CASPER - The Wyoming Conservation Voters Education Fund and the Wyoming Association of Churches have received two grants totaling $10,000 to fund a September conference in Lander.

The conference, "On Sacred Ground: Faith & the Environment," is set for Sept. 27-29, at the Lander Community Center. It will serve to inspire, educate and activate people of faith and conservationists and build partnerships between them, according to a news release.

The money comes from the Kemmi Creek Donor Advised Endowment Fund and the LEK Endowment Fund, both from the Wyhoming Community Foundation.

At the conference, Wyoming people whose religious faith motivates them to care for the environment will gather with conservation advocates to hear keynote addresses by national leaders in creation-care and environmental justice; attend workshops on energy usage, environmentally sustainable communities and civic collaboration; take field trips to sensitive ecosystems and collaboratively plan future cooperative projects.

The Wyoming Association of Churches is an ecumenical organization representing several faith denominations.

The Wyoming Conservation Voters Education Fund promotes civic action in support of wildlife and natural resource conservation.

Registration for the September faith and stewardship conference is open to the public and early registration is strongly recommended because of limited space. Those interested may obtain an agenda, speaker biographies and registration forms online at www.wcvedfund.org or call the WCVEF's Lander office at (307) 335-8796.

Cost for the whole conference with meals is $75 or participants may register for selected events. A block of rooms has been reserved for participants at The Inn at Lander Best Western.

Trade booths and co-sponsorships for faith and conservation organizations and businesses are also still available.

*DOUGLAS COVER GIRL: Stephanie Schroeder, 17, of Douglas, is the cover story for the June/July 2007 issue of Modern Arabian Horse magazine. She is featured in a six-page story that includes several photographs taken by Wit's End Photography of Casper.

Schroeder was named the Arabian Horse Association's Youth of the Year, given to someone who "not only makes a significant contribution to promotion and use of the Arabian horse but also excels in community service and academics."

She holds a 4.0 grade-point average and will be a senior at Douglas High School this fall. She is active in numerous school and community activities in addition to caring for and competing with her horses.

She is the daughter of Jean and Tim Schroeder of Douglas.

*SELF-HELP CENTER GETS GRANT: The Self-Help Center, Inc., has been awarded a $15,000 grant by the Casper Area Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Wyoming Community Foundation.

The grant will be used for general operating expenses and support for programs serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse and stalking. The center has been working towards reducing those circumstances since 1978 with crisis hotlines, emergency services and safe houses available 24 hours a day.

Liz Baron, the center's executive director, says services are available to both individuals and families striving towards peaceful and abuse-free lives. Services include victim advocacy, crisis intervention, transitional housing, supportive services, prevention education, parenting, substance abuse services and abuser's re-education.

*BORDER PATROL GRADUATE: United States Border Patrol agent Trisha Zettlemoyer Miller graduated July 23, 2007, from the Border Patrol Academy in Artesia, N.M.

During four months of training, she received training in physical fitness, hand to hand combat skills, the use of various weapons, federal immigration law and the Spanish language.

She attended Fairdale, East Junior High and graduated from Kelly Walsh High School in 1993.

She holds a bachelor's degree in political science, a juris doctor from Franklin Pierce Law Center and a master's degree in the Law of Intellectual Properties.

She will work on the California/Mexico border, providing security for the United States border.

She is the daughter of Ralph and Vicki Zettlemoyer of Casper.