Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 15, 2011

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

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AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views-News Saturday, October 15, 2011 

“What’s Going On?” 

News and Views from Joan Schmidt

WORKING TOGETHER AT THE WIGGLE WAGGLE


THE BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS 

On October 4th, the Feast 
Day of St. Francis of Assisi 
is generally celebrated by 
Catholics around the world. 
Francis was born around 
1181 to a wealthy family in 
Assisi, Italy. In his youth, he 
bought many clothes and 
attended many parties. His 
only concern was having a good time; he had no 
interest in studying or his father’s business.

After two illnesses, he changed his life around. 
He gave away his fine garments and wore rags. His 
father was furious with him, beat him and locked 
him in their house.

Nothing could deter Francis. He went out and 
preached the word of God, while leading the life of 
a beggar. His food was what kind people gave him. 
Soon others realized how close to God Francis 
was, followed him and became his disciples. 
This is how the Franciscan order of priests and 
brothers began. They helped the poor and sick 
and preached everywhere. 

Francis soon had the power of working miracles 
–even birds and animals obeyed him. That is why 
he is the Patron Saint not only of the Poor, but also 
Animals!

Did you know that Francis had the stigmata, 
which means Jesus’ wounds in his hands and 
feet? Also at Christmas we can thank Francis for 
our beautiful Nativity scenes with the crèches. 
This custom originated in Italy in 1223. Francis 
was inspired by the sight of shepherds in moonlit 
fields- it brought to mind, images of the first 
Christmas!

In conjunction with St. Francis being the Patron 
Saint of Animals, a special celebration was held at 
the Immaculate Conception Campus. A beautiful 
Mass was co-celebrated by Father Tran, IC’s 
Pastor and Father Herbert, Annunciation’s Pastor. 
Despite the rain, the ICA students were in great 
spirits and walked quickly to the Hall. Parents 
brought the animals in, and the students were 
standing along the walls with their treasured pets. 
Deacon Mike Salcedo was in charge of festivities. 
He asked the children whether animals were 
“good” or “bad”. Scripture from Genesis was read , 
acknowledging God had created animals and they 
were good. Deacon Mike then walked around the 
hall and blessed EVERY animal personally-much 
to the delight of the students, parents and teachers. 
And what an array of animals! Dogs, cats, birds, 
turtles, (all sizes) gerbils, gecko, (1st time I ever saw 
one) and a snake! Thanks to all the Immaculate 
Conception-Annunciation Priests, Deacon Mike, 
Staff and parents for making this a Special Day for 
the ICA students!

 
The National Charity League, 
Inc., Pasadena Area Chapter 
(NCL Pasadena) partnered once 
again with the Pasadena Humane 
Society and SPCA (PHS) 
for their main fundraiser. The 
annual Wiggle Waggle Walk, 
held recently at Brookside Park, 
raises funds to support animal 
rescue and welfare operations 
and help the Pasadena Humane 
Society find new and loving 
homes for the thousands of animals 
taken in every year. 

 This year, sixty-three of NCL 
Pasadena’s Patronesses and 
Ticktockers (mothers and 
daughters) supported the Wiggle 
Waggle Walk and contributed 
more than 327 hours, the 
most extensive contribution of 
any participating volunteer organization. 
They volunteered as 
course guides, water bowl monitors, 
greeters, cheerleading, and 
even poop detail. They assisted 
with set-up for the event and 
the distribution of T-shirts and 
prizes, and also made signs to 
help cheer on participants. Earlier 
in the year, NCL Pasadena 
members helped promote the 
Wiggle Waggle Walk by distributing 
posters and brochures to 
local businesses.

 Kathy Lewis, current NCL Pasadena 
Liaison to the Humane 
Society said, “My daughter, 
Shelby, and I have volunteered 
for the Wiggle Waggle Walk 
since we joined NCL Pasadena. 
It is our favorite event to do as 
a mother-daughter team. We 
especially love being out on the 
course with the walkers and the 
dogs. As the Chapter Liaison 
this year, I would like to thank 
all of the volunteers that helped 
make this year’s walk so successful. 
I would also like to thank 
the NCL, Inc., San Marino 
Chapter as this was truly a team 
effort.” 

 “NCL is an integral part of the 
success of the Wiggle Waggle 
Walk,” said Nicole Ring, Events 
Coordinator at PHS. “With the 
girls volunteering for the event 
it allows the Pasadena Humane 
Society and SPCA to save the 
money it would have otherwise 
had to spend on hiring temporary 
staffing for the event. NCL's 
help enables thousands of dollars 
to be saved and used to help 
the animals! We are so grateful 
for their participation.” NCL 
Pasadena’s members further 
contribute to the PHS year long, 
baking and delivering fresh dog 
bones and making cat toys for 
the sheltered animals.

National Charity League, Inc., 
Pasadena Area Chapter was 
founded in 1998. Today NCL 
Pasadena has more than 400 
members, serves 22 local philanthropies, 
and contributes 
over 17,000 hours to our local 
community each year. For more 
information, please visit www.
nclpasadena.org.

 Established in Los Angeles, 
California in 1925, and incorporated 
in 1958, National Charity 
League, Inc. is the premier 
mother-daughter organization, 
serving women and their 
daughters in grades 7-12. Currently 
the membership of nearly 
50,000 consists of 160 Chapters 
that thrive in 17 states, providing 
valuable philanthropic, leadership, 
and cultural experiences 
to its members and striving 
to meet critical needs of local 
communities through hands-on 
volunteer support. For more information, 
visit www.nationalcharityleague.
org. 

Jeannie, Sammy and Maddie Case, and Shelby Lewis cheer on the dogs and their excited parents!


“PEOPLE FOR PARKS” 
HONORS ANTONOVICH 

WITH 2011 “PARK 
HEROES” AWARD

“People for Parks” honored Los 
Angeles County Mayor Michael D. 
Antonovich with the 2011 “Park Heroes” 
award for his efforts in acquiring, 
expanding and developing county parks, 
gardens, golf courses, trails and open 
space areas.

“Our public parks and trails are a vital 
component in our effort to improve the 
quality of life for County residents,” 
said Antonovich. “Despite challenging 
economic times, our county has been 
able to keep our parks open while 
expanding and improving our parks and 
trails infrastructure.”

 

BILL AB 109: OVERCROWDING IN COUNTY JAILS AND 
FUNDING PROMISES NOT HAPPENING By Joan Schmidt

Mayor Michael D. Antonovich with Russ Guiney, Director 
of the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation.

2012 Women of the World Awards Call for Nominations

For the last several months, there have 
been several articles about the state prisons, 
overcrowding in county jails, transfer of 
felons from state prisons into county jails and 
Governor Jerry Brown not providing funding on 
a permanent basis for the influx of these 30,000-
40,000 felons into county jails over the next few 
years.

The problem began with California’s 
chronically crowded state prisons. As recent 
as 2009, our state’s prison system was at 178% 
of design capacity, far in excess of the national 
average of 110% among states. This was the 
reason for the proposed transfer of felons from 
state prisons to county jails. The other argument 
was presented by the California Department of 
Corrections and Rehabilitation. Their Secretary 
Matt Cate said, “California state prisons took in 
47,000 inmates last year who were parole violators 
sentenced to 90 days or less…it makes no sense to 
go through elaborate intake process, which takes 
an average of three months for inmates who are 
going to spend only a few months behind bars.” 
This reasoning seems to make sense.

On April 4, of this year, Governor Jerry Brown 
signed AB 109 into law, which amends the state’s 
option for imprisonment of felons. Previously, 
felons were sent to state prison to serve out 
their time. The bill would generally provide 
that felonies are punishable by imprisonment 
in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. 
The exceptions would be serious and violent 
felonies and felonies requiring registration of a 
sex offender.

There were several opponents of this bill. Los 
Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley 
stated, “County Jails are also crowded, and were 
never designed to offer the same rehabilitation 
programs as state prisons. Public safety requires 
appropriate incarceration and deference and 
both of these will suffer under this proposal.

A second unhappy public official is Supervisor 
Mike Antonovich. He feels “Governor Brown’s 
plan to level California’s $26 billion deficit-the 
result of several years of out of control spending-
is a realignment proposal that irresponsibly 
shrugs the state’s financial burden onto the 
shoulders of cash-strapped county and municipal 
governments…this shifts the responsibility 
for convicted felons and parolee supervision 
from the state prison system to the county. 
Transferring the state’s legal obligation to already 
overcrowded jails and stressed law enforcement 
agencies-without fully paying for the burden. 
Los Angeles County’s jail system, the largest in 
the nation is already challenged with rampart 
violence and illness among the detainees due to 
severe overcrowding conditions. The county’s 
jails operate under strict federal court-appointed 
ACLU monitors, who cite overcrowding as the 
root cause of problems long-plaguing the Men’s 
Central Jail.”

Glendora City Council Member and former 
Police Chief of Monrovia, Joe Santoro, also did 
a commentary on this topic. He stated how on 
September 24th, “The Glendora City Council 
submitted a resolution to the League of California 
Cities General Assembly to consider and take 
action at their annual conference. The purpose 
of the resolution was to direct the League to 
focus their legislative efforts and demand the 
governor and Legislature take action to ensure 
that a full and constitutionally protected 
funding source be provided if the state is going 
to shift its responsibility for public safety to local 
government.” (The resolution was unanimously 
supported.)

As thousands of state prisoners transferred 
to county jails, Sheriff Lee Baca is expanding 
education programs to help inmates turn their 
lives around. A new program has deputies 
mentor inmates. This program involves teaching 
them skills and decision making to assist them 
from turning back to a life of crime after they are 
released.

“We have to do this, because we know these 
inmates are going to leave our custody at some 
point, and the sheriff is very energetic and 
enthusiastic about making sure that the jail 
environment isn’t just idle time for them to 
waste,” Assistant Cecil Rhambo said.

The Education-Based Incarnation System 
began independent of Governor’s Brown transfer 
of thousands from state prisons to county jail. 
Now it is being expanded.

After October 1st, we are now getting 700 
inmates a month into the county jail system. 
Before AB 109 was signed, those inmates would 
have gone to state prisons.

The newest county program has 30 deputies; 
many have teaching experience or master’s 
degrees. They discuss decision-making and 
critical thinking, personal relationships and 
conflict management, and stress management 
and coping.

Lieutenant Brian Fitch who help develop 
the curriculum said “It’s based on cognitive 
behavioral therapy, which has shown promising 
results in reducing recidivism. It focuses on 
improving inmates’ skills in critical thinking, 
decision-making and life management…the 
research is very clear.

50/50 Leadership renews call for nominations 
for 2012 Women of the World Awards.

Nominate someone who makes an 
international impact in the lives of women and 
girls and deserves recognition for their work.

 

PASADENA, CA—50/50 Leadership and 
UNA-USA Pasadena, today, renewed its call for 
nominees to the 4th annual Women of the World 
Awards (WOW), the organizations’ annual 
award that honors women of all ages, heritages, 
nationalities and professions that have an impact 
in the lives of women and girls in other countries. 
Between now and November 15th, people can 
email WOW@5050leadership.org to submit 
nominations of the people they think are making 
a difference in the lives of women and girls in 
other countries. 

The two non-profit organizations are soliciting 
nominations for individuals who have done 
inspiring work benefiting women and girls 
throughout the globe. In order to nominate a 
woman, nominations must contain the following 
specific elements:

1. The nominee’s name, organization, title, 
email address, phone number and postal address

2. A summary, 250 words or less, of the impact 
this leader has

3. Your relationship to the nominee, your 
contact information: name, email address, phone 
number, and postal address

4. Send your nominations to 
WOW@5050leadership.org

 While nominations are accepted of women 
of all ages, heritages, countries and professions, 
winning is designated for accomplished women 
leaders who are pioneers in their field and who 
continue to inspire others to set strong goals for 
themselves. The WOW Award is a way to celebrate 
female heroes and to promote gender equality 
throughout the globe. More than three dozen 
women have been nominated for the Women of 
the World Awards since the program first began 
in 2009. Select winners of past years were Tiffany 
Persons, Andrea Herz Payne, Whitney Kroenke, 
Dr. Shilpa Sayana, and Dr. Riane Eisler.

 Each year’s awards honor the top 3 Women of 
the World 2012, as selected by a panel of esteemed 
judges with prior commitments to public service. 
The panel selects the three winners from a jury 
of submitted finalists. The criteria for judging 
include impact, location, and sponsoring 
organization. At the gala, 50/50 Leadership and 
UNA will honor the winners, who will each 
receive an award for their achievements. The 
ceremony is open to the public.

“The most important thing a community can 
do is continually push the point, raise awareness, 
raise money and, above all, keep at it,” states 
Stephanie March, actress, Law & Order: SVU 
and past WOW Awards supporter.

Do you know an outstanding heroine 
making an international impact? Email 
WOW@5050leaership.org now and make your 
nomination.

Pet of the Week:

Jimbo: Animal ID #A4347163


Meet a stunningly handsome gentleman, 
Jimbo (A4347163). Jimbo is a magnificent 
four-year-old black and fawn male purebred 
German Shepherd who was discarded at the 
Baldwin Park shelter on September 30th 
because his former owner said it was too 
expensive to have a dog. 

A little overweight at ninety-four pounds, 
this spectacular, gentle boy walks well on the 
leash and gets along with dogs of all sizes. 
Responsive, treat-motivated and intelligent, 
Jimbo takes treats gently and volunteers who 
have met Jimbo think he will be amazing 
with kids. A grand prize in the doggie 
lottery, Jimbo will be an enviable indoor pet 
for an individual or family living in a private 
home. To watch a video of Jimbo interacting 
with a volunteer, please visit: www.youtube.
com/watch?v=k3PWErsZcDo

To meet Jimbo in person, please see him 
at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located at 4275 
N. Elton, Baldwin Park, CA 91706 (Phone: 
626-430-2378). He is currently available 
now. For any inquiries about Jimbo, please 
reference his animal ID number: A4347163. 
The shelter is open seven days a week, 12 
pm-7 pm Monday-Thursday and 10am-5pm 
Friday-Sunday. This is a high-intake shelter 
with a great need for adoptions. For more 
information about Jimbo or the adoption 
process, contact United Hope for Animals 
Volunteer Adoption Coordinator Samantha 
at samanthasayon@gmail.com or 661-309-
2674. 

To learn more about United Hope for 
Animals’ partnership with the Baldwin Park 
Shelter through its Shelter Support Program, 
as well as the many dogs of all breeds, ages, and 
sizes available for adoption in local shelters, 
visit http://www.unitedhope4animals.org/
about-us/shelter-support-program/.