Local cycling phenom Tyler Williams is named to a major racing team, looking for sad Christmas songs and remembering Officer Val at Bakersfield High School

 * ... OFFICER VAL: My story on the late Bakersfield police officer Val Torres last week brought another memory from former Bakersfield High student Riley Parker. "Like David Gay, I also had a flood of memories when I saw Val Torres’ (obituary) photo last week. Probably the best was the day that he stopped four of us returning to school from an off campus trip to a local pool hall. Val’s solution was to escort us to the old BPD building that sat on the north side of Truxtun Avenue between ‘H’ and Eye Streets. Val marched us in and sat us all down in the ‘squad room’ where he instructed us to read various sections of the Penal Code addressing our absence from classes and the possible ramifications of our conduct. After a brief education in the law, Val sent us back to BHS to meet with Mr. Martin. That experience ended our short lived career in the fine art of cutting classes."

 * ... CYCLIST: Congratulations to Tyler Williams, an 18-year-old former Centennial High School student who will be joining the BMC professional cycling team. Only four of the 14 riders on the elite BMC development team are Americans. The team will give these incredible young athletes a chance to race at a higher level in Europe and the United States. Tyler only started riding bikes a few years ago and has risen quickly to the highest levels of the sport. Last year he spent time in Europe riding for the U.S. Junior cycling team.

 * ... CRIME: The amount of petty thefts across town this Christmas season is truly astounding. Bikes are stolen out of garages and even Christmas decorations are disappearing from yards. This past weekend, a young woman was locked out of a house and was sleeping in her car in La Cresta (waiting for others to return) when she was awakened by a man who used a rock to smash the window to steal her purse.

* ... LOST CAT: The folks over at the SPCA on Gibson Street provide an important service in scanning stray cats to determine if they are "chipped" so they can be returned to their owner. I took a stray over there the other day and sure enough she was chipped and registered to a Karen Smith of Ridgecrest. The phone number was disconnected and the address was no longer relevant, but if you are reading this, Karen, contact me to be reunited with your pet.

 * ... COVENANT: Covenant Community Services, the group devoted to helping current and former foster children get on their feet, is hosting a unique fund raiser beginning this Thursday. It's called "The Party No One Came To" and is a way to bid on auction items online. There are tickets to San Francisco 49er games, a NASCAR racing experience and much more. Simply go to www.thepartynoonecameto.com to register and bid.

 * ... BUCK: Longtime music critic and writer Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times has released a list of "some of the saddest yuletide songs ever recorded." Among those making the list were "It's Christmas Time for Everyone but Me" by Buck Owens and "If We Make it Through December" by Merle Haggard.

Dr. Ravi Patel to appear on Californian Radio on Monday to discuss the state of cancer care in Kern County

* ... RAVI PATEL: Dr. Ravi Patel is perhaps the most prominent oncologist in town, and he made news last week when it was announced that his Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Center would team with Memorial and Mercy hospitals to provide cancer care. Patel will be my guest on Californian Radio KERN 1180 Monday at 9 a.m. to talk about the state of cancer care and some of the advances in treating this dreaded disease.

 * ... MCCARTHY: Rep. Kevin McCarthy represented the House Republican leadership when he squared off against Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) on the Sunday edition of "Meet the Press." McCarthy, speaking as House Majority Whip, told moderator David Gregory that the country has a spending problem that cannot be dealt with by simply raising taxes.

* ... OFFICER VAL: The death of Val Torres, a former Bakersfield police motorcycle officer, prompted this response from local Realtor David Gay. "I had a bittersweet moment as a photograph in yesterday’s obituary jumped out at me. Motorcycle officer Val Torres’ picture brought back wonderful memories, as he was the patrol officer assigned to the BHS campus in the 1960s. During those years, a student parking permit was required to park our cars, on the city streets around campus, and it was 'Officer Val’s' responsibility to inspect each car at the start of the school year. With 4,000 students at that time, I know he must have heard every story in the book, as he measured the clearance of the 'rake' cars, or discovered steel wool trying to substitute for a muffler. Through it all, Officer Val was always a great role model for all of us, as one of Bakersfield’s 'finest.'"

 * ... HOMELESS: Natalie Page Horvat helped put a face on the homeless with this note. "I helped an incredible homeless man today. He was fishing through our dumpster at work and at the same time he was picking up all of the trash that was scattered on the ground from the littering and inconsiderate business neighbors that we have . A homeless man cleaning the mess of privileged people. It angered me to see this man cleaning up after these people while he was desperately searching for items to survive on. We recycle at work, so I retrieved two huge bags of aluminum cans and plastic bottles. I went out there with a Smuckers Uncrustable sandwich and the recycling. I felt that he deserved something for the selfless act that he was committing because, in reality he was beautifying my work environment. He started to cry almost immediately and told me that it was a gift from God and that God was rewarding him for trying to change his path in life. He reached out to shake my hand and I shook it even though it was incredibly filthy. I've never experienced such sincere gratitude. He got on his knees in front of me and said a prayer thanking God. Wow, it was a crazy and incredibly humbling experience for the both of us. It doesn't take much to do something small, but significant for people."

* ... CHICKENS: Michele Magyar lives up in the city area of La Cresta and noted that the Animal Control officers cited her two chihuahuas for not having a purple tag identifying licensing. But, she wonders, what about all those chickens in her neighborhood? "I am wondering if the people next door to me with at least 12 chickens received any kind of citation..   Some mornings while driving to work, west of Alta Vista Drive, I have to stop the car to let the chickens cross the road and this is three blocks from where I live.  I realize that some change is good however... maybe chickens in the city is not such a good idea."