As public health officials have advised, we are taking steps to minimize person-to-person contact and do our part in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has proven dangerously contagious. Therefore, for your health and the health of our employees we are changing our hours to 8:00am-3:00pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We will be open Wednesday from 8:00am-4:00pm. If you would like to place an ad outside these hours you may phone in your ad by calling (307)634-8895 and leaving your ad, contact name and phone number on our voicemail. You may also place your ad online at wyotraders.com. With this change of office hours, our new weekly deadline will be 4:00pm Wednesday. Stay healthy everyone!

Join the 2020 Laramie County Toys For Tots campaign and help Stuff a Truck with new, unwrapped toys Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, from 9:00am-6:00pm, in the Number One Properties parking lot near Target, 1660 Dell Range Boulevard. Help bring Christmas joy to many children in the area. New, unwrapped toys can also be dropped off at collection sites around Cheyenne through December 11. Go to https://cheyenne-wy.toysfortots.org for local collection site locations.

The Cheyenne City Council will hold its annual Straw Poll Dinner on Tuesday, December 8, at The Metropolitan Downtown, 1701 Carey Avenue, and via electronic meeting. Information and links for public access can be found on the City’s Electronic Conference Meeting webpage at www.chey ennecity.org/ecm. Nominations for City Council President and City Council Vice President for 2021 will be made. The dinner will start at 6:00pm with the vote at 6:30pm.

Frontier Post is a non-drinking, non-smoking Veterans organization that meets the 2nd Tuesday each month, 7:00pm, at the Orchard Valley Recreation Building, 2111 South 1st Avenue. Frontier Post invites eligible veterans to apply for membership. (307)509-0839, vfw11453.org.

Due to the widespread prevalence of COVID-19 in Laramie County, Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Hospice and the Cheyenne Regional Foundation have canceled their annual Tree of Remembrance lighting ceremony. Paper doves are still available for community members who would like to have a dove placed on the tree, which will be set up in the Davis Hospice Center lobby in early December. Hospice and Foundation staff will place the doves on the tree on behalf of community members. The Foundation will post updates on its Facebook page as doves and messages of remembrance are received and placed on the tree throughout the holiday season. Paper doves are available by calling the CRMC Foundation at (307)633-7667 or by going to the Foundation’s website at cheyennere gional.org/location/cheyenne-regional-foundation/. The last day to have a dove placed on the tree will be Thursday, December 24.

The Cheyenne Historic Preservation Board has already sold over three-quarters of their inventory of limited-edition Christmas ornaments depicting the Cheyenne Union Pacific Depot with fewer than 100 left! Each of the 750 ornaments is individually numbered and may be purchased for $20 via cash or check. The ornaments can be purchased at 719 East 17th Street, Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Proceeds benefit Airport Fountain Restoration. Please contact Cathie Tabor-Douglas at (307)632-4414, if you have any questions about purchasing an ornament at this location. Alternatively, you may contact Gary Sims at (307)851-1911 and he will deliver the ornaments to your door!

Come, see and be a part of the Marine Corps League on the 2nd Thursday of every month, at the American Legion Post 6, 2001 East Lincolnway, at 6:30pm.

The Cheyenne All-City Children’s Chorus will be presenting its Holiday Concert “Peace” on Saturday, December 5, 4:00pm, at the Cheyenne Civic Center, 510 West 20th Street. Admission price is $10 and all seats are reserved. Seating is limited. Social distancing will be used and the audience will be asked to wear masks throughout the concert. The concert will also be live streamed for a cost of $5. The Concert and Lyric Choirs will be performing a variety of Christmas and seasonal songs. Several local instrumentalists will be joining the choirs on stage to accompany them on strings, winds, percussion and handbells. For tickets or the live stream code, please contact Mary Ann Fritz at maryann.fritz@laramie1.org. Please join ACCC to celebrate the BlesSings of singing together.

The Cheyenne Artwalk takes place on the second Thursday of each month from 5:00pm-8:00pm. There are various locations and featured artists. Please visit cheyenneartwalk.com for full details.

Come and get the last of your holiday gifts at the VFW 1881 Craft and Flea Market and Show on Saturday, December 12, 9:00am-3:00pm. Everyone is welcome to come and see the creativeness of their great vendors. Jewelry, crochet items, candles, fleece blankets and lots of unique items. Come and support the local Veteran’s. Protocol is in place for COVID-19, subject to change. Please call Suzie at (307)632-4053 with any questions.

University of Wyoming Laramie County Extension Office will be hosting a Gingerbread House Competition this December. The competition is open to everyone with several categories to enter. A fun gift basket will be awarded to the 1st place winners. Please go to their website https://wyoex tension.org/laramiecounty/ for rules and how to register. Gingerbread House construction deadline is Monday, December 14.

For every motorcycle or unit purchased by Tuesday, December 22, Cheyenne Motorsports will donate a new bicycle or scooter to Toys for Tots to be given to a child in our community. Contact Cheyenne Motorsports at 2000 Westland Road, call (307)632-3171 or go online to cheyennemotor sports.com for more information.

Community Recreation and Events, to host photo contest and exhibit beginning January 2021. The Community Recreation and Event (CRE) Department “Reflections” Photo Contest and Exhibit will be held Thursday, January 7 through Tuesday, February 16, 2021 at the Cheyenne Civic Center, 510 West 20th Street. The “Reflections” theme is designed to showcase transformations which take place by looking at one picture while having a mirrored image. Photographers may enter in a variety of categories: Youth (12 and under, 13-17), Amateur, Intermediate, Semi-Professional, Professional and Enhanced Photography. The contest is limited to the first 150 photos. Awards will be given to first place winners and best of show. A walk through reception will be held Wednesday, January 6, for artists/families, from 5:30pm-7:00pm, at the Cheyenne Civic Center, 510 West 20th Street, hosted by the Programs and Facilities Division. Brochure/entry forms with detailed information may be picked up. Registration will continue through December 30, at the Kiwanis Community House, 4603 Lions Park Drive, 7:30am-4:30pm, Monday-Friday. Entry fee is $5.00 per photo; three entry max. Youth entries: first photo will be free (limit of 15 free entries in youth division). If a youth participant submits more than one photo, each photo after the first one will be $5.00 (max of three photos). Please go to www.cheyennerec.org for more information or call (307)637-6423.

Perhaps the greatest source of support available to Alzheimer’s caregivers is other caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association offers support groups around the state to help these individuals get advice, counsel and a friendly ear from people like themselves who are living the challenge of caregiving. To register, or for more information about monthly support groups, call the Alzheimer’s Association free 24/7 Helpline at (800)272-3900 or go to www.alz.org/crf, click on Alzheimer’s Association Programs and Events, and then on Support Groups.

Mt. Sinai Sisterhood’s Annual See’s candy sale has been cancelled due to COVID. Look for them next year.

The Salvation Army is looking for individuals or groups to volunteer to ring the bell at one of their 13 Red Kettle locations across Cheyenne. Statistically, volunteer kettles produce about 50% more than non-volunteer kettles. In addition, 100% of the proceeds of the volunteer kettles go directly to support the needs of individuals in the Cheyenne community all year long! This is a great opportunity for families, friends, coworkers, or any other group, to come out and do something amazing for the local community. If interested, contact Jon-Marc at The Salvation Army at (307)634-2769 to sign up or click the link to sign up directly http://salarmy.us/CheyenneBellRinging!

The Cheyenne Shrine Club, in the Memory of Tom Tammen, is asking for donations of pull tabs from aluminum cans. After being recycled, the funds generated will go to the Cheyenne Shrine Club Travel Fund which is used solely to send Shrine Kids and parents to either Salt Lake City or to one of 21 other Shrine Hospitals that perform orthopedic, burn or cleft palate care. For more information, contact Diane Tammen at (307)638-3341, or drop off your tabs at Underwood Flowers, 2121 Central Avenue.

Could you use an extra $300-$400 a month? The Youth Alternatives Foster Grandparent Program is looking for men and women to work with children in schools and human service agencies for an average of 20 hours per week. Must be at least 55 years or older and have a limited annual income. Benefits include a non-taxable stipend of $3.00 per hour, a nutritious daily meal, transportation assistance, an annual physical exam, accident/liability insurance, holidays, annual and sick leave, and training. You can make the difference in the life of a child. Please call (307)634-1265 for an application.

Laramie County Community College’s Adult Career and Education System (ACES) has an opportunity for past students who may not have completed their testing. Any ACES students who started but did not finish their high school equivalency are eligible for this new program. Between Thanksgiving and mid-January, the ACES team will work with those students in a more individualized, focused format. Completion could lead to these students next being able to enroll in college or a variety of career training programs. This program is open to anyone who has taken at least one HiSET test but hasn’t completed or did not pass all of their tests. To register or for more information about this opportunity, please contact the ACES office at awinn@lccc.wy.edu or (307)637-2450.

A collaboration between local non-profit Recover Wyoming, the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Grace for 2 Brothers, and Gateway Foundation will result in an enhanced training effort for Peer Specialists in Wyoming. The Wyoming Peer Specialist Training prepares individuals who have personally lived-experience with mental health and/or substance use challenges, and who are now in long-term recovery from those challenges, to help others achieve long-term recovery. The Wyoming Peer Specialist Trainings will be held intermittently over the next two years. Applications for the training will be available and can be picked up at Recover Wyoming’s Recovery Center, 122 West Lincolnway, or call (307)421-7261 for more information.