They make the difference. And there's Steve Gales, a corporal for the Santa Ana police who seems to spend most of his waking hours in this area. He served a one-year term in 1998. Miguel Hernandez, his successor, easily recruits volunteers to help him judge the yearly Beautiful Yard contest. At a recent meeting, more hands go up when he asks who wants to greet Vicente Fox when the new president of Mexico visits Santa Ana to open a trade center.
Organizers are glad that parents are getting used to civic responsibility.
After 25 years in the area, the Hernandez family finally outgrew their home and in late 2000 moved out - to a newer part of Santa Ana. Yet old ties are hard to break. You wouldn't know what a community we have - unless you live here.