June 22, 2010 > Niles - a sign for the times Niles - a sign for the times Submitted By Lorna Jaynes Photos By Bruce Cates Niles is bright and clean these days. The town is always a cheerful and attractive place for townspeople and visitors throughout the year, but its namesake sign on the hills above was a bit scruffy from a winter of wind and rain, and needed a pre-summer cleaning. A group of intrepid volunteers hiked up the hill to give "Niles" a clean start to summer activities in the town below. With permission of property owner, Fay Louie, about sixty Niles residents and LEAF volunteers met at the Essanay Cafˇ in downtown Niles for coffee and doughnuts on Saturday, June 12. Armed with garden tools and guitars, they headed off, caravan style, up the hill to the sign. Event organizer and LEAF president, Bruce Cates, said the Niles sign had not been cleaned for many years, but with sixty helpers, the work was completed very quickly. Many of the volunteers then proceeded to the LEAF center demonstration garden on Niles Bouelvard near Joe's Corner, where they weeded, planted, thinned crops, and then enjoyed a barbecue and jam session with an eclectic mix of local musicians. LEAF, Local Ecology and Agriculture Fremont, is a new non-profit whose mission is to promote sustainable local agriculture and ecological practices, as well as to build community and share culture among Fremont's diverse residents. For more information, go to www.leafcenter.org.