An observant Curtis Park resident was briskly walking the track around William Curtis Park when she witnessed a man backing his Ford Ranger up to a huge pile of shredded bark meant for the children’s playground. She thought to herself, “What a shame to steal from the City and the children of our community.”

Greg Brown

She dialed 9-11 and reported the alleged thievery to police. My first thought was, why is there a mountain of bark dumped in the middle of the park? What would Leslie Knope (the main character of Parks and Recreation) do?

I called the City Parks And Recreation department and spoke to Lori Harder. She mentioned that the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association has officially adopted William Curtis Park through the City of Sacramento Partners in Parks program and it was part of the April 6th “Clean Up Day” at the park.

I then asked Terri Shuttle, who is the executive director of the SCNA, if she knew anything about the Curtis Bark Pile and she mentioned it was indeed part of a neighborhood cleanup day. They had requested bark for various spots; unfortunately, they were unable to bring the bark until a week later when no volunteers were readily available.

Soooo, one of the board members took it upon himself to work in the park one day to spread the bark using his pickup truck. Good for him! That’s when the police showed up. Oops. Turns out the Curtis Park resident who initially called the cops was barking up the wrong tree. Turns out the board member was just being a good deed doer. Now he is hesitant to go back and finish the job. The SCNA is looking at schedules to line up volunteers to take care of the rest of the pile but no date has been set.

Last month there was another episode of Yard Crashers direct from Hollywood Park. The lucky couple who received the grand makeover, “A Taste Of Tuscany,“ had a viewing party at Broderick’s in West Sacramento. For those who don’t know, “Yard Crashers” is a backyard improvement show where host Matt Blashaw surprises shoppers at Lowe’s, Green Acres, Emigh Hardware and other home improvement and garden stores with promises of an amazing backyard transformation. From drab to fab!

A lot of the episodes have been filmed in our own backyard in Sacramento. The Yard Crashers crew invades yards with jackhammers, cement trucks, shovels, shears and chainsaws. Before you know it they’re digging up turf, trees, shrubs and removing the greenery that has no purpose and replacing it with thoughtful landscape design.

There have been at least five episodes of Yard Crashers filmed in the middle class neighborhood of Hollywood Park alone in the last few years. Why Hollywood Park? Perhaps it’s because it has Hollywood in the name. Showbiz! Or it could be that the neighborhood has the perfect palette for the backyard makeovers.

The production company, Big Table Media, is actually based out of Sacramento. So it’s a short commute.

The show likes people who are showbiz ready, have a personality, and aren’t afraid to get their fingernails dirty. Also, have a backyard that needs some drastic improvements. On the show’s website they accept viewer submissions. Include a picture of you, your pathetic backyard, and why your yard deserves to be crashed. That’s a route you can take if you’re interested in getting a backyard makeover and want to be the envy of your entire neighborhood. The show airs on the DIY network as well as HGTV. The website for submissions is at www.Diynetwork.com

Last month I wrote about how Raley’s, which purchased the former Capital Nursery lot on Freeport Blvd, has no official plans for it…yet. There have been blue prints created and lots of rumors bandied about. Raley’s official spokesperson stated last month they have “no immediate plans for the site.”

I recently received an email from an “Over The Fence” reader with a great suggestion for the abandoned site. Phil Shroeder mentioned he thinks the property would be a good location for Beer and Food Festivals. “It would be ideal for a Sacramento Oktoberfest. High school musicians could be taught to play appropriate fest music and vendors could supply food and beer. The bus lines are right outside and the police are right down the street. It is just a dream I have of being able to hold European festivals right here in good ol’ Sacramento.”

I like the way Phil thinks! Sounds like a great idea. Throw in some lederhosen and dirndls and it could be a beer and sausage party on Freeport!

I have my own dream for that empty lot. I’d love to see somebody bring “The Zombie Hut” back to Freeport Blvd. “Delightfully different dining with a Polynesian atmosphere.” Oh, and luscious fruity island cocktails topped off with cheery miniature umbrellas. It would be the pride of the neighborhood!

Readers: What would YOU like to see at the former Capital Nursery spot? Send me your ideas at Greg@Valcomnews.com and I’ll publish them in next month’s column. Also, if you have any local neighborhood gossip or items of interest, feel free to send me an email at Greg@valcomnews.com

On Tuesday, April 2 bidders took a little bit of McKinley history home to their backyards as items of the playground such as slides, swings, monkey bars, pipe chimes, and even fencing were auctioned off onsite.  The auction set the stage for the quick demolition as the playground was gated off from the public that night.

One family took home five items, including the large straight slide for $25. “Almost everything was a pretty good deal,” he said. “We picked up more than we were expecting, including two large slides and one small one,” he chuckled nervously.

While they couple didn’t grow up playing on the playground, their children have fond memories. And the couple, like many of the other bidders, has been involved in other Rebuild McKinley Playground events.

Some highlights of the deals some people got:

-$50 for bucket swings with support beam (If the bidder just wanted a swing, her or she could take the swing with or without the support beam.”
-$25 for a third of the fence
- $25 for sandbox geometric sander toys.
-$120 for pipe chimes
-$25 for spaceship slide slider board.
-$150 for tick-tack-toe

What’s next with the Rebuild Movement?

Well, the McKinley Playground Community Build will be held June 4-9. Organizers are in need of tools for the project and ask for your help in loaning any of the tools listed:

50- corded drills 3/8-inch or ½-inch chuck, with chuck key attached.
15- cordless impact drivers. 14 or 18 volt
4- angle grinders, corded.
20- levels, 4 foot or longer. Must be accurate.
5- Routers, ¼-inch or ½-inch shank capacity
5-laminate routers, ¼-inch shank
2- sawzalls, corded, heavy duty
4- Sliding compound miter saws, 10” blade size
4- Chop saws (miter saw), 10” blade size
15-Circular saws (skilsaw) 7 1/4” blade size. Worm drive or sidewinder
6- 10’ or 12’ stepladders
1 -belt sander, 4×24” belt
2- portable table saw, 10” blade with all safety guards intact.
8- orbital jig saws.

All tools will be needed from June 1 through June 11, and they ask that they be checked in from May 31 through June 2. On receipt, tools will be checked for proper operation and safety, and a retrieval receipt issued to tool owner.

Rebuild McKinley will provide all bits and blades.
Tools will be returned in good working order. If problems develop, Rebuild McKinley will repair or replace any damaged tool.

If you bring a tool to use for your work shift only, you will be responsible for that tool. Only tools loaned for the project duration and properly checked in will be the responsibility of Rebuild McKinley.

Contact Jeff Harris if you are able to loan tools for the community build at cadence@surewest.net

Even if you do not have tools to loan, you can help by making a donation and/or volunteering.  For more information on how you can help, visit www.rebuildmckinley.org

The Central Valley YMCA is adding two more city pools to their roster this summer as they will be operating Glenn Hall Park and Tahoe Park pools.

Last year the Y operated Southside and will do so again this year. Y lifeguards and swim instructors will man the three city pools. The three city pools will be open seven days a week and will offer full programming such as water exercise, swim lessons, swim team and open swim.

“We are looking forward to a good summer,” said YMCA CEO Jay Lowden. “We had a good summer with Southside Park last year and we look forward to working with neighborhoods this year,” he said.

Last year the city did not have the funds to operate all of its pools and this year they are ramping up to open all of them and they are having the YMCA help out with three of them. The Central YMCA has the highest volume of swimmers over the course of the year through out the city.

“Having us help out by operating three of them makes a lot of sense,” said Lowden. “It will lighten their workload a little bit and we (at the YMCA) have been operating pools in Sacramento for close to 100 years.”

While Tahoe Pool, Glenn Hall Pool and Southside Pool will be open seven days a week, recreation swim will be open just six days a week. Some days the pools might open as early as 5:30 a.m. for lap swim.

The YMCA has a fund set up for scholarships primarily for families that financially cannot pay for the programs. If approved for scholarships, families can use them toward programs (swim lessons or swim team) at the city pools. “The actual Y Assist Program is for kids who want to be in swim lessons, swim team,” Lowden said. For those who may need support to pay for recreation swim, Lowden said the Y will work with neighborhood groups to help provide funding for that.

Lowden said the Y has given proposals to the city that has budgeted to pay for staffing that will be needed at each pool and the city will subsidize up to $40,000 per pool.

Forty to 45 aquatics employees, including Y pool managers and lifeguards, will be needed at the city pools. Some will be signing up for certification classes. “Some of the lifeguards we hire have experience elsewhere and will also have new lifeguards. If we have a new lifeguard on duty, they will be with experienced ones.”

While the Y has its own pay scale, lifeguards will be paid comparably with city pay, Lowden said.

The pools will open mid June, right after Sacramento City Unified School District schools end their year. Pools will close Labor Day.

The days are becoming longer, the rehearsals are intensifying, and the curtain is closer by the hour to lifting upon the world famous musical The Music Man at McClatchy High School. The McClatchy students who make up the Lion’s Pride Players have been piling up rehearsal time since the second week of January, getting ready for opening night on April 17.

McClatchy puts on two student plays each year – one a standard play and the other a musical. This year’s Spring Musical choice was made by long-time actor and McClatchy English and theater teacher Patrick Stratton. He also wears the titles of producer and director of the upcoming version of the hit show. He even appears in the show as the character Jacey Squires. But in talking with Stratton, even with all these titles on his plate, the praise belongs squarely on the shoulders of his young actors.

“(The students) have been rehearsing three hours a day, five days a week for the past 12 weeks,” Stratton said. “These are young kids but a lot of them are old pros at this.”

The auditions for the musical began the first week back from winter break in early January. Just one week later, the actors were up to their elbows in rehearsal time to nail down their parts.

Stratton, who has acted for over 20 years, said that he enjoys working with young actors more than he enjoys directing adults.

“I have directed adults before, but when you give them suggestions they will just nod and smile and then go right back to how they were doing it before,” he said. “They are very set in their ways. But with young people I find that their minds are open to suggestions and nine times out of 10 they react positively to them.”

The musical, which centers around con man Harold Hill coming to a small American town called River City to sell musical instruments and inspire the city’s children to form a band, is a favorite of Stratton’s. In fact, both Stratton and one of his two sons have played Harold Hill in productions of the play over their careers as actors.

The rehearsals have been grueling for the students, as a musical requires not just memorization of lines, but also dance routines and song lyrics. It’s been hard, but Stratton has found inspiration in early ’90s cinema.

“Tom Hanks’s character in A League of Their Own told Geena Davis’s character that baseball is great because it’s hard. If it were easy, everybody could do it. And the truth is, not a lot of people can do what these students can do on a stage.”

Performing a complex musical is impressive enough for teenagers, but there are 10 actors in the play who are elementary school age.

“The younger kids are amazing,” Stratton said. “They have really inspired the older kids. (The older actors) will be like ‘Wow, it took me three weeks to learn this and this young kid is already doing it.’”

April 17 is fast approaching, and Stratton can sense his young actors growing anxious for the first performance to come.

“They are really looking forward to it,” he said. “After rehearsing in front of only each other for months, they really want to perform it in front of someone else. They want to get that feedback from the audience.”

There are eight performances scheduled in all, including 7 p.m. performances on April 17-19 and 24-27 as well as a 4 p.m. show on April 22. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students and special $2 prices for admission on April 17, 22 and 24.

McClatchy has performed such musicals in the past as Grease, Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors and Fiddler on the Roof.

Peggi Martin, who is assisting with promotions for the performance of The Music Man, said that the turnouts for the plays at the high school are usually very good.

“They put on amazing performances,” Martin said. “They are Class-A performers, particularly in the leading roles.”

The play includes 42 performers, 17 technical crew, 12 orchestra members and 12 production staff.

Roderick (Jahid) Hickman is playing the lead role of Harold Hill in his fourth and final performance at McClatchy.

For ticket information or general inquiries about the play, McClatchy High School can be reached at (916) 264-4400.

CalTrans was hard at work the first weekend in April on the Watt Avenue at U.S. Hwy 50 Interchange Project.

This project will modify the existing interchange to reduce congestion, install dedicated transit facilities, and improve access and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians, according to a press release. O. C. Jones & Sons General Engineering Contractors was awarded contract work ($22.5 million) at the Sept. 25, 2012, Board of Supervisors meeting.

According to Mike Penrose, SACDOT Director, “When completed, this project will
be a model for other jurisdictions to use when faced with the difficult challenge of moving all modes of transportation through an interchange, which in the past have been designed with an emphasis on motor vehicles.

“This project has multi-modal design features that set it apart from any other interchange in California and includes: a continuous bicycle/pedestrian pathway separated from vehicular traffic that goes through the entire interchange; and the first dedicated Bus Rapid Transit facility of its type in the state. The added safety and congestion relief provided by the project will be appreciated by all travelers through the corridor,” Penrose said.

Major elements of this project include:

Widening the existing Watt Avenue overcrossing at U.S. 50 to add: 1) two additional through lanes and two auxiliary lanes over the freeway; 2) additional lanes for high occupancy vehicles to the freeway on-ramps; and 3) widen and realign freeway off-ramps to terminate at Watt Avenue at two signalized intersections.

Add a new dedicated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lane on Watt Avenue from north of the interchange to the existing Manlove Light Rail Station.

Construct a new center structure connecting the existing northbound and southbound U.S. 50 overpasses.

Add a continuous bicycle/pedestrian pathway separated from vehicular traffic along the east side of Watt Avenue between La Riviera Drive and Manlove Road, with grade separated undercrossings at the freeway ramps.

Editor’s note: There will be a follow up story in an upcoming Land Park News issue about more of the details surrounding the amphitheater and neighbors’ plans to revamp it.

Besides the annual Shakespeare festival put on by neighboring Sacramento City College, the William A. Carroll Amphitheatre in Land Park plays host to not much else.

Its poor lighting, lack of bathrooms and ticket booth, make for a difficult place to hold events. And at a previous movie night, people had a difficult time finding their way out of their seats due to the lack of light. And if performers ever want to use the bathroom, they might be gone for 15 minutes, as the nearest bathroom is a couple hundred yards away.

So about a year ago, neighbors decided they wanted to start a modernization effort and they contacted then city councilmember Rob Fong.

They started meeting with City College staff and came up with some ideas, took some pictures and then surveyed The Land Park Community Association, which indicated 85 percent polled interested in improvements.

It could become a place to hold more shows and even wedding ceremonies.

But, it’s not going to be cheap, says president of the LPCA Mark Abrahams.
Mark Abrahams, president of the Land Park Community Association.

Back in February, citycouncilmember Steve Hansen said the amphitheater project is “very exciting and is a much-needed modernization so that space can be better utilized.” He said if it can work, it’s going to be a win-win for everybody.

Volunteers at Camp Pollock, the former Boy Scout camp along the American River. // Photo by Matt Gaylord

Camp Pollock, formally the Boy Scout Camp, soon to be under SVC’s management is a new 11 acre acquisition by the State Lands Commission along the  American River and can be found just north of downtown Sacramento, under Hwy 160.

As a volunteer, you will lend a hand to Camp Pollock’s projects.  The tasks include:  upgrade and expand camping areas, assemble a court yard with an interpretive native plant garden, build benches, construct picnic tables and create a trail in front of Lodge for public access.

The SVC has goals to improve the entry and parking area, as well as hire a contractor to repair the 1924 lodge, to this beautiful property.  Service days are held every Saturday from 9am-1pm, until further notice.  Help the SVC, won’t you?

The SVC is looking for the following volunteers:

Entry Level Volunteer: General improvements to the property are the first goals.  See list  above.  SVC needs your help!

Specialty Volunteer Docents: If construction, painting or plumbing repairs are your skillset specialty, the SVC would love your participation!

Public Volunteer Docent: Spend the day outdoors greeting visitors to historic Camp Pollock. Once constructed, docents will direct guests to natural riparian garden and walking paths along the 11 acres of the property.  Become a lasting memory to those that spend part of their day exploring the American River Parkway in Sacramento.

Contact Matt Gaylord with your interest of volunteering at Camp Pollock. 530-321-2063 or email matthew.gaylord.951@gmail.com

If you go:

Where: Camp Pollock along the American River
Who: Ages 10 and older
Cost: FREE
Register online: www.sacramentovalleyconservancy.org/

Photo courtesy of Audrey Shepherd

Our area can boast an impressive number of talented young musicians at any given time, but rare is it that one hears of a bassoon phenom in our area or, well, any area. Such is the case with El Camino High School sophomore Audrey Shepherd. Shepherd, 15, was awarded the annual Youth Soloist Award by the Sacramento Valley Symphonic Band Association (SVSBA) on Feb. 20. Along with the award, Shepherd was given a $1,000 scholarship for college.

While her talents with the bassoon are growing exponentially, Shepherd began her musical career in the fourth grade at the age of nine. Her instrument of choice was the alto sax, which she still plays in El Camino’s jazz and pep bands. A bassoon first touched her skilled fingers in her eighth grade year at the age of 13. She is also a member of the Premier Orchestra of the Sacramento Youth Symphony Association.

Her love for the bassoon was influenced by her grandmother, Karen Hung, who began playing the instrument after a 42 years hiatus. Karen offered to pay for half her reed costs, and Audrey has not put her bassoon down since, according to an article she wrote for her school newspaper! After giving up the instrument after a short time, Hung picked it back up after a 42-year hiatus in 2011. It was her grandmother’s past with the bassoon that got Shepherd interested in the woodwind instrument.

The bassoon is infamous for being extremely difficult to play, which makes the sophomore’s talent all the more remarkable. Shepherd explained the differences between playing alto sax and bassoon.

“They require very different embouchures and the bassoon requires a lot more air support,” Shepherd said.

Not to mention the fact that the bassoon is an extremely large instrument that requires deft hands and agile fingers.

She heard about the Youth Soloist Award while playing as a member of the Capital Section Honor Band. She was given an entry form in late January and she prepared a piece which she played in an audition on Feb. 18 in Roseville. Just two days later she found out that she had won the award and the scholarship money.

As a result of winning the award, Shepherd will be a special guest soloist with the Roseville Concert Band on May 3 and the Sacramento Concert Band on May 6. She will perform a concerto for bassoon, written by Eric Ewazen in 2002.

“It’s a modern bassoon concerto,” Shepherd said. “It has four movements and I will be playing just the fourth movement. It’s really fast and really technical.”

Shepherd has had the piece for just over a week and she is working on perfecting it before her guest solo performance. That shouldn’t be a problem for her, seeing as how she has the instrument in hand roughly four hours a day.

The scholarship money could one day come in handy for the young lady who speaks with a maturity well beyond her years. She has ambitions of attending Juilliard in New York. It is widely regarded as one of the best (if not the best) music schools in the country.

Many young musicians want to go to Juilliard one day, but relatively few are able to achieve the lofty goal. Most everyone who hears Shepherd play her bassoon, however, believes that if anyone can make it there, it’s her.

“She has all the tools to do it,” said Karen Gale, Audrey’s private bassoon instructor. “She has a great ear and a passion for what she’s doing. She’s incredibly ambitious and she has something to say through her music.”

Big Idea Theatre is excited to announce the opening of their new “a BIT more” series. The inaugural production of the series, opening April 4, will include the live performance of two beloved episodes of the classic television show “The Twilight Zone.” Join Big Idea Theatre as they re-create live on stage the episodes: The Monsters are Due on Maple Street and To Serve Man. Twilight Zone creator, Rod Sterling, wrote both episodes which originally aired in the 1960s and featured actors such as Jack Weston, Barry Atwater and Richard Kie.

The Monsters are Due on Maple Street tells the story of what happens to a group of neighbors who mysteriously lose electricity, after a shadow passes overhead, accompanied by a loud roar and  a flash of light. Panic builds when a shadowy figure is seen. Will hysteria get the better of this quiet community?

In To Serve Man, a linguist and his team attempt to decipher the language of an alien race that has landed on earth. This new alien race claims to be there to help humanity, but can we really know their true intentions?

Company member Wade Lucas directs both episodes for this upcoming production. He is “positively giddy with enthusiasm to be able to bring two more episodes to life on the BIT stage! We have a group of talented and funny people on board who will really make for an enjoyable night of theater for all ages!”

Big Idea Theatre is passionate about telling stories and hopes that their new series “a BIT more” will give them an opportunity to tell more than ever before. Future productions of the “a BIT more” series will include a variety of “black-box” one acts, one man/woman shows, new works, and a regular recurring run of “Twilight Zones: Live on Stage!” The “a BIT more” series will run concurrently and in between Big Idea’s main-stage productions.

Make sure not to miss the beginning of this exciting new tradition at Big Idea Theatre. Performances will be April 4 – 7, Thursday and Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday and Sunday at 5:00pm and 7:00pm. Tickets are just $10. For more information about Big Idea Theatre, please visit their website or get connected via their mailing list, Twitter, Facebook, and blog.

Additional Information:

Who: Big Idea Theatre

What: The Twilight Zones: 2 Episodes of the Classic TV Series Live on Stage

Where: 1616 Del Paso Bvld. Sacramento, CA 95815. ph: 916.960.3036

When: Thursday, April 4th and Friday, April 5th at 8:00pm, Saturday, April 6th and Sunday, April 7th at 5:00pm and 7:00pm

How Much: $10

Director: Wade Lucas

Cast: Dan Beard, Dennis Beck, Bethany Hidden-Cauley, Christina Clem, Robyn Colburn, Jack Hastings, Jamie Kale, Raymond Keller, LeeMarie Kelly, Cyndi Lopez, Edward Nason, Daryl Petrig, Ariel Ryan, Ryan Snyder, Earl Victorine, Amos Wright

###
Photo credit: Benjamin T Ismail

Original Episodes:
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street
Season One, Episode 22
Original airdate: March 4, 1960

Original TV Cast:
Steve Brand: Claude Akins
Charlie Farnsworth: Jack Weston
Tommy: Jan Handzlik
Les Goodman: Barry Atwater
Don Martin: Burt Metcalfe
Woman: Amzie Strickland
Mrs. Farnsworth: Lyn Guild
Myra Brand: Anne Barton
Man: Jason Johnson
Sally, Tommy’s Mother: Mary Gregory
Pete Van Horn: Ben Erway
Old Woman: Joan Sudlow

Original TV Crew:
Writer: Rod Serling (original teleplay)
Director: Ronald Winston
Producer: Buck Houghton
Director of Photography: George T. Clemens
Music: Rene Garriguene

Rod Serling’s Promo:
“Next week on Twilight Zone, we put you on a front porch—summer evening, tree-lined street, typical small town.  And then we pull the rug out from under your feet and we throw a nightmare at you.  Claude Akins, Jack Weston and Barry Atwater are your neighbors just at that moment when ‘The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.’  Don’t chicken out.  Thank you and good night.”

To Serve Man
Season 3 Episode 24
Original Air Date March 2nd, 1962

Original TV Cast
Kanamit: Richard Kie
Chambers: Lloyd Bochner
Pat: Susan Cummings
Gregori: Theodore Marcuse
Secretary General: Hardie Albright
Reporter No. 1: Will J. White

Original TV Crew:
Writer: Rod Serling
Director: Richard L. Bare
Producer: Buck Houghton
Director of Photography: George T. Clemens

Rod Serling Intro
“Respectively submitted for your approval – a Kanamit.  Height: a little over nine feet. Weight: in the neighborhood of three hundred and fifty pounds.  Origin: unknown.  Motives?  Therein hangs the tale, for in just a moment we’re going to ask you to shake hands, figuratively, with a Christopher Columbus from another galaxy and another time. This is the Twilight Zone.”

Knott’s Pharmacy, an East Sac presence on J Street for more than 75 years, has moved its operations to Coyle Avenue in Carmichael as of Jan. 15. But worry not, faithful Knott’s customers, owner Steve Dokimos stresses that it’s business as usual, even from the new surroundings.

Dokimos delivers around 20 prescriptions himself every night free of charge to long-standing customers in East Sac in an effort to show customers that they can still have their orders filled by Dokimos and company.

The pharmacy moved away from its most recent home at 4819 J St. because of a failed attempt to buy the leased property from its owner. Dokimos, who became the owner on Feb. 2, 2002, held a 10-year lease that expired in 2012. After trying unsuccessfully to buy the property, (the owner apparently had no intention of selling) Dokimos settled on paying month-by-month rent for the next year.

After briefly considering moving into the plot next door on J Street, Dokimos decided that his best move would be to shift the pharmacy to Coyle Avenue while he tries to find another plot in East Sac.

“I’m looking for places on H Street, J Street or Folsom Blvd.,” Dokimos said. “I’m working with a leasing agent to look for places.”

Somewhere near the intersection of 51st and L at the old Lucky’s lot would be ideal for Dokimos, as he grew up visiting his grandmother at the intersection when he was just a boy.

Despite moving his base of operations, Dokimos said that many long-time customers have stayed with him.

“I get a lot of visitors from East Sac,” he said. “I probably get more business catering to East Sac than I do around here.”

Despite moving into a former pharmacy space in the St. George Medical Building on Coyle Ave., Dokimos wants East Sac customers, who may be unaware of the pharmacy’s moving, to know that they can still do business with him.

“I want to get the word out that we moved – not closed. We are still open for business.”

As far as getting back in the J Street area, Dokimos said that he would like to get a lease agreement signed within the next three months and hopefully be open for business within another three months.

“We will be back,” he said. “We are dedicated to our clients and we try our hardest for them.”

For more information, Knott’s Pharmacy can be reached at 455-3068.