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RENAISSANCE IS GOAL OF MONTHLONG CELEBRATION

March 5, 1998
Section: NEIGHBORS
Page: N1

By Chris Derr Neighbors staff writer

--For Rancho Cordova residents, March will be filled with activities that many hope will lead to a revitalized community. The Rancho Cordova Renaissance Month, which kicks off today, will highlight a number of changes under way in the community.

"Rancho Cordova is a growing and vibrant place,' said Curt Haven, executive director of the chamber of commerce. "There are some exciting new happenings.'

The events start at Mitchell Middle School today with a celebration of the passage of Measure V, the $10.4 million school bond measure approved by voters in November. Improvements to the campus are scheduled to begin in June and wrap up this summer.

Saturday the Cordova Recreation and Park District will dedicate one of the Hagan Community Park baseball fields to the memory of Jim Glass, a much-loved booster of sports programs in the community.

The long-awaited groundbreaking for the light-rail station at Mather Field Road and Folsom Boulevard, to be known as the Mather Field-Mills Station, is scheduled March 12. The project will include moving the historic Mills Station building from Dawes Street.

A "Rancho Roundup' is planned March 14 at the Mills Shopping Center on Folsom Boulevard. During the event, the sheriff's community service center, in conjunction with a video rental company, will provide child fingerprinting and video records of children for identification purposes. The California Highway Patrol will conduct a bicycle rodeo for kids.

Community service organizations are invited to set up booths at the site for fund-raising activities, and to provide membership and general information.

Later in the month, a groundbreaking will be held for the new community resource center at Coloma Road and McGregor Drive. The project is funded by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.

Jane Smith, a representative of Supervisor Don Nottoli, said the 15,205-square-foot facility is to be finished by late June.

"We've been working on putting the resource center there for nearly five years,' Smith said. "Finally, after all that time, it's coming.'

In addition, the Folsom Boulevard revitalization project, also funded by the housing and redevelopment agency, will have a groundbreaking to signal the start of work to improve the physical appearance of the boulevard by upgrading storefronts and landscaping.

On March 25, Mather Airport will be celebrate the opening of a new, multimillion-dollar airport terminal.

Three days later, the Mills and Rancho Cordova Little Leagues will hold their opening day ceremonies.

Today's Measure V celebration starts at 11:30 a.m. at Mitchell Middle School at 2100 Zinfandel Drive. Nottoli, school board members, chamber of commerce representatives and other community leaders will be on hand for the event.

Saturday's field dedication at Hagan Park gets under way at noon.

Margaret Weidman, who represents the Rancho Cordova area on the Sacramento County Board of Education, said the magnitude of this month's activities is significant.

"We're doing a lot right now,' Weidman said. "Ten years ago, that just wasn't the case.'

"The community has been criticized for a long time for its reputation as a bad place to live," she said.

Evie Kadle, a longtime community activist who has lived in Rancho Cordova nearly 20 years, said she hopes the events will present the community in a more positive light.

For more information about the month's activities, call the chamber of commerce at 361-8750.

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