High Street Neighborhood News

by Adelle Foley

Melrose/High Hopes Spirit

The holidays are over, but not the memory of community spirit. The Melrose/High Hopes NCPC delivered turkeys and other groceries to two families with especially pressing need for some extra food. Other NCPC members are reaching out by joining the Casa Segura advisory board. This clinic provides health education on Foothill Blvd. A nurse is on site once a week to provide medical care for local hepatitis C and HIV patients. Advisory Board member (and NCPC secretary) Robin Rome told me that the clinic is well kept, and volunteers sweep the sidewalk.

Congratulations to the officers elected on January 20. Chair , Vice Chair , Secretary , Treasurer, and Membership Coordinator .

Helping Kids Take Responsibility

When I talked with Maribel Corral, site manager of our local Boys and Girls Club, she told me about an incident that ended on a much better note than it began. Two young members of the Boys and Girls Club were caught shoplifting at Walgreen. Unable to contact their parents, the store manager released them into the Club's custody. Maribel contacted the families. By the time their parents arrived for a conference, the children had already written notes of apology to Walgreen. The youngsters were suspended from the Club until they came up with a plan to rectify what they had done. One child has spent time cleaning up the Walgreen parking lot; the other is working on a plan.

What impressed me was the way the Club turned a bad choice on the part of young children into a chance for them to take responsibility for their actions, learn from a mistake, and make better choices in the future. The Club has quickly become a source of positive energy in our community, reaching out to other organizations and even breaking up fights and confiscating weapons on High Street. On Saturday, February 26, the community is invited to a drug prevention rally and resource fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A New Community Church

On Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday I stopped by another source of positive energy the Miracles of Faith Community Church on Virginia, just above High Street. Reverend William (Bill) Combs was part of a group preparing for that evening's Jazz/Gospel Fest in honor of King. Bill told me that last fall he had come to help paint the church for the new ministry, but he stayed on to sing, play the piano, or even change the lights. He was impressed with the multicultural approach and Reverend Brown's genuine commitment to the community. I returned that evening for some terrific music. The next musical event, at 6 p.m. on February 19, will focus on the role church music has played in strengthening the family.

Thanks for the Uniforms

The soccer team, parents and staff at Brookdale Recreation Center are celebrating the new uniforms donated by one of the grandparents from One, Two, Three, Four Tots family daycare. A friend of the coach has painted a sign, and the next item on the wish list is shoes. Basketball practice for third, fourth and fifth graders is Tuesday through Friday, with games on Saturdays.

The Teen Club will be meeting monthly on a schedule to be set by the end of January. Dropin or call 535-5632 for more information.

Melrose Library Grads

The Friends of Melrose Branch Library are proud of the academic accomplishments of two members of the branch family. Library Assistant Pete Villasenor was awarded a MLIS (Master of Library and Information Science) at San Jose State University, and Library Aide Miguel Sanchez earned his BA in sociology, with a minor in criminal justice, at Hayward State. Congratulations!

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