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News in Brief

The 12th annual lighting of the Basalt Peace Tree takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 9 in Lions Park, located in the center of the old part of town, in conjunction with the annual Holiday Stroll celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. in the downtown shopping district.Santa Claus will be arriving around 4 p.m. and staying until 6 p.m., welcoming children of all ages on the Basalt Regional Library porch.Christmas revelers also can enjoy hayrides through Basalt in a horse-drawn wagon, and from 5 to 6 p.m. the Basalt Heritage Society will hold a chili dinner and historical ornament sale in front of the Basalt Regional Library.In addition, the local Boy Scouts troop will have a bonfire, and the Lions Club will dispense hot chocolate and cookies. At 5:30 p.m. the Basalt Middle School band will perform holiday music, and the Waldorf Revelers will be caroling around the shopping district.Area businesses will offer treats such as gingerbread cookies at the Wyly Community Art Center and eggnog at the Mason & Morse real estate office.

The city of Aspen has named Mitzi Rapkin, formerly of Aspen Public Radio, the new community relations specialist for the city of Aspen, succeeding Linda Gerdenich in the post.Rapkin, chosen from more than 30 applicants, will assume the post in mid-December. She will be responsible for generating public information materials, directing the city’s citizen feedback and outreach programs, maintaining media relations, producing the “City Vues” series on the community government TV channel, and performing special projects on behalf of the City Council and city manager’s office. Rapkin has worked in various news media roles, most recently as a reporter and producer at KAJX.

Aspen Middle School is now collecting gifts for less-fortunate families of the Roaring Fork Valley, in what is known as the Mitten Tree project.Paper cutouts resembling mittens are hanging on a tree at the middle school office, each bearing the name of a child in this valley “whose family cannot afford extras this holiday season.”The school has sent out a call for students, and anyone else, to stop by the office and sign up to purchase a gift valued at a maximum of $20, wrap it and return it to the office by Dec. 7 for delivery to a child.For further information, call the school at 925-3760, ext. 2.