Firefighters pay visit to elementary school

On May 25, the Antelope Valley Volunteer Fire Department had some of their vehicles and equipment on display at the Antelope Valley Elementary School, along with several of their volunteers there to meet the people who came by. I envied the kids - they sure had fun climbing on the trucks and wearing their fireman hats. The department also had fliers available that show the cost of a water tank for an individual's property for anyone interested in making that investment for their home. We also learned that the department now has 16 volunteers, but they can still use more. There were several donations made to the department, and the firefighters want to thank everyone for their support. Commissioner Dave Robbins gave a very nice tribute to the volunteers, and the crowd gave them all a round of applause.

Open house at school

Also on May 25, the elementary school held an end-of-the-year open house. There was a good crowd there to appreciate the students' achievements during the year as well as an art show by grades K-5. I never realized that there are so many kids in the valley, but they and their parents sure turned out in large numbers.

Regional Planning Advisory Committee

The next regular RPAC meeting will be on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Walker Community Center. The agenda is posted at the general store, Country Store and Coleville Post Office. Please make an effort to attend this and any other RPAC meetings, so that you are helping to plan the valley's future instead of being the caboose on the train. Everyone's input is needed and welcome.

Senior health fair

The free health fair will be held in the park Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be a free barbecue lunch for seniors, and representatives will be there from the Mono County agencies that deal with seniors' needs, to answer questions and help them in any way they can.

Graduation is coming

The graduation ceremony for this year's senior class at Coleville High School will be on Saturday, June 10 at 10 a.m. in the high school gym. The valedictorian will be Dani Williams and the salutatorian will be Jarrod Villareal.

This and That

n The memorial service and dedications for Mike Bruzzesi were very nice. People told their memories of their friendships with Mike, who worked so hard for the good of our community and its residents. The memories were both touching and funny (Mike would have enjoyed them), and everyone was glad to be there to honor him.

n The Antelope Valley Artists will meet today at 4 p.m. at the Coleville Library to unveil the new exhibit of their works and let us meet the artists. They'd love to have you join them.

n Tamra Sheline, our school's art teacher, will soon be relocating to the San Diego area, due to her husband's assignment to Camp Pendleton. She will keep herself very busy by going back to college to obtain her master's degree in art therapy. She is going to miss her students here and she will be missed. We wish her much good luck.

Memorial Day made me think of the people I know well who are in the military. One of them, that many of you may know, is Lance Cpl. Glen Thompson, now serving in Iraq. We received a letter from him a few days ago, letting us know how he and his company are doing. Fortunately, all is well for him, but it reminded me to make the time to write to him and the others I know, to let them know we care about them and appreciate their efforts.

As it is every year on Memorial Day weekend, the barbecue at Clint and Effie Hershey's was a great chance to enjoy great food, see old friends and make new ones. The people there are a great combination of their long-time pals and some newer friends. Once you've been invited, you have an annual invitation to enjoy it all. What a great afternoon.

n Lynne Katusich can be reached at lynnekat@gbis.com or (530) 495-2552.