Tasteful donations distributed

OUR LAGUNA

The Laguna Board of Realtors recently doled out the proceeds from

A Taste for Charity, one of the board’s annual fund-raisers. Checks

were presented at a reception held at J. Kamin Fine Arts gallery.

Laguna Shanti, First Thursday Art Walk buses, Laguna Beach High

School Scholarship Foundation (four scholarships) and a Youth Shelter

art program were the recipients.

Rick McIntire, who co-chaired the reception with Rick Gold and

board President Gayle Waite, handed out the checks totaling $23,000.

“It was a really nice event,” Waite said.

But then so was the fund-raiser, held at Tivoli Too, that included

an art auction as well as culinary specialties prepared by some of

Laguna’s best restaurants..

“The participating restaurants were outrageous,” said McIntire.

“They really went above and beyond.”

Bob Barnes and Lance Kramer accepted the check for Laguna Shanti.

Diane Kloke represented the scholarship foundation and Kathleen

Updyke Barrett of Deru’s Gallery represented the art walk.

J. Kamin director Robin Fuld and consultant Eve Vannuki hosted the

reception on behalf of the gallery.

Guests included incoming board President Dave Schaar, who had

served as auctioneer at the fundraiser; Mayor Wayne Baglin and Larry

Wilson, past board presidents; Robbin Wignall, new board executive

vice president and Taste for Charity committee members Jerry Bieser,

Veeder South, Alex Del Toro, Bob Hartman and Colleen Watkins, art

coordinator for the auction at the fund-raiser.

Next up for the board: The Pet Parade and Chili Cook-off, set for

Sept. 15 at Tivoli Too. Proceeds from that event will benefit the

Marine Mammal Center, the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter and Bluebell

Foundation for cats, all in Laguna Canyon.

Laguna Shanti, the youth shelter, art walk buses, the Scholarship

Foundation, Friendship Shelter and La Playa have been selected as the

recipients for next year’s A Taste for Charity.

The Community Clinic and No Square Theatre will be the

beneficiaries of the board’s March fashion show.

BACK IN THE SADDLE

Doug Reilly is back at work in Laguna Woods City Hall and driving

there in a new VW Cabriolet, but it’s been a long 3 1/2months since

his car was clobbered at the intersection of El Toro and Laguna

Canyon roads.

“I was astonished -- stunned at the reaction of friends here and

in Laguna Woods when I had the accident,” said the former city

planning commissioner. “They were so caring, so supportive.”

Reilly was making a left-hand turn off of El Toro onto Laguna

Canyon Road when his 1987 Honda Accord was t-boned -- center struck

-- in the driver’s side by a Chevrolet Trailblazer.

“I saw this huge thing coming at me and I thought you’re not

supposed to be there,” Reilly said.

Reilly’s collar bone and three ribs were broken in the accident.

Initially doctors were more concerned about possible damage to his

liver and he spent 36 hours in intensive care -- in all, a week in

the hospital.

“It was the first time I had ever been in a hospital overnight,”

he said. “I learned a lot. I couldn’t move and these bright, cheery

people would come and say, ‘OK, we’re ready to get you up.’ No, uh

uh.

“Eventually they forced me up.”

There also was the issue of self-medication for pain.

“Some of the staff were with the program and some were not,”

Reilly said. “The ones who weren’t, suggested waiting until I felt

pain.

“Yeah! I wanted to stay ahead of that curve.”

The other interesting thing for Reilly was hearing other people’s

war stories.

“I had never realized before how dangerous driving can be,” he

said.

“I am a lot more defensive driver than I was before and a lot more

cautious about going through an intersection even on the green

light.”

Before the doctors would spring him from the hospital, Reilly, who

lives alone, had to prove that he could get out of bed on his own,

get into the bathroom on his own and take a shower.

City Clerk Verna Rollinger drove him home from the hospital.

“Actually she was the first person I called after the accident,

but she was out of town,” Reilly said.

“The next person was Leslie (Keane, Laguna Woods city manager).

“Verna was always there for me and Leslie was extremely

supportive. I never worried about my job.”

Village Laguna, of which Reilly is an active member, had to do

without his services for the annual Charm House Tour.

He was housebound for 4 1/2weeks, not allowed to drive and not

inclined to shop, cook or do any heavy lifting.

“I even gave up on shaving,” he said.

Ginger Osborne organized “Dinners for Doug,” recruiting Ellen

Harris, Marion Jacobs, Helen Krugman, Ann Christoph, Bob and Sonia

Meyerhoff, Barbara Metzgar, Johanna Felder Ellin Henderson and Jen

McMenomy. Jacobs and Bonnie and Arnold Hano chauffeured Doug to

doctors’ appointments and other necessary outings.

By the end of May, the doctor allowed Reilly to drive and he

bought his nifty new car. He went back to work the first week in June

“I was really happy to start back -- it was time for budget

preparation,” Reilly said.

Reilly finished physical therapy last week and plans to return to

the gym he used to frequent before the accident. He has pain when he

tries to do anything above shoulder height.

“People still check in to see how I am doing,” Reilly said. “I

love all of them and it nice to know they care.

HONOR BOUND

The Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Clubs 106 Annual Open Exhibition

has accepted work by Laguna College of Art & Design painting senior

Regina Jacobson.

“This is a great achievement by one of our students to be accepted

into such a prestigious and historic exhibit,” said Alan Barkley,

college president. “Regina is an outstanding student who has taken

full advantage of our rigorous drawing and painting program.”

Admission to the exhibit of works by women artists in oil,

acrylic, watercolor, pastels, graphics and sculpture is juried. The

exhibit grew out of the club’s early function of providing aid,

counsel and exhibit space for women art students, for whom life in

art was a particular struggle.

The club was founded in 1896, in honor of Miss Wolfe, one of the

country’s first art collectors and the only woman among the 106

original subscribers that created the Metropolitan Museum of Art in

New York City.

Laguna College of Art & Design is a non-profit four-year college

at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road. It was founded in 1961. Degrees are

offered in drawing and painting, graphic design, illustration and

feature animation. For more information, call 376-6000.

Robin Globus, a Dartmouth College 2002 graduate, has been cited

for outstanding academic achievement in Environmental Studies 050.

Robin is the daughter of Maria and Gordon Globus.

RED FLAG

Members of the Laguna Beach Fire Department and the Orange County

Fire Authority will conduct a Red Flag training class from 10 to

11:30 a.m., Saturday in the Laguna Beach City Council Chamber, 505

Forest Ave.

The training is sponsored by the Laguna Coast Fire Safe Council,

which will meet at 9 a.m. before the training class.

Red Flag volunteers will be asked to drive a two-hour patrol on

days when the U. S. Weather Service issues a Red Flag alert in the

Laguna area. The patrols will aid in the early detection and

reporting of fires, plus identification of suspicious behavior. The

high visibility of the patrols is expected to be act as a deterrent

to arson.

Partners are assigned for each patrol, unless they request a

particular pairing. All patrol participants must be trained.

For more information, visit ww.lagunacoastfiresafe council.org or

call the Laguna Beach Fire Department, 497-0700, from 8 a.m. to 5

p.m., weekdays.

* OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box

248, Laguna Beach, 92652, hand-deliver to 384 Forest Ave., Suite 22;

call 494-4321 or fax 494-8979.