SLO County Roundup

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• For teens in need: Nonprofit dream becomes a reality

  For teens in need: Nonprofit dream becomes a reality

  You may have seen her — the long-haired, energetic Lisa Ray — handing out Halloween costumes to children of migrant workers or scooping up bags of donations in her Pismo Beach driveway.

  She works 10- to-12-hour days running a home-grown nonprofit that in two years has gone from helping one single mom’s children to outfitting more than 3,000 homeless and other youth from Lompoc to Cambria.

  Now, what was formerly known as Lisa Ray’s Donation Group has a new name — Children’s Resource Network of the Central Coast — and a new venue where teens can pick out free clothing.

• Arroyo Grande chamber names Citizen of Year

  Arroyo Grande chamber names Citizen of Year

  The Arroyo Grande Chamber of Commerce 2011 Citizen of the Year is seldom seen without her camera.

  Vivian Krug has served as the unofficial photographer — as well as a board member, and sometimes publicity manager — for the South County Historical Society, the Arroyo Grande Village Improvement Association, and the Arroyo Grande Harvest Festival.

  “I’ve been lucky enough to work with Vivian on several projects and I’m always amazed by Vivian’s boundless energy,” Arroyo Grande Chamber of Commerce President Judith Bean wrote in an email. “She is a complete dynamo. A lot of what she does is behind the scenes, so you’d never know the amount of dedication and hard work that went into it.”

• Start spreading the news about Jacque Carnahan

  Start spreading the news about Jacque Carnahan

  Jacque Carnahan’s show business calling came at an early age.

  “I was really hooked,” recalled Carnahan, who grew up on the Central Coast. “I was 10 years old going on 30. I really knew what I wanted to do.”

  She’s been pursuing her dreams of performing arts greatness ever since.

• More schools in SLO County logging on to classroom tech

  More schools in SLO County logging on to classroom tech

  Five clusters of students huddled at round tables in Melissa Angel’s kindergarten class at St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Arroyo Grande. At one table, a small group clutched pencils and pieces of paper as they concentrated on a math lesson.

  Nearby, another group of five students was also testing their math skills — but without the traditional teaching instruments.

  Instead, the 5- and 6-year-olds poked at colorful numbers and monkeys dancing on a beach displayed on the glossy screen of Apple’s iPad.

• A.G. woman finds new way to help old cause

  A.G. woman finds new way to help old cause

  As a new empty nester, Janine Stillman of Arroyo Grande was sitting in her studio with friends and found herself making a puzzle piece out of her medium — fused glass. A friend reminded her it was the autism puzzle symbol. And a whole new career began.

  Before becoming a glass artist, Janine worked in Pismo Beach as the director of the Center for Educational Therapy, a business she and Dianne Olvera, an educational therapist, had founded. They helped students with minor disabilities all the way up to the severely autistic with all aspects of education.

  Attracted to this field because of her oldest son’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Janine worked closely with autistic students and their parents.