Santa Maria

Donated books sent to destination

In an effort to prepare children for kindergarten, books that have been collected for youngsters by First 5 Santa Barbara County and B. Dalton Bookseller are headed to their destination today.

Books for children between infant and 5 years old are being sent to the Santa Maria Washington Head Start program location, 116 W. Agnes St. beginning at 11 a.m., organizers said.

The First 5 program is encouraging parents to read to their preschool children to better prepare them for school. The group partnered with B. Dalton to collect books during November and December and the books will then be distributed to Head Start programs and other childcare programs in Santa Maria and Lompoc.

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Santa Maria

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No rain expected through Christmas

Say goodbye to the rain, because sunny skies are forecast for the Central Coast through Christmas Day. It won't be warm, though.

Santa Maria received a scant .03 inches of rain during the

24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Thursday, while Lompoc had .09 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

A high of 55 degrees was forecast for today in Santa Maria and Lompoc. By Sunday, temperatures should reach the mid 60s, and remain in that range through Christmas.

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Los Padres

High fire season now ended

With the recent rain, U.S. Forest Service officials are planning to start transitioning from high fire season to low fire season today.

As a result, wood-burning campfires and charcoal barbecues will be allowed in areas other than official campfire use sites, as long as visitors have a valid California campfire permit. Additionally, burn permits will be issued to private land owners within Los Padres National Forest to remove debris, officials said.

The end of high fire season also means that fewer resources will be dispatched to initial reports of smoke or fire, similar to the change in procedure happening with Santa Barbara County fire agencies as those groups also transition out of fire season.

However, Forest Service officials remind the public that wildfires can happen at any time of year and visitors to the forest should remain vigilant.

For information about current fire or weather conditions, call the Santa Lucia Ranger District at 925-9538.

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Santa Barbara

Man killed by garbage truck ID'd

The pedestrian killed Wednesday when he was hit by a garbage truck in downtown Santa Barbara has been identified as 53-year-old Michael Neff.

Neff had lived in Santa Barbara for a few years and was a native of Fowler, Ind., police said.

The accident occurred at Yanonali Street and Calle Cesar Chavez at 6:30 a.m., according to Santa Barbara police. The driver of a Marborg Industries garbage truck, Willie Glover, 41, was traveling north on Calle Cesar Chavez and was turning left onto Yanonali Street when the truck struck Neff and 45-year-old Michelle James.

Neff died at the scene, police said, and James was taken to Cottage Hospital with minor injuries and released later that day.

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San Luis Obispo County

Hancock graduates becomes deputies

Eight recent graduates from the Hancock Law Enforcement Academy joined the ranks of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department at a swearing in ceremony Thursday.

Roughly 40 department employees, both new hires and promotions, were slated to be acknowledged in the ceremony, a department spokesman said.

The new graduates include: Hussein Abbas, Joshua Beene, Jonathan Howard, John McKenney, Pablo Munoz, Jeremy Nisse, James Silverstein and Gregory Smith.

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San Luis Obispo County

Rizzoli's food drive on through Dec. 31

The community has until the end of the month Dec. 31 to donate to Rizzoli Automotive's holiday food drive.

The drive benefits the local food banks that feed the needy community in San Luis Obispo County and northern Santa Barbara County.

Community members can stop by Rizzoli locations in San Luis Obispo or Santa Maria and drop-off food items prior to the donation deadline. Nonperishable food items of any size are welcome.

Anyone who makes a donation will receive a voucher for $5 off service at Rizzoli's, good through April 2008.

“The drive has been very successful, beyond my expectations,” said Kyle Rizzoli, general manager of Rizzoli Automotive. “We are thrilled to see so much community support, and look forward to delivering the donations.”

Rizzoli Automotive is located at 2584 Victoria Lane in San Luis Obispo and 1149 W. Tama Lane off Skyway Drive in Santa Maria. For information, call 541-1082 or visit www.

rizzolisautomotive.com.

- From staff reports