On March 23, from 1 to 3 p.m., the Sacramento Congregation of Community of Christ (sacramentocofchrist.org), in collaboration with A Touch of Understanding, Inc. (touchofunderstanding.org), will host an Autism Seminar at the church at 4044 Pasadena Ave. Admission is free.

Guest speaker Glen Elliott, M.D., Ph.D. is a world-renowned child and adolescent psychiatrist with a longstanding interest in improving the diagnosis and treatment of severe psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents.  He has worked with individuals with autism and their families since 1984.  He will be speaking about the changing views of autism and related disorders over the past 30 years with a particular focus on the ongoing search for a better understanding of what causes this potentially devastating disorder and what progress has been made in treating it.

Also participating will be autistic members of A Touch of Understanding, Inc. (ATOU) as well as caretakers.

ATOU is a non-profit organization operating in the Sacramento area that provides character-building disability-awareness programs to school age youth. Autism is the fastest growing diagnosis among disabilities. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that currently, 1 in 88 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Among boys, the rate is 1 in 54.

“Given these statistics, many of you will have friends or neighbors impacted by Autism. Please invite them to attend, or forward this announcement to them. We hope that this seminar may provide them with information and resources that can help them cope with the challenges raised by this trying disorder,” according to organizers.

Tony Asaro isn’t a teacher by trade, but in San Juan Unified, he’s as recognizable on campus as school staff.

Entering his 14th year overseeing community relations for the Sacramento River Cats minor league baseball club, Asaro spends the bulk of his time working to improve the lives of children and families throughout the region.

That work began in San Juan Unified schools, from which Asaro, his wife and four children all graduated and where he began his career.

Today, he’s an enthusiastic and constant figure in schools, preaching the importance of strong character, attendance and academic success to scores of students.

“San Juan schools are fortunate to have such a committed community leader in Tony,” said Superintendent Glynn Thompson. “Tony’s dedication to our students, unwavering energy and positive attitude are an inspiration.”

from Asaro in his own words:

…on how Asaro blends passion for baseball with teaching and inspiring students:

“To be able to take what my passion is, which is baseball, and use that as the teaching element, that’s so powerful. … I believe that we teach our children through the games we play. And I love the game of baseball because if you’re the greatest player that ever played the game, you’re a .300 hitter, you fail seven out of 10 times. There’s no game that we teach our children or play that you fail that often and yet, you’re the best. It’s through those failures that you learn.

“That (relates) to the whole ‘attendance, attitude and academics’ (message): You’ve got be there every day for your teammates and bring what you have to bring. You have to have a positive attitude no matter how many times you get knocked down, no matter how many times you fail, you’ve got to get up one more time than that. Those are the kind of things we talk to kids about.”

… on how his visits to schools motivate him:

“I’ve been very, very fortunate. That’s the inspiration. When I go to a school at 8:30 in the morning, and I put on an assembly, and that starts my day, I’m sure I’ve jazzed them up, I’ve gotten them excited, but I am so pumped. So that when I do one at noon and 2, and then go and give a speaking engagement that night to a Rotary club, that excitement just builds and builds and builds.”

… on how one San Juan Unified leader – his sixth grade teacher – shaped who he is today:

“I was very shy. I could not speak in front of people; I could not make a presentation. (My teacher) brought that out. He said ‘You’re going to be our emcee at our talent show.’ I said, ‘I can’t do that.’ He said, ‘I see you doing impressions of Ed Sullivan and John Wayne for your friends. You can do this.’ He then entered me in a Rotary speaking contest and helped me with that as a sixth grader. It’s one of the two trophies I own in life. … It changed who I was.”

… his thoughts on the meaning of leadership:

“I was asked as a junior in high school to be the captain of the baseball team. I was not the best player on the team. I was able to help motivate the team to be good, but I knew I was not the best player. And there was a reason they asked me to do that.

“And I think that leadership can be someone who stands up and motivates – inspires – but I also think leadership is (being a) role model that people want to follow. I believe that we all have a reputation – those are other people’s ideas of who we are. I believe that the character of who we are makes a difference. And what I urge young people to do, what I urge everyone to do, is to look to the character within themselves. That’s how you become a leader. You are a role model no matter where you are in whatever you do, whether you’re the CEO or the person cleaning the place up, you can show leadership.

“I can’t tell you how many schools I’ve been into, where the multipurpose room looks immaculate. These schools were built in the 1940s, 50s, 60s. That person who’s controlling that, who’s the person of influence there, can’t teach English, can’t teach science or math. But he can make those kids feel good about where they’re at, make that staff feel good about where they’re at. And that’s what they’re contributing.

“The scale is not north to south, the scale goes east to west. We’re all leaders. Step up and be the best you can be at whatever you do.”

Under the direction of the school’s leadership class, Hollywood Park Elementary School students recently made hundreds of valentines for patients at Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Sacramento.

To complete the community service project, kids stayed after school with parents and staff to decorate valentines. On Jan. 28, the leadership class delivered the valentines to the hospital and listened to a presentation by Penny Lewis, director of children’s activities for Shriner’s, on how the hospital serves children and families.

Hollywood Park students presented their cards, which will be used to decorate bulletin boards and hallways at the hospital.

For much of his life, Tony Lutfi has had the goal of owning 50 restaurants before turning 50 years old. He was recently on the cover of Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine with the headline: Mega 99: Tony Lutfi soars from 52 to 134 units in three years.

Far surpassing his goals, Lutfi, whose corporate headquarters are in the Pocket area, is among the top 55 multi-unit franchises in the nation.

Born in 1960 in Amman Jordan as the youngest child for a refugee Palestinian family who then lived in Jordan, Lutfi immigrated to the United States in 1976 with hopes to pursue higher education in the medical field. He attended high school in Lodi and graduated in 1977, then quickly moved to Stockton and attended Delta College while sharing an apartment with his cousin.

“I did not want to be a burden to my family that struggled financially and I knew that I needed to work and make it on my own at age 16,” he said. He worked at a 7-11 for a short period of time and then was offered a position with Jack in the Box for the graveyard shift, which worked out well allowing me to attend classes in the day and work at night.

Life quickly took its course. Lutfi quit college and decided to accept a shift manager position with Jack in the Box. In 1980, the rest of his family immigrated to the U.S. and they decided to purchase a corner grocery store in Stockton. He quit his position with Jack in the Box and worked for the family business for two years while his family became more accustomed to the life style and learned English.

In 1993, Lutfi applied to work for a franchise and was given an opportunity with Rax Roast Beef as an assistant manager making $925 per month.

In 1984 Lutfi married to Anna, whom I dated for five years. He did not want to pay rent for a home and decided to purchase his first home by borrowing money on credit cards.

“I knew that I will work hard to pay the cards off and hoped that I will build enough equity in my home to use it later to buy a business. Life took its course again and our first son was born in 1985 and the second in 1987. I was right with my first investment, the house appreciated in value and the credit cards were paid off,” Lutfi said.

In 1988, he attempted to buy four restaurants from his employer, but lost the opportunity to another company who purchased the entire company and agreed to employ him.

A few years later, the president of the company decided to start a new company and asked him to be a partner operator. They purchased four Church’s Chicken restaurants in Sacramento and partnered up with a local Pocket area dentist, Greg Maroni DDS.

They remodeled the restaurants and started the company while he continued his employment with company. In 1998, Maroni and he decided to purchase the entire company and committed to a partnership.

“My goal has always been to own 50 restaurants before I turned 50. Time was running out as I turned 38 and had only a total of 11 which included three Long John Silver’s in the Bay Area, four Church’s Chicken in Sacramento and four Arby’s in Sacramento, Modesto and Tracy.

Maroni had two Arby’s, which he owned since the late 80’s in Auburn and Grass Valley.

They agreed to form a partnership and operate the 13 units.

They opened four restaurants between 1998 and 2000, one was Arby’s in the Pocket area Promenade Shopping Center. They either sold or closed all four locations within two years and decided that the only way they can grow is by way of acquisition minimizing risk.

In 2001 just before Sept. 11, they agreed to acquire four Church’s Chicken restaurants in Las Vegas. They took over the operations on Oct. 22.

“Naturally, the world changed after Sept. 11, especially in Las Vegas. Tourism came to quick halt and businesses suffered including our new acquired restaurants. I remember driving to Las Vegas weekly and working in the restaurants just to save labor and try to save the business. Luckily, we had great managers that maintained and quickly rebounded by 2003,” Lutfi said.

They paid off the loan for the Las Vegas stores in 2006 and began a journey of growth.

In 2006, they acquired 11 Church’s Chicken in Stockton and Tucson.

In 2007, they acquired 15 Church’s Chicken in Phoenix and opened their first Little Caesars Restaurant in Orangevale.

In 2008, they acquired 11 Church’s Chicken restaurants and opened their second little Caesars Restaurant in Carmichael.

In 2009, they opened another Little Caesars restaurant and a Church’s Chicken in Las Vegas

In 2010, Lutfi acquired 21 Jack in the Box restaurants in Modesto, Los Banos, Oroville, Marysville, Placerville and Sacramento.

In 2011, Lutfi acquired 14 Sears Hardware stores in Houston and St. Louis, and Sears Appliance Showrooms in Dallas and St. Louis, but also opened two restaurants, one in Galt and another in Las Vegas. Lutfi also acquired five Sizzlers in Auburn, Sacramento and the Bay Area.

In 2012, Lutfi opened another restaurant in Las Vegas and another in North Highlands and added a Sears location in Chino, Calif.

Lutfi and Maroni closed last year with their largest acquisition to date, 42 Arby’s restaurants in Oregon and Washington.

Today, Lutfi operates the following: five Sizzler restaurants, 21 Jack in the Box, eight Sears Appliance Showrooms, and six Sears Appliance & Hardware Stores.

With Maroni, Lutfi owns five Little Caesars, 43 Arby’s, 46 Church’s Chicken,

Lutfi and Maroni also offer management and consulting services to several organizations in Texas and California who operate 117 restaurants of various brands.

Lutfi is still married to the love of his life who worked with him years ago at the Jack in the Box. They were married in 1984 and had three boys, Metri 27, in the business operating the Jack in the Box Company and attended Fresno State, Stephen 25, a graduate from Fresno State as a civil Engineer; he also joined our company a few weeks ago and is currently our analyst; and Ramsey 20, in his third year at Fresno State pursuing his degree in Business.

Although the business has grown to near 150 in seven states, Lutfi says they remain a family business with several of the family leading and serving the business. Starting with my nephew Nader who has been an integral part of our continued growth and many others including Dr. Maroni who has remained committed for the entire ride.

Pocket area resident and attorney Shane Singh has been representing the MarLu Investment Group for over 11 years and handles a majority of their legal work.

The MarLu Investment Group office is in the Pocket area, 1531 Corporate Way.

Photo courtesy Celebration Arts // From left: Mericus Adams (Sound) and Patricia Coleman (Eunice Katem) in Celebration Arts' current production, "A Life."

More than 20 years ago, Pocket resident Voress Franklin began working on her passion for acting with Celebration Arts – a multicultural performing arts organization located in East Sacramento that includes theater, dance and music.

Having major in business marketing and theater arts at Sacramento City College, Franklin says she joined Celebration Arts after meeting James Wheatley who founded the organization. “We roamed around Sacramento finding places to perform,” she recalls.

Franklin worked on her craft while working as a state civil service employee for the legislature. “I retired two years ago, so now it is what I’m doing, it is what I’m seeking,” she says.

Franklin says she decided to become involved with Celebration Arts due to the teaching skills of Wheatley and its family atmosphere. “They’re really loving people and open-armed, and I learned a lot from the people involved,” she adds.

In fact, Franklin credits what she learned through Celebration Arts for her three Elly Awards, which are given annually by the Sacramento Area Regional Theatre Alliance (SARTA) to honor outstanding achievements of community theaters and artists in the Sacramento area. “I believe because I was taught by not just James (Wheatley) but other directors that have come through (Celebration Arts) on how to develop my talent, I now have three Ellys,” she explains. “What they taught me about going inside and learning how to develop a character as really helped me.”

A Learning Experience

According to Wheatley, who is president of the Board of Directors and artistic director for Celebration Arts, the idea for the group began in 1976 when he formed a dance company. Growing from there, Celebration Arts was incorporated in 1986 when the theater component was added.

Wheatley says the mission of Celebration Arts is to provide training and performance opportunities for community residents in the areas of dance, music and theater, so those with little or no experience could have a place to go to get some training and “explore what talent they thought they might have.”

For example, rather than teaching theater classes, everyone at Celebration Arts learn through experience. “We actually train them on the job, and we found it was more effective to be trained while they’re involved in the production then to have classes,” Wheatley says. He says everyone involved in Celebration Arts are volunteers – including himself – and everyone learns all the different facets of running a theatrical production, including lights, sound, costumes, stage management and set building.

Franklin herself has learned about all the different parts of the theater production, and says its a way to learn and appreciate the art and what it’s all about. “All of those things are all important and what makes a good rounded actor is not just coming in and learning your lines, but learning about the whole,” she says.

Celebration Arts Board Member Bonnie Bane, who has been involved with the organization since 2000, has also done time learning about what it takes to run a theater production, from the box office to housekeeping to publicity. “Whatever needed to be done, there’s plenty of work for everybody, so we all pitch in,” she says. “All the board members pitch in wherever things are needed, so it’s a community activity.”

Bane says the fact people can come to Celebration Arts with absolutely no experience is what makes them unique. “They audition, they are groomed, they grow, and I think they can realize some of their aspirations,” she explains. “Sometimes people have this little dream – oh, I wish I could do that – and here is an opportunity for them to try it out and experience that joy that they get when they perform and the people are applauding. It’s just a wonderful thing.”

Theater, Music & Dance

According to Wheatley, Celebration Arts produces six to seven plays a year, which are performed at their 50-seat theater on the corner of 45th and D Streets.

Currently playing is “A Life,” which runs through March 3. Wheatley says the play is a dramatic comedy that tells the story of a 74-year-old Jamaican woman who is recovering from a heart attack in a nursing home. “The day the play takes place, the daughter is supposed to come and get her and take her to Connecticut with her,” Wheatley explains. “The mom does not want to go – she does not want to go to Connecticut and lose her independence.”

Then opening March 22 and running through April 28 is “Agnes of God,” which Wheatley says tells the story a young nun that gives birth and the older nun and psychiatrist that try to figure out what happened.

Franklin will play the role of the psychiatrist in “Agnes of God,” and is looking forward to working with her cast mates. “The parts are all really heavy, really deep, and we’re going to have to really explore the characters,” she says. “I’m looking forward to that new journey.”

Additionally, the Celebration Chorale will be performing on February 24 at St. Andrews AME Church on 8th Street between U and V Streets, and on March 10 at Celebration Arts’ theater in East Sacramento.

Wheatley says the Chorale has 12 members and they sing a variety of music which he writes and arranges for them. “They’re learning about singing, they’re learning about music and getting experience singing chorale music,” he says.

And Wheatley says the Celebration Dance Company, which performs modern/contemporary dance, will also be performing during the Chorale concert. Wheatley recruits members for the dance company from the weekly dance class he holds on Saturday mornings from 10:45am-12:45pm at the Oak Park United Methodist Church.

Get Involved

In addition to the dance class, Celebration Arts also offers a Kid’s Time program for ages six to 12. The program is a 10-week session on Monday evenings and culminates with the kids performing an original play that Wheatley has written for them.

Community playwrights can even submit their plays to Wheatley for feedback. “Every month I read plays and meet with writers personally, talk with them and give them feedback and work with them during the drafts,” he adds.

And for community members who maybe don’t want to get on stage, but still want to help out, Bane says there are lots of opportunities to get involved from working the box office to even just helping to distribute flyers. She adds they are currently in need of volunteers to build sets, keep the theater clean, and work with fundraising and grant writing. “Not everyone wants to be on the stage, but all the other pieces are necessary in order for us to make the kind of impression that we want to make in the community,” Bane says.

Celebration Arts is located at 4469 D Street in East Sacramento. For more information, call 916-455-2787 or visit www.celebrationarts.net.

Goose with Angel Wing Deformity

Most of us were brought up to feed bread to the waterfowl. In the past the birds would migrate away to the fields and waterways to forage for their nutrition. But most of the waterfowl at the McKinley Park pond do not migrate and so do not balance out their nutritional needs in the wilds, leading to many of the birds developing wing deformities.

That’s the message from concerned neighbors who have started an educational campaign to discourage feeding bread and processed human food to ducks in the pond.

Angel wing deformity

East Sacramento Preservation is leading an effort with the City of Sacramento with the assistance of many others in East Sacramento announced a change in the waterfowl management policy at the McKinley Park Pond and any other ponds in Sacramento.

New signage at the pond will explain that the birds should only be fed whole grains and seeds, waterfowl pellets (obtained at feed stores and some pet stores) and peas.

“Breeding season has just started so it is important to get the word out to the public about this important issue to prevent further wing deformities,” stated a news release.

Bread and similar products have no nutritional value for the birds and thus their wing development and growth is affected, suggest volunteers.

Goose with Deformed Wing

Neighborhood volunteers, the Boy Scouts and other groups passed out sample food and informational flyers at the pond during the past few weekends in February.

City of Sacramento recommendations include:

•  Don’t overfeed. Take a small bag of whole grain, seeds, waterfowl pellets or peas.
• Pet & feed stores carry fowl scratch, pigeon seed, and waterfowl pellets. This commercial food is nutritionally designed for birds.
•  Explain to the kids that the ducks are on a special diet to help them stay healthy.
•  Do not throw the feed into the pond, either spread it on the ground or feed from your hand or a shallow bowl. This will help keep the pond cleaner.

-Courtesy of East Sacramento Preservation

Goose with Deformed wing

‘Woman of the Year’ nominee Gloria Torres may be considered petite by her friends, but what she lacks in height, she makes up for with her passion to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which is recognizing her as the organization’s Woman of the Year on Thursday, Feb. 28.
Torres was born in Truckee and moved to Sacramento as a young adult. She comes from a large family who believed living and working together was a way of life. Torres was forced to face her own battle against leukemia 15 years ago. She was uncertain if she would live long enough to see her children grow up. The survival rate for leukemia at that time was not good.
‘It took my spirit, my soul and my laughter,” says Torres.  “Being able to research the disease and receive support from loved ones helps you through the journey.”
Torres said it is especially hard to watch children go through the battle of disease. Torres believes children have great spirits and research of blood cancers helps improve the quality of life for these children and their families.
“I want to pass the baton,” Torres said. “To embrace our loved ones. A lot of people have been diagnosed with cancer.”
Marilyn Lluch, Torres’ campaign manager, has known Torres about 23 years. They met while volunteering for community events.
“The first day I met Gloria I just connected with her,” Lluch said. “Gloria would do anything for anybody without thinking of herself. She is the epitome of good, the most kindhearted person one could meet.”
Lluch said their goal is to raise $50,000 during the 10-week event, starting with spaghetti feed at the VFW Hall On Stockton Boulevard on March 3, 2012.
Together Lluch and Torres have planned several events to educate the public on blood cancers.
Executive Director for LLS, Robert Ojeda, also met Torres while doing volunteer work. Ojeda thinks it is nice to see someone who has been working on the sidelines, take the spotlight to raise funds for LLS.
“Torres not only understands what it is like to live with a blood cancer, she also understands in order to find a cure we have to raise money for research,” Ojeda said.
Ojeda finds it important for the successful candidate to have a network for support and more importantly, the passion and belief that doing this is something bigger than themselves, it’s about making a difference and Ojeda sees this in Torres.
Torres wants folks to know it is easier to deal with the disease when others are there to help. When Torres first learned she had leukemia, she kept it from her family and friends for three months. Torres admits that was a mistake. It isolates the patient and what is needed is support and friendship.
“It takes courage, commitment, loyalty and respect to survive leukemia,” says Torres. “I would not be here if it were not for the research and new medication that I take every day.”
Torres feels blessed she was able to fund a research under her name last year because of Delbert Stapp, runner up for ‘Man of the Year’ in 2012. Stapp raised over  $72,000 for LLS. The Sacramento organization as a whole raised a total of $360,000.
LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. LLS was founded in 1949 and has invested more than $814 million in research. Last year the Man & Woman events raised over $19 million nationwide.  www.lls.org
A great deal of consideration and care is put into these nominations because it takes a very special person to be a Man & Woman of the Year candidate. The candidates compete in honor of children who are local blood cancer survivors, the Boy & Girl of the Year. Every dollar they raise counts as one vote, and the titles are awarded to the man and woman with the most votes at the end of ten weeks. The local candidates who raise more funds than anyone else in the country also win the national Man & Woman of the Year titles. www.lls.org

The Facts

Approximately every four minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
For 2011, it was estimated there would be approximately 44,600 new cases diagnosed.
In 1977, the survival rate was 34 percent, in 2007 it was 57% and the survival rate is even better today.
Stapp feels right now history is being made. Compared to a five percent survival rate for leukemia in the 1950’s and 1960’s, there is now a 50-60 percent survival rate and a 73 percent survival rate for children.
“Scientists have reengineered the HIV virus to attack cancer cells,” said Stepp.  “There is also a new drug that is in the process of being approved through the FDA that is doubling the amount of people in remission and extending lives. People are living five years longer with this drug.”
For those interested in donations or sponsoring an event for LLS, please see Jennifer Pear, the campaign manager for this year’s event at mwoy.org/sac or email Ms. Pear at Jennifer.pear@lls.org
For information on how to get involved or check out the events for ‘Woman of the Year’ go to:
www.facebook.com/GloriaTorresMwoy2013LeukemiaLymphomaSociety

A wise man named Dr. Seuss once said, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

An organization making sure that children in the Sacramento area have a chance to build the early reading skills they will need for the rest of their lives is Reading Partners – a nonprofit that provides volunteer-led, one-on-one literacy tutoring to students in grades kindergarten through fifth grade in low-income elementary schools.

According to Deanna Berg, Sacramento/Chico regional executive director for Reading Partners, the organization works in local communities to provide early intervention for children who are behind six months to two and-a-half years in reading abilities.

“Statistics show that kids who aren’t reading on grade level by third grade is an indicator for high school drop out rates and their ability to be successful as they move on through their school years,” she explains. “So we really focus on those early years with the belief that if we can catch them in that first part of their education, we’re going to get more impact in the long-run.”

Between the Lines

Reading Partners currently operates 11 programs in the Sacramento area, including two schools in the Arden area – D.W. Babcock Elementary School and Thomas Edison Elementary School – and Caroline Wenzel Elementary School in the Pocket.

Betty von Werlhof, principal of D.W. Babcock Elementary School, says this is the second year they have had the Reading Partners program at the school. She says last year, 33 students took part in the program, and this year they have 29 students enrolled so far. “That list is growing, we’re adding students every month – as we get more tutors, we get more students,” she adds.

According to von Werlhof, Reading Partners is a “wonderful program” and they received “fantastic data” from last year – of the 33 students enrolled in the program 93 percent of students accelerated their rate of learning. “The average gain for every month the child was tutored, they gained two months of reading, so they were doubling their rate of progress while they were being tutored,” von Werlhof says. “It’s really exciting. Programs like this are helping us to get kids up to grade level. Not only do they learn to read, but they can use their reading skills to learn everything else they need to know.”

Over at Caroline Wenzel, Dennalia Harris, onsite coordinator for Reading Partners at the school, says this year the program has 38 students enrolled, however she hopes to hit her 55 enrollment goal by the first week of March. She says the students know they are behind, and through a one-on-one environment students can go at their own pace and see their progress.

“Reading Partners does make a difference — when I did the mid-year review, I saw the difference and it’s amazing,” she explains. “It’s outstanding how much (the students have) grown in just three months. And that’s because of tutors – without tutors we wouldn’t be able to do that.”

ReadingPartners_Pic2

Read All About It

So how does Reading Partners work?

Berg says the program uses volunteer tutors that provide one-on-one tutoring sessions to each child in the program twice a week. Reading Partners uses its own curriculum created and developed by education and literacy experts. There are two tracks — one for beginning readers that focuses on phonics and early reading skills, and a comprehension track for kids who are able to read, but not necessarily comprehending what they’re reading.

Teachers refer students to Reading Partners, Berg says. “When a child is referred to our program, we do an assessment to determine where they are reading, and that places them in the curriculum,” she explains. “They start there and they move through the lessons sequentially, each one builds on the next, so it’s really a highly organized system that’s really effective by our research that we’re doing.”

In addition to the initial assessment, Reading Partners also conducts assessments mid-year and at the end of year. “Our data shows for every month that they receive tutoring in our program, they make 1.6 months worth of gain in readability, so we’re really helping to move them along,” Berg adds.

The Reading Partners’ onsite coordinators at each school also work closely with the teachers and principal to keep them informed of each student’s progress. According to Tina Khatcherian, community builder and onsite coordinator for the Reading Partners program at Babcock Elementary, teachers are given the results of the students’ initial assessments, plus what strategies and goals Reading Partners will be working with. Additionally, she provides progress reports for each student when report cards are due.

“There’s not only written forms of communication, but I sit down and I observe classes in the beginning of the year, and I also find out what things they are studying so that I can do what I can to reiterate what they’re learning in class and support the teachers,” Khatcherian adds.

Helping Hand

To keep a program like this going, a strong set of volunteers is needed. Berg says their goal is to have 750 volunteers in the Sacramento area, which serve 575 children, and their volunteers range from high school students to business professionals to retirees.

Berg says they look for volunteers that are willing to make a commitment to a child for at least one hour a week for one semester, and volunteers do not have to be a literacy expert or credentialed teacher to help out. “The nice thing is our curriculum is really designed to where each lesson has one concept that’s being explored, and it has step-by-step instructions for a tutor to be able to pull out the instruction sheet and be able to teach that lesson following the steps in the packet they’re given,” she explains. Volunteer tutors participate in a new tutor orientation and a shadow session to get started.

Khatcherian says anybody can volunteer, and they provide constant coaching, feedback and ongoing training throughout the year “in order to make that volunteer the best tutor they can be.”

And von Werlhof says the tutors also provide a support for the children, as they are able to form strong relationships with an adult. “It’s just wonderful to see the relationships that the children are forming with these tutors that come, and care about them and support them, not just in the 90 minutes a week — I’ve even heard of tutors going to some of their sporting games and other events in their lives,” she explains. “It’s very heartwarming.”

For sign up to become a volunteer for Reading Partners or learn more about how you can help through financial contributions or children’s book donations, visit  http://readingpartners.org/.

This historic city of Sacramento map shows the city and its nearby vicinity during the great flood of 1861-62.

Editor’s Note: This is part four in a series about the history of the Sacramento River.

As a city of two rivers, Sacramento has a long history of trying to protect itself from the very entities – it waterways – that provided its birth and its life’s blood for the future.
In explaining this point, The Sacramento Bee, on Dec. 11, 1861, published the following words.
“Ever since the planting of Sacramento at the confluence of two mighty rivers, she has had to fight for existence with an energy and constancy which have developed her nerve and muscle and proved her vitality beyond that of any city of modern times.”
Sacramento, which was once referred to as the “Levee City,” experienced about an eight-year period of prosperity in regard to avoiding major floods within the city limits.
The great flood of 1853 forced businesses and residents to acknowledge the dangers of Sacramento’s rivers overflowing their banks. But this period of inactivity and a lack of inundation lulled the citizenry into a false sense of security.
In 1861, this false sense of security, along with much property, dreams and visions for the future, were again awash in a flood, the likes of which had never been seen in historic California.
As a precursor to the great flood of 1861, the level of the American River reached its highest point since 1853 – about 18 feet above the low water mark on March 27 of the same year.
During that evening, the wing dam on the east side of the city at Rabel’s tannery was swept away and the levee at that site was damaged.
As a result of the same storm, water from Sutter Lake overflowed and cut a channel through Front Street to the American River.
Furthermore, bridges along the same river from the capital city to Folsom were either swept away or useless as a means to cross this waterway.
But surprisingly, this storm was considered to have produced only minor property damage and no loss of human life.
The lack of extensive loss was due to the fact that the floodwaters receded rapidly. But the damage done to the wing dam at Rabel’s tannery would come back to haunt the city.
The rains of December 1861 came faster and were heavier than any ever experienced in the Sacramento Valley.
Both the Sacramento and American rivers, as well as all rivers to the north, rose above their previously recorded high water marks.
Once again, the big bend in the American River at Rabel’s tannery became the weak link in the chain of Sacramento levees that some politicians suggested at the time had cost as much as $1.5 million.
The irony of the flood is that the levees that were built to protect the city became dams that held the waters within its boundaries and inundated the city.
On Dec. 10, 1861, The Sacramento Union described the disaster, as follows:
“Sacramento was yesterday subjected to suffering and damage from the deepest and most destructive flood of those to which she has been exposed. It came, too, with the rapidity of a hurricane. In a few hours after the water crossed the levee, the whole city was underwater. The flood precipitated itself upon us without warning, and found people totally unprepared. The levee is now an injury, instead of a benefit, as it confines the water in the city, and has caused it to rise higher by probably two feet (more) than it would have done had no levee existed on the south side.”
Only a few places of high ground were spared the destruction of the flood of mid-December to mid-January 1861.
These locations where the floodwaters did not intrude included Sutter’s Fort and Poverty Ridge, which was roughly located between 20th, 23rd, P and W streets. Poverty Ridge was given its name due to the impoverished appearance of the people who took refuge there with their belongings and their animals during Sacramento’s periodic inundations.
The third location was a small mound along 10th Street at the site of today’s Cesar Chavez Plaza.
The rest of the city found itself underwater, ranging from a few inches to several feet.
Because the wing dam had been washed away from the great bend of the American River at Rabel’s tannery, the river broke through the A Street levee on the north side of the city, rushed down Burns’ Slough, passed Sutter’s Fort until it washed up against the R Street levee on the south side of the city.
The R Street levee held back the waters, just as it was designed to do, only from the wrong side.
The continual rush of waters, fed by more and more rain, hit the levee and rebounded back into the city proper where it continued to swing back and forth between the north and south levees, causing Sutter Lake to overflow and leaving destruction in the water’s wake.
The aforementioned Dec. 10, 1861 edition of The Union reported: “Several persons were drowned; and, had the water broken in during the night, the loss of life must (sic) have been fearfully great. Horses, cows, hogs, fowls, etc. have drowned, but how many we have no means of ascertaining. The damage to property has been great and may be greater. Thousands tonight are houseless, while hundreds of families are in second stories, without the means of making fires.”
The waters calmed, but the rains did not abate until February 1861 and some of the puddles from the flood did not dry up until the following August.
It was during the flood that Leland Stanford had to be taken by rowboat to his inauguration as governor.
If the three previous major floods had only sparked a desire for protection, the great flood of the winter of 1861-62 opened the citizenry’s eyes to the death that could be brought from life-giving waters.
The “Levee City” had then become a community with indomitable spirit, which led to major changes in how Sacramento approached and prepared for flood control.

Elks Lodge No. 6 patrons enjoyed Crab Feed on Jan. 12. The dinner included: no host cocktails, crab, shrimp, antipasta, pasta, green salad, garlic bread. There was a huge follow and the event was open to the public.