Font ResizeA surplus fire engine long retired from use by the Richmond Fire Department departed from Beale Air Force Base north of Sacramento on Oct. 19 for Managua, Nicaragua. The effort to get the truck to Managua has been covered in the Times, and readers were generous with their support.
The donation of the 26-year-old truck by the city to the fire department in Managua, the capital of the Central American country, came after weeks of fundraising and will be followed by a shipment of firefighting equipment for the 24-member volunteer department.
This week, city Public Works Director Yader Bermudez, Richmond fire Capt. Elizabeth de Dios and department truck mechanic James Walker are making a three-day trip to Nicaragua on their own time to train their counterparts in Managua on the use and maintenance of the truck. It was De Dios who came up with the idea of donating the engine rather than auctioning it off.
The truck was flown without cost to the city by a U.S. Department of Defense transport program, and the travel expenses of the three Richmond delegates were covered by private sponsors.
A DARK AND STORMY COMEDY: A stage version of the 1975 musical comedy "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," the long-running film that has inspired audience participation for decades, opens Friday at the Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, in Point Richmond.
"The Rocky
The cast includes Susan Amacker, Sean Beecroft, Ted V. Bigornia, Nic Candito, Todd Carver, Raymond C. Duval, Irene Franzen, Robert Love, Dan Morgan, Sophia Rose Morris, Sarah Mosby, Patty Penrod, Larry Schrupp, Paul J. White and Vicki Zabarte. G.A. Klein, musical direction is by Pat King and choreography by Anjee Norgaard.
And for those used to only seeing "Rocky Horror" at a traditional midnight screening, Masquers has that covered. The playhouse will have a special audience participation performance on Halloween at 11:59 p.m. Saturday and another Nov. 21 and supply attendees with requisite props.
Tickets for the regular performances are $20, while the midnight shows are $25. For tickets or details, call 510-232-4031 or visit www.masquers.org.
WEST COUNTY NOTES: Members of Richmond Elks Lodge No. 1251 distributed dictionaries to third-grade students at Cesar Chavez, Coronado and Grant elementary schools in Richmond last week. The third annual distribution again was funded by a $500 Gratitude Grant to the lodge from the Elks National Foundation.
The Rotary Club of El Cerrito, meanwhile, has given copies of Webster's Dictionary for Students to third-graders at Prospect Sierra, St. Jerome, St. John, Tehiyah Day and Windrush schools in El Cerrito. Books for both distributions were supplied at wholesale by the Dictionary Project, a national nonprofit organization.
Reach Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or ctreadway@bayareanewsgroup.com. Updates at twitter.com/christreadway.
