Community

When was the last time you took a moment to have a cup of tea with your daughter?  If it’s been a while and maybe that activity really isn’t her cup of tea, why not instead paint a cup and saucer for a worthy cause?  On Saturday, March 17, the Betty Ferguson Foundation will be holding a fundraiser at the Paint A Dream shop in Valencia.  For $25 per person, attendees can share a lunch, paint a ceramic cup and saucer and enjoy a workshop together with other Moms and Daughters.

A four-person engine company with three shifts will be up and in running order at a new temporary fire station located in Sand Canyon by mid-April.  It’s only the beginning of an extended plan to build a permanent one at the site.  The City of Santa Clarita is collaborating with K. Hovnanian and the L.A. County Fire Department in order to successfully complete the $2 million dollar project.

“I’ve lived a cowboy’s life and I understand it,” says cowboy poet, Chris Isaacs, a performer to appear at the City of Santa Clarita’s 14th annual Cowboy Festival in April, a celebration of cowboy culture. A guest at last year’s festival, Isaacs will return again this year for the five-day festival.

Take a ride on the wild side.  Well, maybe not the wild side, but at least take a free ride on the Santa Clarita Hometown Trolley.  It operates every 15 to 20 minutes from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Valencia Industrial Center and on Tuesdays and Thursdays around the Valencia Town Center.

It’s always fascinating to explore the contributions made by people who are just doing their every day work and end up making a major contribution to the world.  In commemoration of the accomplishments of women who have made a significant impact and to celebrate National Women’s History Month, the Valencia Public Library will be putting on three Sunday performances during the month of March.
The first one on Sunday, March 11 will feature the life of Betsy Ross, the women who sewed the American flag.

“I’ve been with the city now 17 years, but it sure doesn’t seem like it,” says Gail Ortiz, communications manager and public information officer for the City of Santa Clarita. That’s because the Acton mother of twin boys is blessed with the wide variety of tasks that she juggles every day in her job and at home.

It’s true and it was completely expected and planned for.  The College of the Canyons is the fastest growing community college in the country.  With an increase of more than 14 percent in student enrollment between the fall of 2004 and the fall of 2005, COC is the official record holder for biggest growth according to a Community College Week study.

It was nearly 30 years ago that Dawna Countryman of Saugus lined up her baby dolls and stuffed animals in neat rows and played school, not house, but school.  Countryman and her sister, now a nurse would roll a huge blackboard around their apartment bedroom pretending to teach their toys.  Today it’s not pretend, it’s a way of life for the Tesoro Elementary School teacher who is one of five teachers statewide to be honored with the coveted title of Teacher of the Year 2007.

In only a couple months, hundreds of area Boy and Girl Scouts will pepper the hillside along Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita armed with tiny American flags.  It will take them most of the Saturday before Memorial Day to place 5,000 flags on the graves of veterans buried at the Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary. Dessie Faussett is a member of the Santa Clarita Valley Memorial Day committee and has patriotism running through her blood.

“Even though we’ve had a very slight, I think it’s like 3/10ths of a percent increase in robberies and aggravated assaults, it is offset by a decrease in other areas of crime,” said the newly-appointed Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Captain Anthony La Berge at a recent meet-and-greet with residents and city officials at Santa Clarita City Hall. La Berge’s plans are to closely exam what did and didn’t work the past year prior to his arrival in his new commanding officer position on January 2.

Child & Family Center’s Taste of the Town, the valley’s premier food-focused event, will be held on Sunday, May 6 from 2-6 p.m., at the Mann Biomedical Park. This year’s event will be a Mardi Gras extravaganza, so get ready to enjoy life, party and have a good time.  The sights and smells of the specialties from over 30 of our finest local restaurants and caterers will create the background of gourmet feasting, Big Easy style.

Do you want to make a difference in the lives of children?  Area school districts are looking for you. The fair will offer information on jobs, affordable housing and credentialing.  Scheduled for March 10, the teacher recruitment fair will be held for people interested in working in five school districts, including William S. Hart, Castaic, Newhall, Saugus and Sulphur Springs. Teaching positions are open in grades from kindergarten through 12th grade, with emphasis on special education, speech and language, science and mathematics.

Over 55? Get a Free Ride
SCV Church Deserves a Gold Star for Helping
Valencia Viking Builds a Brick Wall
and more!

In an e-mail message from the City of Santa Clarita Communications Manager to Managing Editors Lisa Capozzi and Margie Ann Clark:

Thousands of cyclists will pedal their way into Santa Clarita on Saturday, February 24 amid bustling excitement and fun activities for spectators of all ages.  Santa Clarita is one of 12 host cities for the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race being staged across California’s scenic roads taking off from San Francisco on February 18.  “The City of Santa Clarita is proud to host the finish of Stage 6 of the Tour of California,” Santa Clarita mayor, Marsha McLean said of the final 105 mile stretch from Santa Barbara to the SCV.

The glory of victory lives on for the Canyon High School Cowboy football team and it’s fans.  After a stunning 27-13 win late last year over the heavily favored number one team in the country, Concord De La Salle, the Cowboys reign as the CIF Division I State Champions for the first time in nearly 80 years.  In a recently released film, We Are Marshall, a coach played by Matthew McConaughey delivers a heart-wrenching pep speech to his team players.

The Valencia High Band and Color Guard Boosters will host the first edition of Hold’em and Roll’em Sweetheart Poker and Bunko Tournament at The Plaza, 23710 Lyons Avenue in Newhall, on Saturday, February 17 from 5 to 11 p.m.  Guests will enjoy dinner, raffles and a friendly night of competition as participants compete for cash and prizes.

Move over Laverne and Shirley, take a break Lenny and Squigy, the SCV-Newhall Optimist Club is calling for enthusiastic bowlers.  So, mark the date, it’s February 17th to slide into your bowling shoes and onto the lanes in the first annual Bowl-A-Thon to be held at the Santa Clarita Lanes in Saugus. Money raised at the Bowl-A-Thon will benefit the Heads Up therapy horse riding program, a Saugus ranch that helps disabled children improve balance, muscle tone, hand-and-eye coordination and self-confidence.