January 24, 2008

NEWS BRIEFS

Latter Day Saints Church welcomes Yoshihiko and Koshiya Kikuchi

Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi, a General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will visit San Jose with his wife Toshiko Koshiya Kikuchi for a three-day conference Jan. 25-27. They will be hosted by stake President Richard A. Hunter and his wife Nan.

Elder Kikuchi will teach and train members of the church and their friends at three events. The first will be on Friday at 7 p.m. where he will visit with all youth age 12 to 18. On Saturday, he will meet with adults from 7 to 9 p.m., and his final meeting will be Sunday morning from 9 to 11 a.m. All of the meetings will be held at 5700 Comanche Drive, San Jose.

Elder Kikuchi was born in Hokkaido in the northern part of Japan. Five months after he was born, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was bombed. Shortly before the end of the war, Yoshihiko's father, serving in the Japanese military, died in an American bombing raid. Elder Kikuchi grew up struggling to help his mother and four siblings survive. In 1968 he graduated from Tokyo Asia University with a degree in Business Psychology and Management. He became an executive in a large Japanese cookware company. He and his wife are the parents of four children; they reside in Salt Lake City.

Not too late to join Positive Parenting classes

Almaden Valley Counseling Service is holding its winter session of their popular STEP Positive Parenting classes. The classes are based on the Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) model and are designed to help parents meet the challenges of raising their children.

Participants learn to build self-esteem and responsibility; encourage cooperation and problem solving; implement discipline vs. punishment; and resolve conflicts.

The classes are held one night a week for seven weeks, from 7:15 – 9:15 p.m.

The schedule is: School age on Mondays starting Feb. 4; teenage on Wednesdays starting Feb. 6; and preschool age on Thursdays starting Feb. 7.

The fee is $110 for one parent or $165 for a couple.

If you are interested in attending this session or would like to be added to the mailing list for future classes, call the agency at (408) 997-0200, or e-mail staff@avcounseling.org or download the class registration form from www.avcounseling.org.

Learn about grafting fruit trees at World Garden Workshop

Learn to graft fruit trees at Metropolitan Adult Education Program’s (MAEP) new free-of-charge World Garden Workshop on Feb. 2, at the Erikson Adult Center located at 4849 Pearl Ave.

Master Gardener Bader Kudsi will teach gardeners of all skill levels how to graft different varieties of fruit trees. Kudsi has taught grafting techniques for the Master Gardeners throughout Santa Clara County.

The free workshop will be held, rain or shine, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., at the Erikson Adult Center (room to be announced). The World Garden is located on the southwestern edge of the Erikson Adult Center campus.  Look for the redwood trees and the greenhouse roof after entering the fenced parking lot on Minas Drive, off Pearl Avenue.

To register for the free workshop, call (408) 723-6450 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and ask to have your name added to the February World Garden Workshop list, or e-mail ritab@metroed.net. Sign-up early, space is limited.

Red Cross seeks nominations for Local Real Heroes Award Breakfast

The American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter is asking Silicon Valley residents, companies and organizations to nominate individuals, who reside or work in Santa Clara County, and whose extraordinary acts of courage or kindness make them a hero to be honored at the second Annual Santa Clara Valley Real Heroes Breakfast on Wednesday, May 21at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose. The deadline to submit nominations is March 13.

“A hero can be someone who bravely acts in a time of immediate need or someone who simply lives his or her life in a way that shows they care for those around them. Real heroes are ordinary people whose actions demonstrate the potential that is in all of us. If someone is a hero in your eyes, I encourage you to nominate them," says honorary event chair, Peter Hero, a senior advisor to the CEO of Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

Nominations for the heroic acts of local residents that took place between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2007 are being accepted in the following categories:

* Animal Rescue Hero - An animal that has protected a human or another animal in a time of need, or a person who has rescued an animal from a traumatic situation.

* Education Hero - An adult or youth who used life-saving skills to save or attempt to save the life or lives of others in a school or other educational setting.

* Good Samaritan - Adult (21 years old and up) - An adult who used life-saving skills to save or attempt to save the life or lives of others.

* Good Samaritan - Youth (under the age of 21) - A youth who used life-saving skills to save or attempt to save the life or lives of others.

* Law Enforcement Hero - A professional law enforcement officer (sheriff, police, FBI, highway patrol, etc.) whose life-saving action went beyond the scope of their job to help another in critical need.

* Medical Professional Hero - A medical professional (doctors, nurses, EMT/paramedics, hospital/clinic staff, etc.) whose life-saving action went beyond the scope of their job to help another in critical need.

* Military Hero - A member of the armed forces (active, reserve, retired, commissioned or non-commissioned) whose life-saving action during active duty status went beyond the scope of their job to help another in critical need.

* Professional Rescuer Hero - A professional rescuer (firefighter, lifeguard, etc.) whose life-saving action went beyond the scope of their job to help another in critical need.

* Workplace Hero - An individual who used life-saving skills to save or attempt to save the life or lives of others at his or her place of employment or on a job site.

A selection committee of leading members of the Silicon Valley community will choose real Hero Award recipients. Heroes are selected based on the degree to which their acts of heroism uphold the values of the American Red Cross and leave a lasting and positive impact on the residents of Silicon Valley.

All nominees must work or reside in Santa Clara County; the heroic acts may have occurred elsewhere. Self-nominations are not permitted. All nominations will be subject to further verification and validation. All nominee information will be shared with the Heroes selection committee and the general public with a two-minute biographical video.

Nominations for Real Heroes Awards can be submitted to the American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter online at www.santaclaravalley.redcross.org. You can also download a PDF of the nomination form from the Web site and mail the completed form to Real Heroes Breakfast Selection Committee, American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter, 2731 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134 or fax the completed form to (408) 577-2050. The American Red Cross Santa Clara Valley Chapter must receive nominations by March 13.

Tabard Theatre to hold auditions for 'Pandemonium'

The Tabard Theatre Company will be holding auditions for "Pandemonium," a comic and innovative twist on the tale of Pandora's box. This is the theater's third and final world premier of its seventh season.

Auditions will be held on Saturday, Feb. 2 by appointment only. To set up an audition, call (408) 979-0231 or e-mail cathy@tabardtheatre.org.

The roles include adult and child actors ranging in age from 5 to 45 to portray over 17 human, animal and fantasy creatures, including the evils unleashed from Pandora's box. Tabard is looking for people from a diverse background of ethnicity, age (from 5 to adult), and theatre experience, with a willingness to explore the characters and authentically represent them from a cultural perspective.

Rehearsals are set to begin in late March for performances running April 24 to May 10 at the Theatre on San Pedro Square in downtown San Jose.

The play was written and will be directed by Tabard associate artistic director Susannah Greenwood.