Youngsters at Special School in Orange Are Sitting Pretty on Handmade Chairs

At first glance, the 12 small oak chairs Paul Kersey of Westminster made and donated to the nonprofit Rehabilitation Institute of Southern California in Orange hardly seem like a big deal.

But to developmentally delayed children such as Stephanie Lopez, 2, of Garden Grove, they mean a sense of freedom. As supervising teacher Mimi McRae says, they look just like chairs, but they’re not--”it’s a gift of independence.”

The sturdy chairs, built in two sizes and with seat belts, “had to be specially constructed because you just can’t buy them in stores,” McRae said. “They’re made exactly right for perfect back support, and the children can put their little feet on the floor.” She points out that regular chairs are either too big or too small, “so you’re asking children with physical problems to compensate just to sit properly. Adults can align their bodies naturally, but these children can’t do that.”

Besides offering the support, and the seat belt, which gives them confidence, she said, the children have full use of their arms and hands, and “that brightens their life.”

It also brightens Kersey’s days. Said the free-lance carpenter, father of six children and an elder at the Westminster Bible Chapel, “When I learned of the need for the chairs, it struck a chord in my heart.”

University High School in Irvine really cleaned up in a recent national meet by winning firsts in the 220-yard dash, the 440-yard dash and ancient map drawing; Corona del Mar High grabbed a first in advanced Latin prose.

“The competition is a bit different,” said Les Johnson, University’s Latin instructor who shepherded Orange County Latin students to the high school Latin convention in Durham, N.C., “but the message is clear. Latin students are regular students.”

Notwithstanding Latin’s reputation of being limited to the academic student, “Latin is for every student as much as Spanish is for everyone,” he said.

But Johnson, who teaches five classes in Latin and contends the subject is making a comeback, points out that Latin has side benefits--it’s relevant in studying literature, English skills, history and mythology. Even ancient map drawing.

Thor Dykstra, 37, new director of the Huntington Valley Boys Club and a one-time tough street urchin who had brushes with the law during his teen-age years, said his club beats the streets. “We’re a whole lot better than what’s out there,” he said. “I know. I came from there.”

Acknowledgments--Fullerton Police Sgt. Ken Head captured a gold medal in small bore rifle, and Detective Ed Dahms won a gold medal in shot put at the recent World Police and Fire Olympics in San Jose . . . Santa Ana resident John Charles Molina appointed to state Economic Opportunity Advisory Commission . . . Sailboat racer and banker Ralph Rodheim of Newport Beach named to California Boating and Waterways Commission . . . Vinh Tran, 12-year-old Santa Ana runner, dashed to the 200-meter title in his age group in the Arco Jesse Owens 1985 National Championship Games at UCLA.