East insider

Workshops on Internet safety for children Parents who want to learn about Internet safety and children can attend one of four upcoming workshops.

Detective Tim Harris of the Washington County Sheriff's Office Crimes Against Children Task Force will team up with Bethel College Professor Peggy Kendall for the sessions. The workshops run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on the following days:

• Feb. 11 at Skyview Community School, 1100 Heron Av. N, Oakdale.

• March 6 at Stillwater High School, 5701 N. Stillwater Blvd., Oak Park Heights.

• April 1 at Mahtomedi District Education Center, 1520 Mahtomedi Av., Mahtomedi.

• April 21 at the Forest Lake High School media center, 6100 N. 210th St., Forest Lake.

For more information, call 651-430-7600.

Library encouraging adults to get out, read Come to the public library and enjoy "Hot Reads for Cold Nights," an evening of books, snacks and conversation that continues through the end of February. The annual event, sponsored by the Ramsey County Library, encourages busy adults to enjoy reading during the dark months of winter. The library is located at 4698 Clark Av. in White Bear Lake.

For days and times, call 651-407-5302.

Snow Frolics events The North St. Paul Snow Frolics run through mid-February.

There's a medallion hunt from Monday through Feb. 15, with clues available on the North St. Paul events website and at local businesses. Go to www.startribune.com/a3950 to find the events website.

A "Moonlight Stroll Down Seventh Avenue" is slated for Feb. 15, during which participants can view snow sculptures on downtown's main street and get a sampling of food from local vendors at the fire station. Stores will be open until 7:30 p.m. A fireworks display will take place at North St. Paul High School, across Hwy. 36 from the giant snowman.

City steps up efforts to clean up graffiti St. Paul public works employees are ready to obliterate graffiti on public property, and the city is asking you to report places you've noticed the problem.

During the cold months, the rate of graffiti vandalism slows down. Public works is taking advantage of this period before spring street cleaning and road maintenance to tackle the cleanup.

Report graffiti on public property by calling the Saint Paul Information and Complaints Office at 651-266-8989 or by filling out a form on the city's website at www.startribune.com/a3948.

If you are a victim of graffiti on your St. Paul property call 651-291-1111 to file a police report.

Pet food chain raises money for animals A popular fundraiser for animal welfare services raised more than $11,000 this year.

Chuck & Don's Pet Food Outlet raised $14,841 in its annual Holiday Paw Print campaign. Chuck & Don's, which has 13 locations in the Twin Cities, raised $11,873 through customer donations -- displayed as paw prints on store windows.

The business donated a 25 percent matching grant. The campaign generally benefits a local animal rescue organization, and this year the beneficiary was Homes for All Pets Coalition, a collaboration of Twin Cities animal rescue groups.

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