Dear Editor:On Friday morning, Aug. 27, a happy vibrant group of Gauldin Elementary students gathered at Independence Park for an awards and appreciation day for members of the Gauldin Community Pride Project. They were happy and eager to receive awards for time spent cleaning up their neighborhood. These students chose to donate time from summer vacation to reclaim their neighborhood by cleaning up debris, cleaning off graffiti and removing illegally-posted signs. As each student ran forward for an award, co-founder of the group Alex Gaytan continually encouraged them to "hustle" as they ran to accept their award. Mr. Gaytan, a teacher at Gauldin, worked hard on this project. He spends many hours of his own time working with the students and encouraging them to excel. This pilot program was an idea created and organized with support of Keep Downey Beautiful coordinator Carol Rowland and her co-sponsor, Alex Gaytan. Also present that morning was Lisa Fox, known by many in Downey for her excellent work in the graffiti abatement and removal department. This program teaches students the need for each of us to do our part in keeping Downey clean and beautiful. Since this project was such a success, other schools should consider this program for their school. Thanks to Dolores Goble, principal of Gauldin, Councilman David Gafin and all the parents who attended this meeting. -- Byron Dillon, Committee member, Keep Downey Beautiful

********** Published: September 2, 2010 - Volume 9 - Issue 20