A new hair salon for kids with a unique mascot -- Corky the kangaroo cop -- has opened in Fresno with an emphasis on children's safety.

At Corky's Cuts 4 Kids, at 997 E. Champlain Ave. near the Great Harvest Bread Co., children get a haircut followed by a ride in a mini police car at the salon.

Parents get a free child ID kit that includes their children's fingerprints, a DNA swab and a place to add a photo of their child.

Owner Dena Byers opened the salon after she retired from her job of 18 years as a Clovis police officer following a back injury. She has dealt with parents of missing children in the past, parents who were so upset that they could barely talk to a police officer. In those cases, having the child ID kit on hand is invaluable, she said.

"As a law enforcement officer, if anything ever happens this is the most vital thing we could have to help find your child," she said.

Byers also is in the process of publishing a children's book about Corky. The kangaroo cop is the partner of a police officer who is also a mom. The book, inspired by Byers' own experience, is meant to reassure worried kids that Corky is looking out for their mom while on the job.

Details about the salon are available online at Facebook.com/CorkysCuts4Kids.

Combining companies

It's not a merger, but a full-page newspaper ad last week by a pair of Fresno marketing firms served notice of a formal working collaboration of the two companies.

Suzanne Bertz-Rosa moved her Bertz-Rosa Strategy-Creative (bertz-rosa.com) about a year ago into the Fulton Street offices of Catalano Fenske & Associates, said CFA head Cary Catalano. The two companies have worked together on a range of community projects in recent years, "and it just made sense that we needed to be in the same space," Catalano said.

Catalano's company (cfanda.com) specializes in marketing, public and government relations, fundraising and event planning for clients, while Bertz-Rosa tackles promotional strategy, graphic design, web design and audio and video for advertising and presentations. "Our teams are well incorporated with one another," Bertz-Rosa said.

"Neither one of us is technically a full-service agency, but together we can function as one boutique full-service agency," Catalano said.

Majestic mountains

Three national parks in three days is the idea behind a new "Majestic Mountain Loop" promotion to be announced Tuesday by representatives of Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks, Fresno Yosemite International Airport and local tourism agencies.

This will be the first time that the Yosemite-Sierra Visitors Bureau in Oakhurst, the Visalia Convention & Visitors Bureau, the airport and the National Park Service have collaborated to market the parks in the central Sierra Nevada.

A new display in the main terminal at Fresno Yosemite International will showcase the three parks and how visitors can take in highlights from each in a three-day visit.

The campaign also will promote the airport, which includes a replica of giant Sequoia trees in the passenger terminal, as a gateway to the national parks.