RETIRING FROM BRANHAM: Los Gatan Iris Berke will retire as principal of Branham High this month. She was hired to reopen that school in 1998. So she has directed both a startup—Branham—and a turnaround—Foothill High in Pleasanton, which earned distinguished school status under her tenure.
Some highlights for Berke and Branham this year include Branham being recognized for its diversity: a Gay and Straight Alliance Club was formed to give all students a voice. And a successful lockdown was accomplished when, at closing time, an armed intruder was reported in the school vicinity. After students were corralled back into school, the intruder was arrested in the parking lot.
Before her Branham days, Berke served as director of educational services in the LGSaratoga High district, a position similar to that of assistant superintendent.
Berke is one of four longtime educators leaving Branham this month. The others are Diane Jones, activities director; Susie Morris, athletic director; and Sue Flowers, guidance adviser. The four all received certificates to Los Gatos Spa from the Branham staff. And they all four vow they'll spend the first day of school in the fall luxuriating at the spa.
BIRDATHON: The birdathon team of Linda Johnson and Laurie and Rick Roberts raised $2,828 in the Silicon Valley Audubon Society fundraiser last month, which put them third overall. And, Laurie won first place as individual money raiser at $2,703. Her prize: two Southwest Airlines tickets to anywhere the line flies.
The trio identified 100 birds in their wet, daylong effort. The entire birdathon brought in more than $24,000. Last year's total was $16,000. My apologies to Linda for giving her a different first name in an earlier article about the birdathon.
WARM REMEMBRANCES: One Los Gatan who has very warm, personal reminiscences of President Ronald Reagan is Carla Dougher, an intern for Reagan after he left office, while he was setting up the Simi Valley Reagan Library. Dougher was an intern in scheduling and planning in '91, shortly before the library opened.
"He was a charming and wonderful man, very down to earth," she says. "Always making jokes and grateful for whatever you did for him, very personable." Since the former president came to the office daily, she saw quite a bit of him, dropped off press clippings at his home a couple of times.
One time the clippings fell, scattering all over, and the Reagans and Dougher got down on hands and knees to pick them up, the former president in pajamas and bathrobe. Dougher was impressed with the couple's lack of pretense. Today the former intern is assistant to the CEO of eBay.
SLOVAK CD: The Actors—Geri and Lee—are just back from a trip to Bratislava, where they hired the Slovak Radio Orchestra to record a CD of Lee's orchestral works. Hiring an orchestra is the only way another conductor will listen to new CDs, Geri reports.
Lee picked this orchestra and conductor because they sounded good, have many recordings to their credit, and the conductor came highly recommended by other composers.
Additionally, Lee wanted to record through a record label, because the end result is a promoted CD, available on Amazon.com, etc. Lee is director of the Palo Alto Philharmonic.
BOOKISH BOARD: Three new board members were added to the board of Friends of Los Gatos Library recently. They are Heather Cady, Lilo Campean and Amanda Jaramillo. Friends cleared $1,782 in its latest bimonthly book sale.
Money raised is used for library enhancements: a particular focus for Friends is funding the children's programs. Money to buy the self-check machine at the library also came from Friends' coffers.
Library Director Peggy Conaway reports that 46 percent of books checked out of the library these days are self-checked. This fact frees library staffers to attend to other chores in these stripped-down days.
Before leaving on summer vacation, avid readers may find the used-book section of the library beckoning beguilingly. These paperbacks cost but 50 cents and can be left behind at destinations. Besides, the money raised ultimately aids the library.
A sure sign of budget woes: The library will be losing eight hours of operation come Aug. 1. It will open at noon instead of 10 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday; and close at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday. In happier news, $35,000 was restored to the budget by the council for library materials.
CLEANUP CREW: Michelle Nelson, along with neighbor Laura Van den Dries, and her daughters Nikka, 9, and Chloe, 5, decided a good deed was in keeping for Memorial Day. So they cleaned up the trail and creek from Bicknell Road to Rinconada Park, a distance of about a quarter mile.
The quartet swept the paved section and collected a bagful of trash.
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By Mary Ann Cook