The Queen of Hearts ride and festival to raise money for breast cancer is Saturday and organizer Mary Burdick says about 200 motorcyclists will be participating.
The ride begins at The Roadrunner parking lot and the FREE festival that follows in the afternoon is at Adams Park.
If you are among them you will be eligible for some big drawing prizes, such as a trip for two to the Bahamas, including hotel and airfare and a condo rental for two.
There’s also a golf foursome at Woods Valley Golf Course, a movie night basket and a Harley-Davidson clock.
This autumn adventure includes a 100-mile Backcountry trip that begins in The Roadrunner parking lot and winds along beautiful country roads to Julian and back.
This will be followed by a free family-friendly festival at Adams Park featuring music by the Working Cowboy Band.
The festival at Adams Park runs from 2–5 p.m. There will be food and live entertainment. Meet master of ceremonies Estha Trouw, Channel 6 anchor, Stan Miller, Channel 10 anchor, and Carol’s Crew, a group of women who will join cancer survivor Carol Mohrbacher in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk, Nov.9–11.
The money raised in the Queen of Hearts run will be directed to cancer research via Carol’s Crew.
Besides the silent auction you can buy a ride in a Harley-Davidson Electraglide sidecar, and have a photo of you with your bike taken by a professional photographer. You can also enjoy the Adams Park swimming pool which will be open for the kids.
Registration to ride in the rally run is from 10 a.m.– noon at The Roadrunner, (for pre-registration call 749-1112 or go online to www.queenofheartsride.com ).
Tickets are sold out for Valley Center Community Theatre’s first ever fund-raising event, A Night On Broadway, which will be held Saturday, Sept 22, 7 p.m. at St.Stephen’s Hall.
Ticket holders are reminded that the show starts promptly at 7 p.m., but ticket holders are requested to arrive at 6:30 p.m. when the doors open.
Since the show is sold out, no tickets will be sold at the door.
According to a spokesman for the group, 257 will be attending the show.
Julie Stroh is catering the event. We are having a broadway revue with a number of people from our community involved.
Many community sponsors provided items for the auction and drawing. Perhaps the most unique is one provided by the Valley Center Firefighters: “Be A Firefighter For A Day!”
Excerpts will be performed from the following Broadway shows:
Godspell & Jesus Christ Super Star: Dave Wickham and the St. Stephen's Youth Choir
Annie: Kris McCarrick
Mary Poppins medley: Jordan Beck, Laurel Wasserman, Brendan Beck, Sydney Horst, Lesly and Hannah Grefe, Jeffrey and Michael Yarush, Laine and Taylor West, Alexandra Baum, Charlotte and Riley McCarrick, Abby Shaw and Rose Veltri
Oklahoma!: Marsi Carr
Sound of Music: Kelsey Schwarz, Alex Carr, Jack Sloman, Laura Dangel, Sevan Soghomonian.
Fiddler on the Roof: Patty & Guy Guthrie
King and I: Stephan Horst, Kimberly Horst, Mary Evert, John Paul Evert
Grease: David Sichmeller, Sammi Carr
Mulan: Casey Horst
Summer Stock: Christy Winn
Carousel: Kelly Miller
Wicked: Cherelle Shaw and Laralee Beck
Playing during intermission will be the Beck Family Jazz Band.
Some of the prizes that will be auctioned off include three days and two nights in a Lake Tahoe cabin; golf for four, with a golf cart at Woods Valley Golf Club, and a stay at Harrah’s, including dinner for two.
The VC Parks & Rec. District wants your input on what it should do to develop the 9.5 acres that it owns on the corner of Lilac & Valley Center Roads.
The district board will hold a public hearing on Sept. 27, 7 p.m. at VC Community Hall downstairs.
According to Gen. Mgr. Doug Johnsen, the district’s consultants, Masson & Assoc., will give a presentation and a map of the property.
Right now they are proposing a community and senior citizens center for the land. But the district is open to other suggestions.
There is also land set aside for a trail on the property, although there is no money at present set aside for developing it.
Board Pres. Eric Jockinsen will conduct the hearing.
Speakers will be limited to three minutes. Written comments can also be submitted at that time, or mailed or dropped off to the district.
The mailing address is: Valley Center Parks & Rec., P.O. 141, Valley Center CA 92082.
Questions? Call the district office at 749-8852.
Residents of Palomar Mountain are waiting to see whether the governor will sign a bill that will continue funding the little one-room school house for another year.
The legislature last week passed Senate Bill 667, Senator Dennis Hollingsworth’s legislation to provide extra funding necessary for Palomar Mountain School to continue to operate.
After passing the Assembly by a wide margin last week, the Senate approved the bill on a 36-1 vote early Wednesday, Sept 12.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has 30 days to sign or veto the bill.
The bill is a temporary stopgap at best on the full funding that Hollingsworth had sought earlier this year but had to give up on passing in this session. He is expected to try to get the funding passed again next year.
The last such bill passed by the legislature, which would have permanently designated the one-room schoolhouse as a Necessary Small School was vetoed by Gov. Gray Davis.
Palomar Mountain School is the last operating one-room schoolhouse in San Diego County and serves 10–12 students in grades K–8 every year.
This year the school has an enrollment of seven students, much less than the 11 students that the school district says it needs to break even in funding the school. Three of the seven students are eighth graders who will be promoted from school at the end of this school year.
For several years the school has been in danger of being closed.
Hollingsworth commented this week: “It is essential to keep Palomar Mountain School open because it plays a key role in attracting top scientific talent to the world famous Palomar Observatory. If it closes, the students will be bussed forty minutes down a treacherous and windy road, oftentimes in poor weather, to the nearest school. That is simply unacceptable.”
Hollingsworth introduced SB 667 after learning of the financial difficulties faced by VCPUSD. The bill was also supported by the San Diego County Office of Education and the Director of the Palomar Observatory.
SB 667 now goes to the Governor for his signature, and he will have 30 days to decide its fate.
If he signs the bill, the extra funding will go to the District on January 1, 2008.
Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District Supt. Lou Obermeyer told The Roadrunner: “Our district has worked with the Palomar community, Senator Hollingsworth’s office, the Observatory, and San Diego County Office of Education to encourage full support for this bill.
“I have testified at Senate and Assembly hearings along with Senator Hollingworth to request on-going financial support for the school. While I am pleased that the district may receive the one-time funding, I’m disappointed that the requested necessary small schools funding that would have given us on-going funds was not approved.”
You can expect to see a hotel rising next to the Valley View Casino by the end of the decade, according to new general manager Michael A. Gorczynski.
The Roadrunner conducted an exclusive interview with Gorczynski last week.
Universally known as “Mike,” he has inherited as well as adopted the informal, casual style of his predecessor, Bruce Howard, who spent the last few years creating a successful business culture model that Gorczynski appears comfortable to inhabit.
Why not? He helped Howard to develop it. And, he says, it makes it easy for him to step from his role as chief financial officer to general manager.
“We really have a good thing going,” he says.
Gorczynski has served as the vice president of finance and CFO at Valley View since 2003 and has been on the San Pasqual Casino Development Group's board of directors since 2004.
His casino career started in Atlantic City at Caesars and the Sands. He also worked several years at the Sheraton in Tunica, Mississippi, and at Station Casino in St. Louis.
Finance was the common thread of all of those casinos.
He announces himself quite comfortable in his new job and location.
“I love it! What’s not to love about San Diego? I think of this as my final stop,” he says. He and his wife and three kids, make their home in nearby Temecula.
Exciting things are happening at Valley View.
On Sept. 17 a new snack bar, somewhat larger than the current one, will open.
In October a new 24-hour restaurant, BLD (breakfast, lunch and dinner) will open. It’s motto is “If you’re hungry, we’re open.”
Other eateries will follow, including a walk up coffee and pastry bar, called “Sweets,” a walk up ice cream parlor called “Scoops,” and the renowned buffet will open in its new permanent location in November.
Giving the competitive nature of the casino business, it was inevitable that Valley View would add a hotel.
“It’s definitely in our future,” he revealed, adding that the hotel will be at the current 30-acre site, not the site overlooking Lake Wohlford that was once discussed as the permanent location for the casino.
“There’s more than enough room right here,” he said. “It would be tough to move now and people know where we are,” he said.
Construction will probably begin in 2009, he said.
Gorczynski, who appears to subscribe to the successful corporate philosophy of “managing by walking around,” by his own account spends a lot of time on the casino floor.
“People LOVE the buffet. They love the cool California feel of the new casino. They can’t wait for the new outlets to open. There’s still a lot of excitement to come,” he said.
That includes something that has been missing: live entertainment. He predicts that customers will enjoy the casino’s first foray into this venue.
Valley View’s management takes the position that the way to keep customers happy is to have happy employees. In keeping with that sentiment the casino in October will open a new dining room for team members that will offer hot entrees and a cooking line with a capacity for 90 diners.
The Valley Roadrunner
P.O.B. 1529, Valley Center, CA 92082
Tel. 760.749.1112 Fax 760.749.1688
Website: www.valleycenter.com
Email: editor@valleycenter.com
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