A book for every child: Giveaway program is run by teens

TEENS BRING PROGRAM TO SUISUN ELEMENTARY

I spotted this in the Vacaville Reporter this morning. It's great to see local teens recognized for working with the younger kids.

By Ryan Chalk/ RChalk@TheReporter.com
Posted: 02/05/2009 01:00:54 AM PST

One book at a time, brothers Kyle and Brady Baldwin are bringing smiles to children's faces.

On Wednesday, Brady Baldwin, along with two other volunteers, visited two classrooms at Suisun Elementary School in Suisun City, to read stories to the students and give each one a book to take home.

Brady and his brother are the founders of My Own Book, a nonprofit organization designed to promote reading and distribute brand-new children's books to less fortunate children.

Inside Janet Robertson's first-grade classroom, Armijo High School seniors Sarah Doolittle and Blanca Guerra took turns reading stories as students got up, one by one, to pick out a book from one of the three boxfuls that Baldwin carted in with him. Once the students picked a book, Baldwin placed a personalized bookplate with their name on the inside cover.

"It feels really nice to see all the kids," said Guerra. "They really enjoy it and have fun with it."

The brothers started the organization a few years back as part of their Suisun Valley 4-H service project. Since then it has blossomed, with the pair and their devoted volunteers reading and distributing more than 16,000 books throughout schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District and at Solano County Library branches.

Brady, who's brother Kyle is currently attending Bryant University in Rhode Island and doing outreach on the East Coast, said they get books from publishers and bookstores for free or at a discounted rate.

Their organization recently won a $10,000 grant sponsored by Best Buy, which will allow them to purchase and distribute 8,000 new books.

"Usually, the average children's book is pretty expensive," said Brady Baldwin. "We're trying to get a book to every child 8 and under. And if their family doesn't have the means to buy a book, they can give us their address and we'll send them a book."

This month, the brothers are promoting their National Share the Love of Reading Month event. They encourage every teen and adult in the nation to buy a children's book, read it to a child and then give it to him or her.

Anyone who knows of a child who needs a book can contact the brothers through their Web site at www.myownbook.net, or write to Brady Baldwin, 4657 Green Valley Road, Fairfield, CA 94534. Include the child's name and a personalized book plate will be added. Schools are invited to participate in the program as well.

Our thanks to the Vacaville Reporter for letting us link to their story and help spread the good news.

Suisun City's Wednesday Club offers several scholarships

From the Vacaville Reporter

The Wednesday Club of Suisun City is seeking qualified students to audition for two $500 music scholarships which the club presents each year.

The students must be a graduating high school senior planning to major in music. They also must reside in the Fairfield-Suisun area.

Students are required to be prepared to perform two selections. Any accompaniment necessary will be at the expense of the applicant. Applications must submitted by April 1.

Auditions will be held at The Wednesday Club at 4 p.m. May 1. The Wednesday Club is located at 225 Sacramento St., Suisun City.

The Anna Kyle-Isla Wright Music Scholarship has been presented for many years. Anna Kyle was a Solano County music teacher and an active Wednesday Club member. Isla Wright was Anna Kyle's cousin.

Kyle started the original Music Scholarship in memory of Isla Wright. Caroline Covey is a Fairfield area piano teacher and violinist who has also been a Wednesday Club member for many years. She was the founder and director of the choral group, The Dulcetones.

Scholarship awards will be made at the June 11 meeting of The Wednesday Club.

Applications are available at all area high schools.

For further information, call Caroline Covey at 425-0427 or Jacklyn Warner at 425-0846.

Annual crab feed to aid YMCA

Vacaville Reporter

SUISUN CITY - The North Bay YMCA will hold its annual Crab Feed from 6 to 10 p.m. March 8. Tickets cost $40. To purchase tickets, call 421-8746. All proceeds will benefit the Strong Communities Campaign.

Each year, the funds raised help the North Bay YMCA serve more than 3,700 youth and offer financial assistance for programs and membership to more than 400 families in Solano County.

The North Bay YMCA is located at 586 E. Wigeon Way in Suisun City.

To volunteer for the Crab Feed or Strong Communities Campaign, contact Rodney Chin at 421-8746.

Media: Science Olympiad to test teams from Sullivan and Crystal schools

Click here for the Vacaville Reporter's take on this same story

By Nika Megino | Daily Republic

FAIRFIELD - Kyra Duncan squinted at a test tube containing a thick orange liquid. She added drops of blue Biuret solution and then watched in amazement as the liquid turned purple, indicating a presence of protein.

The eighth-grader at Sullivan Middle School is a member of the school's Science Olympiad team, which will face Crystal Middle School (located in Suisun City) in the Sullivan Science Olympiad competition from 8 a.m. to noon today.

The competition requires students to compete in 12 stations that involve building, analyzing and problem solving. To prepare for the event, both teams have worked since September on the various types of challenges.

Duncan has become familiar with the Food Science challenge, an experiment that tasks students to find the composition of foods by testing substances for carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.

The 13-year-old said it's her favorite activity because she gets to look beyond the surface with the use of chemicals.

'They tell you stuff you wouldn't know just by looking at it,' Duncan said.

All around her, students were perfecting their knowledge in various subjects. Behind her, seventh-graders Emily Lamb and Michelle Reyes, both 12, began building a monoplane glider to be launched by a balloon.

The girls said their experience on the team has been fun.

'But we still work hard,' Reyes said. 'We have to know a lot of stuff.'

As part of the Science Olympiad team, students are exposed to Earth and life sciences, chemistry, physics and astronomy. Teacher Denise Gordon, who has been a coach with Sullivan's team for seven years, said the activities cause students to exercise their critical thinking abilities.

'It gives us a chance to go beyond what we can in the classroom,' Gordon said. 'They have the opportunity to explore.'

At Crystal Middle, seventh-graders Jessica Sims, 13, and Giovanna Singh, 12, have been working on a Food Science project. The girls said they joined the school's team because of their love of science.

'Science is pretty cool,' Sims said. 'You can experiment with things and get outcomes you never believe you would.'

Singh said she was surprised to learn that food has DNA.

'There's more things in (food) than you believe,' said Sims, who added she was shocked to find Vitamin C in apples.

This is Crystal Middle's return to Science Olympiad after taking a one-year break. The school brought it back because of high student interest, said teacher Tara Spinelli, who has coached the team for six years.

'They enjoy it. We enjoy it,' Spinelli said.

The teams are competing in preparation for the Northern California Regional Science Olympiad, which will be held in April at Cal State Sacramento. Today's competition, which will be held at Sullivan Middle, is open to the public. The school is located at 2195 Union Ave.

Reach Nika Megino at 427-6953 or nmegino@dailyrepublic.net.

Media: Suisun City ratifies Wal-Mart's proposal

By Reporter Staff

In a unanimous decision, the Suisun City Council voted late Tuesday night to approve a Wal-Mart Supercenter in the city. The decision has opponents to the plan saying they are considering filing a lawsuit to stop the project as well as a separate recall efforts against the council members.

The proposal for the store to be located on a 20.8-acre parcel near Highway 12 and Walters Road includes 230,000 square feet of commercial space including a 215,000-square-foot store building plus a fuel station and mini-mart and an 8,000-square-foot sit-down restaurant or commercial use site and parking.

The decision came after a lengthy meeting that stretched into the wee hours before an overflow crowd that was at times boisterous.

Opponents issued a press release Wednesday vowing to fight on and blasting the council for what they said was its decision to build in an unsafe area.

The council's decision was made in three parts. First, was to overrule an Airport Land Use Commission finding that the store is not compatible with nearby Travis Air Force Base. Second was to certify an environmental impact report on the project. Third was to approve the project itself.

City Public Information Officer Scott Corey said the council demanded and Wal-Mart agreed to a number of conditions to win the approval. Among those conditions was an agreement to build an enhanced sound wall to separate the project from homes on the north side of nearby Petersen Road. Wal-Mart officials agreed to extend the wall an additional 300 feet and will pay for a study on extending it even further.

Wal-Mart also agreed to conditions designed to ease fears about the future of the site. If the store closes and goes dark for 36 months, Wal-Mart agreed it would demolish the building or give the city payment for demolishing it.

"That agreement is designed to ease fears about future blight," Corey said, adding that the firm believes the store site will flourish economically.

Media: Suisun to decide on Wal-Mart bid

By Danny Bernardini/Vacaville Reporter Staff Writer

The fate of a proposal for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Suisun City likely will be decided Tuesday night by the city council.

If the Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 29 was any indication of what Tuesday's attendance will be, there likely will be standing room only and hours of public comment for and against.

The proposed project earned advisory approval from the planning commission at the January meeting, and now the city council must decide three things:

• whether or not the environmental documents address and mitigate any problems;
• whether the project fits into the city's general plan, and;
• whether to override the November decision by the Solano County Airport Land Use Commission against the project.

The proposal for the Wal-Mart on a 20.8-acre site near Highway 12 and Walters Road includes 230,000 square feet of commercial space including a 215,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter building, plus a fuel station with mini-mart, an 8,000-square-foot sit-down restaurant or commercial-use site and parking.

One of the biggest issues facing the council is overriding the ALUC's vote against the project. The commission felt it violated the Travis Air Force Base Land Use Compatibility Plan. For an override, there would have to be a 'super-majority' vote by four of five council members.

Suisun City staff reports claim the Wal-Mart Supercenter would bring in nearly $1 million annually in sales tax revenue and could act as an anchor to other businesses wanting to come to the area.

Opponents say the Walters Road location is not the right place for the store and would create safety issues in intersections along Highway 12. Opponents also have stressed their fear of falling parts or a plane crashing while taking off from nearby Travis.

The city of Suisun City Council meets in the Suisun City Government Center at 5 p.m.

Danny Bernardini can be reached at county@thereporter.com.