers hotels will be filled with delegates and reporters, tourists will be coming to the mountains, which will translate into new business for the Roaring Fork Valley.Tickets to the Martin Luther King Day Dinner, which will be at the Glenwood Ramada Inn, are available from Cheri Brandon (970) 285-5670.

West Elk Multi Use Club invites all to ski and snowshoe 16 miles north of New Castle on the Buford Road. The trail head is located at The West Elk parking lot. Head east for 10 miles of loop trails, marked, with a good base. All are welcome, and the area is dog-friendly.For information, call James Fletcher at 625-5302; Yvonne Chambers at 625-4429; or Kay Robinson at 625-3663; or e-mail cabin@rof.net.