Mountain Views News          Saturday, August 27, 2011

HEAT

(continued from Page 1)

Check on those in your 
neighborhood who have 
limited mobility. 

Stay in an air-conditioned 
area (a mall, park, or library) 
during peak heat 
hours. 

Avoid unnecessary 
exposure. 

When in the sun, wear a 
hat with a wide brim.

 Don’t exercise vigorously 
outside during the hottest 
hours of the day. 

Symptoms of dehydration 
and heat cramps include 
dizziness, fatigue, faintness, 
headaches, muscle 
cramps, and increased 
thirst. 

For a list of cooling centers 
and additional information 
on heat-related illnesses 
and prevention, please 
visit the Public Health 
website at http://www.publichealth.
lacounty.gov, or 
call the LA County Information 
line at 2-1-1.


3

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 27, 2011 

RECEPTION TO HONOR TONI BUCKNER

Celebrating 34 Years of Service to Sierra Madre

ADVENTURE IN HISTORY THROUGH FASHION

by Phyllis Chapman

On Friday, September 16, 
from 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., 
the City of Sierra Madre 
and the Friends of the Sierra 
Madre Library will host a 
reception to honor Toni 
Buckner, Director of Library 
Services for the City of Sierra 
Madre, who is retiring at the 
end of September after 34 
years of dedicated service to 
the City. All are invited to 
attend this community-wide 
event, which will take place 
in the Sierra Madre Room at 
the Community Recreation 
Center, 611 E. Sierra Madre 
Blvd., in Sierra Madre. 

Light refreshments will 
be served starting at 6:00 
p.m., followed at 7:00 p.m. 
by presentations and a 
Recognition of Service; 
dessert will be served from 
8:00-9:00 p.m. During the 
presentation hour, members 
of the community who 
wish to express their well-
wishes to Toni will have an 
opportunity to say a few 
words from the podium.

In 1977, Toni Gollands 
Buckner began working 
for Sierra Madre as a 
Library Assistant, under 
the tutelage of then Library 
Director Mary Tumilty. 
After acquiring a Masters in 
Library Science from USC 
in 1980, she was promoted 
to Associate Librarian of 
Children’s Services. Upon 
Mary Tumilty’s retirement 
in 1985, Toni moved to the 
directorship, a position she 
held for the next 26 years.

Her many accomplishments 
during her tenure as Director 
of Library Services include 
shepherding the Library from 
the era of the card catalog to 
the age of the worldwide web 
and online databases, tireless 
grant and fundraising to 
ensure the Library acquired 
much-needed building 
improvements and kept pace 
technologically; co-chairing 
the City’s 2007 year-long 
Centennial celebrations; 
and heading the project of 
which she is admittedly most 
proud, The Friends Garden, 
a beautiful and welcoming 
native-plant “oasis” fronting 
the Library, where members 
of the community can read, 
socialize, eat lunch, use the 
Library’s free Wi-Fi, or just 
relax and enjoy the mountain 
views.

For her outstanding work 
on the Library’s 1987 
Centennial Celebration, 
Toni received the prestigious 
John Cotton Dana Library 
Public Relations Award 
from the American 
Library Association, for 
distinguished achievement 
in public relations and 
education. 

Under her guidance the 
Library is now a nationally-
recognized Family Place 
Library, dedicated, through 
programs, services and 
resources, to empowering 
parents to take an active 
role in their young children’s 
growth and development.

The capstone of Toni’s 
achievements has been her 
tireless commitment to the 
redesign and development of 
the City of Sierra Madre’s new 
user-friendly website which 
was launched in July 2011. 
She was recently named 
recipient of the City of Sierra 
Madre’s 2011 Public Service 
Award, otherwise known 
as Employee of the Year, 
which is presented to a City 
employee for exceptional 
customer and public service, 
as well as dedication to the 
citizens of Sierra Madre over 
the course of a year.

Through Toni’s inspirational 
leadership and personal 
example, the Sierra Madre 
Library has become well 
known for its “people 
come first” philosophy, and 
personable, can-do staff. 
As a result, the Library’s 
usage has steadily increased, 
despite the current economic 
downturn.

Toni will round out her 
“official” efforts to promote 
literacy and lifetime learning 
this fall by appearing on 
Sierra Madre’s final READ 
campaign poster for 2011, 
which will be displayed 
October through December 
at the Library.

In addition to the reception 
on September 16, an Open 
House will be held at the 
Library on Thursday, 
September 22, from 3:00 
p.m.-5:00 p.m. Everyone is 
invited to drop in and sign 
a keepsake book and express 
their best wishes to Toni, 
whose last day as Director 
of Library Services will be 
Friday, September 23.

For more information on 
either event, please call 626-
355-7186. 

 Presenting hisory at its best, the Siera 
Madre Historical Preservation Society invites 
you to “The Way We Wore”, a vintage 
fashion show on Saturday, October 15, 
2011, 2:00 p.m. The event will be held at 
the United Methodist Church Hartzell Hall, 
695 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. 
There is ample free parking behind the hall. 
Enter from Michillinda Avenue.

 Tickets are $40 each, support Society projects 
and are available by calling (626) 355-
1389 or on the website, www.smhps.org.

 Costumes from the show are from the 
collection of famed costume designer Shon 
LeBlanc of Valentino’s Costumes in Hollywood, 
who will be the show commentator. 
He has designed hundreds of costumes for 
movies, TV, Theatre, etc. and teaches costume 
design at the Academy of Art University 
in San Francisco.

 Forty models, all ages, will model the 
fashions. To enhance the experience, the 
clothes will be featured with photographs 
published in the Society’s award winning 
book, “Southern California Story: Seeking 
the Better Life in Sierra Madre.” Guests will 
also be treated to fabulous tea refreshments.

 The year the Society celebrates its 80th 
birthday, with this event taking center stage. 
Proceeds will help the Society continue its 
support of preservation and collecting Sierra Madre’s historical archives housed at Sierra 
Madre Public Library, the Oral History Project, Youth Education and the restoration and 
maintenance of the town’s two museum’s, Lizzie’s Trail Inn and the Richardson House located 
at the start of the historic Mt. Wilson Trail.


Author Phyllis Chapman in 2007 wearing 
turn of the century apparel during the Sierra 
Madre Centennial. MVNews Archives

Toni Buckner, Sierra Madre Director of Library 
Services Photo by: Gerard Brane

Hometown Hero John Shear Honored 
By Kiwanis

 There really 
aren’t enough 
ways to thank 
and honor 
John Shears for 
his remarkable 
act of courage 
and kindness 
when he threw 
himself in front 
of a run away 
horse in March 
in order to save 
a child. His 
actions have 
been honored 
all over the 
country and 
most recently, 
Shear was awarded the prestigious 
Nathan Hale Award 
For Heroism by Kiwanis International’s 
California-Nevada-
Hawaii Foundation at 
their recent convention in 
San Diego. John was nominated 
by the Sierra Madre 
Kiwanis Club with the help 
of his co-worker and San Pedro 
Kiwanis Member Tim 
McDannold. 

 The award was presented to 
Michael Shear, John’s son, as 
the elder Shear was unable to 
make the trip to San Diego. 
He is focusing his efforts on 
getting his health in shape 
to return to Santa Anita for 
opening day at the end of 
September.

 The Nathan Hale Award 
for Heroism is presented annually 
by the Kiwanis Cal-
Nev-Ha Foundation and is 
awarded to men and women 
of all ages who have demonstrated, 
by actions and conduct, 
exceptional courage 
toward another human being 
and/or personal involvement 
and dedication beyond the 
ordinary call of citizenship 
responsibility. The criteria 
for the award are based upon 
personal involvement and

sacrifice above and beyond 
the normal call of bravery.


Michael Shear, left, accepts the award for his father at the Kiwanis 
District Convention in San Diegao. Photo by Tim McDannold

VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR THE SIERRA 
MADRE GENERAL PLAN UPDATE

Now is a great time to volunteer for Sierra Madre’s General Plan 
Update! This is an important document that the community 
should be involved with. The General Plan Steering Committee 
seeks volunteers to assist with various tasks to help complete the 
technical reports needed for the General Plan Update. Topics 
needing volunteer help include noise, land use and urban form, 
natural environment, transportation and mobility, community 
services and facilities, and historic and cultural resources. 

 You can sign up by doing any of the following:

Call De Alcorn at (626) 355-4793

Call Development Services Department at (626) 355-7135

Email GeneralPlan@CityofSierraMadre.com 

*Please provide your name, phone number, email address, and 
the topic that you’d like to help with. 


NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING REGARDING A 
PROPOSED SENIOR ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY

A neighborhood meeting to receive public input for a proposed 
senior assisted living facility will be held on Wednesday, September 
7, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at the Sierra Madre Recreation Center 
(Sierra Madre Room) located at 611 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. The 
proposed project site is a 1.84 acre property located 245 W. Sierra 
Madre Blvd., at northwest corner of Sierra Madre Boulevard and 
Hermosa Avenue (across the street from City Hall). The new facility 
will include a 58,000 square foot, two-story building that 
can accommodate up to 96 residents.

 Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. at which time members of the 
public are invited to view the proposed plans and talk with representatives 
of the developer and city staff. A presentation on the 
proposed project will begin at 7:15 p.m. when an overview and 
description of the project will be provided. City staff will also 
outline the public hearing and environmental review processes 
for future additional public input.