Bako Bits: Bob Lerude is honored by watchdog group for saving taxpayer dollars and another incredible story about those who use our community as their personal trash can

 * … KUDOS: Hats off to Bob Lerude, the county Parks and Recreation director who has been honored for saving taxpayers' dollars. The Kern Citizens for Sustainable Government, an advocacy group dedicated to promoting responsible government spending at the local level, will honor Lerude this week for finding ways to save more than $300,000 by contracting out services for three remote parks.

 * … DRILLER: Another Driller success story compliments of Don Bollard: "My wife, Roberta taught Home Economics at BHS for many years. She loved teaching there and is very proud of the school and the students she taught there. Our daughter, Kathleen, graduated from BHS in 1976. Went on to get her BS at Santa Clara, her MS and PhD from Cal and is now the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Colorado. Another Driller success story.

 * … OVERHEARD: A young man is asked he he did that day. His response: "We bought a carton of cigarettes for a guy who just had a stroke."

 * … LITTER: And just when you think things can't get much worse, they do. De Rhodes was driving downtown last week when she spotted two women in a large SUV casually tossing trash out their car windows.  "These women threw out of  all of their Sonic trash onto K Street as they left the Sonic parking lot.  As though that weren't enough, they continued to throw out even more accumulated garbage from their vehicle onto L Street (right in front of KGET), as they waited for a green light at 21st Street.  Then, not once, twice, or even three times, they did it four times as the proceeded south on L Street, not missing one business in their path.  Even Sequoia Sandwich Shop (which keeps their property soooo clean) got sacks full deposited near  their front door.  I can't say they even stopped pitching trash  because I turned east onto 18th Street. Just once, I was able to pull along side their Explorer long enough to  thank them for throwing out their garbage all over town.  As you have no doubt assumed their car windows were rolled down affording them the "quick pitch,' so they listened just long enough to thank me muttered with a whole lot of expletives, obscene gestures and something about "whoopin my ___".  (photo by De Rhodes)

 * … CY'S: A question about who remembers the old Cy's Coffee Shop downtown drew this response from Sandy Oliver. "Donna Semar (posed a) question why her husband referred to Cy's as Robin Hood's. I believe is because the restaurant that replaced it was called The Robin Hood. My brother in law, Al Goetschalckx, owned the restaurant   He and Cy May were very good friends, and Al leased the building and bought all the fixtures from Cy. The Robin Hood burned down I believe in the early 1960s.  Cy May then moved to the location on Union Avenue.

 * … MORE CY'S: And then there was this from reader Paula Rodenburg: "My mother, Eve Pocorena, was a waitress at the Cy's Coffee Shop on 18th and Union from the early 1950s until 1960 when she and my dad Larry had saved enough money to pay off their mortgage and she could quit her job. She took her last weekly paycheck of $35 before tips and bought me a Pekingese puppy which I named Puppins, my first dog. Her boss was Cy May and she got a real kick out of working for him… At that time the old Route 99 was the only way in and out of Los Angeles from the north so she served quite a few famous celebrities including John Carradine, father of Keith and his siblings. She remembered John coming in with five children and always talked about how well behaved the children were. When my sister, now Patti Sergent, went to nursing school in Los Angeles my mom and dad made her come home on weekends to hostess at Cy's - Mr. May was kind enough to give her a job. It was Patti's first time away from home and they were trying to keep her out of trouble.  Didn't work!"

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Rotary Club of Bakersfield sends team to Nicaragua to in honor of the late Wendy Wayne, and more dirty diapers on our streets

 * … ROTARY: Kudos to the twelve people representing the Rotary Club of Bakersfield who just returned from a week in Camoapa (central), Nicaragua, to work on a water project in honor of Wendy Wayne.  Nine Rotarians, two spouses and Cindy Chernow, Wendy's sister, worked community to build a "lavender," a wash and bathing station next to a newly installed well. This project will have a tremendous impact on the village of Las Pencas, which previously obtained water and washed its clothes in the same river – a river that would often run dry during Nicaragua's long dry season. The group included Cindy Chernow, Sue Benham, Bob and Patti Burdette, Jim Cordle, Jeff Green, Jeff Johnson, Justin Leland, Dave Plivelich, Steve and DeAnne Sanders and Ray W. Watson.  This is just one more example of the impact the Rotary Club of Bakersfield has in our community and abroad.

* … ONCE A DRILLER: Tom Schroeter sent me a gentle reminder about being a Driller. Said Schroeter: "As the proud father of Ali Schroeter, I want to thank the paper for the article in Thursday's edition recognizing her for breaking a school volleyball record at Rutgers University (Former Driller Sets Record).  However, I would be remiss (and would suffer the slings of all Drillers) if I didn't point out one error in the article. There are no 'former' Drillers. As you have no doubt heard, 'once a Driller, always. . . .'   And so next time there is an article about a 'former' Driller, you might consider something like '2012 Driller Sets Record.'" I stand corrected!

 * … DIAPERS: Can you stand one more story about people tossing dirty diapers on our streets? This from Carole Casteen: "Bakersfield is a great place to live, but some of our residents need basic instruction on civil behavior.  One Saturday morning I went to the Costco on Panama Lane, and arrived early enough to get a parking spot extremely close to the front door.  As I was loading my groceries into my vehicle, I noticed a white bundle smack in the middle of the parking space right next to my car.  I watched as a huge truck roared through the parking lot and chose to drive into the parking space next to my car. Yes, he drove his big truck right over the white diaper bundle, squishing it completely and then drove off.  Fortunately none of the stuff that squirted out of the rolled-up diaper sprayed onto my car, and fortunately I was far enough away and had already loaded my groceries. Note: the rolled-up diaper next to my car could not have been more than 25 steps to a large trash can near the Costco entrance. The Costco manager said that it happens there ALL THE TIME!"

 * … MORE TRASH: And there is this from reader Denney Evans: "I read that a special task force is being assembled to  monitor vehicles heading toward our city dumps. A suggestion. Use this group to monitor high schools. We could balance the budget on the citations. My findings in  Riverlakes confirm that the student favorites are  Bud Light, Camels, McDonalds and Starbucks."

 * … COFFEE SHOP: For all your old timers out there, who remembers Cy's Coffee Shop? This from reader Donna Semar: "You might know a resource where I could find more information about Cy's Coffee Shop that was located on the northwest corner of 18th and Eye Streets.  I'm very interested in images from the interior. My husband referred to it as Robin Hood's and doesn't know why. Perhaps there was a mural of Sherwood Forrest on the walls?  He would visit Cy's with his father in the early 1960s. I do know that there were 3 Cy's - 18th and Eye, 18th and Union (then it was 99), and 24th Street (currently 24th Street Cafe). Any information will certainly enhance our Thanksgiving conversations."