Local West Point graduate, gravely wounded in Afghanistan, shows us all what good form looks like, and Lili Marsh heads to The Mark to run the dining and banquet operations

 * … ROLE MODEL: I could not think of a better way to start the year than with this incredible story compliments of readers Kristi and Mitch Townsend. It turns out the Townsends had donated $100 to help in the recovery of Samuel Van Kopp, the young Bakersfield army officer and West Point graduate

who suffered a grave head wound in Afghanistan. Van Kopp survived the September, 2012, injury and is doing well, so much that he sent the $100 check back to the Townsends with this uplifting note: "I have recuperated to the extent that I do not need the years of private therapy I had anticipated," he wrote. "I return to you, therefore, your donation plus years of interest so that you may grace a charity of greater need. Thank you, and God bless." (Facebook photo of Van Kopp on left)

 * … THE MARK: Lili Marsh, the longtime director of The Petroleum Club, is leaving for a new job at The Mark downtown. Marsh will be the front house operations manager in charge of the banquet meeting spaces and the dining room at the 19th Street eatery, which has quickly come to be known as one of the "it" places to eat downtown. In addition to her long association with the Petroleum Club, Marsh is deeply involved in Honor Flight, the effort to fly World War II veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the war memorials.

 * … DOORS SHUT: The new year has been ushered in with the closing of some familiar local businesses. Anna's Cards and Gifts, one of the original tenants of The Marketplace, is shutting its doors after serving residents in the Southwest for many years. That is the third tenant of The Marketplace to close, following Baskin Robbins and Russo's Books. Meanwhile downtown, a short-lived experiment with a local cooking studio has come to an end with the shuttering of Sustenance 101 next to Mama Roomba's Caribbean restaurant on Eye Street. The space occupied by Sustenance has been completely renovated and will likely have little trouble attracting a new tenant.

 * … CROSS RACING: Hats off to local cycling enthusiast Sam Ames for putting on a grand show out at Hart Park this weekend when Bakersfield hosted the NorCal versus SoCal cycle cross racing championships. The crowds were large and Hart Park provided a beautiful backdrop for this annual championship.

* … CYCLISTS: This note comes from a reader named A. Thompson: "I have been cycling for probably over 40 years. I would expect that the mob of Tuesday riders this week would have learned that it is necessary to announce one’s imminent passing of a slower cyclist from behind at a high rate of speed. They pretty much startled me when they passed. The riders took up most of their side of Alfred Harrell Highway, down by the fire station. It is no wonder that the public has such a dim view of cyclists. This same thing happened to me several times right before the Spooktacular, by several duos of out of town riders, as evidenced by their jerseys. I hope that these riders survive to be able to ride a bike when they pass 65 years of age."

Bako Bits: Recognizing more top scholars and the Petroleum Club is tapped to cater a Sarah Palin event

 ... COLLEGE BOUND: Yet another local youngster headed for college.
This comes from Kim Albers, Garden Pathways director, who said daughter Kristin has committed to Georgetown University. The senior at Bakersfield Christian High School was admitted to the School of Foreign Service for the fall.  Kirsten, a Ford Dream Builder, has served in both Kenya and China.  She hopes to pursue an international career striving to make the world a better place, her mom said. 

 ... PETRO CLUB: The staff of the Petroleum Club was selected to help cater an event at West Hills College featuring former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. According to club operations manager Lili Marsh, ´ápparently the reputation of the Petroleum Club precedes them.´ 'She said 19 staff memebers took the 100 mile trek to Lemoore on Sunday to serve the event.

 ... AWARD: Nice to hear that Kevin Crosby, a special education teacher at Independence High, has received a prestigious award from the Environmental Protection Agency. Kevin is a Falcon Autistic Solar Team advisor and won the Presidential Environmental Youth Award. An EPA official will be in Bakersfield May 19 to present the award and Kevin will fly to Washington, D.C. in June to accept it at a ceremony. He is a CSUB graduate with a masters from Chapman University.

 ... LOVE STORY: Reader Carl Kroll sent me a nice note to recall how he met the love of his life while stationed at Minter Field. ''I  was a captain in the Air Force flying missions in England and was stationed at Minter. I was from New York but I met and married the love of my life here, Venita Cassidy Kroll, and remained here to work and raise our family. I am now 89 years old and have fond memories of Bakersfield then.''


 .... MEMORIES: And some of those memories from Kroll are the watering holes in Bakersfield during World War II: Good Friends, El Adobe, Uptown Club, French Village and the Bakersfeld In. All had bands playing Sentimental Journey, Iĺl Be Seeing you in all  the Familiar Places and those great old tune, he said.

Bakersfield Christian High celebrates a birthday and some chuckles on living in Bako

* ... BCHS BIRTHDAY: Reader Cherilee Ezell wrote to remind me that Bakersfield Christian High School is celebrating 30 years as a private, college preparatory school serving our community. She said last year the school kicked off an annual drive to raise funds for its financial aid program. She was proud to report that fully 30 percent of the school's students now benefit from some form of financial aid. The funds are being raised via "The Key Event," a black tie optional dinner with silent and live auctions to be held March 20 at Seven Oaks Country Club. For more information, call 661-410-7000.

 * ... BRAIN DRAIN: Susan Hersberger is the public affairs director over at Aera Energy and the proud mother of Mark and Kate, both of whom graduated from Stockdale High School and later UCLA. Neither returned to Bakersfield, but Susan's take on the "brain drain" is an optimistic one. "While my children's careers may not bring them back to Bakersfield, at some point in their lives they will perhaps move to a Bakersfield somewhere and contribute to that community. Meanwhile, some of the best and brightest from other Bakersfields will find their way to this community - the oil industry for example is bringing in some terrific young people - so over time it will all even out." Well said.

* ... REMEMBER CLINT OLIVIER? I received a nice call from local resident Janet Beckman who reports that her son in law, Clint Olivier, is running for the Fresno City Council. If that name sounds familiar, it's because Olivier was an on air reporter for KGET 17 here in Bakersfield before leaving for another TV station in Fresno. He married Beckman's daughter, West High and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo graduate Alisha Gallon. Alisha works at the ABC affiliate in Fresno.

 * ...  PADRE OR PETROLEUM CLUB? The reopening of the old Padre Hotel downtown has been the talk of downtown this week, and it has all been well deserved. The crowds have been impressive and owner Brett Miller told me he could not be happier. Saturday night every available room was sold out and there were waiting lists for both rooms and the main ground floor restaurant. Meanwhile, I stopped by the Petroleum Club on Friday and chatted with operations manager Lili Marsh, who reported business has been steady and good. Lunch was busy and I spotted Congressman Kevin McCarthy, retired oilman Harley Pinson and others enjoying the view Meanwhile over at Uricchios Trattoria Saturday night, it also was sold out and standing room only. Good to see all these places doing well.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISMS: I've had several readers forward me an email full of hilarious 'Bakersfieldisms," so thought I would occasionally offer them up for a morning chuckle. For example, you know you are from Bakersfield when: "You realize that Valley Fever is not a disco dance" and "You think a red light is just a suggestion."