CENTER FOR DISABLED A BURNING LIGHT.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

Odds and ends from around the Valley:

If you see a column of smoke rising from the grounds of Tierra del Sol in Sunland in a few weeks, don't call the fire department.

They're just burning the mortgage.

This private, nonprofit organization - founded in 1971 by the parents of developmentally disabled kids in the San Fernando Valley - recently met its five-year goal of paying off its $1.1 million mortgage.

``We're having a bonfire party to burn the mortgage,'' said Steve Miller, executive director of Tierra del Sol. ``Now we can turn our debt service into more human services.''

That's great news for everyone living in the San Fernando Valley because it means even more of our young adults with developmental disabilities will have a chance to lead the fullest, most productive lives they possibly can.

That's what this great place has been doing up there behind the ivy-covered fences the past 30 years - teaching job training and computers, living and community integration skills, and so much more to thousands of young adults who would never have had the opportunity otherwise to assimilate into our society.

The money to pay off the mortgage came from small contributions from parents, a few hefty grants from foundations, and large contributions from community supporters, like Don Redding, general manager and CEO of Hamer Toyota in Mission Hills, said Lyn Shaw, Miller's administrative assistant.

Tierra's Sunland-Tujunga neighbors, and anyone else in the public who wants to learn more about this wonderful place at 9919 Sunland Blvd., is invited to the bonfire party at 1 p.m. Feb. 2.

It may be the closest any of us ever get to burning the mortgage.

With the recent surge of patriotism in the country, the American Legion is hoping it will spark more public awareness and participation in its Valley Forge Workshop.

Every year, the legion tries to raise money for fourth- through sixth- grade teachers to attend a workshop in August at Valley Forge, Pa.

The payoff for all of us is when the teachers return to the classrooms and turn that patriotic light bulb on for their students.

``The teachers spend the week in workshops reviewing the events that shaped our nation's early history, and they gain an appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy as a result of the dedication and sacrifice of those who came before us,'' said Evelyn Javaras, the legion's Valley Forge representative for this area.

``It cost $1,400 for each teacher, and we pay for the whole thing, but have to rely on individual donors so we can send as many as possible,'' said Javaras.

``We have a lot of teachers who want to go, now all we have to do is raise the money,'' she said.

If anyone's interested in helping send some motivated teachers to Valley Forge they can make a donation and send it to the American Legion Patriotic Hall, 1816 S. Figueroa, L.A., 90015-3422.

And finally, it isn't every day someone gets promoted because the job she's doing is so great it's helping put the company out of business.

If the business is finding a cure for cancer, though, you don't mind.

Jill Angel, manager of the American Cancer Society's Discovery Shop in Northridge, has just been promoted to Southern California field director for the society's 22 thrift shops in this part of the state.

As I wrote a few years back, Jill took a thrift shop barely hanging on 11 years ago, and turned it into the most successful Cancer Society Discovery Shop in California.

She did it by going ``upscale resale,'' and gathering a core of wonderful volunteers, like Lucy Aucella, who serves tea from a classy silver teapot and offers homemade cake and cookies to customers walking into the Discovery Shop at 9719 Reseda Blvd., in Northridge on Tuesday afternoons.

Yeah, tea and crumpets in a thrift shop. Classy joint.

A successful shop, Angel says, means more money coming in for cancer research, and that's the only thing that matters.

``My whole goal is to make these shops so successful we're eventually put out of business,'' she said Thursday.

With any luck, she'll be president of the American Cancer Society soon.