August 30, 2004

Mark your calendars folks; September 25 is going to be a exciting day in Sunol. In lieu of the annual Great Chili Cook off and Bed Races, this year's Sunol Country Festival is prepared to bring you a full day of fun. Sponsored by Save Our Sunol, "This annual fundraiser will support SOS' efforts to preserve the rural nature and pastoral beauty of the township of Sunol", says Bonnie Feltrop.

The festival will take place in the downtown area, with craft booths lining Main Street. Bring your appetite because they will be serving a delicious fare of tri-tip sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, soft drinks and Micro and Domestic types of beer. And of course what's a festival without music, playing that day will be the Donner Mountain Blue Grass Band and Nightmare on Bourbon Street. Other activities that day will include a pet parade, raffle, silent auction and children's activities.

Craft booths are still available to rent so please contact Pat Stillman, booth coordinator, at 925-862-2263 for an application. Donations of items for the raffle or silent auction can be made by contacting Cindy Frillman, raffle committee chair, at 925-862-9026 or Bonnie at 925-862-0362. The festival will be from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and best of all the admission and parking are FREE.

Four lucky Sunol girl scouts, Becca Brown, Stasia and Alexa Hylas and Hayley Nielsen and Sunol's Cadette co-leader Lori Nielsen attended the first ever week-long Girl Scout camp at Butano Creek near Pescadero in August. Laurie Herbert of Pleasanton, who is the treasurer of the local Girl Scout association, Crossroads, has been a director of the very popular Two Sentinels Girl Scout camp near Kirkwood Lake.

During a weekend staff training session at Camp Butano Laurie envisioned a new, wonderful residential summer camp filled with campfire songs, laughter and new friendships. She enlisted the help of Karen Rodriguez, also a Pleasanton resident as her co-director and the vision came true. The week-long, all volunteer run camp was a huge success.

The girls came up with silly camp group names such as the Beachcombers, the Drifters and the Mariners. In addition to archery, crafts and water Olympics, the girls had the opportunity to experience exciting adventures away from camp such as local sight seeing trips to Ano Nuevo Beach and Pigeon Point Lighthouse, they explored the tide pools at the James Fitzgerald Marine Preserve, visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, went snorkeling in Monterey Bay and took a pontoon boat ride in Elkhorn Slough.

Lori said, "I couldn't have planned or asked for a more perfect experience. The food, the fun, the friendships. I'm thrilled to have been a part of Camp Butano Creek's first year and certainly look forward to next year".

Faculty and Community Club members were excited to welcome Sunol Glen School 's new students and parents at a morning orientation last Wednesday. The community club provided a scrumptious array of breakfast pastries while Principal Dianne Everett explained school policies, events and the winter program and led the parents and students on a tour of the school and their new classrooms.

Also new to the school this year are three teachers, Karen Jeffries teaching 1st and 2nd grade combination class; Jennifer Lum, teaching 7th grade and Valerie Pasley, teaching 6th grade. New student teachers this year are Claire Pendleton, teaching Kindergarten and Leslie Honeyman, teaching 3rd and 4th grade combination class.

Principal Diane Everett, says, "The years is going to be fantastic, we have a great staff; it's going to be a wonderful year and we are looking forward to getting started". Watch out for the kids this morning, as today is Sunol Glen School's first day back-to-school.