Kids Unlimited

What a night...Kids Unlimited final performance of the season, and what a show it was. With over 100 singers and dancers, these kids were really great, and our hats go off to the show's founder and director Dawn Hess. Kids, in grades 2 through 12, can participate in this energy packed show that has been a center of summer entertainment for 21 years in Redding. From the opening "Dancing Machine" to the final "Push It To The Limit"-Hip Hop, this show was a fantastic tribute to the hard work of the kids, the creative direction of the staff, and the wonderful support from the many parents, grandparents, and kids in attendance.
Next year will be even better, so put this great show on your calendar....you do not want to miss Kids Unlimited in Redding, CA.
thanks,
Ron Largent Keller Williams Realty in Redding, CA
www.ronlargent.com

President Bush in Redding,CA--What A Day!

Yes, he showed up....The President, George W. Bush....in person. What an exciting day for our little town in the far north state of California. Touching down at the Redding Airprt just after 2 PM, thousands were there to greet him, but unfortanately the tight schedule did not allow for much interaction with the public. All of the state and local politicians stood behind the President as he addressed firefightters and took a good look at the Fire Attack base. Then, after a helicopter tour over the burned areas, he returned to the Airport to honor Boy Scouts active in clearing the Pacific Trail.
At 4:30 PM...off they went as Air Force One headed north out of the airport then turning to the east and south and right over my home in Palo Cedro. What a sight, and what a day.
A first for Redding in that this was the first seated President to visit Redding since John Kennedy when he dedicated Whiskeytown Dam in the early '60's.
Best wishes to all,
Ron Largent The Largent Team Keller Williams Realty in Redding, CA
www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com
Your Commercial Connection to the Redding area and the North State

Commercial Property in Redding and Northern California

If you are looking for a client that wants to get into the "Convenience Store" business, give me a call. I currently have a number listed, but through cooperating brokers have access to stores from Sacramento, CA north to Oregon.
Stores range from great Interstate locations with branded gas to "off the road" stores both with and without gas.
Inside sales range from$25,000/month to $100,000/month...and gas is similar, depending upon the location.
Prices range from $395,000 without real property to in excess of $2 million with real estate.
So, e-mail me for details, photos, proformas, etc.
Ron Largent Keller Williams Realty Redding CA
www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com
Your Commercial Real Estate Connection to the Redding Area and the

Commercial Property in Redding and Northern California

If you are looking for a client that wants to get into the "Convenience Store" business, give me a call. I currently have a number listed, but through cooperating brokers have access to stores from Sacramento, CA north to Oregon.
Stores range from great Interstate locations with branded gas to "off the road" stores both with and without gas.
Inside sales range from$25,000/month to $100,000/month...and gas is similar, depending upon the location.
Prices range from $395,000 without real property to in excess of $2 million with real estate.
So, e-mail me for details, photos, proformas, etc.
Ron Largent Keller Williams Realty Redding CA
www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com
Your Commercial Real Estate Connection to the Redding Area and the

Dan Walters of Sacramento Bee to Speak in Redding, CA

Dan Walters, a syndicated columist and Sacramento Bee reporter-columnist, will be speaking at the Shasta Voices 1st Annual Meeting this Thursday, July 17, 2008 at the Shasta Builders Exchange in Redding, CA. Shasta Voices, a 600 member community group concerned with growth and development in the greater Redding area, is hosting this special event, and all members of the community are invited. E-mail me for info and tickets.
Dan Walters is one of the most knowledgeable writers that covers the State political scene, and combines the serious "business of the State" with humor and candid opinions. He is an under demand speaker for he "calls it as he sees it", which can bother many political figures.
This Thursday at 3 PM.....Hope to see you.
Ron Largent The Largent Team www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com
Your Commercial Real Estate Connection in the Redding Area

Dancing With The Stars in Redding, CA

Only in Redding…..A Night For Dancing

What a great night it was at the Cascade Theater in downtown Redding when literally all of the “Stars” came out for the 2nd Annual “Dancing with the Stars-Shasta County Style”. This evening of sheer pleasure benefiting both the YMCA and the Shasta Women’s Refuge got the full house crowd into the night from the very beginning. Last year’s winners, the unbelievable Kathy Babcock and Star DJ Patrick Johnson danced an energy filled swing that thrilled all, and this was just the beginning. With Emcees Christy Largent and John Truitt bringing a high level of enthusiasm to usually mundane introductions, we met the dancers. Stars Chita Johnson from KRCR-TV, DJ Don Burton, Win River’s Tracy Edwards, City of Redding Manager Kurt Starman, County Supervisor Les Baugh, and our own newspaperwoman turned web page dynamo, Doni Greenberg. An exciting and beautiful beginning to a “Night to Remember”.

The Waltz competition showed creativity and originality by all of the couples, and after a short video on what each dance team did in their preparation rehearsals, we got to see the real thing, and were they ever good. The judges, radio personality Linda Regan, public radio host Valerie Ing-Miller, and popular DJ Patrick John, found that each couple had their very distinct style and personality, and the voting was very close for each couple. The audience was taken in by the twirls and the twists, and of course the gorgeous gowns and tuxedos made this competition one of beauty and class. Final dance partners Don Burton and Julie Correia brought the first half to a close with their very impressive individually choreographed ballroom dance style waltz, and the large and energetic crowd went wild. What a night!

Act Two started off with a very well performed Ballroom Dance Exhibition danced and choreographed by area couples that could be considered “professional dancers”. They were perfect in their movements, timing, and style as they danced a variety of dances including the tango, bolero, cha-cha, fox trot, and swing. This was a foretaste of more excitement to come as the evening turned to Disco dancing. Chita Johnson, looking considerably different than when she is giving us weather reports on Channel 7, got this segment off to a huge roar, which is just what she got with her fast and furious disco routine. With her long blond hair, her bright colored outfit, and her sheer energy and excitement, all that could be said at the conclusion of her dance was “Wow, what a dance”!

As with the national TV show, the audience picks the winners, and Shasta Style was no different. The competition was very close and Tracy Edwards and Matt Armstrong took home the 1st place honors. Tracy’s stunning outfit along with her obvious hard work paid off for her in the disco competition and their victory was well deserved.

“Only in Redding’ was a comment I heard as we exited, and yes, that is so true. Only in Redding could we have such a great show with all local talent. Only in Redding where most in the audience knew a number of the dancers so it became a big “family night of fun and excitement”. Only in Redding where we fill the Cascade to cheer on our own “Stars” to benefit the needy along with the youth in our community. Only in Redding where the “Stars” are really the folks we see, work with, and socialize with on a daily basis. Only in Redding do we have “Dancing with the Stars-Shasta Style”, and I am making my reservation for next year now. No way will I miss this great entertainment event.

Ron Largent
July 13, 2008.

My Day at the Fires with the Salvation Army

A Day with the Salvation Army at the Fire

My day started later, but Major Wayne Wetter, the officer in charge of the Redding Corps of the Salvation Army was up and out of his home at 6 AM. First to the office to be sure that the supply of food and other emergency items were coming in to the Corps HQ, and then he was off to the Incident Command Post (ICP) briefing at the Anderson Fair Grounds. The incident, as we all know now, is the 3 week old fire burning in the Shasta-Trinity Mountains just west of Redding. Split up into a number of fires, the two big ones in our area are the Motion Fire north of Highway 299 just NW of Redding and the Moon fire, due west of Redding in the rural area of Igo and Ono. While at the briefing, he was told that a couple of large vans were needed to haul valuable art and historical items from Old Shasta, and within a few minutes he had arranged to have them driven from the Corps warehouse on Airport Road to Old Shasta, just ahead of one of the first calls for the closing of Highway 299.

I joined Major Wetter at 12 noon and along with a photographer from the Record Searchlight, we headed for Igo, with a load of water bottles, food, and some medical supplies in the back of our van. Arriving at the “Road Closed” blockade at Placer and South Fork Road, the on-duty CHP officer told us of some local folks asking about food and water, along with some nearby residents that were packed into their van there at the roadblock. We, in turn, got out and told all that were in that area that we had set up an eating place and rest center at the nearby Igo Church, and that all were welcome to come there for food, water, cots, and just a place to get out of the heat and smoke. The disabled folks in the parked van immediately took us up on our offer and followed us to the Church.

The Church multi-family hall, which was actually opened and stocked on Thursday, was a “safe haven in the fire area”. Maps put up on the walls by Cal Fire gave all a good indication of exactly where the fire was, where it was headed, and where it had burned. Many in the hall could tell us exactly how close the fire was to their homes, what they left behind, and how much they appreciated the firefighters fighting these giant fires.

Word got to us that there were some folks that had not evacuated that needed water and food, so off we went to try to get to their homes. Some of these folks just wanted to “stick it out”, and in one home that we aided, they had previously prepared their property with plenty of hoses, and large open areas between the trees and the buildings. But, they could not get in or out, for once they left their place, they would not be allowed back in. With their many animals, the choice to stay was easy for them. This is a tough call for Cal Fire, for, in this case, they were probably OK, but for others, such as those on Zogg Mine Road, the fire could easily overtake them and their property.

We then got the word that some folks in Ono were stranded, so off we went. The Ono Store, which is almost the “city hall” for this remote and rural community, was the meeting place at that time, and we ran into Sheriff Tom Bosenko and the Cal Fire Public Information people. Apparently a number of folks in this area had been complaining about their “evacuation situation”, and wanted to see the Sheriff. Tom, a personal friend of mine, did a super job of explaining the “why’s” of evacuation, and, although not all would agree with him, it was clear that his driving interest was for the safety of both life and property. We took a list from the store of “needed items” that they had run out of (bread, milk, baby food, etc), in that the store owners could not leave, and we would get it back to them in the late afternoon.

We headed back to Redding and the Corps HQ; the Major checked in with the ICP to see if we were needed at the Motion Fire; then we started filling the van with supplies to go back out to the Igo Church and the Ono Store. The Major got home at 9 PM. What a day, and it would start over again Saturday morning.

Some observations: (1) The Cal Fire Team is very well organized, and keeps hourly progress reports available on all of the fires. (2) The Road Closures are necessary, although very inconvenient for many, for the fire and other emergency vehicles, such as PG&E crews, need to have open roads to do their jobs.(3) The general attitude of both those folks that have been evacuated and those from the community that are just helping is just wonderful. There are some that are very upset with having to leave their homes, which is understandable, but then a much larger group that is just thankful that the fire did not get them. And lastly the overall feeling that when a disaster strikes, like these fires, the real spirit of helping others comes through “loud and clear”. “A Caring People” clearly shows, and I was so proud to be part of these folks lives at this difficult time.

Ron Largent
July 12, 2008
Redding, CA
Salvation Army Advisory Board President

www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com

4th of July Freedom Festival Cancelled

If you haven't heard, the 4th of July celebration in Redding, CA...one of the highlights of the year in that it is usually a huge 30 minute show funded by the McConnell Foundation, has been cancelled due to the fire danger and the still smoky skies in Northern California.
Word is that it will be rescheduled in August.
But, in the meantime, best wishes for a Happy 4th whereever you are.
Ron Largent
The Largent Team
Your Commercial Real Estate Connection to the North State

www.ronlargent.com ronlargent@kw.com