Another sign of the times: Kern County high school classrooms open the year equipped with portable toilets in case the schools are placed on lockdown

 * ... SIGN OF THE TIMES: Here is one of those disturbing sign of the times we all live in. Apparently, every classroom in the Kern High School District has been equipped with a portable toilet,

complete with privacy screen and kitty litter, in case the school is placed on lock down and students end up spending hours in a classroom unable to leave. As one high school teacher joked: "I told them I wasn't holding the toilet paper if anyone has to use it!"

* ... KINDNESS: Harriet Russell was touched by the kindness of strangers the other day when she flatted on Coffee Road and pulled into the Trader Joe's parking lot. She ended up at Hoggz surf shop, where two young employees offered her a chair and allowed her to use their phone. "Lewis Towing arrived and had my tire fixed in less than an hour (more great service and another nice young man). Several people in the parking lot told me they were sorry I flatted, and one gentleman asked if I was all right. When I got home the next door neighbor brought over a bag of delicious grapes. There are some very, very nice people in Bakersfield."

* ... MORE KINDNESS: And it doesn't end there. Another reader, Mariann Chavez, was with a co-woker buying backbacks and school supplies at Big Lots! on Wilson Road when a woman in line asked if they were teachers. No, they said, just two women pitching in to help the kids at the Homeless Center. "That most precious and gracious woman handed us $40 and said she would like to help. We were almost speechless, but did manage to thank her several times as she checked out and left the store.
Needless to say we spent that extra money and now our backpacks are a bit fuller thanks to her generosity."

 * ... WREATHS: The Breakfast Rotary Club is gearing up for its annual 'Wreaths Across America' program. The idea: place wreaths at every grave at the Bakersfield National Cemetery. Adoree Robinson told me the program is one of only three in the country. Mark your calendar for December 14.

* ... STOCKDALE: The third annual Stockdale Stampede 5 kilometer walk and run is set for Saturday, Sept. 14. Sponsored by Stockdale High School, the event starts at 8:30 a.m. at Riverwalk Park. You can download a registration form at www.bakersfieldtrackclub.com. The pre race registration fee is $25 and $30 the day of the event. The event raises money for local scholarships.

 * ... MEMORIES:  Michael Mcglasson wrote to join those who remember the old AW drive in, but placed it on Oak and Bank street instead of Chester Lane.