* ... AND OFF THEY GO: This is nail-biting time for thousands of Bakersfield high school seniors who are
finalizing their college applications and writing their essays. The application deadline for the UC schools (
UCLA, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Davis and the rest) is at the end of this month. Some of the more popular destination out of state schools like
the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon have deadlines in January or later
. This year's graduating senior class is one of the
largest in our country's history (I believe it actually peaked last year) so the competition is fierce, particularly for the more prestigious schools. Having two girls who have gone through this, I can attest it's a time of
great stress and uncertainty until the acceptance emails and letters begin arriving next April. I'll be happy to share the happy stories of acceptances and high hopes when those days arrive.
* ... KCUHS MEA CULPA: Dick Porter, president of
Porter Citrus in Lamont, took me to task for flubbing the name of Kern County's first high school. For the record, it was called
Kern County Union High School (I left 'county' out in an earlier piece on the death of
Bob Montgomery.) For you history buffs,
KCUHS is now Bakersfield High and in the old days
Bakersfield College shared the same campus. And as long as we are talking about colleges, Porter told me his daughter
Brittany is now living in Waterloo, Iowa, after graduating from
Indiana University and son Tucker is a junior at the University of Colorado in Boulder. "They'll never come back," he told me. Of course, many of our local kids do come back to Bakersfield to live and work, and two who come to mind are
Natalie Bustamante, daughter of pediatrician
Dr. Javier Bustamante and wife Laurie, and
Joe Hay, son of
Mikie and Dan Hay, owners of
Jim Burke Ford. Natalie is a lawyer with
Klein, DeNatale and Goldner and Joe is working at the dealership as commercial sales manager. Both graduated from
University of Notre Dame. I'm making a list of those local kids who did come home and will share in another blog.
* ... AN ORIOLE FROM BAKERSFIELD: It was nice to get an update on hard throwing former
Bakersfield College and Centennial High pitcher Jarret Martin who is now making his way through the
Baltimore Orioles organization. (
see the previous post here) Jarret is the 20-year-old son of
Dana and Rob Martin of Northwest Bakersfield and earlier this year signed with the Orioles. He spent a few months with the
Bluefield Orioles in Bluefield, West Virginia, but later suffered some shoulder tendinitis. He reports to spring training in Florida in January for supervised throwing and expects to be placed on a team in April. Meanwhile,
proud mother Dana Martin tells me Jarret's younger sister is opting for
Bakersfield College over a four-year university citing her own frugality, even though her parents are footing the bill. "I would not pay full price for a pair of $150 jeans so why would I pay full price for college?" her mother quotes
Jordyn as asking.
* ... POLICE MEMORIAL RUN: If you're a runner or just want to
support a good cause make sure to remember the
27th annual Bakersfield Police Memorial Run this Saturday over at the park at River Walk off Stockdale Highway.
Maureen Buscher-Dang, the former marketing officer over at the old
Chain-Younger law firm, told me the proceeds are used for the education of surviving children of Bakersfield police officers killed in the line of duty.
Now that is a good cause. The fee is $25, registration starts at 6:30 a.m. and the race begins at 8 a.m. You can call
661-326-3685 for details or download an entry form at www.bakersfieldpd.us.
4 comments:
Whoa, mama, you mean you've revised your doom-and-gloom-Bakersfield-sucks-what-the-hell's- the-matter-with-this-place-kids-leave --sob!sob! (insert some hand-wringing here) -- and-never-return-theory? I believe I've seen a pig fly past my window! Now I just need to get my gun and shoot the damned thing.
Anon: That wasn't a pig flying past your window, just your vivid imagination. I've never said or implied that "Bakersfield sucks" but have explored the notion that - for many many young kids - Bako is not on their list of preferred cities to work after graduation. It's been well documented in works like Vision 2020 that our town lacks many of the amenities that young folks like - rich culture, an ample supply of like minded and educated peers, diversified job opportunities etc. That doesn't mean we suck, it's just reality. Now put that gun down and leave the pigs alone.
Hey, this is a great place for young people if you have tattoes on your arms and shoulders, dropped out of BC and have three kids from different guys all by the age of 25! People need to get over being so defensive. Go Bako!
You all need to get over yourselves and stop pretending Bakersfield is a great place to be! The air quality is one of the worst in the country, people are snobby and arrogant, it seems everyone is in a hurry when driving and cause accidents, the value of life is just in general horrible. Unless, of course, you live in the SW where you can pretend like you live as movie star in your 500K home (and soon you will get foreclosed on), have your fake friends who would abandon you at the first sign of hardship, and shop in over-priced, over-rated department stores just so you feel "important." Go to Walmart, Ross, or nearly anywhere in the east side and you will realize how much of a slum Bakersfield really is!
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