Safe Communities Week in Rowland

Safe Communities Week will be observed in the Rowland Unified School District from March 30 — April 4.

Schools will celebrate with speakers and activities. The week concludes with the Safe Communities Week Festival from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at Rowland Heights County Park, 1500 Banida Ave.

The festival will feature school, community and public service groups, whose booths will provide delicious food, entertainment and information about safety promotion. There will also be several prominent speakers.

Those serving on planning committee include personnel from Los Angeles County Board of Supervisor Don Knabe’s field office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department, Rowland Unified School District Safety and Drug Alcohol Tobacco Education Program (DATE), and Operation Safe Community, a non-profit community coalition.

The Safe Communities Festival is chaired by Nancy Ballantyne and Heidi Gallegos. Plan to attend this annual community observance.

Denise Hamilton visits library

Author Denise Hamilton will visit the Rowland Heights Library on Saturday, March 28, from 3 to 4 p.m.

The Los Angeles crime and mystery novelist will discuss her novel “Jasmine Trade,” which takes place in the Chinese-American community in the San Gabriel Valley.

Hamilton will also bring her other novels for the book signing. There will also be a question and answer session.

The library is at 1850 Nogales St. For details, call Rama Shah at (626) 912-5348.

Celebrate Lent at St. John Vianney

To celebrate Lent, St. John Vianney Catholic Church will present the play “People of the Passion” by Mary Betten at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 3, in the church at 1345 Turnbull Canyon Road. The production is free and open to the public.

The play presents the personal stories of Gospel characters who witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus and were changed by the experience.

It is staged in a reader’s theater style. Susan Boulanger is the director.

The children’s choir will perform, along with some audience participation on other songs. Christine Brydges leads the children’s choir, while Michael Gribshaw is the accompanist.
The actors include Manny Carrillo, Patrick Flanagan, Letycia Gomez, Veronica Lopez, Carlos Pacheco, Celia Rios, David Shephard and Jeannie Shephard.

Curator Camp at Homestead Museum

The Homestead Museum’s very popular Curator Camp returns on March 28 and April 18.
Children in the fourth through sixth grades can spend the day working behind the scenes with curators on fun projects. Participants will also investigate corners of the museum that are not usually accessible to the public.

The camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Museum, located at 15415 Don Julian Road.
The $20 fee includes a Junior Curator T-shirt, a take-home conservation kit, lunch and more. Class size is limited.

For information or to secure an application, call (626) 968-8492 or visit www. homesteadmuseum.org.

Book sale and disaster training

The Rowland Heights Library will be hold a book sale on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the lobby.

They will have children’s fiction and non-fiction books, young adult books, adult fiction and non-fiction books, books on tape, and VHS movies.

The American Red Cross and Rowland Heights Library will also offer community disaster education from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.

The free program will teach families how to make a emergency kit with food, water and other vital supplies, as well as an emergency plan for the whole family.

The library is at 1850 Nogales St. For more information, call (626) 912-5348.

Spring art spectacular at library

The Hacienda Heights Library will hold a Spring Art Spectacular for families on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Art materials for a variety of spring-themed projects will be available in the meeting room at the library. Kids ages 3 and up can come and make one project or several.

Light refreshments will be available. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Hacienda Heights Library.

The library is at 16010 La Monde St. For information, call Paula Vannucci at (626) 968-9356.

Rowland church holds jogathon

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Rowland Heights will host a Jog-a-thon from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 21.

This annual fundraising campaign takes place at Alvarado Intermediate School and is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Office of Religious Education.

Ten percent of all donations will be given to charitable organizations. The remaining funds will be used to pay for operating expenses of the Religious Education Center.

Those wishing to support this effort can contact the church at (626) 964-3629.

Auditorium for Hillgrove Community Center?

Christopher Kakimi makes a good point in his letter to the editor in today’s San Gabriel Valley Tribune. His is just one of the many ideas for the proposed Hillgrove Community Center in Hacienda Heights. Here’s his letter:

“It is fitting that the meeting to receive input for the Hillgrove Community Center in Hacienda Heights be at a high school.

“All four high schools in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District have one thing lacking: a decent auditorium for performances by fine arts groups. Hacienda La Puente USD can brag about having some of the finest bands, dance teams and choirs but have no place for them to perform. I watched at least two plays take place outdoors in the quad at Los Altos High School.

I hope that the new community center will contain such an auditorium that the community can use for school performances and plays.”

Christopher Kakimi
Hacienda Heights

What’s your suggestions for the new community center? Leave us a comment.