Bakersfield ranks No. 3 on a survey of the best smaller cities for college graduates, right behind Ventura and Bridgeport, CT; and noting the 45th anniversary of the loss of 99 sailors on the USS Scorpion nuclear submarine

 * ... BAKO: Bakersfield has long suffered a "brain drain" as some of our best and brightest young people leave for greener pastures, but now comes word that our community is becoming increasingly attractive to young college graduates. According to a recent survey, Bakersfield ranked No. 3 on a list of smaller cities that pay a premium for college graduates. The Ventura-Oxnard area was No. 1 on the

list, followed by Bridgeport, CT., Bakersfield, Poughkeepsie, NY, and Melbourne, FL. The survey, conducted by CreditDonkey, took into account median income, cost of living and a salary premium for having a degree.

 * ... BAD FORM: A pox on the passengers in a small white sedan who deliberately ran down a cyclist on Panorama Drive this week and either threw something at his head or used a club to bash his helmet. The cyclist happened to be Tom Morgan, a former Kern County Sheriff's deputy who was shot point blank in the neck some years ago during an arrest and miraculously survived. He is now a lawyer with the county counsel office and took up cycling for fitness. Morgan escaped serious injury in the latest incident, but only because his helmet saved him from serious head trauma. So this is his reward for putting his life on the line in service of our community? (file photo of Tom Morgan)

* ... ACHIEVER: Good news for Timothy Schmidt, a 1989 graduate of Foothill High School who has been awarded tenure at South East Missouri State. He graduated from Westmont College with a bachelor of arts degree, received a masters from Northern Colorado University and his doctorate from the University of Illinois.  He has been on the music faculty at “SEMO” for the past five years. He is the son of Gerhard and Mary Schmidt of Bakersfield.

 * ... GRADUATE: And kudos go to Elizabeth Key, a graduate of Ridgeview High School who just graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO. She graduated with university honors and cum laude. She has now moved to Toledo, Ohio, to work for the Red Cross and plans to eventually earn a PhD in biology.

 * ... FLY IN: The Bakersfield Municipal Airport is holding an open house and a "fly in" on Saturday, June 1, starting at 9 a.m. This looks like a great event for parents and their children and is free to the publice. Aircraft will be on display and there will even be a Porsche and Mopar club cars there.

 * ... MEMORIES: More memories of Wayne's Dairy and the growth of our town. This one comes from reader Bow Porter" "Our family was a Wayne's Dairy customer also. We lived in a Gannon built house on Mt. Vernon when it was a dirt road, and our back door was open to George, our milkman. As Bakersfield moved east, we did too, making about three moves as new houses became available over the years... George's route kept up,  also moving east. My son, Ken Klose, had a Sunday morning newspaper route, and would report new residents, new potential customers to George who rewarded him with a special treat of chocolate milk or donuts... We paid our bill monthly, and I didn't  keep track of what George put in our refrigerator; he just knew what we used and kept us supplied. Life was so simple and trusting and honest."

 * ... NAVY: And finally reader Gene Bonas reminded me that May 22 was the 45th anniversary of  the loss of the nuclear submarine the USS Scorpion. Ninety-nine sailors died in the incident. As Gene said: "Anytime a Navy shipmate is lost, we Navy veterans say: 'Sailors Rest Your Oar! We Will Always Remember!'" (historic photo of USS Scorpion)

Another tribute to the late Jerry Warren and the Padre gets a new general manager

* ... RIP JERRY: My post last week on the death of longtime Bakersfield businessman Jerry Warren drew this response from his neighbor, Mary Richard. "Jerry and Jennie have been our next door neighbors for almost 18 years. As Herb Benham would say, he was our go to guy! When my step son was killed in a car accident it was Jerry who drove me out to Rio Bravo Golf course to tell my husband his son had been killed. He and Jennie were there for us then and many times since. The last time I saw Jerry was when we were having heavy rains just before Christmas last year. He thought we were out of town so he went in our backyard to make sure it wasn't flooding. He was dead a few days later. I miss hearing him singing Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah from over the fence and him talking about 'my girl,' lovingly referring to Jennie. We miss him terribly and it is comforting to know that others knew how special he was.



* ... CHP: There's a special luncheon set for this Wednesday to support a fund that supports the widows and children of California Highway Patrol officers. "Tips for Chips" will be held from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Outback Steakhouse. Tickets are $25 at the door.


* .... WAYNE'S DAIRY: Reader Charlie Duran worked 20 years for Wayne Peacock at the dairy as a driver and salesman delivering milk to homes in Bakersfield. "I often see articles in the paper giving the dairy's location as North Chester Avenue. If my memory is correct the address was always 4050 Chester Avenue, not North Chester. Remember folks, North Chester begins on the north end of the Kern River bridge. We also sold hundreds of pounds of the best chocolate candy made anywhere! This was a great company to work for."

* ... JUNIOR LEAGUE: The Junior League of Bakersfield is accepting grant applications from non-profit groups for projects that will improve the welfare of women and children throughout Kern County. Applications are available at the League's 19th Street offices or at its website, http://www.juniorleagueofbakersfield.org/. The deadline for submitting applications is Thursday, December 1.

* ... SALLY SHOPPER: More on "Sally the Shopper," the service provided at the old Brock's department store downtown. Bertha Mullen said one of the shoppers was Patty Esposito, and about 1954 "she married a local businessman, Lloyd Plank. They raised a family and still live in Bakersfield. Sally, a lot of us still wish we had you to do our shopping."

* ... KUDOS: Johnny Stephens, one of the original group of San Diego-based managers who moved to Bakersfield to open the newly refurbished Padre Hotel, has been named interim general manager. The 31-year-old Stephens worked at the company's San Diego hotel (Tower 21) before moving to Bakersfield. He is now plans to purchase a home and stay in our community.

* ... BAKERSFIELDISM: From my friend Al Gutierrez: "You may be a Bakersfield old-timer if you can recall the existence of 'houses of ill repute' at several east Bakersfield locations. The Sad Sack Hotel and The Tacoma Rooms operations were located on Edison Highway. A third house, known as The Green Doors, was situated on Morning Drive, across the street from where Foothill High School now stands. Sheriff Leroy Galyen, a gentleman who attended church every Sunday, shut them all down during the late 1950s."