First place winning photograph “A Winter Morning” by Sierra Brown, senior at C.K. McClatchy High School.

Approximately 60 Pocket area students, parents and community members came out to the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library on the evening of Friday, March 15, to see more than 40 photographs taken by teens not just in their community, but all over the world.

The showing was part of a photography contest held by the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) at the library. TAB members and C.K. McClatchy High School seniors Allison Yamamoto and Michelle Sarracino had come up with the idea for contest as a way for area teens to both express themselves and learn more about what the library offers.

Yamamoto hoped the event would help draw teens to the library for more than just completing school work, but to also “show that we have these events going on at the library that are open for students to participate in and get something out of,” she says.

“A Changing World”

Tracey Joe, youth services Librarian for Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library, says the library was happy to support TAB and the contest, as well as give local teens an opportunity to express themselves through art and show it to the community. “We just wanted to give them the opportunity to be creative and interpret it however they wanted to, and we thought it would be a really awesome thing that we could do for the community,” she explains.

The theme of the contest was “A Changing World,” which Yamamoto says they came up with when noticing the differences between generations that came to the library. “We thought it would be cool to see how other teens would interpret ‘A Changing World,’ whether they think it’s a good thing or a bad thing,” she explains.

Of the approximately 40 entries the photography contest received, 24 were from local students while 18 were from teens across the United States and even from other countries such as Peru and Australia. Yamamoto says she created a Facebook event for the contest, which helped spread the word to teens in other areas.

Sarracino was pleased they were able to include photos from teens all over the country as it would allow all those that attended the gala to “not just see the changing world around our community, but also expand their horizons and get a feel for how other kids see the changing world in other places,” she adds.

Kathi Windheim, president of the Friends of the Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library; Sierra Brown, senior at C.K. McClatchy High School and first place photography contest winner; Tracey Joe, youth services Librarian for Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library; Allison Yamamoto and Michelle Sarracino, both seniors at McClatchy.

And the Winners Are …

Four judges – including library staff Joe and Brendle Wells, branch supervisor; Kathi Windheim, president of the Friends of the Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library; and Corrie Pelc, reporter for Valley Community Newspapers – determined the winners of the contest, which included top three awards for local contributors, as well as an International Award, and awards for “Best Perspective” and “Most Moving.”

Top honors went to Sierra Brown, a senior at C.K. McClatchy High School who took first place for her photo “A Winter Morning.” “I found that flower in the garden and just thought it was really neat how it was a yellow flower, but had this white glistening signs of winter on it even though winter hadn’t hit yet, so I just took a picture of it,” she says.

Brown – who has been taking photos since the ninth grade – says her photo fits the theme “A Changing World” as it shows that the world is constantly changing. “We can see this best in even the most insignificant things, such as a simple yellow flower painted in winter’s frost,” she explains. “True, today winter is here and the flowers are dying. But not matter what, we can always expect that tomorrow will bring another sunrise, a new flower, and constant change.”

She also believes it’s “extremely important” for teens to have a way to express themselves, such as through photography. “The youth have such a different view of the world than do adults, and I think the best way to voice such a view is through artistic expression,” she says. “It’s great that teens have so many opportunities to share their expressions with others, such as the library’s photo show.”

Other local winners of the photography contest included Benjamin Potter, a senior at McClatchy, who took second place with his photo “Abandoned,” and Andrew Kageyama, a junior at Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove who took third place for his photo “Fall in Love.” Daniel Escobar, a junior at McClatchy, won “Most Moving” for his photo “Soarin’ Solar Dreams.” The “Best Perspective” award was given to Jonathan Beach from Los Angeles, while Ashleigh Polinelli from Perth, Australia won the International Award.

Joe says the library hopes to keep the photos from the contest on display for a few more weeks so community members who were unable to attend the gala can enjoy them.

And Sarracino hopes the contest will become an annual one, “but maybe bring in some other types of art as well,” she adds.

The Sacramento Public Library helped families learn to classify birds and reptiles by their special characteristics at a free nature program last month at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Effie Yeaw Nature Center representatives invited participants to examine animal artifacts and meet some of the center’s live animals. The library program helped celebrate National Science Literacy Month.

On Feb. 23, the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library played host to Mr. Sunny as he introduced children and families to Nigerian culture during WaZoBia. The name is derived from three different Nigerian dialects, with each part being a way of saying “come!” The event was put on to teach visitors about Nigerian culture through song and dance.

Mr. Sunny started the show with a brief explanation of the cultural landscape of Nigeria, followed by a short lesson in how to speak several of its dialects. After the audience had learned three unique ways of saying “hello”, Mr. Sunny brought out his drum and started up a rhythm.

He told visitors that they’d be participating in a few of the songs and dances, and after cheers from the children and grumbles from the adults had subsided, the event got underway.

Mr. Sunny picked several members of the audience to stand in front of the group, and while he drummed and the rest of the spectators sang along, they started to dance. The dancers were told to dance as crazily as they could; the children were noticeably crazier than the adults.

After cycling them out for a new group, Mr. Sunny brought the entire audience out of their seats for a brief lesson in drumming. He had placed a very large collection of drums and chimes in from of the group, as well as enough drumsticks for everyone in the room.

As he led with his own drum, the audience followed along. It took a good amount of time before the kids in the room realized they were not supposed to simply pound on their drums as loudly and quickly as they could.

Before the audience could return to their seats, Mr. Sunny lined them up in rows and explained how they were going to combine their dancing, singing, and drum lessons. After demonstrating the steps, he beat a rhythm while the audience proceeded to spin, skip, and slide along the floor in unison. It took many tries to get it right, but eventually the group put on an acceptable performance.

Finally, Mr. Sunny took questions from the room about his culture and about himself. He prefaced the discussion by explaining that yes, Africans do wear clothes, and they also have houses.

After some laughs from the room, he said that out of all his performances, these were the two most common questions by far. Except for one kid who asked whether the cultural clothing Mr. Sunny was wearing had anything to do with the drums he was playing (it did), every question was asked by an adult, ranging from questions about Nigerian culture to what Mr. Sunny has been up to in the States.

Everyone seemed to have a good time at the event, and many people came up to shake Mr. Sunny’s hand and compliment him after it was over. Mr. Sunny won’t be back at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library until next year, but the calendar of their other events can be found at http://www.saclibrary.org/Locations/Robbie-Waters-Pocket-Greenhaven/.

Families, neighbors and the young at heart gathered together to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library on Saturday, Aug. 27.

Even the library’s namesake, former Councilmember Robbie Waters, was in fine fettle.

Sporting a pirate hat and a stuffed parrot on his shoulder, the community leader greeted one and all and encouraged them to join in the fun.

Ice Topia came with their signature yellow ice cream truck, and families enjoyed the cool treats.

It was a great day to be in the Pocket-Greenhaven area.

Darrell Fong took the oath of office for the office of city councilmember for Sacramento’s District 7 on Nov. 30.

The swearing in was an intensely personal moment for the retired Sacramento Police Department captain and community volunteer, as his identical twin brother, Derrick Fong, administered the oath of office and their mother, Frances Fong, witnessed the historic moment.

Former Councilmember Robbie Waters was on hand to congratulate Fong. Waters endorsed Fong in the subsequent run-off election.

Fong thanked Waters for his years of public service to the people of Sacramento, and acknowledged Waters’ support, stating, “I would not be here if it weren’t for you.”

Also sworn in that evening were Councilmember Steve Cohn (District 3) and Councilmember Jay Schenirer (District 5). Council member Angelique Ashby was sworn in on Nov. 23 to represent District 1.

Robbie Waters / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Danny Kam

Welcoming signage

 Among the easily recognized improvements are the welcome signs to the community at two locations: Riverside Boulevard and Seymour Park on the pedestrian bridge overpassing and the sign in the median near Pocket Road and Greenhaven Drive. These signs contribute to an increased community identity and hopefully remind motorists exiting the freeway that they are now entering a neighborhood. Also easily visible is the United States flag atop the Freeport Water Tower next to I-5 near Pocket Road. The huge flag welcomes newcomers at the southern gateway to our city.

Youth sports

I have tried to consistently support youth sports in our community, both financially and by attending Opening Day events. The addition of soccer and baseball fields at the new Bill Conlin (Freeport Shores) Youth Sports Complex eased the field overcrowding we experienced in past decades.

Public safety

Public safety has always been a priority of the community. Shortly after joining the City Council in 1994, I advocated for the addition of helicopters to the Police Department because I knew first-hand of the benefits helicopters provide as a “force multiplier” from my experience as Sacramento County Sheriff. As the economic downturn limited the size of our police force even more in recent years, the helicopters proved increasingly pivotal. In the district, my office worked with neighbors to increase the number of Neighborhood Watch groups in the community and to improve their activity. Many groups grew aware and participated in National Night Out to get to know their local police officers and to draw reluctant neighbors out of their house to join the group.

Planning matters

Two of the most controversial planning issues were highly visible. The defeat of the proposed fast-food drive-through at the gateway corner of Florin Road and Riverside Boulevard and the approval of the Islands at Riverlake infill project on an odd-shaped property received intense media coverage. Other projects did not receive that amount of attention but have improved our community. These include the renovated landscaping of the Greenhaven Drive median, the stop light at Greenhaven and Windbridge, the future stop light at Riverside and Park Riviera, pedestrian crossings at Riverside and Lelandhaven and Rush River and the Pocket Canal, the round-about at Rush River and Windbridge, replaced sidewalks in Seymour Park and multiple traffic calming programs in various neighborhoods including stop signs and speed bumps.

Facilities for families

Children and our quality of life have always been priorities in our community and one of my first projects was to replace all the playgrounds in city parks in the district. We have better and safer playgrounds. Many projects also involved benches, shade structures, new water fountains, tree plantings and more. The renovation of the boat ramp at Garcia Bend Park, with the floating dock, proved popular.

Flood prevention

We need to always remember we live behind levees in this community. The 2006 levee work to fortify our levees made our community eligible for the lower-cost “Preferred Risk Policy” flood insurance, reducing flood insurance bills typically by about $1,000 per year per household. Future new signage for the Sacramento River Parkway, on the levee top, is imminent and will encourage positive use of the parkway and appropriate access points to enjoy this natural resource that is such an integral part of our community.

Better communication

Among the less visible improvements is a higher level of communication between the city and District 7 residents. New technology has brought increased demands on the city representative. More frequent, and higher level, communications is the new standard. Also less visible is the stringent application of code enforcement regulations to minimize blight and maintain the property values in the community. With the downturn of the national economy and the particular collapse of the California economy, I directed my office to aggressively pursue enforcement of property standards on foreclosed properties in the district. Unless you lived next door to such a property, this effort was probably unseen although it consumed vast quantities of time as my staff tracked missing property owners, attempted to contact uninterested banks, reported green swimming pools and worked with outraged Neighborhood Associations and Neighborhood Watch groups.

United We Stand

Also unseen but important to many was the victory in 2001 Redistricting to keep the majority of the Greenhaven and Pocket areas together as one community, represented by the same city representative. I am grateful for all the community leaders that joined me in this effort in 2001.

The Pocket Parade

Probably the most colorful accomplishment, certainly the most patriotic, is the annual July 4th Parade, which I founded in 1995 working with Jeff Dominguez. Most folks do not realize the permits, costs and coordination required for the event. Many volunteers work hard on the parade and it certainly benefits from the participation of various organizations and floats which speaks well of our sense of community. An entire generation of young people tell me they cannot remember a July 4th in the Pocket without a parade.

The library

Finally, there is the new library which I think will provide a wonderful resource for all residents. The relative ease of construction was balanced out by the difficult years of negotiation for the land and coordination with the School of Engineering & Sciences, but the final product has been enthusiastically welcomed by the community with circulation numbers exceeding even the most optimistic projections.

Thank you for the honor to represent our community at the City of Sacramento City Council for the past 16 years.

Youngsters will continue to have the opportunity to play soccer with the Greenhaven Soccer Club, thanks to a $10,000 grant from Councilmember Robbie Waters. The councilmember presented a check to some of the youth and Shane Singh, president of the Greenhaven Soccer Club. / Photo courtesy of Greenhaven Soccer Club

Greenhaven Soccer received a grant for $10,000 from Councilmember Robbie Waters. The councilmember donated the funds from his City Council discretionary funds.

“This donation is the largest that our club has ever received,” said Shane Singh, president of the Greenhaven Soccer Club in an email to youth team members and their families.

The contribution is significant, according to Singh, because the popular youth soccer club incurs great expenses in order to play. City fields in public parks have to be rented, and the park use fees are considerable.

“The donation will allow us to defray some of those charges,” Singh said. “It will also allow us to continue with some of our programs, including the free summer camp and training sessions for our players/coaches. We are very grateful to Robbie Waters for this extraordinary and generous gift.”

California is home to natural and man-made disasters: earthquakes, fires, flooding and even extreme weather situations, such as tornadoes, are not out of the realm of possibility here.

Because of the on-going potential for emergencies in the Sacramento region, city and county organizations and officials are co-sponsoring the Sacramento Emergency Preparedness and Self-Reliance Fair on Saturday, Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Guest exhibitors will include the Sacramento Office of Emergency Services, the American Red Cross, the Sacramento City Fire Department, the California Emergency Management Agency, the Drowning Accident Rescue Team (DART), the Sacramento Police Department, Army Corps of Engineers, United Animal Nations, Pacific Gas & Electric, the California Conservation Corps, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and many more.

Visitors to the event can learn about: building disaster-resilient families, having an emergency plan, emergency communication, emergency shelters, power generators, first aid kits, employment, wills, trusts, estate planning, budgeting and saving, a three-month supply of rotatable food, crime prevention, Neighborhood Watch, flood preparedness, water storage and purification, children’s emergency activities and much, much more.

This event is open to everyone in the community.

The event will be hosted by members of The Sacramento California Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sponsors include the Sacramento City and County Office of Emergency Services, Council Member Robbie Waters, Council Member Bonnie Pannell and County Supervisor Jimmie Yee.

Individuals of all ages will have the opportunity to learn how to better prepare for natural and man-made disasters at this free event.

The Fair will include over 40 exhibits and displays highlighting topics such as: food and water storage, stretching your food dollar, employment, family evacuation plans, 72-hour kits, water purification, first aid, fire safety and much more.

Emergency vehicles will also be available for tours and close-up inspection, including an Army National Guard HH60 helicopter, a Coast Guard rescue boat, ambulance, highway patrol car and a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) trailer. The Army National Guard HH60 plans to land around 10:30 a.m. and CERT will be performing several “triage” demonstrations throughout the day.

“The fair has been designed to provide useful information to families regardless of where they are in the wide spectrum of emergency preparedness and self-reliance,” said John Cassinat, president of the Sacramento Stake. “There will be meaningful experiences and valuable information for the person or family who doesn’t know where to begin, as well as for those who are well on there way to sustainable independence and self-reliance during most emergencies.”

The Fair will be held at a large property owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 7401 24th Street in Sacramento.

This event is free and family oriented. Translators will be available for multiple languages.

“It is important that we as a community are prepared for any kind of unanticipated event,” Cassinat said. “The more educated we are as a community, the more resilient we will be.”

Within a week of its grand opening, the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library was vandalized over the Labor Day weekend.

Vandals covered the windows, stonework and walls of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library over the Labor Day weekend. Citizens stepped forward to clean up the damage. An investigation is ongoing. / Photo courtesy of Lauren Pohl

Taggers virtually coated the library windows and stonework trim with blue spray paint.

“We were saddened that anybody would do such a thing to our library,” said Jason Weekley, circulation supervisor for the library. “But fortunately, we were able to clean it up quickly.”

Members of the community made calls of support to the library. Many others did the neighborly thing: they picked up buckets, scrub rags and sponges, rolled up their sleeves and got to work cleaning up the damage themselves.

“It really shows the support that the community has for the library,” Weekley said.

Sacramento Police Detectives are continuing to investigate the case.

“Nothing evidentiary value came up on the surveillance tapes,” said Sgt. Norm Leong, public information officer for the Sacramento Police Department. “A dark SUV was noticed in the early morning hours near the library that morning. However, that could simply have been somebody dropping off library books. Or, that person may have been a witness.”

Police received the first call about the library vandalism at 12:46 p.m. on Sept. 5.

“At this time, there are no new leads in the case,” Leong said. “We continue to hope that someone will come forward regarding the vandalism.”

Anyone with information regarding the vandalism of the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Public Library is urged to call the Crime Alert Hotline at (916) 443-HELP (4357). Callers can remain anonymous.

susan@valcomnews.com

The LEED-nominated Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library opened Aug. 28 and cost $15 million to build. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Danny Kam

Big, round chairs that invite one to sit down and stay awhile are just one of the great features of this new library, where everything is state-of-the-art. So much so, that the library is nominated for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver accreditation.

About 500 people showed up to attend the grand opening celebration that took place Saturday, Aug. 28.

Robbie Waters, Sacramento City Councilmember for District 7, who spent many years helping to plan the library, thanked all who participated in donating their time and money to the construction and furnishing of this 15,387 square foot library.

Mayor Kevin Johnson said it is an impressive building.

“It feels like a Borders in the middle of the Greenhaven-Pocket area,” Johnson said. “It has a big meeting room, public computers, it is kid-friendly and energy efficient. A real tribute to Robbie Waters.”

Many Sacramento City Council members attended the event, along with State Senate President Pro Tem Daryl Steinberg and Nathan Dietrich, district director for Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

Waters said the $15 million cost to build the library came from the City of Sacramento Community Reinvestment Capital Improvement Project Funds, Freeport Regional Water Authority Mitigation Funds, and City of Sacramento Council District 7 Discretionary funds.

Enhancement funds came from Roger and Carolyn Fong in memory of their daughter, Michele Fong Beam, First Five of California and Friends of the Pocket-Greenhaven Library.

Library patrons checked out brand-new books, dvds, cds and audio books at the new library. There were 158 new library cards issued on opening day. / Valley Community Newspapers photo by Danny Kam

“This is a happy day for Sacramento,” Steinberg said. “This is an opportunity to be thankful. For a down economy, three new libraries opened this year. Three things make a library important: It is a place for people of all walks of life to gather, it provides access and exposure to institutions of education and it creates lifelong learners.”

“I love this library,” said Ian Briggs, an eleven-year-old, who attends Matsumoto Elementary School and was busy using one of the new kids’ computers.

Friends of the Library member Kathy Donovan said the new facility is a beautiful, fantastic place for the community.

“It is within walking distance for many people,” Donovan said. “Another convenience is the Friends bookstore to the left at the entrance of the library that sells used books between 50 cents and a dollar and is open during library hours.”

Yvonne Correa, who also said she is very excited that she can walk to the library in eight minutes, is looking forward to bringing her grandchildren here.

“I appreciate the large print books,” Correa said. “Your eyes don’t work as well as you get older.”

Many people who attended the opening celebration walked to the library from their homes, bringing kids and babies in strollers. There is a large bike rack for cyclists.

Robbie Waters, councilman for Sacramento's District 7, checks out a book from the new library which bears his name.

It didn’t take but a few minutes, once inside the library, for people, old and young alike to start using the new facilities. Most of the computers in the adult section and the kids section were in use. A woman with book in hand sat in a comfy chair, reading in the well-lit room, undisturbed by the large crowds drifting through.

The special features of the library include:

Radio Frequency Identification, a time-saving device where embedded chips in the books and other materials allow the borrower to check out a stack of books all at once, without having to scan each item individually.

A 72-seat community room for meetings and events. It has a built-in projector, sound system and a drop-down viewing screen.

Forty Internet-access computers, a Kid’s Place where parents and caregivers are able to share stories, a Ready to Read Center that offers computers with early-learning software for children, ages eight years and younger and a Teen Room, with comfortable reading chairs, and computer stations.

Lots of smiling faces could be seen checking out the new library. As they perused the isles, there was a lot of “oohing” and “ahhing” over the many custom features available.

The Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library is located at 7335 Gloria Drive in Sacramento. Library hours are: 12 noon–8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Saturday, Closed Sunday and Monday. Learn more by calling (916) 264-2700 or visit www.saclibrary.org.