DONATIONS BEING SOUGHT FOR ROSAMOND HIGH AUTO SHOP CLUB.

Byline: JOANNE CRAWFORD

Rosamond High School Auto Shop Club is asking local businesses and individuals to help them raise more than $5,000 for equipment.

The students also need donations of cars and auto parts to work on in the classroom.

The program needs a transmission jack, worth about $2,400, and a storage container, worth about $2,700, to hold tools, supplies and parts, Rosamond auto shop teacher Charles Gordon said.

Students have been holding various fund-raisers such as candy sales and also sponsored the organization's first auto and motorcycle show May 17 and 18 at Rosamond High School.

The event, coordinated by auto shop club students and sponsored by several local patrons, invited local bike enthusiasts to display vehicles at no charge. Students raised close to $1,200 toward the needed equipment, Gordon said.

``The students did a good job with it,'' Gordon said. ``They organized it, promoted it . . . The only unfortunate thing is that our timing was not that good because there were several other major events of that kind going on within a 50- or 100-mile radius that weekend. So we didn't get the turnout, but we certainly got the experience. We learned our lesson and now we are going to apply it. We most certainly know how to handle it the next time. We are going to change the date so it doesn't coincide with these other events.''

The next car and motorcycle show will be scheduled during the second weekend in May 1998.

The auto club students received assistance and cooperation from local law enforcement, community merchants and citizens in donating time, money and auto-related gifts such as hats and T-shirts for raffle prizes, Gordon said.

Gordon's neighbors, Skip and Cathy Hosler, donated the grand prize, a Honda CX 500 motorcycle that had been sitting unused and in good condition in their garage for months.

The motorcycle was won by Hal Spencer, a Rosamond resident who teaches auto shop at Camarillo High School.

Other contributors or participants included The Tire Barn, R & J Auto Parts in Rosamond, Rosamond Foster Freeze, Pep Boys in Palmdale, A.V. Auto Body, Adams Machine Shop, Pepsi-Cola Distributors in Lancaster, Edwards Air Force Base Recreation Center, The Antelope Valley Corvette Club, The California Highway Patrol from Lancaster and Mojave, the Rosamond Sheriff's Department and the United States Army and Navy Recruiting offices.

Rosamond auto students will attend a picnic June 8 in California City Park to close out the school year and celebrate all the hard efforts put toward coordinating the car and motorcycle event, Gordon said.

Community members can contribute to the program by sending checks made out to the Rosamond High School Auto Shop Club to Rosamond High School, 2925 Rosamond Blvd., Rosamond, CA 93560.

In addition, the program is always in need of cars, parts and tools in good condition, Gordon said.

Contributors must contact Gordon to discuss potential items or vehicles to be donated because any auto-related donation has to be screened and officially cleared by school administrators, he said.

Gordon can be reached by leaving a message at the school number, [phone].

PALMDALE - The Palmdale High School Class of 1977 reunion committee is in the process of organizing a reunion and is seeking information on classmates for the 20-year celebration.

For more information, call Mary Spiva at [phone].

LANCASTER - Antelope Valley College literature students will perform an assortment of prose and poetry and dramatic material today from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Hang 'N' Java Coffee House, 814 W. Lancaster Blvd.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

For more information, call [phone].