By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

BITS of information and memorabilia are being gathered for the publication of a yearbook that will honor the Head Start program’s 40 years in the Northern Marianas.
According to the steering committee for the commemoration, comprehensive records were lost a year ago to the fire that gutted a building in Susupe where the records were kept.
The yearbook, to be titled “CNMI Head Start — 40 Years of History,” will be published on July 28, according to steering committee chairman Antonio Benavente yesterday.
He said they need the help of alumni, supporters and Head Start staff members to provide information about the Head Start centers they attended, who their teachers were, old pictures, the names of their classmates and the Head Start administrators in the past.
In commemorating Head Start’s 40 years here, the steering committee will also come up with programs that will show how Head Start takes care of the children .
The events will include an interview with the local Head Start founder, former Sen. Herman R. Guerrero. He served as executive director of the community action agency that launched Head Start as a pilot project back in 1967.
Alumni subcommittee chairman John Oliver Gonzales and entertainment committee chairwoman Frances M. Sablan said there will also be presentations from alumni of different Head Start groups.
The steering committee is comprised of members from the private and public sectors in partnership with the Head Start program and the Public School System.
The other committee members are David Omar, Howard I. Macaranas and Alex A. Sablan.
Head Start is a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on assisting children from low-income families. Created in 1965, Head Start provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.