Public employees win

St. Helena home lottery

The lottery to own two much-sought-after St. Helena affordable homes was held Monday night at City Hall. Fourteen parties applied for the homes, qualified and were pre-approved for loans. Only two of them -- both public employees -- walked out of the lottery with a solid shot at owning a home in pricey St. Helena.

City and school district employees received preference for the Voorhees Circle homes, giving their names a greater probability of being drawn out of a bag by Mayor Del Britton.

Marc Luelsdorf, who teaches economics and government at St. Helena High School, was thrilled when he won rights to the first home.

"I had given up hope of ever owning a home around here, and this was a little glimmer, a little door opening," he said.

City Building Department employee Indalecio Garay and his wife Alvara won the drawing for the second home.

Both homes are classified as moderate-income affordable housing. Luelsdorf said the home he won is priced at $292,000./Jesse Duarte

Bike circus pedaling

fun for Calistogans

Oil the bicycle chains. Air up the tires, and dust off that helmet for a bicycle extravaganza.

This Sunday the Calistoga Family Center and Calistoga Rotary International ride in tandem to sponsor the first ever Calistoga Bicycle Circus.

"We were looking for a fundraiser that would support the Family Center and bring people from the community out to have some fun," said Stephanie Snyder, executive director of the Calistoga Family Center.

"There will be jumpy things, and bike events, and the high school principal, Kevin Eisenberg (who is also the president of Calistoga Rotary International) will be putting on a clown suit and riding a unicycle, so that's worth coming out to see."

The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. at the Washington Street bike path and baseball fields. Admission is free, but there is a fee to participate in some of the events./John Waters Jr.

St. Helena eyes

advanced study program

The St. Helena Unified School District is considering a new academic program. Sometimes compared to Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) differs in that it is a program, whereas AP is a set of curriculum guides leading up to a test. IB students take tests and undertake projects that are then evaluated by teachers from around the world.

At the high school level, students would be able to select individual IB classes without having to complete the entire IB program, which awards students with a special IB diploma if they complete a certain number of IB classes, an extended essay and community service requirements./Jesse Duarte