High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

Courtland Creek Cleanup

Celebrate Creek to Bay Day at Courtland Creek. Join your neighbors from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 20. Bring your gloves, gardening tools, a hat, and sunscreen. It will almost be autumn, but the sun can be quite warm. We'll be meeting at Brookdale and Courtland. Specific tasks will depend on the result of an August walk-through by High Street Neighborhood Association members.

Melrose Branch No cuts in challenges

The PASS after-school homework program is expected to start up the second half of September, although library budget cutbacks have reduced the hours and staffing. The successful summer teen-reading program will be extended year-round under the guidance of Library Assistant Pete Villasenor. Look for reviews of books by young people as part of an effort to encourage teens to read, think about the books, and communicate their thoughts in writing.

With the new reduced hours at the branch, the Friends of Melrose Library will be meeting on the first Monday of each month at 6 p.m. Because of the Labor Day holiday, the next meeting will be on October 6. The Branch needs interested community members who support the staff, understand the challenges they face, act as advocates, and help plan special events. As Oakland's community becomes increasingly diverse, serving its many cultures becomes more complex. As Librarian Jane Gonzalez explained, the library must develop sources of materials in languages such as Parsee, Urdu, Punjabi, Russian, Sudanese (not just Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, etc.), and find skilled people to catalog and transliterate names and titles.

Activities at Brookdale Rec

While I was talking with director Danni Gamidge, one of her alumni stopped in for a hug before he returned to college. Danni commented, "That's the good part of this job."

Football for fourth- to sixth-grade youngsters will start up the second week in September. The drill team will continue to welcome girls and boys on Monday and Tuesday, 6 to 8 p.m. And children can learn to cook on Wednesdays, at 4 p.m. For more information on the activities and fees, drop in at Brookdale Recreation Center, or call 535-5632.

Introducing East Lake YMCA

At the July Melrose/High Hopes NCPC, Tavi Baker introduced the group to the East Lake YMCA Teen Center. The program opened in May at a site on Foothill at Seminary. The facility was donated by Mr. William E. Goodwin. Citibank provided funding for renovations, including a performance stage, large event area, cyber café, and classrooms. Over the summer, 45 to 60 teens participated in arts and crafts, yoga and physical fitness, basketball, drama workshop, life skills, and pregnancy prevention. Many of the 11- to 18-year-olds attend local schools such as Frick Middle School, Fremont, or Castlement High Schools. Before becoming a program director, Tavi taught "your choice" pregnancy prevention in local schools.

During the fall, the Y will provide tutoring and a chess class. Volunteers are needed for the youth in government program, which includes participation in a mock legislature. For information, call 638-3984.

Adelle Foley can be reached at jasfoley\@aol.com.