Competitive defines Pinewood Derby, club

In front of the small trailer that is the Anaheim Boys and Girls Club, 10-year-old Liliana Jardon places her sparkling pink-andred, pinewood race car atop a grooved track shared by two other cars and it s ready- ... s e t ... GO! About 25 children, mostly from Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, cheered for each other at the club s recent Pinewood Derby It s kids coming together through competition and thats really what this race and this club is all about, Club Counselor Colin Caldwell said. ; * : But it hasn t been as easy getting local businesses to come together and donate for the children, many of whom would be latch-key kids if it weren t"This is the only place many of these kids have to go, Caldwell said. Their parents work and they d most likely end up in front of the TV if they couldn t come here? Those who oversee the club s fund raising say i f s a shame a city the size of Anaheim has only one small trailer as the club s headquarters. Although another club trailer is scheduled for the Little People s Park at 220 W. Elm St. near downtown, club directors want to establish a central clubhouse with room for a gym and maybe a pool. Talk of renovating a building in the downtown redevelopment area has fizzled with the lagging economy but Mayor Pro Tem Tom Daly has asked redevelopment department officials to research using department money to build a community center next door to the civic center's parking lot. While the club s board of directors has volunteered many hours and promoted fund-raisers, such as its annual golf tournament, they re hoping to get more co said An aheim Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, who is president of the club. I f ll just take the right person to come along and help Bowman said he is trying to organize businesses that can donate building materials and a labor force that could help either renovate an old building or build a new one. "The ultimate goal is to have (Hi main center downtown and several satellite sites similar to the one at 1440 E. Lincoln Ave., Bowman said. The club s race to expand comes at a time when gangs and drugs are springing up throughout the