While the country of Haiti remains in shambles after a Jan. 12 earthquake, its people are in high spirits, say two locals who recently spent two weeks aiding the island nation.

Richard Chavez was like a father to his girlfriend’s children, Aubrey and Stewart Newell. He was a fixture in their childhoods, they said, and they trusted him.

Annette Marcum, the founder and executive director of Ben Lomond’s Valley Churches United Missions, remembers sitting at a table in 1985 to work out the nonprofit’s first budget, a modest $11,175. Since then, the group that was created to give direct help to those in need of basic necessities has grown — a lot.

A nearly $10,000 loss during an event meant to be one of the Boulder Creek Business Association’s largest fundraisers has caused the group to drop its sponsorship and participation in the annual Memorial Day weekend celebration.

A three-story student center will rise from the ashes of the blaze that destroyed Bethany University’s cafeteria last summer.

Friends and family will gather Saturday, March 6, for a memorial walk and two receptions for Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Rawson, 95, who died of pneumonia and complications Feb. 12 at the Veterans Affairs Hospital Palo Alto Hospice.