Battling cancer and a playground first

The Curvettes, the Relay for Life team sponsored by Curves in Dayton, overshot their fundraising goal of $2,000, raking in $3,827.02, including $108.73 raised at the Relay for Life.

Before of the event, which took place July 21 and 22 at Carson High School, the Curvettes hosted drawings and a "Flamingo the Yard" fundraiser, where for a fee, folks could send the birds to land in the yard of a local business or residence.

Those who walked all night were Team Capt. Jodie Giurlani and husband Kevin, Linda Moulds, Charlotte Manseau, Leonora Yanes, Cheryl Keir, Jerry Heebner, Bonnie Reed, Carolyn Melia, Sharon and George Smith.

"We really did stay up from Saturday at 3 p.m. until Sunday at 9 a.m., which included set up and dismantling our site," said Keir.

During the relay, the Curvettes offered games for folks to play, including a flamingo ring toss and a sand dig. They also sold temporary "fish" tattoos, bubbles and "squirty" fish.

Saturday from 9:30 p.m-1:30 a.m. Rich and Natalie Blaver provided karaoke and their son deejay'd the evening. Groups, duos and singles performed and had a lot of fun, Keir said.

Sunday morning, the Curvettes sold bagels and cream cheese, donated by the Truckee Bagel Co. and served free oranges, donated by Jerry Massad, owner of the Cracker Box.

"All of our walkers showed up and had a great time walking the track and really enjoyed seeing what the other teams did with their booths," Keir said, adding that seeing hundreds of luminaries lining the track and the word CURE spelled out in the bleachers was a moving reminder of why they were there and had worked so hard.

The Curvettes plan to rest until next year, when they'll hit Dayton with new, fun promotions to support Relay for Life.

"We want to thank everyone who helped and donated their time and products," Keir said.

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It's a first!

My daughters Emily and Natalie, as well as their friends, Alexandra and Matthew, were the first children in Dayton to play on the just-placed playground equipment at the park at the end of Roughing It Road, according to the parks department employee who had just finished the process. Thankfully, we're still small enough that in Dayton, things like that can become momentous.

It is nice to see parks finally becoming a part of the landscape. Let's just remember that it's up to all of us to keep them in top shape for all to enjoy.