EAST COUNTY HAPPENINGS

City councils

Lemon Grove, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Santee, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday

School boards

Alpine Union School District, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday; Lakeside Union Elementary School District, 6 p.m. Thursday; La Mesa-spring Valley School District, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Santee School District, 6 p.m. Tuesday

El Cajon clubs honor Citizen of the Year

East County Lions and Rotary service clubs and the El Cajon Chamber of Commerce host the Citizen of the Year award luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday 2/7 at the El Cajon Elks Lodge 1812, 1400 E. Washington, El Cajon. This year’s honoree is Richard Agundez Jr., now a retired police officer and school resource officer.

He notably disarmed a shooter on the campus of Granite Hills High School in 2001 without any loss of life. He served the police department for 30 years and has been a resident of El Cajon since 1987.

In retirement, he has continued to volunteer in the community, including as a vice president of the National Latino Police Officers Association. Agundez teaches yearly at the San Diego Explorer Academy, instructing teens interested in law enforcement careers. He also holds an annual Thanksgiving Day food drive with his famliy; this year they provided 350 dinners to families in need.

The luncheon honoring him is $30, catered by Rita’s Catering. Please RSVP to (619) 440-6161, fax (619) 440-6164, or register at eastcountychamber.org.

La Mesa, AARP offer help with taxes

AARP Foundation Tax-aide provides free in-person and virtual tax help to anyone, with a focus on low- to moderateincome taxpayers who are over 50 years old.

Tax-aide volunteers are trained and Irs-certified annually to make sure they are familiar with the latest changes to the tax code. AARP and the city of La Mesa are offering free tax preparation on Mondays starting tomorrow at the Adult Enrichment Center, 8450 La Mesa Blvd. Appointments are required; call (619) 667-1322.

La Mesa to open

1992 time capsule

La Mesa’s Youth Advisory Commission invites the community to join them at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 13 as they reach into the past and open a time capsule from 1992. The event takes place at La Mesa City Hall. The capsule was buried by the youth group on Aug. 18, 1992. A new capsule will be buried to be opened in the year 2050.

Virtual Speech Trek contest held Tuesday

The La Mesa-el Cajon Branch of the American Association of University Women is holding their annual Speech Trek speech contest, open to all high school students in grades 9-12. The virtual contest is open to all high schools. This year’s topic is “How can communities, organizations and citizens of all ages help protect and expand voting rights?” The contest will be held via Zoom at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Participating this year are Hussein Al Husseini, a senior from Granite Hills High School, Caitlin Hackenburg, a junior at Canyon Hills High School, and Kyra Sharma, a sophomore at La Jolla High School. To be part of the virtual audience, contact Sandra Martinez at sagaleamartinez@gmail.com for the Zoom link. The winning video goes on to the AAUW state competition. Local winners in the La Mesa-el Cajon branch will receive $500 for first place, $250 for second and $125 for third place. Visit aauwca.org.

Free concert at

Spring Valley church

Enjoy “An Elegant Evening With Clinton Gorham,” a debut concert from vocalist and Christian swing jazz artist Clinton Gorham, from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Dominion Center Church, 9679 Campo Road, Spring Valley. Reserve at bit.ly/3dtifzm.

Garden club to meet at Skyline library

The Paradise Gardeners meet at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Skyline Hills branch library, 7900 Paradise Valley Road, San Diego. Guest speaker Cindy Bruecks will discuss "Herbs for the Garden and the Kitchen" starting at 10:30 a.m. The group will also be participating in a native plant restoration project from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Paradise Canyon in North Bay Terraces, 6302 Division St., San Diego. No previous experience is required to join the event. Visit paradisegardeners.org.

VFW holds fundraiser after break-in

Branded Country Band plays at a fundraiser for Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9578 in Alpine. The post was burglarized in December and the concert aims to help the veterans rebuild. The concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday

at 844 Tavern Road, Alpine. Call (619) 445-6040.

Local schools earn garden grants

The nonprofit Berry Good Food, which offers programs dedicated to food security and food education, recently announced the award of $15,000 total to seven San Diego County schools. The schools are developing hands-on gardening and culinary education, creating healthy food access for their communities. In East County, winners are Darnall Charter School in Rolando and Kumeyaay Elementary in Tierrasanta. New this year, grant applicants were allowed to request nonmonetary services, such as an expertled class on gardening techniques, a cooking class, a garden cleanup by BGF volunteers, and a photosynthesis class using BGF’S “Seeds for the Future” bilingual workbook. Each of the 23 schools applying were evaluated on their project’s capacity for growing food, community need, demographics, mission impact and community support. Visit berrygoodfood.org.

Free class at

Sharp resource center

The Sharp Grossmont Hospital Senior Resource Center is offering “Driver’s Education for the Seasoned Driver,” a free class from 9 to 10 a.m. Feb. 7 at the La Mesa Adult Enrichment Center, Main Hall North, 8450 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa. This free class for mature drivers is geared toward those who want to educate themselves in safer driving practices. Learn how to assess your driving skills, find ways to protect yourself while driving and be a safer participant on the roadways. Register at (800) 827-4277 or visit sharp,com/ classes. Free on-site parking.

Blood drives

The San Diego Blood Bank hosts these donor opportunities:

• Central Congregational Church, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, 8360 Lemon Ave., La Mesa, downstairs dining room

• Grossmont College, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, in the 500 Quad

• Sharp Grossmont Hospital, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, 5555 Grossmont Center Drive, La Mesa, parking lot behind the Hospital for Women and Newborns

Appointments are honored first and walk-ins are welcome. Photo ID required. Call (800) 400-8251 or visit sandiegobloodbank.org.

Send items to fyi.east@sduniontribune.com at least two weeks before events.