By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY

Staff Writer

The Crestline Lions Club was busy this summer and generous this fall. All summer long, they were involved in the Crestline Chamber of Commerce’s Corks & Hops beer and wine walk, distributing free water and providing the pretzel necklaces for those having fun at those monthly events. They hosted two booths each month, one in Top Town and another at the Arrowhead Credit Union parking lot. They also held a yard sale over Labor Day weekend, despite the weather, raising funds to donate to worthy projects.

Their next event is on Oct. 21 for White Cane Safety Day. On that Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jensen’s market in Blue Jay and at the Crestline post office they will be collecting funds for the Lions signature project, preventing blindness. White Cane Safety Day has been observed each October since 1964 to celebrate the achievements of people who are visually impaired or blind and their tool of independence, the white cane. International White Cane Safety Day gives Lions an opportunity to increase awareness of the important need to prevent blindness, worldwide. Last month, the Crestline Lions Club paid for an eye exam and a pair of transitional lens eyeglasses for a worthy 9-year-old local student.

Another of their other local donations approved is a monthly payment of $40 per month to co-sponsor a bear-proof dumpster at the parking lot for the Heart Rock hiking trail. They are sharing this cost with the Crestline-Lake Gregory Rotary Club and the Crestline Chamber of Commerce to encourage visitors who hike the trail to pack out their trash.

They approved a $200 donation to the Salvation Army for its Thanksgiving dinner and approved spending $200 for the Crestline Trick or Treat the Merchants by purchasing candy for the giveaway on Oct. 28. They will have a booth on Lake Drive giving out the candy to those costumed children walking by.

For Valley of Enchantment Elementary School, the club approved a $200 donation for the school’s chicken and garden program. Through this program, the students will be given the opportunity to learn important lessons about life, although outside the classroom.

Next month, the Lions Club members will begin selling raffle tickets for their annual firewood raffle, after their Oct. 24 meeting. The club members will also be at Crestline’s Top Town Festival on Nov. 11, passing out coffee and hot chocolate.

Their next Lions Club dinner will be on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Leisure Shores Senior Center. At the meeting, the Lions District Governor Hank Trucha will be visiting and induct two new members, Robert Ippolito and Susan Oh, into the club. The dinner menu will be chili verde, tamales, rice, beans and tortillas. For dessert they will have a build-your-own ice cream sundae. The cost for the dinner is $10.

If you would like to attend this meeting and learn more about the Lions Club and meet the members, call President Catherine Johnson at (909) 338-5758.