Readers take a walk down memory lane and KERO TV loses its weather forecaster

 * ... FAREWELL MELISSA: Melissa Dignan, the popular weather forecaster at KERO TV who was told her contract was not being renewed, has left the station and will not return. The station originally told her they wanted her to work to the end of the year, but Melissa said she has moved on. Melissa has thrown herself into our community, and would like to remain here. Here's hoping other opportunities arise.

* ... SPOTTED: Slovenly middle aged man in the Phoenix airport waiting on his flight to Bakersfield, gorging on  French fries while playing - loudly - the Pink Panther theme song on his smart phone, annoying everyone around him.

 * ... CAMP KEEP: Regular contributor Don Kurtz weighs in on how times have changed. His grandson will be attending Camp KEEP and was told not to bring knives and matches. "In 1956 I was a Boy Scout with Troop 318. We met in the cafeteria of Longfellow school before each camp out. Our leaders would inspect our gear and laid out before you were knives - a hunting knife and a folding knife - an axe and matches!"

 * ... RILEY'S JOURNEY: Riley Parker is the fraud specialist and investigator who got a wake-up call from his doctor a few months ago. He had a choice: become a diabetic and spend the rest of his life on drugs, or lose weight and adopt a healthy lifestyle. He started at 226 pounds and is now down to 207 with a goal of 200 pounds by the end of the year. And, he is off all medication except for aspirin. "I can't believe the changes that I feel....emotionally more positive, more energy and all of my medical numbers are now into the normal range." He celebrated with a 26-mile bike ride and enjoyed "an absolutely stunning sunset, probably made more so by having taken responsibility for my own health."

* ... BROCK'S: Jenna Sabedra is a marketing specialist at KGET TV and wrote that her grandmother, Bessie Spoor, worked at Brock's department store for 50 years operating the elevator. "It was so good to reminisce about the old days of shopping at Brock's where my grandmother would take us on elevator rides and when they were really busy during the holidays she would help in wrapping gifts. For 50 years she was a dedicated employee and all who worked there and shopped there knew her and loved her."

 * ... HARDWARE: Phyllis Smith is 81 years old and remembers the old Bakersfield Hardware Co. on Chester Avenue. "I would like to respond to Sue Wasson's comments. I worked with her mother, Mary, at the Bakersfield Hardware Co. I was there from 1944 until it closed in 1955. My father Marvin Hicks worked there for over 40 years. It was a super hardware store but it is seldom mentioned in Bakersfield history stories. Sue's memory brought back some good memories to me also. Her mother, Mary, was a lovely lady."