CITYSCAPE ROUNDUP:

Some of Huntington Beach’s adopted battalion of Marines are reporting for duty to wash your car this weekend. Members of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines will hold two simultaneous car washes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

“Come down and you can shake hands with some heroes,” said former Mayor Dave Sullivan, chairman of the 3/1 Marines Committee, at Monday’s City Council meeting.

Proceeds will go to the Huntington Beach 3/1 Marines Foundation, which organizes community support for the battalion.

Wives of Marines will also attend both events to sell baked goods.

The car washes will be at First Christian Church, 1207 Main St., and in front of Orchard Supply Hardware in the SeaCliff Shopping Center, 19330 Goldenwest St.

Auction raises $34,000 for Natalie Buchoz

A silent auction this weekend to raise money for spine-injured Huntington Beach teen Natalie Buchoz was a complete success, father Tad Buchoz said. In all, the 105 items up for bid raised more than $34,000.

“We’re kind of at a loss for words,” Buchoz said. “It was such an amazing event. It was just hundreds of people, and everybody was there just to support Natalie. We’ve gotten so much feedback from the community on how great my daughter looked, on how healthy she looked.”

The money will go toward building an accessible room downstairs that Natalie can reach in her wheelchair, Buchoz said. It also helps with rehabilitation sessions at Project Walk in Carlsbad, a program not covered by his insurance but which the family believes is her best chance at walking again.

“This auction money raised will allow us to be able to go there as much as we need and get her back on her feet again,” Buchoz said.

Walking club draws 150 parents, children

The California Dairy Council has partnered with the Ocean View School District to start a weekly walking club.

Dori Coetzee of the Dairy Council said the program is intended to help promote healthy activities for school children.

“We want to draw attention to how they can challenge themselves,” Coetzee said.

Parents and children will walk 1.2 miles of Huntington Central Park the first three Saturdays in March and the first three Saturdays in April at 9 a.m.

The March 1 meeting drew about 150 walkers who each received a pedometer and educational materials.

Participants have assignments to do throughout the week such as attaining a certain number of steps each day.

Coetzee said she expected most of the participants to be elementary school age children and their parents but found the students who signed up were varied.

“It is all over the board,” Coetzee said. “There’s some middle school kids, there’s high school kids.”

If the pilot program proves successful, Coetzee said the council may consider widening the programs to other Huntington Beach school districts.

For more information, call Coetzee at (949) 756-7892 or e-mail dcoetzee@ dairycouncilofca.org.

Residents get 25% off Surf City Store items

The Surf City Store, which sells products carrying the city’s “Surf City, Huntington Beach” trademark logo, is celebrating its 15th year in partnership with the city. Over that time, the store has sold about 500,000 products bearing the local.

In celebration of the anniversary, anyone with proof of Huntington Beach residency will receive a 25% discount at the store through the end of March.

The store is on Huntington Beach Pier. For more information, call (714) 374-0277.