Borrego Sun - Since 1949

ZISS! BOOM! BAH! An amazing pyrotechnical display is in the works. Yep, it's true: The 2nd Annual West Shores Fireworks Extravaganza is scheduled for Saturday, June 27 at Johnson's Landing. The hijinx starts at 5:00 p.m. and will include craft and food booths (look for yours truly at the West Shores Lions Club booth), games, music and well, who knows what mysteries will unfold? One thing is for certain, though – the fireworks over the Salton Sea are unbeatable as is the sense of small town neighborliness and community. We'll see you there.

New members and new officers. When you read this the 4th Annual West Shores Lions Club Dinner will have taken place on Friday, May 29, 2015 ... God willin' and the crik don't rise. Traditionally held at the Town Pump in Westmorland, the club inducts new members, installs new officers and generally has a whale of a good time. Visitors from other clubs throughout the region (our district, 4L6, encompasses Imperial and San Diego Counties) joined West Shores members. District Governor, Mary Rynearson, will have inducted the new members Linda Boling, Deborah Hess, Mitch Mansfield and Woody Rogers, while District Governor-elect, John Ruiz, of the San Diego North County Club, will have installed the new officers Fred Guibault, President; Paddie Connelly, Vice President; Gerry Adams, Treasurer; Corresponding Secretary, Mary Rynearson; Recording Secretary, Linda Boling; Membership Chair, Mike Friese; and Directors, Pat Brewer, John Connelly, Linda Boling and Woody Rogers. The club meets through the summer on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, at 6:00 p.m., at the POA in Salton Sea Beach. If you are determined to serve your community in uplifting and meaningful ways, I encourage you to visit one of our meetings. We just might be exactly what you're looking for!

Congrats to West Shores High School Senior, Jennifer Gopar, who has won the Bill Gates Millennium Scholarship, a first for the school. The scholarship is for four years at $40,000 per year ++, to attend any college or university in the United States to which she has been accepted. Jennifer has opted to attend UCLA as a precursor to fulfilling her life's goal of working in the medical field. Good for you, Jennifer – we are all so very proud! We'll be watching . . .

In another first for the school, West Shores High School has been awarded membership in the prestigious National Honor Society. Under the sponsorship of Ms. Chou, the group will eventually have 10-15 students selected from the sixty-five students who made the initial academic cut; the final group will have been identified by a panel of five instructors. In order to maintain membership, students must continue to demonstrate the highest academic standards, good character, strong leadership ability and a willingness to be a service to both the education and neighboring community. We're looking for great things! Felicidades!

One more thing. I was watching a press conference about the train wreck outside of Philly. The NTSB spokesperson used a phrase that is certainly well-known to all first responders and investigators – but it was new to me: "perishable evidence." Well, I started thinking about what kinds of evidence we human beings leave in the lives of others-those we love, those we don't, those we know, some we never will. What marks do we set for ourselves to leave kind, wise and graceful evidence of time spent? Could the marks be set a tad higher? Mine certainly could. Should we make a pledge with ourselves to see others as they are and not solely as they appear to be in whatever relationship they have with us? That's tough, to be sure. But maybe that's what some of this existence is about – leaving imperishable evidence of our belief in the innate right-to-be of those who walk with us ... or at least traveling with the thought, and celebrating it, that perhaps the only real truth comes from accepting ourselves and others as we are.

Ciao!