Pay It Forward and Save Toy Town in Ladera Ranch

Dear Mom’s and Dad’s of Ladera,

Due to the the recent down turn in the economy so many of us are affected, especially retail stores, including our beloved Toy Town.

I had an idea and want to pass it along. What if all of the Mom’s (and Dad’s) stop by Toy Town and purchase 2 or 3 toys for future birthday parties? Our children have so many birthday parties coming up in the spring.

I want to “clear” out the store, and help them be able to use that income to purchase additional toys.

Josh has done so much to help our school, our community and our children. He has the biggest heart, bigger than anyone I know. This man will help whoever he can, whenever he can. People cannot help but stop by on their way into the grocery store just to say hello.

We are all tightening our belts. I am sure that the last thing on many of our lists is to go buy toys. Some might say that they can buy the same toy at Target for less money. The difference is if we buy at Toy Town we are directly supporting a business that supports our school and our community. Josh and Irene have been so incredibly generous since they opened, they willingly donate to many charitable organizations. They are constantly providing toys and baskets for different events, no matter what. They donate their time too and have such a love for our community. Where else can you buy a gift, have it wrapped and delivered to your car curbside!

I want to Pay It Forward to them…

I am heartbroken at the thought that this special little store owned by this wonderful family could be gone one day. It is an icon within our community and has brought so much joy to our children.

I hope that Josh is not upset that I did this, because I know that he is a strong man and has his pride, but I just want to do whatever I can to help.

Please pass this on to everyone in your distribution lists.

Thank you…

Judy (Mom in Ladera)

Summertime Fun on Tuesday Nights

Each Tuesday night Ladera Ranch Community Services (LARCS) hosts an evening of fun and food for teens.

The Oak Knoll Village Club hosts the weekly event from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The cost is $7 per person and each week features a different game and catered dinner. Come with schoolmates or just meet new people.

Upcoming Events:

June 24: Take a trip back to the 70’s! Tie-dye a shirt while feasting on Baja Fresh for dinner.

July 1: Heat things up with a game of Dodge Ball and eat fresh with sandwiches from Subway.

July 8: Before you munch on some KFC, get competitive with a game of Spud.

July 15: Some juicy burgers and delicious fries from In N Out will follow a fast paced game of Hide and Seek and Sardines.

July 22: Cool off from the heat with a water balloon fight! Enjoy a summer BBQ for dinner.

July 29: Tap into your competitive edge with an exciting game of Capture the Flag. Delve into some pizza afterwards.

Registration is not required and payment is accepted at the door. Checks can be made out to CampCo. If you have any questions, visit www.Laderalife.com or email teens@CampCoDayCamps.com for further information.

City of Rancho Santa Margarita Recognizes Public Works Week

In celebration of all the men and women – locally and national – who main provide street maintenance services, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita declared May 18-24, 2008 to be National Public Works Week in the community.

In Rancho Santa Margarita, public works services are provided by PV Maintenance. With more than 24 years of experience, PV Maintenance provides public works maintenance services to several cities in South Orange County.

“PV Maintenance has an excellent track record of serving this community,” comments Tom Wheeler, Director of Public Works for the City of Rancho Santa Margarita. “They not only possess the technical knowledge and skills to perform the work, they also have the interpersonal skills to provide outstanding service to residents. “

Providing public works maintenance services means that a PV Maintenance crew must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.

“We work very closely with Tom Wheeler and his team to coordinate daily schedules to ensure that we understand the City’s priorities,” shares Joe Garza, Project Manager for PV Maintenance.

For more information about public works services in the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, visit the City’s Web site at www.cityofrsm.org.

Ladera Ranch Honors Volunteer of the Year

George Bernard Shaw once said, “My life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.” Ladera Ranch is blessed to have many volunteers who share this sentiment.

Three very special Ladera Ranch volunteers were honored at the First Annual State of the Community by Town Manager, Dennis Javens. Javens praised the outstanding contributions of all three candidates who were considered for the award: Sarah Doyle, Jeff Blugrind and Somchai Moy.

While each one has been involved in numerous ways throughout the community, Sarah Doyle received the distinction of Ladera Ranch Volunteer of the Year.

Doyle recently celebrated her final Board meeting as President of the LARCS Board. She has skillfully guided the Board for the past two years as new events were introduced, programs were expanded and the community Web site, www.laderalife.com, was enhanced. In keeping with the overall goal of the LARCS Board, Doyle helped to connect neighbors, foster friendships and create shared experiences.

Blugrind is the Secretary of the LARMAC Board and also serves as Media Relations Liaison to the Board. He is the founder and producer of Focus On Ladera Ranch, a video documentary series that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the world-class amenities in Ladera Ranch. Javens described Blugrind as his technology “go to person”.

An avid tennis player, Moy is currently organizing the 6th Annual Ladera Ranch Resident & Guest Tennis Tournament. To the delight of residents, Moy continues to expand the event year after year. Moy has been involved in numerous other projects over the years, including his current role as Chairperson for the LARCS Advisory Council.

Even with these three incredible volunteers, LARCS is always looking for new volunteers to support events and activities. Interested groups or individuals can offer to help by submitting an online Ranch Hand form at www.laderalife.com.

For additional event information, call 949.388.8300 or visit www.laderalife.com.

LARCS Partners with Community Groups to Present an eWaste Drive

Looking for a convenient way to recycle old electronics?

Ladera Ranch Community Services (LARCS) is partnering with Think Green Ladera Ranch and CA Recyclers to host an eWaste Drive. The drive will be held on Saturday, June 28 in conjunction with the Ladera Ranch Farmers Market.

eWaste donations will be accepted from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the parking lot next to the Town Green.

The proceeds from the eWaste Drive will benefit the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) Foundation’s “Save the Teachers” fund and Think Green Ladera Ranch.

Bring items from home and work. Virtually any item that can be plugged into an electrical outlet will be accepted. The following is a list of suggested items:

* Computer monitors
* Televisions/Plasma
* CRT/LCD Screens Notebook/Laptop
* PCT Towers/Desktop
* Servers/Equipment
* Printers/Copier
* Fax Machine
* Keyboards/Mice
* Mobile Phone/Telephone
* VCR/DVD
* Speakers
* Washer/Dryer
* Microwave

Every Saturday morning the Farmers Market provides residents with a great opportunity to purchase the freshest seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers. All the produce is certified, meaning that it’s grown or processed locally by the farmers who sell directly to customers. A variety of just baked goods and prepared foods are also available, including breads, pastries, cheeses, salsas and tamales.

For more information on the Farmers Market, please visit www.laderalife.com and to learn more about collecting and recycling electronic waste, visit www.greenladera.org.

Ladera Ranch Community Services – or LARCS – is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that plans and implements programs, events and the LaderaLife Web site. Its goal is to connect neighbors, foster friendships and allow for shared experiences. For more information on Ladera Ranch, visit www.laderalife.com.

LARCS Welcomes New Members to Board of Directors

Ladera Ranch Community Services (LARCS) held its annual Board of Directors selection meeting with three candidates vying for the two openings. Stephanie Ramsey and Matthew Cordry received the most votes and were elected to the Board.

As stated in the LARCS bylaws, votes are casted by neighborhood representatives. The final vote tallies for the three candidates are as follows:

Stephanie Ramsey 578 votes

Matthew Cordry 556 votes

Jason Glass 383 votes

The first meeting of the newly elected Board will be Wednesday, July 30 at the Avendale Village Club. The Board meeting begins with an open session from 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and moves to a closed executive session. Open sessions provide residents with opportunities to ask questions and offer feedback.

One of the agenda items for the closed session will be the selection of the new officers. Board members will select a president, vice president, chief financial officer, secretary and director-at-large. The LARCS board also has two Board members that serve as non-voting officers.

Ladera Ranch Empowers Residents

If you have a red ribbon then you have the power… the power to notify San Diego Gas & Electric of streetlight outages in the community.    

Residents in Ladera Ranch were eager to know how they could help to report streetlight outages in their community.  As a result, Ladera Ranch Maintenance Corporation (LARMAC) introduced a new streetlight-reporting program. 

“The program empowers community residents to report streetlight issues, such as outages and faulty lights, directly to San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E),” explains Dennis Javens, Town Manager of Ladera Ranch.

Upon discovering a defective streetlight, residents are encouraged to email the streetlight location and the pole number to streetlighting@semprautlities.com.  The number is located on a tag on the pole located at eye level or lower. 

Given the highly responsive nature of the community, residents are also encouraged to tie a red ribbon approximately six feet above ground level on the streetlight that is being reported.  Red ribbons are available at the LARMAC office on 1 Daisy during normal hours of operation.

Please allow SDG&E five to ten business days to make repairs.

For more information, call LARMAC at 949.218.0900.

Ladera Ranch Celebrates the 4th of July

Known for one of the best fireworks displays in South Orange County, Ladera Ranch will present an incredible fun-filled day of activities on the 4th of July. In addition to a dazzling 20-minute fireworks show in Founder’s Park, the celebration will include a festive community parade, music, activities and food.

The festivities begin bright and early at 7:45 a.m. with the 2nd Annual 5k/10k Freedom Run at the Ranch. Runners and walkers are welcome to travel along the beautiful tree-lined streets of Ladera Ranch. Little ones will enjoy the 1k Firecracker Dash that begins at 9:00 a.m. Proceeds from the run will benefit the REACT (Resources for Autistic Children’s Therapy) Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For additional information about the Freedom Run, visit www.runladera.com.

A pancake breakfast will be held next to the finish line from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Breakfast is $5 for adults and $3 for children. All proceeds will benefit Laura’s House, an organization dedicated to ending the cycle of domestic violence through education, support and life skills training for victims of all ages.

The event continues at 4:00 p.m. with a community parade. Neighborhoods, Ladera Ranch clubs, community groups and families are encouraged to participate by designing a banner, wagon or float. Adults and children may participate in this year’s Bike Decorating Contest. The parade will begin at Snapdragon and Sellas Road North and then continue down Avendale to Daisy.

Parade participants may elect to enter the judged portion of the parade. If interested, one participant from each group must complete an entry/commitment form. Forms are available online at www.laderalife.com and may be submitted online or at the Oak Knoll Club. For more information, please contact LARCS at 949.388.8300.

Since no event is complete without live music, the Tony Suraci Band will be joining us again to rock the crowd with everything from Willie Nelson to U2. Enjoy tunes from the 60s through the present at the Founder’s Park stage.

Teens… plan to meet your friends at the Teen Tent. For the second year, the Teen Tent will provide an enclosed and supervised area to listen to music, dance, participate in activities and hang out with friends. Presented by Campco, organizers of youth summer camps and events, the Teen Tent will be open from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Treat your family and friends to dinner while at the celebration. Newport Rib Company will be serving dinner and other vendors will be selling concessions, including: roasted corn, shaved ice, ice cream, cotton candy, funnel cakes, caramel apples and kettle corn. A beer and wine garden will be selling a variety of tasty cold beverages.

Volunteers are needed to help with all sorts of event activities. Interested groups or individuals can offer to help by submitting an online Ranch Hand form at www.laderalife.com.

For additional event information, call 949.388.8300 or visit www.laderalife.com.

City of Rancho Santa Margarita Rewards for Recycling

New meaning has been given to the saying, “a little goes a long way,” as a Rancho Santa Margarita family and a local business prove that minimal recycling efforts make a big impact on the community.

The City of Rancho Santa Margarita and CR&R Waste and Recycling recently sponsored a contest to find the most innovative and conscientious recyclers in the community. Avila Apartments and the Ledford Family were recognized for their dedication to recycling. To reward their efforts, each received three months of free trash collection service from CR&R.

The Ledford’s (Mark and Lynn, Jamie, Courtney, Steven and Grayson), have adapted their everyday lifestyle to adhere to creatively helping the environment. Lynn Ledford says, “We have made it our family challenge to try to be more resourceful in our daily lives, at home and at our business. We’ve made many small changes that together, have really made a difference in how we manage our consumption and waste.”

Their business, Cal Elite, is a youth sports center offering gymnastics, swimming, dance, cheer, tumbling, birthday parties and summer camp for children 6 months old to 18 years old. As part of the summer camp this year, children will learn how to maintain a garden, in honor of the Coble children.

Everything from the Ledford household routine down to the kid’s crafts is resourceful. The children often collect items, such as pinecones or shells to use for art projects and at Christmas they harvested their own mistletoe. The kids put their creative minds to work last summer when they made garden lamps out of the albeit gourds growing in their backyard. They painted them, used a Dremel tool to carve intricate designs, and put re-chargeable LCD lights in them.

The family’s every day efforts include using cloth grocery bags while shopping, dutifully separating recyclables from trash, using a clothes line in the backyard, replacing their gas mower and lawn equipment with a push mower and electric edger, using cloth towels instead of paper towels, reusing plastic cups instead of buying bottled water, and recycling all their electronics, printing cartridges, cell phones and eye glasses.

Avila Apartments in Rancho Santa Margarita has also shown an overwhelming effort in everyday recycling. Unlike many apartments, they have gone above and beyond their required duties. Recently, they’ve placed recycling bins in every enclosure of their buildings. Their maintenance crews ensure that items are placed in the proper bins and redistributed to prevent overflow. All non-landfill items such as electronics, batteries, and toner are collected and taken to proper disposal places.

Property Manager, Sevilla Alexander mentions the importance of getting the residents involved. “We try to make it easy for the residents to recycle. All residents are given “Living Green” reusable canvas shopping bags as well as rolls of 100% recycled tissue paper and paper towels.”

The administrative office, in their environmental efforts, always prints on both sides while only using 100% recycled paper. They have done away with disposable cups, plates and flatware as well.

Originally, Avila Apartments had 23 three-yard trash bins of trash, serviced twice a week. This adds to a total of 148 yards of trash be taken to the landfill per week. In January 2007, they added recycling bins and reduced their trash service to 18 three-yard trash bins, for a total of 108 yards per week.

Since August 2006, Avila has diverted about 650 tons of material waste away from the landfill.

For more information about how your business or family can enhance recycling efforts, contact Nate Farnsworth, Recycling Coordinator for the City of Rancho Santa Margarita at nfarnsworth@cityofrsm.org or 949.635.1800 extension 6704.

Fun, Revelry and Lively Entertainment Found at Summer Concerts

As the excitement of summer is upon us, Rancho Santa Margarita prepares for the musical tradition of Summer Concerts. The sunset will be an exquisite backdrop for an array of phenomenal bands.
The City of Rancho Santa Margarita, in partnership with the Bell Tower Regional Community Center and SAMLARC, will provide a variety of musical performances throughout the summer for all ages to relish.

This year’s concert series will begin on Sunday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m. at Central Park in Civic Plaza. Concerts will continue every Sunday night, with the final concert of the summer on August 17.

The first concert will be held on Sunday, July 13 at 6:00 p.m. with Stone Soul playing the sounds of Motown. The fun continues with a local favorite, The Fenians, playing Celtic rock on July 20. The Answer will entertain classic rock fans on July 27.

On August 3 Civic Plaza will be jammin’ to the dance music of Chico. Get out your platform shoes and polyester on August 10 when The Funkomatics will perform Disco tunes. Jumping Jack Flash, a Rolling Stones tribute band, will play the final concert of the 2008 series on August 17.

The concerts evoke a great experience for family and friends. Bring blankets and chairs to relax on as you enjoy the wonderful sounds. There will be a variety of local restaurants selling snacks and dinner for those who want to picnic under the open sky.

For more event information, visit the City’s Web site at www.cityofrsm.org or call 949.635.1800 extension 6401.