SOFTBALL GAMES PROVIDING GIRLS ALTERNATIVE TO GANGS.

Byline: TRACY ZABORAC Community Columnist

On Wednesday and Friday nights in some of the toughest parks in the east San Fernando Valley, the sight of gang members and police officers is routine - but something has changed recently.

The officers, from the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division, are maintaining a presence and the gang members, instead of causing trouble, are watching softball games.

The games are being played at several parks by more than 100 girls ages 14 through 17 who participate in a softball league that is designed to keep them off the street.

The league was created by Keep Youth Doing Something, an organization that provides recreation and enrichment activities for children from low-income homes and drug-infested neighborhoods.

Organizers hope that competitive sports will divert attention from the dangerous lifestyle of the girls' peers.

Sandy Kievman started KYDS a few years ago when she was a field deputy under City Councilwoman Joy Picus. The aim was to clean up the drugs and gangs from one San Fernando Valley park. The successful cleanup has now moved into five parks.

``The program is really for kids who wouldn't have the option of participating in organized sports that are offered to other kids,'' explained Kievman. ``Girls from poor areas have their own set of problems - including teen pregnancy - and the goal is to keep them off the street.''

The successful program, now serving 2,000 kids in five parks and four schools, is a cooperative effort between the Department of Recreation and Parks, the LAPD and I ADARP, a youth program for drug-abuse recovery.

Kievman said she hopes that basketball will be the next sport in which the girls participate.

If you are interested in the program, contact Ramon Cerrillos, recreation coordinator for the organization, at [phone].

Kaiser Permanente, Panorama City Latino Community Outreach and Sepulveda Middle School are hosting a community health fair Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The goal of the event is to provide free health services and information to Valley communities.

City Councilman Richard Alarcon and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, D-Panorama City, will be in attendance.

Health screenings and examinations will be offered, along with flu immunizations for senior citizens (bring immunization records).

Checks for blood pressure, diabetes, glucose, cholesterol will be available.

There will be entertainment for children, raffles and prizes.

The event will be at Sepulveda Middle School, 15330 Plummer St., North Hills.

Mission College's Focus on Careers job fair will take place Wednesday, and is free and open to the public.

Employers from private industry and public agencies will be on the lookout for prospective workers in the Instructional Building South Atrium.

In addition, college personnel will direct workshops on subjects including strategies for job searching, resume writing and interviewing techniques.

The fair and seminars will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Campus Center, 13356 Eldridge Ave., in Sylmar.

For information, call [phone].

Ryan Celaya and Charles Cardenas, two seniors at John F. Kennedy High School, are included on the list of exceptional Latino students that scored high on the Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test.

They are part of an elite group of 3,000 academically adept Latino students that are chosen to be honored in the national Hispanic Recognition Program. Their names will be released to colleges and universities.

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PHOTO Betty Andrade waits for her turn at bat during a recent Keep Youth Doing Something softball league game at Hubert H. Humphrey Memorial Park in Pacoima. The program offers recreational activities to low-income children.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News