A day to read to the animals

By OC Tribune Staff on March 3, 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

JASON STOUFFER of the Westminster PD read “Animal Farm” to the farm animals at Westminster High School as part of National Read Across America Day on Tuesday (WPD photo).

Tuesday was National Reading Across America Day, and many local schools, libraries and even police departments got into the act.

Jason Stouffer of the Westminster Police Department is the school resource officer for Westminster High School, which has an agriculture department with a fine assortment of farm animals.

Appropriately enough, he read from a copy of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” That’s the classic political fable with the famous line, “all animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others.”

The annual Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce’s Gala Awards will be held virtually this year, with the event scheduled for Friday, March 26 starting at 3:30 p.m. The theme is “Route GG.”

Honored as chamber Man of the Year will be Ric Lerma; Woman of the Year is Maureen Blackmun.

Awards for business excellence will be to CTS Cement Manufacturing Corp. (large business), Garden Grove Dog & Cat Hospital (small business) and Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove (community service organization).

RUBY’S at the Huntington Beach Pier (City of HB photo).

The Ruby’s Diner on the Huntington Beach Pier has closed, the victim of changing times and the coronavirus pandemic. Opened in 1996, the Ruby’s at the end of the city pier has been an icon of Surf City since then, offering diners a place to gaze out over the Pacific Ocean while they eat burgers, salads and sip from milkshakes.

Also closing is the Ruby’s at the Oceanside Pier.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the restaurant – which is owned by the city – will be reopened as a “seafood-themed” eatery.

If you are still craving that good Forties-themed menu and ambiance, a plateful of Ruby’s still remain nearby. There’s one on Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim (our favorite) between Euclid Street and Harbor Boulevard, and others in east Long Beach, Balboa, Orange (at the railroad station), Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

Colleges and universities are honoring graduates and scholars from our local communities. They include:

Siun O’Mahony of Huntington Beach has graduated from Fort Lewis College in Colorado cum laude with a degree in criminology and justice studies.
Christina Nhan of Garden Grove has been named to the dean’s list for the fall 2020 semester at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

The Garden Grove Strawberry Festival won’t reappear until 2022, but some of the traditional contests (with prizes) will continue online. They will include: