Elk Grove Newsletter For New Home owners homeowners Elk Grove CA near Sacramento
Monday, January 02, 2006
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Council elects Soares as Elk Grove mayor
Council elects Soares as Elk Grove mayor
By Loretta Kalb -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 4:53 pm PST Thursday, December 15, 2005
The Elk Grove City Council has unanimously elected Councilman Rick Soares as Elk Grove mayor for 2006.
Wednesday night's selection returns Soares, a teacher in the Elk Grove Unified School District, to a post he held from July 2002 to June 2003. The position, now held by Dan Briggs, rotates among the five council members each year.
Soares will be sworn in Jan. 11, the City Council's next meeting.
The council also voted 3-2, with Councilmen Michael Leary and James Cooper dissenting, to name Councilwoman Sophia Scherman as mayor pro tem.
By Loretta Kalb -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 4:53 pm PST Thursday, December 15, 2005
The Elk Grove City Council has unanimously elected Councilman Rick Soares as Elk Grove mayor for 2006.
Wednesday night's selection returns Soares, a teacher in the Elk Grove Unified School District, to a post he held from July 2002 to June 2003. The position, now held by Dan Briggs, rotates among the five council members each year.
Soares will be sworn in Jan. 11, the City Council's next meeting.
The council also voted 3-2, with Councilmen Michael Leary and James Cooper dissenting, to name Councilwoman Sophia Scherman as mayor pro tem.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce November Events
Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce November Events
After Hours Biz Mixer
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 • 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Any Event Party Rentals/Catering
9251 Elk Grove Blvd.
Members and the public welcome! Mingle, network, win prizes,
and learn about a great business member of the Elk Grove
Chamber of Commerce. Bring a door prize…a great way
to promote your business!
Membership Luncheon
Friday, November 18, 2005 • 11:30 a.m.
Business Expo
Wackford Community Aquatic Complex
9014 Bruceville Rd.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Fax to (916) 691-3810, go online at
www.elkgroveca.com or call (916) 691-3760.
$20 Members w/reservation; $25 Door
$25 Non-members w/reservation; $30 Door
(Cancellations required by Thursday preceding the luncheon. Thank you.)
Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce November Events
After Hours Biz Mixer
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 • 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Any Event Party Rentals/Catering
9251 Elk Grove Blvd.
Members and the public welcome! Mingle, network, win prizes,
and learn about a great business member of the Elk Grove
Chamber of Commerce. Bring a door prize…a great way
to promote your business!
Membership Luncheon
Friday, November 18, 2005 • 11:30 a.m.
Business Expo
Wackford Community Aquatic Complex
9014 Bruceville Rd.
Please RSVP by Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Fax to (916) 691-3810, go online at
www.elkgroveca.com or call (916) 691-3760.
$20 Members w/reservation; $25 Door
$25 Non-members w/reservation; $30 Door
(Cancellations required by Thursday preceding the luncheon. Thank you.)
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Keepin' It Cool
Keepin' It Cool
Originally uploaded by the Dragonweaver.
Keepin' It Cool
Originally uploaded by the Dragonweaver.
Ready for the Showdown @ the Elk Grove Harvest Festival
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Kristel Durand Elk Grove CA Photography
Kristel Durand Elk Grove CA Children and Family Photography
I believe a great portrait captures the essence of a person, or that of the relationship between the people being photographed. A portrait is much more than a reflection of physical features. It is a piece of art that will forever tell the story of that moment in time. With each portrait, I capture the beauty, uniqueness and the true essence of that person’s spirit.
I welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the creation of such a portrait for your family. Please call 916.501.4266 or visit the gallery, located in Elk Grove, just south of Sacramento, at your convenience.
http://www.kristeldurand.com/elk-grove-photography.html
I believe a great portrait captures the essence of a person, or that of the relationship between the people being photographed. A portrait is much more than a reflection of physical features. It is a piece of art that will forever tell the story of that moment in time. With each portrait, I capture the beauty, uniqueness and the true essence of that person’s spirit.
I welcome the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the creation of such a portrait for your family. Please call 916.501.4266 or visit the gallery, located in Elk Grove, just south of Sacramento, at your convenience.
http://www.kristeldurand.com/elk-grove-photography.html
Sunday, September 25, 2005
The battle over the Pledge continues
The battle over the Pledge continues
A few hundred students at Elitha Donner Elementary School perform the Pledge of Allegiance.
By Cameron Macdonald and Jessica Springgay
Citizen Staff Writers - Two days after a federal judge ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance and its two words, “under God” are unconstitutional to be recited in public schools, many campuses across the country celebrated the U.S. Constitution.
Elk Grove’s Elitha Donner Elementary School honored Constitution Day on Sept. 16 with a morning assembly. Hundreds of students gathered with teachers as patriotic songs played on loudspeakers.
Beginning this year, a new federal law requires all school receiving federal funding to observe Constitution Day.
The Elitha Donner students heard speeches about the document from two students, listened to teacher Kevin Broxton sing the “Star Spangled Banner,” and saw Principal Michelle Wendland present the American Red Cross a check worth more than $2,000 that the students raised for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
The students also recited the Pledge with the phrase, “One nation under God.”
Despite a possible federal restraining order that prevents schools in the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD), from performing the Pledge, its schools still continued to undertake the practice. While the school district board plans to meet with legal counsel over what to do next, students and other community members had diverse opinions about the ruling’s significance.
"It's had the words 'under God' in it for so long,” said Maddy Roberts, a student. “Everybody else has accepted it, I don't know why they can't accept it, too. If you feel so strongly against it, just don't say it."
On the other hand, Elk Grove High School student Ryan Lockwood argued that reciting the Pledge and believing in it are separate, especially with young children.
“With the little kids, I don’t think that they’re sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I said, ‘God,’ they’re pushing down on me,’” Lockwood said. “They’re probably just saying that as another line of the Pledge of the Allegiance.”
Lockwood said that the recent ruling was not discussed in his classes.
On Sept. 14, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton reviewed a lawsuit filed last January by attorney and atheist Dr. Michael Newdow, who is representing two sets of anonymous parents. One couple alleges that their child was forced to recite the Pledge at an EGUSD elementary school and suffered harassment by classmates.
Karlton followed the precedent set by Newdow’s winning lawsuit with the 9th Circuit Federal Court in 2002, where that court ruled that the Pledge is unconstitutional as it interferes with his religious education of his daughter. Newdow filed that suit on behalf of his daughter, who attends an Elk Grove school.
The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court last year where it was dismissed due to a technicality over Newdow’s disputed custody of his daughter. His ex-wife, Sandra Banning had earlier appealed her ex-husband’s lawsuit using that technicality and said that their daughter is a Christian like her.
In the latest lawsuit filed last January, the plaintiffs sued to get the words, “under God” congressionally removed from the Pledge, arguing that it violates what they believe is the Constitution’s Establishment Clause of separating church and state.. The case can now be taken to a higher court.
Banning said that the ruling did not surprise her, believing that Karlton was obligated to follow the 2002 ruling. The devout Christian got the news after flying to Washington, D.C. for a press conference with the Traditional Values Coalition. She said that she expects the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court in two years.
“It needs to serve as a reminder to the public,” Banning said. “We need to be aware of the role of judges and the authority and power that they have.”
Banning said that Karlton’s ruling is just one step in a long road ahead in court for the lawsuit. She later mentioned that a parent of any faith could be in her shoes opposing the effort to remove “under God” from the Pledge, arguing that it is an issue about American traditions and values, not believers versus non-believers.
Newdow and the “Doe” parents’ recent victory could get a restraining order on the Elk Grove, Sacramento City, Rio Linda and Elverta school districts, which were all sued. EGUSD Superintendent Dr. Steven Ladd said that his school district would still recite the Pledge until they receive the restraining order.
Newdow’s first lawsuit and its five years in the courts has cost the EGUSD around $150,000 in legal costs, which were paid by a joint group that school district is a member of, instead of its general fund, school district spokesperson Jim Elliot said.
Banning stressed that such cases are greatly expensive to a school district during times of budget cuts, and ultimately harm the education of students.
In the EGUSD, the judge’s ruling mainly affects elementary schools where the Pledge is required by school district policy – the practice easily satisfies the state law that requires every public elementary school to begin each school day with “appropriate patriotic exercises.”
Elitha Donner Elementary’s principal, Michelle Wendland, said that her students recite the pledge in unison as they are led during the morning announcements on the campus sound system. At many high schools, the pledge is only recited during sports games and ROTC classes.
Paul Geisert, past president of the Sacramento group Atheists and Other Freethinkers, predicts another victory and expects to see Newdow in the U.S. Supreme Court again. He argued that children of parents who do not believe in the existence of a god are often discriminated against and punished by teachers for not reciting “under God” in Pledge.
“I believe that children are being harmed by getting forced into those positions,” Geisert said.
He mentioned that there is a split opinion in the “naturalistic” community over Karlton’s ruling, where some are pleased with the lawsuit’s direction, while others are worried about a backlash from U.S. congressmen who could pass a constitutional amendment preserving “under God” in the Pledge.
However, Geisert said that he still supports reciting the Pledge as it was originally written before “under God” were included.
After the judge’s ruling, Kaitlan Campbell and her likeminded Valley High classmates listened to the news about it and Newdow, and decided it was time to protest.
On Sept. 16, they came to school wearing small placards that explained their defense of the words “under God,” while a few of them wore white T-shirts emblazoned with messages like, “I pledge allegiance to the flag.”
The students are practicing a silent protest where they will not speak between classes.
Campbell argues that denying students the ability to recite the words, “under God” is itself unconstitutional.
“We don’t have the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression to say what we want to say,” Campbell said, referring to the possibility of a restraining order being issued.
Fellow protestor Christina DeLong said that the “God” acknowledged by the Pledge can be any god worshipped by any religion, thus declaring that phrase to be unconstitutional would deny religious rights.
As for the issue about separating church and state in public schools, the students mentioned that religion plays a role in the American government’s functions like how a president is sworn in on Bible or one must swear on a Bible before testifying in court.
“Why change everything this country is based on, because three people don’t like the fact they we say the Pledge of Allegiance as an American tradition?” Campbell said.
Valley High’s Principal Roger Stock said that students are allowed to silently protest, but must speak when necessary during class.
The protestors said that many students shared their support for them as four joined them.
They said that all of their teachers accepted their protest, but DeLong mentioned that one of her teachers challenged her argument and told her she is wrong.
“I’m not going to come out and say that you’re totally wrong, but I’ll express my point of view,” DeLong said, angered by the confrontation.
Asked about how long they will continue their silent protest at school, protestor Gregory Sanford’s answer was simple.
“Until (‘under God’) is going to be constitutionally saved,” he said.
This is an on-line publication of
Elk Grove Citizen
8970 Elk Grove Blvd,
Elk Grove, CA 95624
916-685-5533 for advertising and Account
916-685-3945 for news
For comments or questions,
email us
A few hundred students at Elitha Donner Elementary School perform the Pledge of Allegiance.
By Cameron Macdonald and Jessica Springgay
Citizen Staff Writers - Two days after a federal judge ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance and its two words, “under God” are unconstitutional to be recited in public schools, many campuses across the country celebrated the U.S. Constitution.
Elk Grove’s Elitha Donner Elementary School honored Constitution Day on Sept. 16 with a morning assembly. Hundreds of students gathered with teachers as patriotic songs played on loudspeakers.
Beginning this year, a new federal law requires all school receiving federal funding to observe Constitution Day.
The Elitha Donner students heard speeches about the document from two students, listened to teacher Kevin Broxton sing the “Star Spangled Banner,” and saw Principal Michelle Wendland present the American Red Cross a check worth more than $2,000 that the students raised for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.
The students also recited the Pledge with the phrase, “One nation under God.”
Despite a possible federal restraining order that prevents schools in the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD), from performing the Pledge, its schools still continued to undertake the practice. While the school district board plans to meet with legal counsel over what to do next, students and other community members had diverse opinions about the ruling’s significance.
"It's had the words 'under God' in it for so long,” said Maddy Roberts, a student. “Everybody else has accepted it, I don't know why they can't accept it, too. If you feel so strongly against it, just don't say it."
On the other hand, Elk Grove High School student Ryan Lockwood argued that reciting the Pledge and believing in it are separate, especially with young children.
“With the little kids, I don’t think that they’re sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, I said, ‘God,’ they’re pushing down on me,’” Lockwood said. “They’re probably just saying that as another line of the Pledge of the Allegiance.”
Lockwood said that the recent ruling was not discussed in his classes.
On Sept. 14, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton reviewed a lawsuit filed last January by attorney and atheist Dr. Michael Newdow, who is representing two sets of anonymous parents. One couple alleges that their child was forced to recite the Pledge at an EGUSD elementary school and suffered harassment by classmates.
Karlton followed the precedent set by Newdow’s winning lawsuit with the 9th Circuit Federal Court in 2002, where that court ruled that the Pledge is unconstitutional as it interferes with his religious education of his daughter. Newdow filed that suit on behalf of his daughter, who attends an Elk Grove school.
The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court last year where it was dismissed due to a technicality over Newdow’s disputed custody of his daughter. His ex-wife, Sandra Banning had earlier appealed her ex-husband’s lawsuit using that technicality and said that their daughter is a Christian like her.
In the latest lawsuit filed last January, the plaintiffs sued to get the words, “under God” congressionally removed from the Pledge, arguing that it violates what they believe is the Constitution’s Establishment Clause of separating church and state.. The case can now be taken to a higher court.
Banning said that the ruling did not surprise her, believing that Karlton was obligated to follow the 2002 ruling. The devout Christian got the news after flying to Washington, D.C. for a press conference with the Traditional Values Coalition. She said that she expects the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court in two years.
“It needs to serve as a reminder to the public,” Banning said. “We need to be aware of the role of judges and the authority and power that they have.”
Banning said that Karlton’s ruling is just one step in a long road ahead in court for the lawsuit. She later mentioned that a parent of any faith could be in her shoes opposing the effort to remove “under God” from the Pledge, arguing that it is an issue about American traditions and values, not believers versus non-believers.
Newdow and the “Doe” parents’ recent victory could get a restraining order on the Elk Grove, Sacramento City, Rio Linda and Elverta school districts, which were all sued. EGUSD Superintendent Dr. Steven Ladd said that his school district would still recite the Pledge until they receive the restraining order.
Newdow’s first lawsuit and its five years in the courts has cost the EGUSD around $150,000 in legal costs, which were paid by a joint group that school district is a member of, instead of its general fund, school district spokesperson Jim Elliot said.
Banning stressed that such cases are greatly expensive to a school district during times of budget cuts, and ultimately harm the education of students.
In the EGUSD, the judge’s ruling mainly affects elementary schools where the Pledge is required by school district policy – the practice easily satisfies the state law that requires every public elementary school to begin each school day with “appropriate patriotic exercises.”
Elitha Donner Elementary’s principal, Michelle Wendland, said that her students recite the pledge in unison as they are led during the morning announcements on the campus sound system. At many high schools, the pledge is only recited during sports games and ROTC classes.
Paul Geisert, past president of the Sacramento group Atheists and Other Freethinkers, predicts another victory and expects to see Newdow in the U.S. Supreme Court again. He argued that children of parents who do not believe in the existence of a god are often discriminated against and punished by teachers for not reciting “under God” in Pledge.
“I believe that children are being harmed by getting forced into those positions,” Geisert said.
He mentioned that there is a split opinion in the “naturalistic” community over Karlton’s ruling, where some are pleased with the lawsuit’s direction, while others are worried about a backlash from U.S. congressmen who could pass a constitutional amendment preserving “under God” in the Pledge.
However, Geisert said that he still supports reciting the Pledge as it was originally written before “under God” were included.
After the judge’s ruling, Kaitlan Campbell and her likeminded Valley High classmates listened to the news about it and Newdow, and decided it was time to protest.
On Sept. 16, they came to school wearing small placards that explained their defense of the words “under God,” while a few of them wore white T-shirts emblazoned with messages like, “I pledge allegiance to the flag.”
The students are practicing a silent protest where they will not speak between classes.
Campbell argues that denying students the ability to recite the words, “under God” is itself unconstitutional.
“We don’t have the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression to say what we want to say,” Campbell said, referring to the possibility of a restraining order being issued.
Fellow protestor Christina DeLong said that the “God” acknowledged by the Pledge can be any god worshipped by any religion, thus declaring that phrase to be unconstitutional would deny religious rights.
As for the issue about separating church and state in public schools, the students mentioned that religion plays a role in the American government’s functions like how a president is sworn in on Bible or one must swear on a Bible before testifying in court.
“Why change everything this country is based on, because three people don’t like the fact they we say the Pledge of Allegiance as an American tradition?” Campbell said.
Valley High’s Principal Roger Stock said that students are allowed to silently protest, but must speak when necessary during class.
The protestors said that many students shared their support for them as four joined them.
They said that all of their teachers accepted their protest, but DeLong mentioned that one of her teachers challenged her argument and told her she is wrong.
“I’m not going to come out and say that you’re totally wrong, but I’ll express my point of view,” DeLong said, angered by the confrontation.
Asked about how long they will continue their silent protest at school, protestor Gregory Sanford’s answer was simple.
“Until (‘under God’) is going to be constitutionally saved,” he said.
This is an on-line publication of
Elk Grove Citizen
8970 Elk Grove Blvd,
Elk Grove, CA 95624
916-685-5533 for advertising and Account
916-685-3945 for news
For comments or questions,
email us
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Elk Grove Community Harvest Festival
Crafters needed for festival
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, September 4, 2005
Story appeared in Elk grove laguna section, Page N3
Elk Grove Community Harvest Festival organizers seek local crafters and artisans to sell their wares in Crafter's Alley on Oct. 1-2 in Elk Grove Regional Park, 9950 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove.
Outdoor booth spaces are available for $120. Booths are uncovered and unfurnished, and crafters must provide table and chairs. No electricity or water is available. This juried event for new and returning crafters accepts only vendors selling hand-crafted items. Exhibitors must possess a seller's permit number from the state Board of Equalization.
The festival also seeks vendors with food-related products for the Gourmet Galley area.
Applications for Crafter's Alley are available on the Elk Grove Community Services District Web site at www.egcsd.ca.gov or by visiting the district Department of Parks and Recreation, 8820 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 3. Prospective vendors must submit applications, product photographs and payment to the Parks and Recreation Department as soon as possible. For more information, call the Department of Parks and Recreation at (916) 405-5300.
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, September 4, 2005
Story appeared in Elk grove laguna section, Page N3
Elk Grove Community Harvest Festival organizers seek local crafters and artisans to sell their wares in Crafter's Alley on Oct. 1-2 in Elk Grove Regional Park, 9950 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove.
Outdoor booth spaces are available for $120. Booths are uncovered and unfurnished, and crafters must provide table and chairs. No electricity or water is available. This juried event for new and returning crafters accepts only vendors selling hand-crafted items. Exhibitors must possess a seller's permit number from the state Board of Equalization.
The festival also seeks vendors with food-related products for the Gourmet Galley area.
Applications for Crafter's Alley are available on the Elk Grove Community Services District Web site at www.egcsd.ca.gov or by visiting the district Department of Parks and Recreation, 8820 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 3. Prospective vendors must submit applications, product photographs and payment to the Parks and Recreation Department as soon as possible. For more information, call the Department of Parks and Recreation at (916) 405-5300.
