COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUNTEERING AT RESERVATION WAS LIFE-ALTERING EXPERIENCE.

Bridget Shanahan, 19, of Granada Hills spent a week this summer volunteering on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south central South Dakota.

She was part of a Global Volunteers team that tackled a variety of construction and maintenance projects at the reservation, one of the poorest communities in the United States.

Shanahan helped construct bleachers on the Lakota Sioux reservation and renovated buildings at another baseball park.

``Everything was fascinating and exciting and new. For me, one of the best things was learning to saw and use an electric screwdriver. It was amazing. I didn't think I would be ever able to build anything, but I did.''

Volunteers also visited Wounded Knee, the Badlands and the Crazy Horse shrine and experienced rituals such as a Sun Dance and sweat lodge.

Southland employees of Safeco insurance donated 250 blankets to 12- year-old Jessica Sara Halpern of Sherman Oaks, who will distribute them to the homeless.

Terese Wyatt, a Safeco claims examiner, coordinated the blanket collection effort after meeting Jessica and her mother, Chellie Grossman, while standing in line at the Reagan Presidential Library in June. They talked about Jessica's blanket drive while waiting 10 hours to view the casket of the former President Ronald Reagan.

Bethel Lutheran School in Encino will honor former Principal Janet Fox for years of unselfish devotion and dedication during a special ceremony today.

Fox, a San Fernando Valley resident, worked at the school for 23 years, beginning as an instructional aide, then becoming a computer teacher, classroom teacher and, finally, principal.

A special commendation from City Councilman Jack Weiss' office will be presented to Fox, thanking her for her service.

Alex Cardenas is the new principal of the school, a coeducational Lutheran day school for pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.

Businessman, educator and spokesman Ford Roosevelt, who is a longtime resident of the San Fernando Valley, has been named president and chief executive officer of Project GRAD.

Roosevelt has a background in consulting and has worked in higher education at UC Santa Cruz. He also has worked as an administrator and teacher at both elementary and middle school levels, most recently at Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood.

He also has an extensive civic service background - for example, serving on the boards of St. Vincent Hospital and Hathaway Children and Family Services in Los Angeles.

``The board of Project GRAD Los Angeles was impressed with Mr. Roosevelt's unique background as both an educator and a businessman. He has a long devotion to college-going youth and to providing opportunities for all students,'' said Peggy Funkhouser, chair of the Project GRAD board.

Project GRAD is a nonprofit group that aims to create a college-bound culture in the northeast San Fernando Valley and help more students there prepare for and be admitted to four-year colleges.

Roosevelt succeeds Project Grad founder Cheryl Mabey, who died earlier this year.

Five regional schools have been named 2004 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Schools by U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige.

The schools are Eagle Rock Elementary in Los Angeles, Mountain View Elementary in Saugus, Los Cerritos Middle School and Westlake High School in Ventura County and Laurel Hall School, a private school in North Hollywood.

``The educators and students in these schools, as well as the children's parents, deserve a lot of praise for working very hard to receive this national recognition,'' said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.

The Blue Ribbon Schools program is a 21-year-old national recognition program to recognize kindergarten through grade 12 schools that are either academically superior or demonstrate dramatic gains in student achievement.