Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 1, 2011

BUCKNER (from pg. 1)

The emotional high point 
of the evening was a speech 
given by staff member Stephanie 
Vitale. In her speech Vitale 
described Toni as a mentor 
who truly cared about 
each staff member as a person, 
who held to the philosophy 
that “people come first”, 
who was intuitively skilled 
at selecting a team of diverse 
and exceptionally talented 
individuals who are able to 
work together in easy harmony, 
and whose strength 
was drawn from her goodly 
character, exhibited through 
a true and quiet humility, 
with fairness to all and prejudice 
toward none, and with 
unshakable integrity and 
sincere, consistent outgoing 
concern. City department 
heads, Elaine Aguilar, Marilyn 
Diaz, Elisa Weaver, Bruce 
Inman, Steve Heydorff, Karin 
Schnaider, and Danny 
Castro, presented Toni with 
a book bag containing a 
book with inscriptions from 
each of them. Toni received 
a second standing ovation 
when she thanked the staff, 
the Trustees, the Friends, the 
Community, and her family 
for all the support she’s received 
over the years.

During the open microphone 
period, Toni was praised and 
thanked by Cathy Ryne, the 
former children’s librarian 
for over 20 years, the members 
of the City Council 
who were present, friends, 
and neighbors. In honor of 
Toni, Gurdon Miller from 
the Sierra Madre Historical 
Preservation Society gave a 
proclamation and a donation 
of $1,000 for use in the 
renovation of the Children’s 
Room of the library.

Following the speeches and 
presentations, guests enjoyed 
a chocolate raspberry cake 
and coffee, a lovely ending to 
a memorable evening.

SALINAS (from pg. 1)

This campus is preparing for 
construction of a six classroom 
wing in the parking lot area. It 
will house 4th and 5th graders 
plus a classroom and play area 
for pre-Kindergarten. The 
portable buildings have been 
removed,” in anticipation of 
the construction, she said. 
Salinas says she will work with 
the district on this, aiding 
in the communication both 
directions.

Another community member 
asked about her long term 
plans, given her experience at 
three different school districts. 
In response, Salinas smiled, 
saying, “I am very content to 
serve here at SME, and very 
happy to be part of the Sierra 
Madre family. I have no plans to 
be anywhere else but here.”

Dreams for the Future

Her dreams for Sierra Madre? 
“With the speed of change and 
innovations in technology, 
with globalization and distance 
learning accessed from your 
living room, my passion would 
be to ensure that our students 
are adequately prepared to 
compete and find success in 
that environment. We can’t 
lose sight that the world is so 
small… that our competitors 
aren’t just next door, they’re 
from China, India and Pakistan 
and around the world.”

Thomas chimed in on the same 
wavelength. “As good as the 
school is and has been, we can 
be better. We need to make 
sure all the students have the 
opportunity to do their best 
work possible while they are 
here.” 

 “What makes our school 
different,” Thomas said, “is the 
thousands of hours and dollars 
our various organizations put 
into it, the PTA, of course, the 
School Site Council, the Annual 
Fund, the English Language 
Advisory Committee (ELAC), 
as well as our African American 
Parents Council. If we talk 
about what distinguishes SM, 
it’s the glue that all the parent 
groups bring. Until my children 
started here, I didn’t realize 
the enormity of the thousands 
of volunteer hours that really 
creates our competitive 
advantage here.”

To which Salinas filled in, “The 
extra dollars (from fundraising 
and donations) make a huge 
difference, too, bringing extra 
pieces of curriculum, arts, 
music and field trips. Line by 
line item, it adds up to more 
than $100,000” the school 
otherwise wouldn’t have to 
work with, especially with 
budget cuts.

Summarizing, Salinas reflected, 
“I have already tasted a bit of the 
amazing partnership that the 
Sierra Madre community offers. 
I think of it as a powerful thing, 
as a synergy of the tremendous 
effort put forth by families, 
teaching staff and, of course, 
the kids. I sense the honest 
effort to make improvements, 
still loving our school, but 
constantly pursuing that next 
level of excellence.”


3

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 1, 2011 


FALL DINNER DANCE

Join the fun at the Fall Dinner 
Dance benefiting Sierra Madre 
School’s Annual Fund, Saturday, 
October 15th from 6:00 to 10 p.m. 
at the exclusive private club Area 
51 in Monrovia. 

 Enjoy a delicious Italian dinner 
and dance the night away with 
local DJ Denny Barry. Tickets 
are $50 per person. No host bar. 
Adults only please. 

 The Annual Fund helps support 
Sierra Madre School. The Annual 
Fund provides financial support 
to a variety of school programs 
including visual and performing 
arts programs, science programs, 
librarians and health aides. 

For more information on the 
dance or to purchase your tickets, 
please contact Lisa Brault at 
ljbauction@yahoo.com. 

Another 
Downtown 
Sierra Madre 
Boulevard 
Building for 
Sale

280 W. Sierra Madre Boulevard, 
a commercial building 
with 2052 square feet, 
has been listed for sale at 
$640,000, per the www.
Loopnet.com website. Both 
storefronts within the building 
are currently occupied 
on a month to month basis. 
For several years, it was the 
home of Mail Boxes and 
Postal a popular retailer, service 
provider in town.

When asked about the property, 
listing agent, Stephen 
Queale of Stephen and Associates 
expressed frustration 
that two interested parties, 
including a chiropractor, 
have been daunted by the 
cumbersome city process 
and did not purchase the 
property. 

In a follow-up call to Elaine 
Aguilar, City Manager, she 
said, “Our processes aren’t 
any more cumbersome than 
any other city. Every city 
has zoning requirements. If 
a Conditional Use Permit 
(CUP) is required, for instance 
for a chiropractor, the 
process is not cumbersome 
and would be processed 
rather quickly. It’s not that 
complicated.” Aguilar then 
looked into requirements 
for a chiropractic practice, 
responding later, “The only 
processing is some paperwork, 
as medical requires 
a CUP. Chiropractic is not 
a difficult to process as it 
doesn’t involve alcohol or 
live music. It’s really just a 
meeting before the planning 
commission.” 

Queale can be reached at 714-
964-9282. Interested parties 
can also contact the City 
Planning offices or the City 
Manager at 626-355-7135. 

Sierra Madre Police Blotter

During the week of Sunday, September 18th, to Saturday September 24th, the Sierra Madre 
Police Department responded to approximately 265 calls for service. See crimereports.com 
for updated information. 

Sunday, September 18th:

11:45 PM- Danger to Self/Others/Gravely Disabled, 400 blk. E. Grandview Ave. This case involves a 
man being placed on a 72-hour hold for a psychiatric evaluation. 

Monday, September 19th:

11:48 AM- Use Another’s Personal Identification to Obtain Credit/Etc. This case involves an unknown 
suspect(s) that used the victim’s Social Security number for employment.

Tuesday, September 20th:

5:17 PM- Residential Burglary, 400 blk. N. Canon Dr. Unknown suspect(s) entered a residence 
through a locked rear door by force. The loss included a black 15’ Apple Mac Laptop, a silver 14’ 
Apple Mac Pro Laptop, a red Nintendo DS, an Apple IPad, a Sony PlayStation 3 video game, a plastic 
bottle of Vodka and $500.00. The loss was valued at $5298.00. 

6:47 PM- Willful Disobedience of Court Order, 100 blk. Grove St. This case involves a man violating 
a restraining order while incarcerated at the Men’s Central Jail facility. 

Thursday, September 22nd:

2:28 AM- Disorderly Conduct/Drunk in Public, Sierra Madre Blvd and Sierra Place. An officer 
stopped a 28-year old Monrovia resident for a Vehicle Code violation and determined that the driver 
was under the influence of alcohol. The driver was arrested and transported to Pasadena Police Department 
for booking. 

7:16 AM- Auto Burglary, 700 blk. W. Sierra Madre Blvd. A suspect broke a window of a parked car 
and took a Pen Folds day planner. 

7:16 AM- Tampering/Injuring Vehicle or Contents, 700 blk. W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Unknown 
suspect(s) smashed a passenger’s side window and fled the location. There was no loss.

2:50 PM- Grand Theft Exceeding $950.00, 200 blk. Mariposa Ave. This case involves 4 chain saws 
stolen from a Sierra Madre City Public Works truck while it was parked near Memorial Park during 
daylight hours. 

3:06 PM- Unlicensed Driver, Sierra Madre Blvd and Mountain Trail. An officer stopped a 50-year 
old Pasadena resident for a Vehicle Code violation. Further investigation revealed that the driver was 
under possession of marijuana. The man was cited and released on the field. 

4:56 PM- DUI Alcohol/Drugs, 100 blk. Esperanza Ave. An officer stopped a 29-year old Sierra 
Madre motorist for a Vehicle Code violation. Further investigation revealed that the driver was under 
the influence of alcohol, had a suspended driver’s license and was in possession of another person’s 
medication. The driver was arrested and transported to Pasadena Police Department for booking. 

10:50 PM- DUI Alcohol/Drugs, Santa Anita Ave and Arno Drive. An officer detained a 21-year old 
woman from Whittier, who was urinating in public. The woman was under the influence of alcohol 
and had driven her car to the location. The officer arrested the woman and transported to Pasadena 
Police Department for booking. 

Friday, September 23RD:

2:28 PM- Residential Burglary, 100 blk. W. Grandview. Suspect(s) entered a home through an unlocked 
rear door. The loss was a Canon Sure-Shot digital camera, a small remote control for a MAC 
computer, and two jars of silver coins. 

Saturday, September 24TH:

1:39 AM- Attempted Residential Burglary, 689 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. This case involves the victim’s 
former boyfriend trying to pry her garage door open. The suspect left the location when the neighbor 
called to him. There was no loss. 


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