Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Raffle prize winner decides to join the club

RAFFLE WINNER: Winner of the LG-Saratoga Soroptimist International Club raffle conducted recently was Helen Burgard, who won $1,500. The raffle is part of the Soroptimist's fundraiser, which raises money for battered women and children and for scholarships. Some $4,000 was raised through the raffle this year, quite a boost from the $2,250 of last year. Burgard, an artist, declared herself a candidate for membership in the club.

The Soroptimists award scholarships to high school seniors who have served the community and to women who need further training or education to go back to work. Scholarships for re-entry women aren't necessarily for college work but for any training needed, reports Soroptimist president Marilyn White.

For the holiday meeting Dec. 16, Soroptimists will bring gender-specific gifts for the Children's Shelter in San Jose.

WARMTH NEEDED: AAUW's Committee for Homeless Women and Children is collecting winter wear for the Georgia Travis Center. Much needed are umbrellas, raincoats, coats, jackets, blankets and towels, kitchen equipment, disposable diapers, even baby formula. Men's clothing will also be distributed by the group to other centers. The contact number is JoAn Lambert at 867-6237, and there are drop-off points in both Saratoga and Los Gatos, reports Licia Thomson.

APPEAL FOR FUNDS: The annual appeal for funds for the Saratoga Senior Center and the Adult Day Care was sent out recently, reports Hugh Hexamer, finance committee chair. Some 3,000 seniors attend programs at these two centers annualy. Speaking of the Senior Center, at a recent Wednesday lunch, speaker Louise Webb held forth about her brushes with celebrities, including getting a cigar from Jimmy Durante and an airplane questionnaire returned by Joe Montana. She had shaped her questions like an airplane so she could sail them to him, and he returned the answers days later.

Webb also toured Oprah's studio, which included a bathtub. One sighting, though, where Webb wasn't letter perfect was when she ran into letter-turner Vanna White. Webb told Vanna she could easily win a look-alike contest--for Vanna White. Baanhh (buzzer noise sound for wrong answer).

SEEKING MFA: Saratogan Laurie Sleeper was accepted into the San Francisco State University creative writing program this fall and will earn a master's in fine arts in the three-year program. The program is very competitive and very difficult to get into, reports fellow writer Katherine Maxfield, who is herself finishing up an MFA at St. Mary's in Moraga and will receive her degree next spring.

Maxfield's first sale was a short story called "Talents Like Mine," published this fall in the airline magazine American Way.

Sleeper would agree the SFSU program is hard to get into: this was her third try. "I believe in perseverance," she says. During that time she took workshops and classes to hone her talents, a process which obviously paid off. She won first prize in the short story category of the Jack London Writers' Conference this year.

Sleeper has an undergrad degree in literature from UC-Santa Cruz and a law degree from UC-Davis. She practiced law for a number of years before deciding creative writing was what she really wanted to do, and she credits husband Tim Stevens with the encouragement she needed to change direction. They met because they are both bassoonists; recently blew their own horns separately and together on a trip to Russia with a medley of Sacramento-based music groups.

SILK ROAD: "History of the Silk Road," a lecture/slide show, will be offered by Kristen Burriere, owner of J. L. Walsh Silks, Dec. 13 at 1 p.m. at the Exclamation Point, 14510 Big Basin Way. Cost is $5. The Exclamation Point is something of a nirvana for local needlers, being the supply source for threads and instruction, as well as a finishing center for those proficient in fine needlework.

MIKVAH LECTURE: A lecture on the history, meaning and ritual of using the Mikvah, or ritual bath, will be held Monday, Dec. 15, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth David, 19700 Prospect Rd., Saratoga. The Mikvah is a specially designed pool filled with rainwater mixed with treated water. Immersion prepares people for participation in holy rituals before conversion to Judaism or other special times of purification. Rabbi Leslie Alexander will lead the discussion.

RESCUED PARADERS: In the Children's Parade in the town down the road were 40 rehabs that wouldn't have made it were it not for the continuing efforts of volunteers. They were golden retrievers, decked out in red bells and bows and high-stepping, thanks to Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue Inc. This volunteer group relocates dogs who need new homes because of hardship, abuse or abandonment. Dogs are available for adoption: 17 were placed in the past two weeks alone in SC County. Beth Gottschall is one contact at 356-9310.

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