Social Butterfly

February 18th, 2010

Evelyn Madison- The Social Butterfly

School District Launches SAVE Program

The Escondido Union School District has launched S.A.V.E. (Save Amps Voltage and Electricity), an energy conservation program with the goal of progressively reducing consumption of electricity by 20% in each of the district’s 17 elementary schools. Coordinated by a teacher, teams of students patrol their campuses at lunch and recess, issuing "tickets" when they find empty classrooms with the lights on or doors or windows open. They issue thank you notes when they find classrooms consistently using good conservation tactics. "SAVE puts the power of making a difference in the hands of students, which develops important skills for them as well as benefiting their school and community," observes Gina Manusov, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services.

The Student Energy Patrols for the SAVE project at Farr Avenue School have captured the greatest percentage of savings in kilowatt hours used in the city-wide school district for the second month in a row. Their 26% reduction of consumption of kilowatt-hours in October seemed unbeatable until their November power bills rolled in, with a 36% savings in electricity. They had saved more than 27,000 kilowatt hours of electricity in November 2009, compared to their November 2008 power bills. For November, the top five schools with the most energy savings were: Farr Avenue, 36%; Oak Hill, 24%; Central, 23%; Rose, 22%; and Conway, 21%. Congratulations to Farr School Patrol members Miguel Garcia, Patty Martinez, Gabriela Nava, Carmen Ortega, Joanna Salgado, and Tyson Tran; their teacher, Kim Montoya, and principal, Angel Gotay.
Co-ed Softball Team Planned

The First United Methodist Church, FUMC, will be starting a Coed Softball Team and games will be played Monday evenings starting March 5th at Kit Carson Park. Cost is $10/player, which covers a uniform and registration. This is an adult league, for ages 18 and up. The team is open to everyone whether affiliated with FUMC or not. The plan is to have 16 players on a team, and a second team will be started if necessary. The initial registration has past, however, if interested, contact Jeremy Wells at the Church office, 760.745.5100, Ext. 26, for space availability.

Literary Society's Next Reading is Tomorrow

The Village Idiots Literary Society's next reading will be Friday, February 19, from 7-9pm, at Gallery 204, 204 Main Street, Vista. There will be no featured writer at this meeting; open mike reading, free and open to the public. For information, call 760.685.6470 or email villageidiots@cox.net.

Senior Service Council Offers Income Tax Assistance

Income Tax assistance is offered to elderly and low to moderate income taxpayers, from 9am to 3pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, at the Joslyn Senior Center, 728 No. Broadway, Escondido. This free service is offered up to April 15th, on a first-come, first-served basis; no appointments necessary. Senior Service Council volunteers help you prepare your Federal and State income tax returns. For information, call 760.480.0611.

Poetry Reading

Sunset Poets next reading will be Sunday, February 21, at 3pm, featuring San Diego poet Chris Vannoy, at Pizarro's Pizza, 2216 So. El Camino Real, #123, Oceanside. An open mike reading will follow the featured event, which is free and open to the public.

The Woman's Club of Escondido honored their past presidents at a recent meeting. Pictured (l-r) are: Vivian Doering (5-time president); Lita Bowles (3-time); Yolanda Fleet (1); Violet Hall (1); Marian Earle (2); and Rita Christie (1). The Club will celebrate it's 100th Anniversary this summer.

Senior Anglers Meeting on Friday

The Senior Anglers of Escondido is beginning its 35th year as a local fishing club. The meetings are the 3rd Friday each month. The meeting tomorrow, Friday, February 19, starts at 9:30am at the Joslyn Senior Center, 210 Park Avenue. Steve Fukuto, President of the United Anglers of Southern California, will give an update on the current status of the Marine Life Protection Act and how it will affect salt water fishing. The web site is www.senioranglersofescondido.net.

Senior Specialists Networking Group to Meet in Encinitas

On Thursday, February 25, at 11:30am, the North County Senior Specialists Networking Group luncheon will be hosted by Atria of Encinitas, 504 So. El Camino Real. A tour of the facility will be provided. Senior providers interested in networking with like-minded caring professionals serving the senior community are encouraged to attend. Cost for nonmembers is $20/person. Reservations are required, by calling 760.497.1150, or ssngjanette@yahoo.com.


Von's Networking Group Aids Assistance League

A visit from Von's District 56 Networking Group to the Inland North County Assistance League's Thrift Store in Escondido was a welcome event as they have chosen the all-volunteer organization and the thrift store as their Community project. A clothing drive was held and bundles of clothing were delivered to the Thrift Store in November. The group was given a tour and discussed the many philanthropic programs supported by Assistance League. All proceeds from the Thrift Store located at 2068 East Valley Parkway in Escondido support projects in the North County. For more Information, contact www.assistanceleague.info.

Von's Networking Group Shown in photo: Claudine Feneira, Melinda Terrain, Charsae Navedo, Svetlana Yesquva and Lysa Hummel.

Dinner Dance Planned for Widow/Widowers Club

The Widow and Widowers Club of North County will hold a dinner dance on Sunday, February 21, at a local country club, featuring "The Billy Harper Band." Reservations must be made and paid for in advance. Call Dee at 760.599.5808.

Other upcoming events include a dinner dance at Oceanside Elks Lodge, 444 Country Club Lane, on Friday, February 26, at 5pm. Cost is $12.50, includes coffee and dessert. Call Dottie at 760.438.5491.

Buena Vista Audubon Announces Two Events for February

On Sunday, February 21, at 2pm, the Native Plant Club meeting will be held at the Nature Center, 2202 So. Coast Hwy., Oceanside. The topic is "Safe Sex in the Garden" - the sex life of plants, that is. Are urban pollen producers causing your allergies to act up? Visit the garden to see newly emerging blooms and seeds, and learn which ones are 'naughty' and which are 'nice.' Experts and novices alike are welcome. For more information, contact BVNPC@sbcglobal.net, or call the Center at 760.439.2473.

The Preschool Nature Storytime welcomes all preschoolers 3-5 years old, with an adult, on Monday, February 22, at 10am. Grey whales are the topic this month, as they move along our coastline on their journey to their summer home in the Arctic Sea. There will be an hour of songs, a story, and a craft. Free! At the Buena Vista Audubon Nature Center, 2202 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside. Questions? Call Mary Ellen, 760.918.6622.

Taxi Scrip Available at Oceanside Senior Center

Taxi Scrip booklets, for seniors, containing $20 worth of script is available at the Oceanside Senior Center, at a cost of $7/booklet. Seniors are limited to four booklets a month. The scrip is intended for trips within Oceanside City limits, including medical facilities in the Tri-City Medical corridor along Vista Way and Thunder Drive up to Cedar. To register for taxi scrip, call Cheryl Stone between 8:00am and 12:30pm at 760.435.5250. Scrip can be purchased at the Country Club Senior Center, 455 Country Club Lane. Scrip can also be mailed; please mention you need it delivered.

Hula Lessons Offered at Country Club Senior Center

Beginning Hawaiian and Tahitian dance lessons are now offered at the Country Club Senior Center, 455 Country Club Lane, Oceanside, on Mondays from 11:30am to 12:30pm. The fee is $8 per drop-in, or pay $25 and attend for the entire month. No pre-registration is required. For more information about these classes, please call the instructor, Marilee Garcia at 760.941.2785.

DAR Meets With Their Adopted Soldier

Marine Staff Sergeant Marlon Martinez, recently returned from Afghanistan, met with the Rincon del Diablo Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). A recipient of the chapter's Adopt-A-Soldier program, he spoke of his experiences and thanked the chapter for the desert water bags sent to him and his men, many of whom had never seen water bags before nor knew how to use them, but after instruction from Martinez, became enthusiastic supporters during the 130-degree temperatures they experience in Afghanistan.

Pictured are l-r, Ruth Putrus, Adopt-A-Soldier Chairman, Sergeant Marlon Martinez, and Phyllis Young, Regent.

The chapter sends useful items to military personnel serving in Iraq also. Other projects include making quilts for military hospitals, gifts for Marine wives at holidays; cosmetics and toys for Serenity House for homeless women and their children, and an adopted classroom at an Appalachian school where math programs and reading texts are provided. DAR is open to all women who can prove their lineage to a patriot of the American Revolution. For information, call Phyllis Young at 760.744.7530 or Nancy Christensen at 760.788.8180.

Happy 104th Birthday, Opal!

Chris Camperell and Opal Cochran

Opal Cochran turned 104 on Tuesday, February 16. She celebrated with a special "birthday bash" on Sunday after church at The Oaks Christian Church on Twin Oaks Valley Road in San Marcos; a church of which she and her husband, Carl, were involved in founding in 1986.

Born on February 16, 1906, in Indian Territory (later to become the State of Oklahoma), she married Carl, "the boy next door," on January 1, 1930. They were married 66 1/2 years when he passed in 1996 at the age of 91.

Their only child, Larry, was born in 1936, however, before that she took in three children of a former neighbor who were orphaned during the Great Depression. She raised the three and her son all together; at the same time she also cared for her aging parents and Carl's aging parents until their deaths.

She and Carl traveled the entire country, visiting every state except Hawaii. They lived in many different places from Grove, OK, to Joplin, MO, to Wichita, KS, to Grand Junction, CO, to Santa Fe Springs, Leucadia, and San Marcos, CA, then to Phoenix, where both Carl, her son, and her sister passed away. Her granddaughter, Linda, took her in and cared for her for six years until a stroke necessitated her being moved to a care facility. In 2005 she moved back to San Marcos, and resides now at the Village Square Nursing Facility.

Her remaining family consists of granddaughters Linda, Kathleen and Alison, and grandsons-in-law Trent and Simond. Six great-grandchildren are AJ, Colin, Tyler, Carlie, Ryan, and Cole, and her great-great-granddaughter Rhiley, who was born on Opal's birthday one year ago. Her favorite hobbies included time wih family and friends, watching baseball and basketball games, loved to cook, and canning (favorites were pickles, tomatoes, and sauerkraut.) She loved to garden, sew, knit and crochet.

Happy Birthday, Opal! We'll see you next year! (Read all about Opal’s 100th birthday here:) http://www.thecommunitypaper.com/2006/02_16_06/butterfly.php

Black History Seminar Planned at Senior Center

In celebration of Black History Month, a Black History Seminar will be presented by Larry Flora, at the Country Club Senior Center, 455 Country Club Lane, Oceanside, on Friday, February 26, from 1:30 to 3:00pm. The subject will be Liberia, a country on the West Coast of Africa. Included is a movie about native life in Liberia during the 1940s, as well as a display of souvenirs and artifacts of unique chairs and clothing.

Oceanside To Celebrate Black History Month

The Oceanside Public Library presents "The Voice of King" on Tuesday, February 23, at 6pm, at the Mission Branch Library Community Room, 3861 Mission Avenue, and on Saturday, February 27, at 11am, at the Civic Center Library Community Rooms, 330 No. Coast Hwy. The program features Dennis Brown who will provide a performance of Dr. Martin Luther King's orations and songs from the Civil Rights era. Mr. Brown is a multitalented singer and orator, has performed at schools, libraries, theatres, and other civic events throughout the country. The public is invited, and is open to all ages. The program is free, and is sponsored by the Friends of the Oceanside Public Library. For information, call 760.435.5600 or visit the library web site at www.oceansidepubliclibrary.org.

At the Hidden Valley Vista Council's Queens' Court luncheon recently, chapter Valentine queens were honored for their dedication and service to their local chapters, Council, and to Beta Sigma Phi Sorority. The local HVVC Council sponsors the luncheon each year, with this year's theme, the "Orient Express." Food, decorations and entertainment carried out the theme. Queens honored were (l-r) Gwen Rienti, Laureate Theta Upsilon Chapter; Nancy Barnett, Laureate Alpha Kappa; Linda Anderson, Preceptor Mu Alpha; and Peggy Williams, Gamma Rho Master.

Woman's Club Luncheon Meeting Planned

The Woman's Club of Escondido will hold their monthly luncheon meeting on Monday, March 1st, at 10:30am. A potluck luncheon is planned. Keiko Grant will entertain with some songs, and there will be a mini gabfest with the members. Contact Ruth for information and reservations at 760.489.0579.

Rotary Hears About Portable Farms

At a recent Vista Shadowridge Rotary luncheon meeting, the speaker, Colle Davis, inventor and CEO of Portable Farms Aquaponics Systems, discussed the advantages of his high production, environmentally-conscious, enclosed garden systems. His method uses live fish, in a tank, to produce fertilizer in a re-circulating environment, with plants grown in a non-soil medium. The fish and produce provide a year round source of protein and vegetables that can be organically grown. The Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at 12 noon at the Shadowridge Country Club in Vista. For information, call Cynthia at 760.505.8601.

DAR to Meet on Saturday, March 6

The Rancho Buena Vista Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), will meet Saturday, March 6, at 9:00am, at the Shadowridge Country Club, 1980 Gateway Drive, Vista. For reservation information, contact 760.736.0178 or by email to rbvdar@gmail.com.

A business meeting will follow the continental breakfast. Past Chapter Regent Pat Blair will present a PowerPoint program on “Famous Firsts by American Women.” DAR is open to any female age 18 or older who can prove a lineal bloodline from someone who served in the Continental Army or gave aid to the cause of freedom in the American Revolution. Members of DAR actively support historic preservation, promote education and advance patriotic endeavors.

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