News Briefs for the week of April 13
Oink System
It was the end of an era for local radio when legendary bluegrass lover Cousin Al signed off of a farewell broadcast show on KPIG 107.5 FM for what may have been the last time on Sunday, April 10. The show was a special edition of the weekly morning show “Please Stand By.”
For a unique bluegrass-y installment, host “Sleepy” John Sandidge welcomed in old friends, including his former co-host Dave Bob Nielsen, and Al, whose real name is apparently Al Knoth.
Al got plenty of love, with Nielsen reading letters from all across the nation, including one from songwriter “Dr.” Elmo Shropshire, who penned the hit Christmas song “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”
When Nielsen asked Al on air if he was ready to say goodbye, he responded saying, “Well, no, but I just want to say, ‘I had a good time.’”
In the past year, Al had stopped doing “Cousin Al’s Bluegrass Show” on KPIG every Sunday night, as well as his Monday Night bluegrass show on KKUP in Cupertino due to health issues. According to his Facebook fan page, he had triple bypass surgery in December 2014.
Al had given the area more than four decades of broadcast fun, starting with KFAT in 1970, dishing out laughs and good tunes every step of the way.
Holy Story
Talk about practicing what you preach.
Twin Lakes Church in Aptos has opened up a new community center that’s on the cutting edge of both water sustainability and generosity.
The three-story community center, which features low-water landscaping and low-flow toilets, aims to serve both elementary and middle schoolers.
The building has 22 classrooms, including a music room, art room, computer lab, and science lab. Two office suites and a two-story outdoor amphitheater are part of the project as well. The construction is part of the church’s “2020 Vision” initiative, which extends all the way to Chennai, India, where Twin Lakes Church is building a medical clinic.
The church has a tradition of building a facility in the developing world every time it expands, Pastor Rene Schlaepfer says.
