Santa Visits Coffee Corner for Story Time

Not a mouse was in sight, and children were definitely not snuggled in their beds on Saturday, December 3, as Santa arrived at Coffee Corner in Santee to read stories and share the holiday spirit. Santa’s elves, who double as the coffee shop’s baristas during the regular year, were on hand to help with the fun. About 15 boys and girls and about two dozen adults gathered to kick off the Christmas season.

The Santa reading event was the brainchild of Santee resident and radio host (101 KGB FM) Clint August as a way to benefit both the community and his favorite coffee shop. “I started it with Duane Parks (owner of Coffee Corner) because I love seeing children get in the spirit of Christmas and I love the coffee shop. I figured it’s such a great, intimate location to have families come from Santee. They can see their children smile while meeting Santa.”

Before Santa’s “arrival,” the barista elves entertained the children, clowning around and pretending they were unable to find where the jolly old elf was. When he did appear, Santa explained that before he read the stories they had to light the decorated tree at the shop. He then went around and had each child touch a tree-topper star to start the “magic” needed to light the tree when it was put in place.

This year families were asked to bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Santee Santas, a local organization that provides food and presents to needy families during the holiday season. In addition to the toys, food and nearly $100 were donated to help make the season a little brighter for some local families.

Photographer Penny Wilkinson was on hand taking pictures of the kids as they perched on Santa’s lap and shared their Christmas lists. According to August, the crowd was about one-third larger than the previous year. Asked about plans for the future, he said Santa would be returning every year for the foreseeable future. “I’d love to get my boys as Santa’s helpers one day,” August indicated. “Certainly all of the elves that were there last night would be great to have again. They were fantastic.”

Coffee Corner owner Parks later posted his appreciation on his Facebook page: “thank you to everyone who stopped by The Coffee Corner last night to visit with Santa…. It was truly a magical night… Many toys, food and nearly $100 were all donated to a local (Santee Santa’s). Thanks to Santa for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit with our kids, and thanks to his lovely elves who kept us organized and entertained (you girls are great elves, and Awesome Baristas too. Special thanks Penny Wilkinson and Chris Carmichael for capturing the evening on camera. God is good!”

For anyone who missed the event and would like to help Santee Santas, you can visit their website to find out more information.

Santee Santas Need Your Help

(L-R) Laura Plante, Sam Modica and Vicki Cecil of Santee Santas at the Santee Car Show

The following is a press release from Santee Santas explaining the great need they have for help this holiday season. I have written about the Santas before, and I encourage readers to get involved with the group, even if it is just a small donation.

Santee Santas Prepare for High Demand this Holiday Season
As the economic downturn continues, Santee Santas brace for high demand; Seek help from local businesses and residents

SANTEE, CA, November 8, 2011 (For Immediate Release) – As the holiday season begins to pick up steam, the Santee Santas are already in full swing of their holiday preparations to ensure that every Santee resident enjoys some holiday cheer.

Santee Santas is an all-volunteer, non-profit, organization bringing comfort and joy to Santee residents by providing food and gifts, especially during the holiday season.  Each family who receives assistance is able to get a holiday meal and enough staples to last a few weeks. Each child receives toys or gift cards depending on their age as well as books.

“With the current state of the economy, we are anticipating even greater demands this year than we saw in 2010,” says Gail Ramer, Vice Chairman of Santee Santas. “When you add to this fact that so many local businesses are suffering, we are hoping that those who are able, will step up and help us meet the needs of so many hurting Santee residents.”

For those who can help, donations of new unwrapped toys and books, as well as non-perishable food items, are currently being accepted at over 30 drop box locations throughout Santee. Cash donations are also always encouraged.  Cash donations can be mailed to Santee Santas Foundation, P.O. Box 710033, Santee, CA 92072-0033 or through PayPal via the Santee Santas Website.

For those in need, applications will be accepted on Saturday, November 12, 2011 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm at Santee City Hall at 10601 N. Magnolia, Building 8.  Applications will also be accepted on November 16 from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm and November 29 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at Santee Fire Station #4 at 8950 Cottonwood Avenue.  Blank applications are available at all Santee School Offices, Santee Chamber of Commerce, the Santee Library or by visiting www.santeesantas.org.
Santee Santas has been bringing the spirit of the holidays to the Santee Community for more than fifty years.  In 2010, Santee Santas assisted 203 families, including 397 children and delivered 150 flower arrangements to seniors at mobile home parks and 100 Stuffed animals were given to residents at Stanford Court Nursing Home.

For more information about Santee Santas, including a complete list of toy and food drop-off locations, or to make a donation online, please visit www.santeesantas.org.

Thank You Santee!

Santee Car Show draws thousands

The second annual Santee Car Show attracted thousands of visitors to the community on Saturday, October 8. The event featured classic cars, great music by Moondawgs and 4 Lads from Liverpool, and a wide variety of vendors. The big winners on the day were the Santee Santas and Santee Food Bank, two community groups that received support and increased awareness through the event.

(L-R) Laura Plante, Sam Modica and Vicki Cecil of Santee Santas at the Santee Car Show

Santee Santas is a non-profit organization that has been providing support to low income seniors and families in the community since 1953. The all-volunteer group works with the Santee School District to identify students and families who need assistance at the holidays and throughout the year. The Family Emergency Fund is available at any time of the year, while the Holiday Food and Toy Program focuses on providing assistance at the holidays. The group also has a Senior Outreach Program that works to make sure that seniors in the community are not forgotten about during the year. Sam Modica, one of the organization’s directors explained that being a part of the Car Show “gives us quite a bit of exposure to the community that we didn’t have in years past.” The group hopes that its attendance at the Car Show and the Santee Street Fair will help bring in both donations and volunteers to help the organization throughout the year.

Sandy Olewine (L) and Marsi Walker (R) of Santee Food Bank

The second organization, Santee Food Bank, has been helping families in Santee since 1988, and has found its services in much greater demand since the start of the Great Recession. Another all-volunteer group, the Food Bank provides once-a-month assistance to needy low and middle income families in the community. Marsi Walker, Public Affairs Director, said that the exposure at the Car Show is a great benefit for the Food Bank in its efforts to reach out the the greater community for volunteers and donations. “The fact that the Chamber is so supportive of us and sponsors the Car Show to help benefit the Food Bank means so much to us,” said Walker. “We are out here giving out flyers inviting people to come and work at the Food Bank, to give their time and energy and service, and we have collection cans throughout the show for donations.”

One of the biggest draws for the Car Show was the raffle of a restored 1967 Ford Mustang GT, sponsored by the Santee Chamber of Commerce. Only 2000 tickets were sold at $20 each, with money going to the Santee Santas and the Santee Food Bank. The car was restored by Lloyd’s Collision and Repair of Santee, with help from San Diego Mustang Shop, Mark’s Auto Glass, Mark Luhr’s Custom Upholstery and Xpress Muffler. Bob Lloyd, owner of Lloyd’s Collision and a member of the Santee Chamber of Commerce, said that the raffle had been so popular that the Chamber plans to repeat it next year, possibly with a classic Chevy Camaro.

(L-R) Miss Teen Santee Savannah Keener, Miss Santee Maria Maes, and "Mr. Santee" Rob McNelis

Also on hand for the show were Miss Santee, Maria Maes, and Miss Teen Santee, Savannah Keener, who helped choose two of the winning cars in the show. “It was so difficult coming through and picking our favorite cars,” said Savannah. “There were so many people out here with their special cars.” Maria echoed her teen counterpart’s enthusiasm. “Coming to the Car Show was amazing. All of the beautiful cars we saw, and we got to choose our favorite cars. It was a tough decision.”

After the success of the second Car Show, it’s no surprise that planning is already under way for the third edition, scheduled for early October, 2012. The next major event in Santee will be the Santee Holiday Lighting Celebration in November, followed by the annual Santee Street Fair in May, 2012.

Win a Classic Mustang at the Santee Car Show

Win this 1967 Ford Mustang at the 2011 Santee Car Show

The second annual Santee Car Show is coming up on Saturday, October 8, and this year the Santee Chamber of Commerce will be raffling off a classic 1967 Ford Mustang to help raise funds for the Santee Santas and the Santee Food Bank. Only 2000 of the $20 tickets will be sold, so odds are much better than the Lottery. The Chamber has been selling the tickets at regular events and at special displays around town, including at the Santee Wine & Bluegrass Festival and in front of local stores. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the Car Show.

2010 Santee Car Show Grand Trophy Winner

The first Santee Car Show was a great success, with over 10,000 visitors attending. The first show included over 175 classic cars, trucks and motorcycles, music, games, vendor booths, and much more. This year the show will include over 200 vehicles, plus a display by the Early Day Gas Engine & Tractor Association. As before, there will be games, rides, and over food and vendor booths. The big draw this year – besides the cars – will be musical guest 4 Lads from Liverpool, a top Beatles tribute band. The Lads will be performing on stage in the afternoon, followed by a photo session at the Beatles Fan Club booth nearby. A portion of the funds raised from the photos will go to the event’s fundraising efforts.

For more information visit the Santee Car Show website.

Read about the 2010 Santee Car Show.

New Review for Mast Park Plans

The City of Santee has announced a third public review of the proposed Master Plan for Mast Park. This public comment session will be on the preferred design alternative from Schmidt Design Group. The public workshop will take place on Thursday, October 6, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Santee City Hall Complex, Building 7, 10601 Magnolia Ave.

Mast Park is the largest and oldest of Santee’s city parks, and the design and review process has been ongoing since early summer. The goal is to allow as much community input as possible to make help guide the future for this great resource. So far the community workshops have provided a number of ideas that Schmidt Design Group has incorporated into the current plan. One major area of focus has been on health and wellness, and part of the funding for the project is coming from a San Diego County Association of Governments (SANDAG) Healthy Communities Planning Grant. The grant itself is part of a county effort to address the nationwide obesity “epidemic.”

As it now stands, the plan addresses several important areas that community members insisted the designers include:

• Keeping the park’s “natural, rustic character”
• Providing additional picnic shelters for large groups and new picnic pavillions
• Replacing the restroom facilities with newer, more efficient facilities
• Dividing the current 2.4 acre off-leash dog park into separate large and small dog areas
• Create an area for fitness equipment and a one-mile trail loop for hiking/walking
• Provide an additional 60 parking spaces

The city would like to have everything in place to make a final decision either late this year or early next year.

Vandals Strike Lions Club Sensory Garden

Just five short months ago A.D. “Ike” Enzenauer stood in front of a group of Rancho Santee Lions Club members, local dignitaries, and associated friends to help dedicate the Lions Club’s Sensory Garden at Santee Lakes. Now it seems that unknown individuals have decided that the community does not deserve this treasure. In July someone had removed the braille plaques that provide sight-impaired visitors with information about the plants in the garden and thrown them around the area. Then in August a number of plants were pulled from the garden.

This month Enzenauer sent a letter to Santee Patch (“Vandalism at the Santee Lions Sensory Garden”) about the events, asking for community help in finding the culprits and ending the destruction of this special community treasure. Scouting Santee would like to echo this request and ask that anyone with information contact the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, Santee Patch, or this blog. In addition, if you would consider donating to help the Lions Club replace and repair the damage caused, it would go far toward restoring Santee’s reputation as a caring and concerned community. Let’s all work together to keep Santee special.

Santee Patch: Steve Bartholow at Steven.Bartholow@patch.com

San Diego Sheriff’s Department (non-emergency): 858-565-5200 or online at  https://apps.sdsheriff.net/ecrimereport/emailvalidation.aspx

Previous Scouting Santee story: Lions Club Sensory Garden Opens at Santee Lakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santee to hold meeting on Mast Park’s future

The City of Santee will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, August 17, at 7:00 p.m. on the new Master Plan for Mast Park. The open workshop will present three different design plans from Schmidt Design Group for pubic comment. The three plans were developed based on input from the June 2 workshop where residents were able to provide initial input to the group. Some of the ideas proposed at that earlier meeting included adding teen-focused features, splitting the dog run area into large and small dog sections, and providing more picnic shelters for large groups.

Mast Park, at 95 acres, is the largest as well as the oldest public park in Santee. The goal of the new Master Plan will be to provide direction for the future of the park. All residents are welcome to come and view the plans. The meeting will be held in Building 7 of the City Hall complex at 10601 N. Magnolia Ave.

TG Harris to present Business/Life Coaching Seminar

Terry Harris, owner of TG Harris Consulting, will present a business and life coaching seminar on The Power of Coaching at Coffee Corner on Thursday, August 18, 2011. The event will include Mr. Harris’ talk on how the Power of Positive Thinking can lay the foundation for personal and professional growth, as well as a short testimonial by radio personality Clint August. There will also be a question-and-answer session following the talks. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. and will run until around 8:00 p.m. Space is limited, so RSVPs are required.

With over 25 years of experience in the corporate and entrepreneurial worlds, Mr. Harris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his business and life coaching endeavors. In addition to working with Clint August, Mr. Harris has coached a wide variety of small business owners and individuals, from spa owners to photographers to firefighters. He has a degree in psychology and is experienced in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

For more information on the seminar, visit the Facebook Event page. For more information about TG Harris Consulting, visit the website.

Assemblyman Brian Jones to host ice cream social

Former Santee City Councilman and current State Assemblyman Brian Jones will host an ice cream social to celebrate the grand opening of his new District Office at 10152 Mission Gorge Rd. The event takes place on Thursday, August 18, and runs from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. You can expect a large gathering of local business owners and politicians, as Jones has been an active participant in Santee’s growth over the past several years. To RSVP for the celebration, contact Gail Ramer at 619-441-2322.

Congressman Hunter to sponsor job fair

On Friday, August 26, Congressman Duncan D. Hunter will host a community job fair, in partnership with the East County Career Center. The event will take place at the Cuyamaca Community College student center and will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This will be the Congressman’s second of the year, and the job fairs have become something of a tradition for the two-term representative from East County. Several thousand people have taken advantage of the events to meet prospective employers, and many have been successful in finding a job.

In a post on his Congressional website, Representative Hunter said, “Each event has been a success and what I’m hearing from local businesses and job seekers is to keep them coming.  Job fairs are a great way to bring together employers and those who are looking for work or interested in a career change.  And if a job fair helps put at least one person back to work, it’s all the more reason to start planning the next one.”

One of Hunter’s first job fairs, in February, 2010, drew between 1500 and 2000 job seekers to meet with representatives from over three dozen local businesses. At the time, the Congressman pointed out that California was suffering from not only the nation-wide economic downturn, but high taxes and regulations that were driving companies out of the state or out of business. In an interview, he mentioned that Texas was offering special tax incentives to companies to move there from California. None of this has changed appreciably since then – at least not in a positive way.

For more information, you can visit Hunter’s Congressional website (link above). If you are a business owner and would like to take part in the job fair, you can find a registration form here or on the website.

For a story on the February, 2010, job fair, click here.