Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 7, 2010

3

Around San Gabriel Valley

 MountainViews-News Saturday, August 7, 2010 

REMEMBRANCE

Sierra Madre

Tickets Available Today for Taste of Sierra 
Madre on September 11

 

Sixty Year Resident of 
Sierra Madre, Frank 
Saumur Passes

Francis E. “Frank” Saumur, resident of Sierra 
Madre since 1950, died at his home on July 26, 
2010 at the age of 88. Frank was born the 5th of 6 
children to Philip Francis Saumur and Euphemia 
Hamel Saumur in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 
He grew up on the family’s 640 acre farm and 
moved to Southern California along with a 
brother, sister, and their families in 1940 to work 
in the aircraft industry. He served in the Army 
Air Corps during World War II and married 
Marcella Hoover, daughter of Alfred Hoover 
and Eva Schlueter Hoover, in February 1944. 
In 1950 Frank and Marcella built their home in 
Sierra Madre and shortly thereafter started their 
plumbing company, Sierra Plumbing and Heating 
(later Saumur Associates, Inc.) Frank was an 
active member of St. Rita Catholic Church and 
a strong supporter of Mater Dolorosa Passionist 
Retreat Center. Frank leaves behind Marcella, 
his wife of 66 years, daughters Joan Saumur of 
Walnut Creek, CA, Kathleen Saumur Roach 
of West Linn, OR, and Carol Saumur of Sierra 
Madre, brothers Joe and Paul Saumur, as well as grandsons, great granddaughters and numerous 
nieces and nephews. Funeral Mass was held on July 31, 2010 at St. Rita Catholic Church in Sierra 
Madre. Interment was at Sierra Madre Pioneer Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests 
memorial contributions to Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, 700 N. Sunnyside Ave., Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024. 


Paul at Best Buy Drugs in Kersting Court is all smiles as he places the Taste of Sierra Madre 
Poster in his Pharmacy window.

Sample the food, fun, fine arts 
and music that make Sierra 
Madre so special… including 
favorite specialties from many 
local restaurants and gourmet 
food purveyors! This year’s 
fundraising recipients will be 
both local and far reaching, 
funding expanded arts 
programming offered through 
the Sierra Madre Youth Activity 
Center and cleft palate surgeries 
for children and adults who 
would otherwise not receive 
this care through the nonprofit 
Rotaplast Foundation. 

 A day of food, fun and the fine 
arts will include a morning tour 
of local “Coolest Kitchens,” 
restaurant and culinary stations 
from local businesses beginning 
midday, a chef demonstration 
and talk about making healthy 
food fun and appealing for 
children, children’s essay and 
art contest awards plus a fun, 
Sierra Madre Fire Department 
vs. Police Department cook-off. 

 A wide variety of professional, 
live music will fill Kersting 
Court throughout the day. 
Check the event website for 
the latest news on local and 
national talent performing that 
day. Noted restaurant critic and 
television personality, Peter 
Dills will be part of the day’s 
festivities.

 For a taste of life here in Sierra 
Madre, local private and public 
schools plus service clubs such 
as Kiwanis and the Chamber of 
Commerce will share samples 
of their own offerings. A closing 
musical event will bring local 
singers together for patriotic 
songs in a memorial of 9-11.

 Now is the last chance for Sierra 
Madre students to participate in 
the art and essay contests being 
held in conjunction with the 
event. K-12 residents and those 
who attend school in Sierra 
Madre, La Salle and Pasadena 
High Schools are invited to 
submit artwork and essays until 
August 23. Contest rules and 
submission forms are available 
at the website. 

 Tickets are now on sale at Savor 
the Flavor, Best Buy Drugs, The 
Bottle Shot and Belles Nest, all 
in downtown Sierra Madre. All 
access VIP tickets including the 
morning’s Coolest Kitchens 
tour (an adults only, presale 
only event) and all Kersting 
Court events on Sept 11 will be 
$35. Kersting Court Only Event 
tickets will be $20 presale before 
Sept. 10. Same day tickets will be 
$25. For more information or 
to sign up as a sponsor, please 
visit the event website, www.
ATasteOfSierraMadre.com or 
contact event chair, Tom Brady 
of The Destination Group at 
626-355-3471.

Jazz Theatre Extraordinaire Phyllis Battle 
To Perform “Satin Dolls” at Sierra Madre 
Playhouse

By La Quetta Shamblee

Phyllis Battle is synonymous with jazz 
mastery among her peers. Her signature, 
scripted performances include historical 
facts delicately intertwined with jazz vocals 
and music, and her latest work, “Satin 
Dolls,” is a tribute to jazz divas, Sarah 
Vaugh, Dinah Washington, Carmen McRae 
and Nina Simone. Phyllis will bring them 
to life with renditions of some of their most 
familiar songs, with costume changes and 
nuances to capture their personalities. Two 
performances are scheduled to take place at 
the Sierra Madre Playhouse on consecutive 
Sunday afternoons (August 22 & 29). 

As a child, Phyllis Battle would frequent the 
Apollo Theatre on 125th Street in Harlem, 
and amidst the razzle and dazzle of the talent 
onstage, she was always most intrigued by 
the jazz singers. When she was a teenager, 
her cousins entered her in Amateur Night 
at the Apollo where she placed as a finalist.

Phyllis moved to Los Angeles to pursue a 
career as a professional singer and worked 
as a secretary to make ends meet. Soon, 
she found herself touring as a background 
singer for Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Rita 
Coolidge, Donna Summers and others. She 
later joined the 5th Dimension, touring and recording for sixteen years.

Throughout her adventurous career providing a vocal backdrop for many prominent entertainers, 
Phyllis also enjoyed an impressive career as a solo artist, which has been her focus in recent years. 
Phyllis’s CD, Night Flight, was produced by jazz greats, pianist Cedar Walton and the late drummer, 
Billy Higgins.

Phyllis was the artistic director for the critically-acclaimed Instrumental Women Project’s Annual 
“Lady Jazz” Series at the Ford Amphitheatre during its first four years. Her special brand of scripted 
concerts was key in garnering a “Best Live Jazz Performance of The Year” distinction by the L.A. 
Times, followed by five annual consecutive “Best Bets” designations as the recommended weekend 
jazz venue. In 2006, she sang for an entourage of international dignitaries attending the celebration 
of the 60th anniversary reign of the King of Thailand. Within days after returning to the U.S., she was 
the opening act for Pancho Sanchez.

 “For a small theatre, this one is among the most impressive I’ve ever seen throughout my travels,” says 
Battle. The transformation of the Sierra Madre Playhouse into an entertainment time capsule will 
be complete when jazz radio host, James Janisse embodies bygone announcers to introduce Phyllis’s 
creative tributes to Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone and Carmen McCrae. Pianist, 
Vanessa Burch who has performed with Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin and other prominent artists is 
the musical director, leading a jazz trio with bassist Michael Saucier and drummer Quinton Dennard. 

“Satin Dolls” is directed by Lady Walquer, a professional dancer and choreographer who has 
entertained and taught around the world. Her film credits include The Color Purple and she has also 
performed with her brother entertainer-actor Ben Vereen, as well as Harry Belafonte and Miriam 
Makeba.

Satin Dolls is produced by The Instrumental Women Project, a member agency of the Pasadena Art 
Council’s EMERGE program that serves as a nonprofit umbrella for local arts agencies. THE Facts: 
August 22 at 3pm & 29 at 6pm. Tickets: $30, include after-show reception with a complimentary 
tasting sponsored by luxury liqueur company Carnivo. For info, tickets and group discounts: www.
instrumentalwomen.com or (626) 305-7338.


Arcadia

City to trap killer coyotes

 Amid a flurry of reports of 
coyotes showing up in many 
different parts of Arcadia and 
killing and injuring many dogs 
and cats, the City Council on 
Tuesday directed staff to hire 
Animal Pest Management 
(APM) at a cost of $30,000 
per year to conduct a trapping 
program similar to what was 
done in Arcadia a few years ago.

APM will trap for up to one 
year in 10-day sessions in the 
areas most impacted, according 
to Linda Garcia, the City’s 
Communications, Marketing 
and Special Projects Manager.

According to state law, the 
trapped coyotes will be 
euthanized by lethal injection 
since the City is prohibited from 
relocating wild animals.

 The City is in the process 
of getting the contract and 
insurance documents in place 
and expects to begin the 
program in the next couple of 
weeks, she said.

 A July 23 news report at 
ArcadiasBest.com of two dogs 
and a cat being killed by a 
coyote within a few days of 
each other on San Antonio 
Road and nearby streets 
between Huntington Drive 
and Colorado Blvd. prompted 
a handful of comments by 
readers who reported spotting 
coyotes and dead cats and dogs 
in south Arcadia last week 
and for several months on 4th 
Street between Camino Real 
and Duarte Road, near Camino 
Real and El Monte Ave., and 
even south of Longden on Palm 
Drive near El Monte Ave.

 Arcadia, which had the 
trapping program in place 
until a couple years ago when 
it was scrapped due to budget 
cutbacks, has received dozens of 
complaints in the past couple of 
weeks and will thus reinstitute 
the program.

The City also posted general 
information on its website about 
precautions regarding wildlife 
in the City.

 Story Courtesy Arcadias Best

Dreier, McKeon, Schiff Lead Bipartisan Request 
for Full GAO Report on 2009 Station Fire

WASHINGTON, DC – 
Congressman David Dreier 
(R-CA), Congressman 
Buck McKeon (R-CA) and 
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-
CA) are leading several of their 
California colleagues today in 
requesting the Government 
Accountability Office perform 
a full investigation of the 
Station Fire Incident from its 
inception on August 26, 2009 
to its containment on October 
16, 2009. The bipartisan 
request comes as news reports 
indicate that critical Forest 
Service dispatch recordings 
from the start of the fire, which 
claimed two lives and resulted 
in the destruction of numerous 
homes and structures, were 
withheld from federal teams 
that have already conducted 
reviews of the Station Fire 
Incident. 

Joining Congressmen Dreier, 
McKeon and Schiff in 
requesting the independent 
investigation are Senators 
Dianne Feinstein and Barbara 
Boxer, and Congressman 
Brad Sherman (D-CA) and 
Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-
CA). The letter states in part:

“Both the Forest Service and 
Los Angeles County Fire 
Department have conducted 
reviews of the fire and the 
response from both of these 
agencies. However, we have 
learned today that critical 
Forest Service dispatch 
recordings from the start of the 
fire were withheld from federal 
review teams. This casts a dark 
cloud over the findings of the 
review panel and immediately 
warrants an independent 
review of the Station Fire 
response.

 “Our purpose for this review 
is to ensure that all actions in 
the response to the fire were 
taken swiftly, properly and 
competently. Our constituents 
must know that every possible, 
reasonable and proper action 
was taken to fight the fire, and if 
there were instances where the 
proper actions were not taken, 
we must know why.”

It continues:

“Most important, we must 
establish what lessons were 
learned from this devastating 
fire. By identifying mistakes 
made and where different 
choices would have caused 
better outcomes, agencies 
tasked with preventing and 
fighting fires will be able to 
better prepare and respond in 
the future.

“Thank you for your timely 
response to this important 
issue for our constituents. As 
fires again are breaking out 
in Southern California, this 
review is timely and more 
important than ever to ensure 
the devastation of the Station 
Fire never happens again.”


Duarte

Duarte to Host Free Home Energy Performance Workshop Aug. 23

 The City of Duarte will host a 
free home energy performance 
workshop on Monday, Aug. 
23, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the 
Duarte Community Center, 
1600 Huntington Dr

The workshop will provide 
participants with money saving 
solutions ranging from quick 
energy-efficiency fixes to green 
remodeling or retrofitting 
options to allow homeowners 
to take advantage of the latest 
technology, rebates, tax credits 
and incentives. Participants 
will also learn how simple home 
weatherization measures can 
be affordable and effective ways 
to achieve energy and money 
savings that can offset the costs 
of many of these improvements. 

While solar panels may be all 
the rage, simple, affordable 
improvements will eliminate 
wasted energy and increase 
home comfort. The workshop 
will feature experts from 
Hartman/Baldwin Design 
Build, an architecture and 
construction firm based in the 
San Gabriel Valley. There will 
also be information about the 
County of Los Angeles new 
energy-efficiency and solar 
home improvement project 
loan program and Southern 
California Edison’s Whole 
House Retrofit rebate program. 
All participants will receive a 
reusable grocery bag filled with 
energy efficiency information. 
To register, go on-line at www.
sgvenergywise.org or call (626) 
564-9702. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com