South vs. North 10/5/07

Centennial vs. Stockdale 10/5/07

East vs. Garces 10/5/07

Garces vs. East 10/5/07

BHS vs. Foothill 10/5/07

Loss — and rediscovery — with a letter

Lt. Enoch P. Burley of the Army Air Forces never made it home to his wife, Yvonne. He was shot down over New Guinea, along with 15 of his flying brothers while piloting a Red Cross plane transporting wounded in August 1943.

Mrs. Burley got the news from her uncle, Sheriff John Loustalot and her father, Constable Frank Loustalot, while she was at work at the Vega aircraft factory on Golden State Highway.

Earlier that day, a Californian reporter came to the family home, and Mrs. Burley, assuming the paper had heard about a medal her husband recently earned, excitedly told her visitor all the details. The woman listened politely and dutifully took notes. It was later that Mrs. Burley realized the reporter probably had learned the lieutenant’s fate and had come to get the young widow’s reaction to the tragedy. Mrs. Burley is still grateful the reporter never let on.

A couple of years later, Mrs. Burley met and married Ray Liner and they had a long and happy marriage until Mr. Liner’s death in 1998. Burley’s parents welcomed Mr. Liner into the family and were like grandparents to the Liners’ son.

Mrs. Liner hadn’t read her first husband’s letters in years, until she went through them for The Californian’s series. But the experience reacquainted her with her first love.
“It made me feel 20 years old again for a couple of days instead of 85. He was just 23 when he died and hadn’t had a chance to live life.”

Mrs. Liner received a photo of her first husband from her former mother-in-law years ago. Out of respect for her second husband, she tucked it away in a cedar chest.
The photo is now sitting on a shelf in Mrs. Liner’s den.

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June 24, 1943

My Dearest Darling,

Well this is one time I can’t write and raise hell about my not getting any mail. All of us boys hit the jackpot. I got 14 letters, also Ray and Oric. One of the flight officers got 20 at once. It looks as though we will be getting them fairly regular. My God, honey baby, I was never so glad in my life to get mail. It seemed as though I hadn’t heard from you in years. Now since the mail is coming and your letters get here, time won’t seem to drag so slow.

Thanks, darling, for sending my promotion on to me as soon as you did. Thought it would never come. Got it on the 12th of June. Maybe by the time I come home, will have my captaincy. Have another four months before I can start sweating it. Oric and myself are the only ones that have ours. Ray and Mills are still waiting and Ray is really sweating. Thinks just because he can’t wear a silver bar everyone he meets notices it, and it’s killing his soul to have anyone think that we rank him. We are really getting a laugh out of it.

I wired you $300 today, so if all our bills aren’t paid, that should just about get them caught up. Now, baby doll, don’t you go without anything just so you can save. I want you to buy anything you need or want. That’s all it means to me is just for you to get anything you want.

I don’t know what to think about my little mommy (affectionate name for his wife) working. Can’t for the life of me figure out what you are doing. Frances says you are working at Vega and you mentioned the personnel office but that’s all I can figure out. Guess it’s okay. Just don’t be doing anything that is too hard because we can get along without it.

Now, honey, don’t you worry about my being up here. I really don’t have much to worry about. The flying is about the same as in the States. A few little hazards more but not much. Probably a lot safer than it was at Victorville and a lot better fellows to be around. If you could only be with me, I wouldn’t mind much at all over here. I know that a fellow could live a lot cheaper here than we used to. One of the fellows married an Australian girl and they live on $100 a month and didn’t want for anything. Boy, could me and you get along on what I make over here. But of course there is no place like home and having my baby, even if it cost a million times that.

I will write you again very soon, my darling. I love you with all my heart.

Your loving husband

Great Doc

My primary care doctor, Dr. Jacquelyn Kotarac, is a physician whose excellence is matched by few. She has been a god send to my wife and I. She is extremely knowledgeable and somehow keeps up to date on all areas of her practice. She is always upbeat and pleasant as is all of her staff. If she is unsure of something, she is not afraid to say so but is always able to quickly research the topic and find the answer. She always spends enough time with us to be sure to get an accurate diagnosis and answer all our questions.

Her office deals with insurance and prescription matters in a very professional fashion and eliminates the headaches that are sometimes associated with it. She is particularly adept at knowing which specialists to refer us to when the situation requires it; we have never had a bad experience with anyone she has referred us to. There are many able physicians in town but Bakersfield has never been known as the mecca of medical science. Dr. Kotarac is somewhat of an oasis in the middle of the desert.

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Do you have a favorite doctor? Go to bakersfield.com/yourwords and submit an article to the health category telling us the full name of your doctor and why he or she is so special. Include your own name as well. A sampling of submissions will be published in an upcoming Eye Street feature in The Bakersfield Californian.

Great Doc

Dr. Richard Hill at Kaiser is a great doctor. He is genuinely concerned about the problem you are having and spends as much time as is necessary to diagnose the problem. He usually can find the answer and if not he quickly sends us to a specialist. He has made my husband and I feel like friends rather then just patients.

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Do you have a favorite doctor? Go to bakersfield.com/yourwords and submit an article to the health category telling us the full name of your doctor and why he or she is so special. Include your own name as well. A sampling of submissions will be published in an upcoming Eye Street feature in The Bakersfield Californian.

Great Doc

Dr. David L. Harmon has been our primary physician since we retired. We are blessed to have his expertise as we age. He is always patient and listens to our ills with much empathy and is always eager to get at and resolve those problems. We have never had a doctor so patient, kind and informative. We just hope that he does not retire before we ar 100% complete. Kudos to you, Doctor Harmon and thank you so much for your patience and kindness. Sincerely, Daniel and Yvette Doiron YEAH #1 DOCTOR HARMON!!!!!

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Do you have a favorite doctor? Go to bakersfield.com/yourwords and submit an article to the health category telling us the full name of your doctor and why he or she is so special. Include your own name as well. A sampling of submissions will be published in an upcoming Eye Street feature in The Bakersfield Californian.

A true family physician

My doctor is so good that my wife, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law have all changed to him. He is Charlton Wong, MD, with Kaiser Permanente. He is thorough in his care and attention to each of us and makes sure he has time to treat you as an individual...a true family physician. You never feel like you are on an assembly line. Dr. Wong not only takes care of our physical well being but is concerned with our mental health...he takes the time to talk with us and know us as individuals. He has a wonderful sense of humor and shares that also. He is a kind, caring, and sensitive person as well as our doctor.

James Leist

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VISION AND VISION THERAPY IN AUTISM WORKSHOP

On Saturday, September 29, the Kern Autism Network presented “Vision and Vision Therapy in Autism,” a workshop led by Dr. Penelope Suter. Dr. Suter is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development; Fellow of the American Board of Disability Analysts; and Fellow of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association. Her practice is located in Bakersfield.

“Vision is overlooked in autism,” said Dr. Suter. “It’s a huge part of sensory integration.”

The visual system takes up about a third of the brain. When vision works well, vision leads. When it does not work well, the world appears inconsistent and confusing. Vision therapy, or optometric visual training, helps individuals develop and better use their vision.

According to Dr. Suter, people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have more vision problems than the general population. Vision deficits are usually expressed as motor, speech and behavior deficits.

“In autism and neurological dysfunctions, people don’t know how to tell their eyes what to look for,” said Dr. Suter. “Typically where their attention goes, their eyes go. And where their eyes go, their attention goes.”

Dr. Suter stressed that there is a difference between eyesight and visual perception. “You have to be able to organize information coming into the eyes into an object before it’s any good to you.”

“When you are sitting in this room, there are more than a thousand pieces of information impinging on your eyes. You have to ignore that. You make eye movements so you can attend. Eye movements and attention are inextricably linked. If you cannot move your eyes to what you want to attend to, you will have a very hard time attending to it.”

Our visual system does not like deficits and will “fill in” missing information. “That is why it is so easy to miss visual problems,” said Dr. Suter. For instance, following brain injury, an entire half of the visual world can be missing, but the person is unaware of it. “The people walking into doors do not realize they have lost vision. Half of the entire world is gone from both eyes and they don’t know it. They have cognitive confusion because they get lost a lot.”

Dr. Suter stressed the importance of a thorough vision examination for children with special needs. “When your world expands and collapses, blurs in and out, it generates a lot of fear,” said Dr. Suter. “If the world is not stable, you cannot catch a ball. Kids with visual spatial dysfunction, the world shifts and changes. It is not a reliable place.”

Treatments include glasses, patching, and vision exercises. Special prism glasses can improve balance and motor dysfunctions by shifting the visual midline back to center. In some cases colored lenses aid vision by filtering specific wavelengths of light.

If you suspect your loved one with ASD may have a vision problem, contact a developmental optometrist for a comprehensive evaluation. More information is available at the Optometrists Network at www.visiontherapystories.org and Vision Help at www.visionhelp.com. Dr. Suter can be reached at 661 869-2010.

The Kern Autism Network provides support, awareness, information and education to families, professionals and the public throughout Kern County. For information about the organization and upcoming workshops, visit our website at www.kernautism.org

Kern Autism Network

www.kernautism.org
661 588-4235

AT&T PIONEERS AND BAKERSFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS SEND SUPPLIES AND SMILES TO THE TROOPS

BAKERSFIELD, Calif., October 4, 2007 — Laughter and smiles filled the Laurelglen Elementary School cafeteria as students, teachers and administration stood alongside Bakersfield City Council Member Harold Hansen, representatives from the offices of U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy and state Sen. Roy Ashburn and members of the AT&T Pioneers, AT&T’s volunteer organization, to fill 100 care packages for troops serving in the military overseas.

Students excitedly filled each package with the supplies that they and the AT&T Pioneers had collected over the past two months, including toiletries, snacks, books, playing cards and batteries. In addition to the supplies, each package included a copy of the Laurelglen Elementary School Student DVD "Little Voices, Big Hearts.”

In May 2007, the AT&T Pioneers partnered with two third-grade classes at Laurelglen Elementary School to write letters to the troops and create a DVD, “Little Voices, Big Hearts,” of the students reading their letters and singing songs to the troops.

“Thank you to the school and thank you, AT&T. Not only are you a leader in cutting-edge communication, but you are also a leader in social responsibility,” said Jeff Flores, an aide to state Sen. Ashburn. “The care packages and DVD are a nice reminder of what our troops are fighting for – for our freedom.”

The care packages will be sent to military men and women from Kern County, including many friends and family members of the students and volunteers who assembled them.

“When I got the call to be here I was very pleased, as I have a grandson, Ryan, in Iraq,” Hansen said. “I’ve been told one of these boxes will go to him, so this is very special to me. I give a heartfelt thanks to the Laurelglen Elementary School students and to the AT&T Pioneers.”

The AT&T Pioneers are the nation's largest company-sponsored volunteer organization with more than 350,000 AT&T employees and retirees, who volunteer their time to enhance the communities where they work and live. The Pioneers mainly focus on education, social needs and the environment. In 2005, AT&T Pioneers donated more than 11.3 million hours of their time to community outreach activities — nearly $204 million worth of volunteer time.

Golden Valley vs. Madera South 9/7/07

OUR #1 DOC ROCKS

Dr. J. Foster Campbell has been our family doctor for 15+ years. He has taken care of our children, family members, friends, etc. (which can be quite challenging). He has always been there for us even on major holidays, and vacations. We believe that he is a doctor for all the right reasons. We think he is the greatest doctor ever. We also think he is a wonderful person and are glad to know him. Thanks Doc, for all you do.

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Do you have a favorite doctor? Go to bakersfield.com/yourwords and submit an article to the health category telling us the full name of your doctor and why he or she is so special. Include your own name as well. A sampling of submissions will be published in an upcoming Eye Street feature in The Bakersfield Californian.

Got A Great Doc?

I would like to tell you about the wonderful Dr. I have. Yes he is in Bakersfield. I know everyone believes to find a good Dr. you must go out of Bakersfield. My wonderful Dr. is Dr. Raj A Patel (Preferred Family Care Physicians Medical) located at 5925 Truxtun Ave. What I have found so wonderful about Dr. Patel is first he is in no hurry to leave the room. He answers every one of your questions, makes sure you understand what he is telling you and first and foremost he does not let the insurance co. dictate what his patient needs. I could go on and on about Dr. Patel. He is very caring and compassionate about your needs and how you feel. He will go out of his way to call you at home to make sure everything is ok. I can't say enough wonderful things about him. I have sent several friends to him that I know feel the same way I do.

Thank you Dr. Patel

Recent Posts : Bakersfield.com

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Golden Valley vs. Madera South 9/7/07

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