Water-wise poster winners get awards

Laguna Beach County Water District held its annual poster contest for

the water awareness month of May. More than 140 submissions were

received from first through fifth-grade Laguna students. This year’s

theme was “Be Water Smart! Laguna Beach Digs Water-Wise Gardens.”

The top six contestants included Anna Heitmann, Tomora O’Hara,

Dina Romeo and Peighton McRobie from El Morro Elementary School, and

Makenzie Fischer and Julian Rymar from Top of the World Elementary

School.

Water district commission Chairman Bruce Scherer and district

Commissioner Deborah Neev will present awards to the winners at 4:40

p.m. May 10 at district headquarters, 306 Third St. The students will

each receive a $15 art supply gift certificate and a T-shirt with

their winning design. The artwork will be on display at district

headquarters through May 14.

Boys & Girls Club holds Surfin’ Safari

Laguna Beach Boys & Girls Club will hosts its 5th Annual Art of

Giving Gala fundraiser, “Surfin’ Safari,” today at the Ritz Carlton,

Laguna Niguel. The event will offer fun and creative celebrating,

including cocktails, silent auction, dinner, live auction and a

drawing to win a new BMW 2005 325i. The evening will end with dancing

to the live surf tunes of West Coast Surfers.

Event co-Chairs Susie Kubesh and Anne Morris organized the

fundraiser, which will offer more than $100,000 worth of items to be

auctioned, including trips, Tom Swimm’s painting “Canale Di San

Marco,” fine jewelry and more.

Accentuating the “Surfin’ Safari” theme, renowned local board

maker and board member John Pribram handcrafted a 9-foot Ecuadorian

balsa wood surfboard. This rare, high-performance surfboard will be

auctioned to raise money for the club’s after school and summer

enrichment programs that serve more than 800 local kids.

For information, call Kim Maxwell at (949) 494-2535, ext. 101.

Foreign exchange students need host

The Laguna Beach American Field Service High School foreign

student exchange program has two more weeks to find host families for

next year’s visiting exchange students.

Each year the group hosts three or four AFS students at the high

school and send several local students to host countries for

summer-long, semester-long or year-long programs.

Volunteer host families provide a bed, food, and transportation to

school. Orange County AFS has a support network to assist families

interested in hosting. Single adults as well as families can

volunteer. Visiting students often share a bedroom with a child from

the host family.

Next year’s 16 and 17-year-old students will come from Thailand,

Chili, Germany and Norway. The students’ bios are available. To speak

with current host families and meet this year’s exchange students,

call Barbara Hawthorne and Randy Ray, at (949) 376-5913, or go to

www.afs.org/usa for more information.

‘Out on the Town’ raises funds and fun

For the third year in a row, some 125 parents and school staff

enjoyed a night “Out on the Town”, raising $5,000 for Thurston Middle

School’s PTA. After their three-year stint, co-chairs Kathleen Moore

and Caroline Wright will pass the hat to future organizers of

Thurston Middle School’s spring fundraiser. Interested volunteers are

encouraged to contact Thurston’s PTA to carry on this great event.

Laguna graduate joins Peace Corps

Daniel John Lyons, son of Jim and Carolyn Lyons of Laguna Beach,

was accepted to serve in the Peace Corps and has been assigned as a

Community Health Promoter in Mozambique.

Lyons graduated Cum Laude from California State University,

Monterey Bay with a bachelors degree in social and behavioral

science. He was a 2000 graduate of Laguna Beach High School.

Register for free adult ESL program

Laguna Beach Unified School District is offering free adult

education programs in English as a second language. The class meets

5:30-8:30 p.m. Monday to Thursdays in room 90, behind the public

swimming pool at Manzanita Street and Park Avenue. Participants can

register with the instructor. For information, call (949) 497-7700,

ext. 210.