Bako Bits: local gal Kimberly Keathley conquers the annual Climb to Kaiser bike race and two county workers prevent a fire from spreading along Highway 58

* ... KUDOS: Kudos to two county workers whose actions could have prevented a fire along Highway 58 from raging out of control. Jayne Hotchkiss was driving down the Bealeville Road near the Caliente exit last week when she saw a cloud of smoke. Two county workers had stopped their dump truck, grabbed a couple of shovels and battled a grass fire until fire crews arrived. "I stopped, talked to one of the men and called 911," she said. "After 15 minutes one of the men came up to my truck and said, 'I need some help!' Just then a Kern County Fire helicopter flew overhead and the fire crews arrived. Kudos for these country workers! I wish I had gotten their named. They deserve a huge pat on the back."

 * ... WENDY: The celebration of life for the late community activist Wendy Wayne will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Fox Theater. The outpouring of love for Wendy and her surviving husband Gene Tackett has been impressive, so expect standing room only for this tribute. I am told it will last about an hour and is being coordinated by the couple's sons, Larkin and Benji.

* ... HIGH ACHIEVER: Mackenzie Carter is the daughter of Doug Carter and granddaughter of the late Warren and Lenore Carter, who have passed on but meant so much to our community. Mackenzie just finished her freshman year at Cal Poly where she is a member of the women's volleyball program. Said her proud father: "She redshirted this last year due to shoulder surgery in September. She made the dean's list her fall and spring quarters.. and she was asked to be a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars." As if that's enough, she was also on the organizing committee for the Cal Poly Relay for Life event that was held in May. This summer she is interning with Assemblywoman Shannon Grove having just finished a week in Sacramento.

 * ... KEATHLEY: Speaking of achievements by young people, hats off to 23-year-old Kimberly Keathley who was the first woman finisher in one of the hardest bicycle races in the country. Kim conquered the annual "Climb to Kaiser," a punishing 155-mile ride with 14,000 feet of climbing. Not only was she the first woman at the top, but she also finished 26th overall out of some 400 riders. The ride goes through Shaver Lake, Big Creek, Huntington Lake and the Kaiser Pass at 9,200 feet. And, she did this on her birthday. The daughter of Duane and Corey Keathley, Kim is a graduate of both Stockdale High School and Point Loma Nazarene University. She currently is working as a aide at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute (SCOI). (Photos courtesy of Jim Quaschnick- www.allactionshots.com) 

* ... BOCK: Another Bock has been appointed a partner at the local tax and auditing firm of Daniells Phillips Vaughan and Bock, CPAs and Advisors. Joel Bock, 37-year-old son of managing partner Jim Bock,  joined the firm in 2004 as a tax supervisor after moving to Bakersfield from Fresno and quickly was promoted to manager and then senior manager.  Joel previously worked at the accounting firm of Noell Deetz Agnew and Morse in Fresno. He is a graduate of Fresno State and earned his master's in tax at Golden State University.

Max the cat is missing and remembering when German prisoners picked cotton in Kern County

 * ... POW CAMPS: Received a fascinating note the other day shedding more light on the history of German prisoners of war held in Kern County during World War II. Calvin Goehring of Shafter wrote that the federal government took 40 acres of his family farm and built a POW compound that opened Dec. 11, 1944, and closed March 28, 1946, "They came to labor in the cotton and potato fields," he wrote. "Many of the farmers were German speaking (mostly Reformed and Mennonite churches nearby). It worked out well as labor was short. The Germans had never picked cotton and hated the hot weather." Goehring said his father, Emil, was not allowed to talk to the prisoners and no pictures were permitted. He said the camp was known as Detachment 6 and was a branch of Camp Cooke out of Santa Maria. "Local farmers paid the federal government a wage of $2.25 per hundred pounds of cotton and the government paid the prisoners 80 cents a day."

 * ... LITTLE FROG: One of my weekend rituals is stopping by the Green Frog Market on Bernard Street, affectionately known as the "Little Frog" compared to its larger sibling up on Columbus. It's hard to beat the smell of the oak-fired chicken grilling outside and the overall friendly ambiance inside. Green Frog owner Scott Hair was there and told me he picked up the idea of using oak to grill chicken in 1984 when he was in Tennessee for the World's Fair. "There are no new ideas in this business," he joked. That may be true, but you have to be smart enough to steal the good ones.

 * ... MAX IS MISSING: Few things are as heart breaking as when a pet goes missing. And that's why I'm happy to put out the word to help find Max, a 2-year-old black and white short hair that went missing in Westchester recently. The family has been searching Westchester, both north and south of 24th Street, but recently learned that Max's collar was found near some hangars at the old Meadows Field near the FedEx offices. The owners, who are offering a $1,000 reward, speculate Max may have hopped in a UPS or FedEx truck and ended up at the airport, or hopped off somewhere en route. They are now searching that area, as well as surrounding neighborhoods, and are seeking help from FedEx and UPS drivers who may had pickups on Pine and Lawn streets on February 24.  Max is black with a white chest, stomach, paws and whiskers. His face and nose are black. If you spot Max, call (661) 808-7674.

* ... DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that the original "Baker's field," the location of Col. Thomas Baker's field, is  believed to be in the area of O and P streets?

* ... SPRING BREAK: Nice to see the college kids home for their spring breaks. One I had a chance to catch up with is Kimberly Keathley, the effervescent daughter of Duane and Corey Keathley. Always the athlete, this Stockdale High graduate is now a senior at Point Loma Nazerene in San Diego and spent her week home riding her road bike. She spent Saturday riding up Lion's Trail to Walker Basin on a 100-plus mile ride with Stockdale Country Club tennis pro Hank Pfister and a dozen other riders. Her sister, Michele, is a sophomore at Fordham University in the Bronx and will be coming home for spring break this week.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: Reader Linda Welch wrote to say you may be a Bakersfield old timer if "you remember the two beautiful lions that stood at the original court house. What ever happened to them?"



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Is there a proper etiquette to spitting? And pulling for a quick recovery for a youngster who crashed on her bike

* ... ON THE MEND: I was sorry to hear that Kimberly Keathley, the engaging and athletic 21-year-old daughter of Corey and Duane Keathley, suffered a nasty crash on her road bike this past weekend. Kim was returning from a ride to Glennville, going down hill at 41-plus mph, when she went down and suffered a broken collar bone and two broken ribs. Father Duane, a partner in the local CB Richard Ellis commercial real estate office, told me Kim is on the mend and will be headed back to Point Loma Nazarene University next week to begin her senior year. Here's to a rapid recovery. (picture courtesy of Kim's Facebook)

* ... SPITTING: Esther Brandon just can't seem to get a break. A few weeks ago the Valley Public Television board member was in a local Blockbuster store when some nitwit next to her decides to spit on the floor while perusing the slasher flicks. Then, scarcely a week later, she leaves the downtown Padre Hotel when a stranger let's go another mouthful of spittle on the sidewalk directly in front of her. Is this proper spitting etiquette?


 * ... CHEAP GAS: Retired endodontist Bob Smith, who keeps track of these kinds of things, tells me some of the cheapest gas around can be found at the Fastrip in Shafter, where regular was recently going for the relative-bargain price of $2.75 a gallon.


  * ... CAL COLLEGES: It was nice to see California well represented in the annual ranking of top public universities by U.S. News. We certainly have our budget and funding issues in this state, but in spite of all that our public universities are first rate and remain a relative bargain. In fact, given this recession, one has to question the wisdom of anyone sending their son or daughter out of state when our public schools are so good. Topping the list of the best public schools were Cal Berkeley and UCLA, followed later in the list by UC San Diego (7th) and UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara tied at ninth. Tied for second with UCLA was the University of Virginia, then the University of Michigan (4th), North Carolina-Chapel Hill (5th), the College of William and Mary (6th) and Georgia Tech (7th).

* ... EBB AND FLOW: Make sure you catch the opening on an interesting new art exhibit called "Ebb and Flow: Kern's Vanishing Water," a show that uses art to bring awareness to the water crisis faced by our state. Sponsored by the Arts Council of Kern, the show uses five visual artists to "communicate messages that can be used for hope, influence and change." The opening will be Thursday, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Center for the Arts, 1700 Chester Avenue. Hors d'oeuvres and no host bar and RSVP to (661) 324-9000. The artists involved are Barbara Reid, Chris McKee, Claire Putney, Becky Overdock and Stacy Holland.

* ... GEORGE DAY: Mention an old local television show and you are bound to spark other memories when life was simpler. These thoughts come from reader Julie Lewis. "I was born in Bakersfield in 1952 and your column brought back memories of the George Day Show. I watched it every day ... and appeared on it at one time. I was one of the children in the audience. One of the stars of the show was Zippy the Clown. I think the highlight of my childhood was Zippy coming to my birthday party... I also want to add that we loved Don Rodewald and Harry Mitchell." Lewis went on to add that she lived in Kuwait for two years and often grew homesick. "One day while I was shopping at The Sultan Center... I noticed that they sold Grimmway Farm carrots. From then on, we always had a fresh package of Grimmway carrots in our refrigerator. I know it sounds odd but that little piece of home meant so much."

 * ... SCOTT COX: I will be guest hosting the Scott Cox radio show on KERN News Talk Radio 1180 on Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Among others, I will be chatting with Brett Miller, the new owner of The Padre Hotel,  about its history and upcoming grand opening, and we'll try to connect with Police Chief Greg Williamson to get his read on the rash of burglaries across our community.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISM: You know you're from Bakersfield when half the passengers on your flight to Phoenix have seat-belt extenders.

Bako Bits: A kid goes east to school and thoughts for some local folks on the injured reserve list

Cleaning off my desk and checking on folks around town ...

* ... OFF TO FORDHAM: Is there anything better than seeing your children succeed? Duane and Corey Keathley have a lot to be thankful for now that youngest daughter Michele is off to school at Fordham University in the Bronx on a volleyball scholarship. Duane surprised Michele recently by flying to Buffalo, N.Y. to watch Fordham play Seton Hall, Boston College and the University of Buffalo. Michele made the starting rotation as a freshman and - get this - her roommate is Randi Ewing, daughter of former Georgetown and NBA great Patrick Ewing. Meanwhile, sister Kimberly Keathley is thriving as well, now a junior at Point Loma Nazarene down near San Diego. (Michele is on the left with Kim in picture below, courtesy of the Keathleys) Duane is a principal at CB Richard Ellis and is president of the downtown Rotary this year.





* ... ON THE INJURED LIST: Heard that old friend Leonard Bidart, one of the owners of Bidart Brothers Farms and a generous sponsor of local non-profits, took a nasty spill on his bicycle last weekend while coming down Lion's Trail near Caliente. Turns out Leonard broke his jaw in several places and underwent a long surgery at the UCLA Medical Center. He's apparently on the mend but it will be a long road back. Leonard is an avid cyclist and fitness nut and one of the all around good people of our community. Send some positive thoughts his way.

* ... ALSO RECOVERING: Also try to keep Marvin Steinert in your thoughts as well. Marv is one of our city's real treasures, personally generous, active in groups like the Stars Theater and downtown Rotary. Turns out Marv is suffering from a condition known as temporal arteritis, an inflammation or damage to blood vessels that supply the head area. Marv's eyesight has been temporarily adversely affected but he's under good care. (photo of Marv below)



* ... FALL FUND RAISING: If it's fall in Bakersfield you can bet you'll be attending a fund raiser sometime soon. And pity the school and non-profits who must be struggling in this horrible economy when so many folks can't be as generous as they would like. But here are a couple of good causes for you to consider: On Thursday, Oct. 1 Garces Memorial High School will hold its annual Fall BBQ. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the door. Doors open at 5 p.m. Then a week later on Thursday, Oct. 8, Cal State Bakersfield holds its 31st annual Fall BBQ for the athletics program. Tickets are $25 sold before the event and $30 at the door. To order tickets or help with a sponsorship, call 661-654-3473.