Proud of
our kids

As a small part of the fire damage in Moorpark, Chaparral Middle School had no power for three days. The students had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off, where as all other Moorpark schools had only Monday off.

Two Chaparral seventh graders, Stephanie Bellasalma and Laura Fuquay, were understandably upset by the events of the last few days and wanted to help in any way they could.

Stephanie, who has an uncle who’s a volunteer fire chief in Lexington, Tenn. knew a bit more about the dangers the rescue workers faced. So the pair spent nearly an entire (extra) day off baking for the rescue workers. They wouldn’t even eat any cookies, saying, "They are all for the rescue workers." They baked 20 to 25 dozen of their favorite homemade cookies and presented them to grateful rescue workers at the Arroyo Vista Community Center. One tray was snatched up before the girls could enter the building.

With all that had happened in the previous days, it made them feel good to be able to contribute to the effort in some way and we are, of course, very proud of them both.

Vicki Bellasalma

Moorpark