Community & Clubs -- Jim de Boom

FOUNDATION DINNER: Some 400 people attended the Grants to Teachers

Awards dinner, sponsored by the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation, which

saw the presentation of $270,000 in grants to teachers by foundation

board member Scott Paulson and the presentation of Teacher of Excellence

Awards by three members of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers.

Norm Loats, foundation president and a 42-year veteran of education

himself, acknowledged the dedicated teachers, administrators and

volunteers in attendance and presented a special apple award to

entertainer Jim Roberts for his years of service to the school community.

Roberts noted that of his five children, three are educators and the

other two are married to educators. Also in attendance were Newport-Mesa

Unified School District’s Supt. Robert Barbot, the seven school board

members and many of the grant donors.

Fifty-eight community volunteers had the tough job of reviewing 261

applications for grants from teachers from 28 schools. In total, 104

grants were awarded, ranging from several hundred dollars to more than

$9,000.

Grants given by the foundation are sponsored by a number of businesses

and families, including the Automobile Club of Southern California; Kevin

and Teresa Blackledge; Boeing Charitable Trust; Perry Cain; California

Federal Bank; John and Donna Crean; the Daily Pilot; James T. Ferrell

Memorial; Fletcher Jones Motorcars; Mark Victor and Patricia J. Hansen;

Harbor Boulevard of Cars; the Robert Haskell Family; Hoag Hospital; Grace

Maruyama; National University; Newport Rib Co.; Newport-Mesa Unified

School District Employees, Pacific Life Foundation; Albert and Frankie

Perelstein; Reader’s Digest; Sons of the American Legion; Union Bank of

California; Ware Disposal; Westcliff Medical Laboratories; the Jeff

Wilcox family; the School Shop; and C.J. Segerstrom and Sons.

An anonymous donor provided cash awards of $2,500 to each of the

Teachers Excellence Award recipients from the 29 schools in the district,

said Linda Mook, president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers.

“This event and the awards are all made possible by volunteers,” Loats

said. “We need more volunteer board members who want to serve on a

winning team, a team that has raised and given away over $2.5 million in

teacher grants in recent years.”

More information on the school foundation may be obtained by calling

Loats at (949) 760-0387.

SEARCH FOR TALENT: You want to sing, dance or blow your

horn? Well, if you’re between the ages of 6 and 18, you may enter the

Search for Talent contest presented by the Exchange Club of Newport

Harbor. Awards will be made to the winners in each age division, with a

chance to go on to the next level. This will all take place March 15 at

Oasis in Corona del Mar. For entry forms and more information, call Deane

Bottorf at (949) 673-8701. The deadline is March 8.

MORE ON JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT: William Detoy’s letter to the

editor concerning my comments on the potential expansion of John Wayne

Airport needs some response.

Detoy says, “We have been told definitively by the Airport Working

Group that there is no room to add a single runway at JWA.” Unfortunately

the working group does not have control over John Wayne expansion plans.

The county of Orange has the ability (and a plan) to add runways and

terminal space by securing the property north of the present airport to

Redhill Avenue, south of the present airport to MacArthur Boulevard and

west to University Drive. The current runway would be extended over

Bristol Street (the county owns the Newport Beach Golf Course property),

just as the runway was extended over Sepulveda at Los Angeles

International.

Detoy says pressure to make John Wayne operate 24 hours “won’t come

from agencies promoting Measure W.” As long as Irvine and South County

cities keep building homes, adding business and industry, the demand for

increased air transportation will continue beyond what has been offered

in the new settlement agreement.

As Detoy points out, “the airlines have shown no interest in curfews

at El Toro” and I might add, at John Wayne Airport either. If they had

their choice, they would have John Wayne operate 24 hours a day.

Detoy says there is no factual information to support any of those

three claims when I wrote, “El Toro would provide lower air fares, more

destination and less effects on its neighbors.” Try to get to Tucson from

John Wayne for a 9 a.m. meeting, and you have to leave the day before or

catch a flight out of LAX. Because of competition, I can get to

Minneapolis for 40% less by flying out of Los Angeles than John Wayne,

even booking with the same carrier. Southwest Airlines special fares

cover all of California’s airports, except John Wayne Airport -- lack of

competition. El Toro is a 5,000-acre-plus airport, John Wayne is 550

acres. The nearest home in Irvine to El Toro would be the equivalent of

being on the Balboa Peninsula from JWA, where the noise problem is little

to none!

Detoy’s letter was all I needed to cinch the sending of my donation to

the Airport Working Group PAC. I hope you will send one too. Mail your

check to P.O. Box 936, Tustin, CA 92781-0936.

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK:

MONDAY

6 p.m.: Harbor Mesa Lions Club will meet at Zubies Restaurant

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The 40-member Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club will meet

at Five Crowns Restaurant for a program by University High School

Principal Diana Shmetzer.

6:30 p.m.: The Costa Mesa-Newport Harbor Lions Club, the Fish Fry

Club, will meet at the Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club for a student

speaker contest.

WEDNESDAY

7:15 a.m.: The 20-member South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet at

the Center Club (o7 www.southcoastmetrorotary.orgf7 ), and the Newport

Harbor Kiwanis Club will meet at the University Athletic Club.

Noon: The 35-member Exchange Club of the Orange Coast will meet at the

Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse for a check presentation.

6 p.m.: The 60-member Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa will meet at the

Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for a program by the Okazaki Youth Exchange

participants (o7 www.newportbalboa.orgf7 ).

THURSDAY

7 p.m.: The 20-plus member Costa Mesa-Orange Coast Breakfast Lions

Club will meet at Mimi’s Cafe for a program by Hank Panian on the Youth

Achievers Program.

Noon: The 50-member Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club will meet at the Holiday

Inn, the Newport Beach-Corona del Mar Kiwanis Club will meet at the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club to hear Melissa Banning discuss the Children’s

Museum, the 80-member Exchange Club of Newport Harbor will meet at the

Newport Harbor Nautical Museum to hear me give a talk titled “A New Era

for Service Clubs” (o7 www.nhexchangeclub.comf7 ), and the 100-member

Newport-Irvine Rotary Club will meet at the Irvine Marriott for the

annual Youth Speech and Singing Contests (o7 www.nirotary.orgf7 ).

* COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Saturdays in the Daily Pilot. Send

your service club’s meeting information by fax to (949) 660-8667; e-mail

to jdeboom@aol.com or by mail to 2082 S.E. Bristol St., Suite 201,

Newport Beach, CA 92660-1740.