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Lions Club holds its White Cane Days for the blind
By Mary Ann Cook
CANES & KORTE: White Cane Days, the Lions fundraising campaign for the blind, will be held on Oct. 5 and 6, at various Los Gatos locations. Money raised goes to the Blind Center. One of the staunchest supporters of both the Lions' work and the Blind Center is Norbert Korte, a Jesuit Brother.
You might say he does a lion-sized share of that club's projects if you were word-play inclined. Thus, to commemorate his many years of service to the club, the Lions held a roast for him one recent Sunday, fittingly held at the center.
The afternoon was filled with toasts and tributes, as well as good-natured jibes. Chris Morris organized the doings.
TEACHERS OF YEAR: Joe Bolin of Blossom Hill School, Louise Osborne of Loma Prieta and Margarita Palmada of Leigh High School were all named Teachers of the Year, awarded by the county office of education and nominated by their respective districts.
Palmada is a Spanish teacher, head of the department. She actively involves students in the Hispanic culture, as well as the language, and her students succeed at a very high level. She is always there for colleagues with ideas, materials and teaching strategies, reported her district.
She describes teaching as opening another window through which students can see the world.
Bolin is a second-grade teacher at Blossom Hill School, as well as being the tireless president of the Teachers Association. His students adore him, he's a role model for the profession and he has a wonderful sense of humor, said those who nominated him.
Osborne, a kindergarten teacher for 30 years, offers her students a rich, exciting curriculum that develops the self esteem necessary for success. She's known affectionately as "Mrs. O." "I love helping children gain the courage they need to be life learners," she said.
Teachers at Saratoga schools who were honored are Mike Boitz of Saratoga High and Julie Shultz of Redwood Middle School. Boitz teaches instrumental music and directs all seven student bands, orchestras and ensembles. Shultz is a science teacher and a master teacher for NASA/Ames Aerospace Encounter.
THERAPY FOR YOUNGSTERS: The Los Gatos Elks Lodge will host an educational fundraiser on Oct. 7, at 7 p.m., to raise money for its major project--in-home therapy for disabled youngsters. The service is offered throughout California and Hawaii without charge to the families involved.
Doug Larsen of Salinas, chairman of the Major Project Trustees Board, and an occupational and physical therapist, will be the speaker. The $3.5 million program is funded totally by Elks members throughout California and Hawaii.
Therapy offered includes the services of speech and language pathologists, and vision screening to detect vision problems in preschool children, as well as physical and occupational screening.
FINGERS DO THE TALKING: Some people fly banners to commemorate different seasons and occasions. Mary Urzi marks significant events with nails ablaze. She and Fatima of Cultured Nails put her nails and their heads together to come up with just the thing.
This week it's a royal blue background with ivy trailing in shades of green and yellow. On the thumbnail also appears the figure 20 and Fatima's signature. Twenty is the number of years that Urzi has been having her talons done by Fatima in such original and fetching ways.
At Easter, eggs and baskets are painted thereon, at Christmas it's trees and ornaments, on the Fourth, a flag. When the Brazilian soccer team was encamped here a few years ago, their logo graced Urzi's nails. In the days when Urzi worked for Idamina's people might forget her name, but never those nails.
BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS: Children's program attendance at the library is growing in giant strides. Last year the library marked an average of 59 children per program; this year drew an average of 70 per with a total of 850 attending. Four more programs were added this year.
As for the Summer Reading Club: 1,085 signed up, compared to 733 for the year 1999. The Grandparents and Books Program grew from 415 last year to 540 this year.
These whopping increases can be attributed to more outreach and the waiver of the resident fee for those residents in the hills or in county pockets, conjectured children's librarian Sandy Woo and volunteer coordinator Susan Buxton.
IRONWOMAN: Barbara Blackburn of the Fitness Edge competed in the Ironman Marathon 2000 held recently in Canada.
MIXED MEDIA: Los Gatan L. B. Spencer is the featured artist at Gallery Saratoga during October. The artist uses such materials as Asian papers, wood bark and pressed flowers in her collages and encaustics in her monoprints. Original greeting cards also will be on hand.
Encaustic is the process that uses melted beeswax mixed with resin for luminosity and hardness. For a studio appointment, call 408.353.2167.
CORRECTED DATE: The correct date for the LGHS reunion for the class of '45 is Oct. 28, at the Toll House Hotel. For information, contact Eva Tatum at 408.358.1498.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
