Community

A weekend neighborhood association barbecue in Citrus Heights drew about two dozen neighbors together for burgers, brats and a question and answer time with Vice Mayor Sue Frost. Held at the corner of Twin Oaks and Mariposa Avenue on the Twin Oaks Baptist Church lawn, organizer Doyle Champlain said Saturday's event was designed as a way for residents to "meet and greet" their neighbors, with guests invited to bring their families -- and a side dish. Blending in amidst a table of residents, the Vice Mayor was invited to share an update with group towards the end of the event, mentioning an upcoming candidate forum on October 16 for the five people running for three seats on the Citrus Heights city council.

Orange safety cones dotted the parking lot at Sunrise Mall as part of Saturday's police motorcycle competition and traffic safety fair, which also featured a kids bicycle rodeo, face-painting and bounce-houses.

Tucked away behind a parking lot and several trees on the northern outskirts of Citrus Heights stands a unique, peaked-roof structure, decked with blue and white trim. A sign painted above the front entrance highlights that breakfast and lunch are served inside, and another bright orange sign facing Auburn Boulevard spells out “Coffee Shop” for the steady flow of traffic passing by. Curious to check out the place, my husband and I invited grandpa to watch the kids and set off for a visit to "The Lodge." Upon stepping inside the front entrance early one morning, the sound and smells of breakfast cooking met us as we were warmly greeted and invited to find a seat at one of several tables inside. We made our way down to one of the well-worn but clean booths where we met Aime (pronounced “Amy”), one of the diner's cheerful waitresses.

With a live orchestra loudly playing in the background, an 18-wheeler full of supplies headed out of the parking lot of a Citrus Heights-based charity Thursday, as local pastors and community leaders joined to celebrate the shipment of their first container of relief supplies to Ukraine. "We are motivated by the amount of people who have reached out and offered emotional or material support," Ukraine Relief said in a statement, promising to supply those in Ukraine with clothes, food, medical aid and shelter. "Ukraine Relief would like to thank every person involved in relief efforts." Mostly made up of the area's large Ukrainian immigrant population, organizers say the newly formed volunteer organization was created "to connect and unite people, businesses, organizations, and religious communities together" to provide aid to those caught in the current turmoil in Ukraine.

An inflatable big-screen projector will be set up behind Dress Barn in Citrus Heights Saturday night, as the Citrus Town Center hosts a showing of "The Nut Job" cartoon -- the final film to be shown during its summer "Outdoor Movie Series" this year.

With giveaways, local vendors, fire truck photo-shoots and free safety checks, the Citrus Town Center hosted a Safety Fair on Saturday -- drawing kids, families and shoppers to the annual Citrus Heights event. Odds of winning an 11 a.m. raffle by the fire department for free home safety equipment were high, due to only a handful of entries -- but things had picked up by the second noon-hour raffle, according to the Department's booth manager. Area resident Kristin Pickett waited in a line of cars to get a free child seat safety check performed by the Citrus Heights Police Department. "It was wonderful," said the young mother after Officer Dave Jones took several minutes to verify her child's car seat base was securely fit and the straps tight. "It was great of them to be giving up their Saturday on this extremely hot day."

Citrus Heights Vice Mayor Sue Frost helped Sacramento's Meals on Wheels deliver their 2 millionth meal to a Citrus Heights senior Thursday, followed by a celebration luncheon at the All Seasons Cafe in the Rusch Park Community Center.