February 17, 2005

NEWS BRIEFS

County Parks in need of volunteers

Be part of the county parks volunteer team. Santa Clara County Parks features monthly trail days the first Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. They take place at a different county park each month. Come help repair, restore or rebuild our county park trails. No experience needed. Tools, gloves and refreshments provided.

Monthly trail days
March - Mt. Madonna
April - Coyote Lake/Bear Ranch
May - Santa Teresa
June - Villa Montalvo
July - Uvas Canyon
August - Stevens Creek

In addition, there are monthly volunteer projects that take place the third Saturday of each month at the County Parks. Help tackle all types of projects ranging from painting and invasive plant removal to letter pickups at locations that are in need. Tools, supplies and refreshments will be provided.

Monthly volunteer projects
March - Penitencia Creek
April - Coyote Lake
May - To be determined-National
River - Cleanup Day
June - Almaden Quicksilver
July - Stevens Creek

Other county parks volunteer opportunities include adopt-a-trail, docents, park friends groups, special events, trail crew lead and trail watch. You must RSVP for these events to take part.

For more information or to RSVP, please contact the parks volunteer coordinator at (408) 355-2254 or beeny.sander@prk.sccgov.org or visit parkhere.org.

—By Jeanne Carbone Lewis

Help us find the Teacher of the Month!’

The Almaden Times Weekly is accepting essays from students honoring the special teachers in their lives. Send us a short (maximum 300-word essay) on your teacher and how they have affected your life. This can be a past or present teacher. Teachers can be an elementary, middle or high school teacher who teaches at a school within the 95120 or 95118 zip codes.

E-mail the essay to newsroom@timesmediainc.com or fax the essay to (408) 494-7078. Be sure to include your name, phone number, address and school at the end of your essay.