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."

Bakersfield College appeals the punishment for its football program, and local folks wonder if someone will have to pay the price for it

 * ... ALARM SYSTEMS: Here is an important tip about home alarm systems in the city of Bakersfield, compliments of reader Gary Crabtree. "Saturday evening we returned from dinner about 6:30 to find our alarm activated and a message from our alarm company on our answering machine that our front door had been breached." he wrote. "We found nothing missing. A call to the alarm company indicated that they
had called the police. At 9:30 p.m. an officer arrived at our front door. He indicated that he just got the call from dispatch. We were told that if we didn’t renew our alarm permit with the city every year for $30 they may or may not respond.  So a warning, if you expect BPD to respond to your alarm system, better cough up $30 a year to the city."

 * ... THE BUZZ: It's good to see Bakersfield College appealing the punishing sanctions against its football program, but folks are wondering if someone will be sacrificed because of the harsh penalties. If BC Athletic Director Ryan Beckwith is fired over all this, it won't be because he has lost the support of the BC Helmet Club. Paul Pavletich, president of the booster club, made it clear on First Look with Scott Cox that the club supports Beckwith and would not agree with his dismissal. Stay tuned as this story unfolds.

* ... ACHIEVER: Another local Bakersfield product has gone on to make quite a name for himself in the healthcare industry. Dr. Jason Dinger has been identified as one of the top 300 most influential people in U.S. health care, according to a recent survey by ModernHealthcare.com. Dinger graduated from Bakersfield Christian High School and went on to Vanderbilt University in Nashville. He is currently CEO of Mission Point Health Partners in Nashville. His father, Steven Dinger, is president of BCHS and his mother Nancy is a social worker at Koinonia Family Services.

 * ... GIVING: Yet another example of the generosity of our local Rotary clubs. The Waterman Foundation of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield (the downtown club) has awarded nearly $40,000 in capital improvement grants to nine local non profits. Among the recipients were the Alliance Against Family Violence, the Bakersfield Music Theater, the Buena Vista Museum, the Boys and Girls Club, CASA, the Golden Empire Gleaners, the Kern County Museum, MARE and San Joaquin Community Hospital.

 * ... HOSPICE: If you are looking for a way to support a good cause and enjoy a nice glass of wine, mark this Thursday, May 23, on your calendar. That's the date of the "Optimal Cares Wine Tasting and Concert" set for the Bakersfield Museum of Art at 5:30 p.m. It is a fund raiser for the Optimal Hospice Foundation. Tickets are $75 each and can be purchased by calling Cherie Shoemake at (661) 716-8000.

  * ... MEMORIES: Brian Landis said his 85-year old grandmother, Elizabeth "Bette" Crume, wanted to share this memory about when everyone would leave their back doors open so Wayne's Dairy could deliver fresh milk to your refrigerator while you were either sleeping or away from home. She is, thank you, a faithful reader of The Bakersfield Californian and said she enjoys reading Herb Benham's column but worries for his kids. "She wanted to be sure to let you know that she thinks John Arthur is a smart-ass!" Brian said. I will make sure both Herb and John get the message, Brian.

Don Martin being courted to run for City Council while Seven Oaks gets hit with burglaries

 * ... WARD TWO:  It looks like longtime downtown arts activist Don Martin is being courted to run for the City Council to replace Sue Benham, who is stepping down after 12 years on the council. I've heard that Candi Easter, head of the local Democratic Party, has met with Martin to urge him to run in the November 2012 election. Apparently Martin is among a number of potential candidates being approached to run, and he told me he has yet to make a decision. The Ward 2 post covers most of downtown, where Martin lives and runs his art gallery, The Metro Galleries on 19th Street. He has been instrumental in the evolution of the downtown arts district and is well known in the community. Another potential candidate is Terry Maxwell, himself an owner of a downtown restaurant, who ran unsuccessfully for the post over a decade ago.

 * ... SEVEN OAKS: The Grand Island area of Seven Oaks has been hit with a number of burglaries recently, putting residents of this gated community on edge. I am told most of the break-ins are happening in mid morning, and that the favored entry point seems to be windows leading to the master bedroom. In some cases, alarms are not triggered because the introduders simply break the glass and crawl inside without ever opening the window. Alarm companies can wire houses with devices that are triggered by the sound of broken glass, and this may be an option.


* ... MORE BURGLARIES: Kevin Ormande is the manager at the Kern Security Systems and knows something about the rash of burglaries and car thefts sweeping our community. "Please tell your readers to use their home alarm systems even when leaving for just 'a few minutes' to run to the store or pick up children from school. If all possible park in your garage. In 18 years in the security business I have yet to heare of a vehicle being broken into inside a garage."



* ... GARCES POOL: Heads up if you live downtown or on the east side of our community: the new pool at Garces Memorial High School is now open to the public for early morning workouts. Swimmers can sign up for a daily, monthly or yearly pass to use the heated pool from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Lockers are available. The new pool is beautiful and provides a great morning workout. Call Billy Potter at Garces at (661) 327-2578 if you are interested.

* ... FUND RAISER: I had the chance to stop by a fund raiser for the local Ronald McDonald house over at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. It was held at Imbibe Wine and Spirits and chaired by Jeffrey Mestmaker, a local wealth advisor. I am always impressed by how many people in our community rally behind good causes. Mestmaker took the microphone to thank many donors, including HPS Mechanical, The Golden Empire McDonalds operators, Chevron Valley Credit Union, Alon USA, Peggy Darling in the memory of Curtis Darlin, Bakersfield Active 20/30 Club, Bon and Pat Engel in memory of Ryan Dobbs, Diane Lake Family in memory of Catherine Ann Lake, and Sandy Moffett in memory of Marshall Helm.

  * .... COAT DRIVE: Kudos to West Rotary’s New Member Committee for collecting over 500 coats, jackets and sweatshirts at the Antique Peddlers Fair last weekend. Headed by new club member Mark Bianchi along with Chip Casteen, PK Zander, John Shaw and senior members Brad Henderson and Jim Darling, the group's goal was 200 coats for Castle Elementary School. Because of the large response the group added Standard School and West Rotary’s sponsored elementary school in Ensanada Mexico.

 * ... BAD FORM: Speaking of Rotary, service clubs are rarely the venue for bad behavior but that was exactly the case at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield, also known as the downtown club. Turns out one of its members hijacked the invocation to launch a personal attack on the speaker, with whom he had a falling out over a business deal. He later apologized.

 * ... SPOTTED: A young mother with a toddler pulls up to a tobacco shop at Ming and Ashe, music blaring loudly, windows rolled down. She gets out of the car but leaves the loud music playing and the toddler in the back seat while she runs in to get some smokes. Class act.