Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 10, 2012

5

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 10, 2012

What will I Be 
Doing, Ten 
Years from 
Now?

 Where will I be ten years from 
now? Many young adults ponder 
that question. Recently at Santa 
Teresita in Duarte, Sr. Rosario 
Therese and the Junior Volunteers 
presented their second annual Teen Career Fair to help 
answer that question.

 Keynote speaker Kathy Calhoun, High School 
Teacher/Administrator from Lake Elsinore HS, began by 
explaining the difference between a career and a vocation. 
Other speakers included Lori Towles, City National 
Bank; Shannon Lewallen, Fall Control System; Gabby 
Romero, Kaiser Permanente; and Sr. Rosario Therese, 
Teen Career Fair Coordinator. After each speaker, there 
was a Breakout for discussion and questions. 

 The occupation fields included Education, Health 
Care, Human resources, Business, and Public Service. 
For Education, there was representation from CAL State 
Long Beach, American Beauty College-Myra G. Mendoza 
and Duarte retired teacher/school board member, 
Rose Brooks Mitchell. LA County Firemen, Deputy 
Frederickson from the LA County Sheriff’s Duarte Sub 
Station and Homicide Bureau Sergeant Luis Nuñez 
represented Public Service. Business Representatives 
included Rachel, Paint-A-Play, Sara Sierra , Sierra Hair 
Extensions, and Jose Mireles, Finance, TIAA-CREF 
Financial Svs. Health Services had a Nursing rep.

 Rose Brooks Mitchell attended because Sr. Rosario 
invited her and, “It is an honor and privilege to be here to 
encourage them to do their best and pursue their passion 
to get the best education possible. A good education is 
a key to success.” Rose’s handout, Qualities and Traits 
of Successful Students explained the importance of 
Self-respect, Self-discipline, Personal Responsibility, 
Interpersonal Skills and Thinking for Themselves.

 The Theme of the Day was to “Make a Difference.” 
Sister Rosario used Difference Makers International, 
(800-887,8422; www.blueribbons.com) 

 Sister ended the day’s program with a poignant true 
story and the 8 Step Blue Ribbon Ceremony. A high 
school teacher wanted to honor each of her students. She 
gave each a blue ribbon with gold lettering, “Who I Am 
Makes a Difference.” She had three extra ribbons and 
asks her students to pass them on and come back with 
the results. One student chose a junior executive, who 
helped him with career planning. The junior executive 
gives one to his boss, who he greatly admired for his 
career genius. On the way home, the boss decides to give 
it to his son. After he got home, he went into his son’s 
room. He sat him down and explained the project. He 
said, “Son, I want to honor you. My days are hectic and 
when I come home, I don’t pay a lot of attention to you. 
Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough 
grades at school or for your bedroom being a mess. But 
somehow, tonight, I just wanted to sit here and well, just 
let you know that you make a difference to me. Besides 
your mother, you are the most important person in my 
life. You are a great kid and I love you.”

 The startled boy looked up and began to sob. He 
couldn’t stop crying. He looked up at his dad and said, 
“I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, 
because I didn’t think you loved me. Now I don’t have 
to.”

 The program ended with all the participants being 
pinned with blue ribbons, followed by the presenters 
being pinned. Two of the students ran over to Sister and 
pinned her. This program was excellent and is a good 
tool for teachers to use for their students’ self-esteem and 
confidence.

PET OF THE WEEK: 

“What’s Going On?” 

News and Views from Joan Schmidt


Lil’ Queen: 

Animal ID #A4394653

Meet a happy-go-lucky girl, the 
adorable Lil’ Queen (A4394653). 
Lil’ Queen is an extroverted and 
affectionate one-year-old tan 
spayed female Terrier puppy who 
was brought to the Baldwin Park 
Animal Care Center. She came 
to the shelter with seven other 
dogs and two chickens after her 
former owner’s house burned 
down to the ground. This puppy 
has had it rough, but that does 
not change her personality one bit – she 
is very loving and playful and is eager 
to please. Weighing eight pounds, Lil’ 
Queen walks fine on the leash, is well 
socialized and we think she probably 
is housebroken. She is gregarious and 
happy with other dogs and absolutely 
adores children. Lil’ Queen will be the 
perfect indoor pet for anybody at all! To 
watch a video of Lil’ Queen, Dallas, and 
Hillary please visit: www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6S2p4Xt1BcQ

To meet Lil’ Queen in person, please see 
her at the Baldwin Park Shelter, located 
at 4275 N. Elton, Baldwin Park, CA 
91706 (Phone: 626-430-2378 or 626-
962-3577). She is currently available 
now. For any inquiries about Lil’ Queen, 
please reference her animal ID number: 
A4394653. 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 
Lil’ Queen 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/.


CAL FIRE: CHANGE YOUR 
CLOCKS, CHANGE YOUR 
BATTERIES

 On Saturday night, March 10, Californians 
will be turning their clocks forward in observance 
of Daylight Saving Time. And when 
they do, CAL FIRE is reminding them to replace 
the batteries in all smoke alarms. Firefighters 
are also urging residents to replace the 
batteries in the carbon monoxide (CO) alarms 
as well. 

 This minimal effort could mean the difference 
between life and death. Already this year 
several fatalities have occurred in California 
which might have been prevented with working 
smoke alarms.

 “CAL FIRE has long advocated the ‘Change 
Your Clock, Change Your Battery’ campaign,” 
said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of CAL FIRE. 
“A smoke alarm is one of the cheapest and 
most effective ways homeowners can provide 
year round fire protection for themselves and 
their families.”

 Every year lives are lost in homes without 
smoke detectors or those homes with a non-
functioning smoke detector. In a study conducted 
by the National Fire Prevention Association 
(NFPA), nearly 96% of households 
report having at least one fire alarm. Yet the 
US Fire Administration reports residential 
fires make up nearly 83% of all civilian fire 
deaths. The culprit is generally a disconnected 
or dead battery. Save a life. Change your 
clocks; change your smoke alarm batteries. 
Fire officials also remind residents that smoke 
alarms should be replaced at least every ten 
years and when residents buy a new one, purchase 
an alarm with 10-year batteries

“Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms 
unquestionably help save lives, but they are 
nothing without working batteries inside of 
them,” said Chief Tonya Hoover, California’s 
state fire marshal. “Just a few minutes twice a 
year to change that battery can truly mean the 
difference between life and death."

For more information, visit the CAL FIRE 
website at www.fire.ca.gov. 


It Just Gets Better: 
Arcadia Chamber of 
Commerce Monthly 
Forum By Joan Schmidt

 On the first Thursday of the month, the Arcadia 
Chamber of Commerce holds a Government Affairs 
Forum. Representatives from our local officials’ 
offices and agencies, such as The Gas Company and 
Metro Gold Line, attend and give updates. That would 
be enough reason to come, but also there’s a special 
speaker. One time it was Supervisor Antonovich, 
who explained the county’s position and provisions 
regarding the transfer of state prisoners to county 
facilities. On another occasion, representatives from 
the FBI spoke about counterfeit money: when it 
began, how it has continued, and what to look for.

 At last week’s meeting, we were in for a treat. Steve 
Scazillo has been a journalist for over THIRTY years; 
a man who supports SO many great causes-especially 
pertaining to the preservation of our environment so 
we can enjoy it. He alerted me to the “Duck Farm 
Project” via his column. Steve has written of many 
wonderful natural features in the San Gabriel Valley 
that need improvement, but there are no funds. 
In one commentary, he mentioned that while in 
Congress, Hilda Solis had proposed making the San 
Gabriel and Rio Hondo Rivers part of a national 
recreation area so that funding would be available 
for improvements.

 At Thursday’s meeting, Steve’s topic was one dear 
to all of us - the water situation. Many of us are not 
happy with escalating bills, although we use less 
water! My county area is billed by the San Dimas 
based “Golden State Water Company”. But some 
cities are responsible for their own water. Steve 
explained that most of the area gets water from 
Northern California or the Colorado River. However 
he pointed on that “We are on top of the San Gabriel 
Basin-as big as Lake Tahoe, a tremendous asset-we 
should take better care of it.” 

 Currently, there are two issues we should be aware 
of. The first is Water Cleanup. In the 50’s and 60’s, 
the Aerospace Industry had a lot of waste products 
and needed to dispose of them. Back then, people 
didn’t realize you should not dump wastes into 
the environment. As early as 1979, Congressman 
Dreier was aware of this and a supporter of water 
clean-up. Irwindale was mentioned and the 
issue of groundwater is still with us. When the 
Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte Town Council began, an 
Annunciation Parishioner came to a meeting and 
brought up the water issue and breast cancer. I have 
been a member of the Parish, located ONE block 
from Irwindale, since ’85. The amount of women 
who died from breast cancer, or still have it, is quite 
high. I have attended funerals of FIVE students’ 
relatives (four mothers and one grandmother) who 
died from breast cancer. One former mother is cured, 
but two still have it. I have seen a fellow parishioner 
broken because his wife passed away after a valiant 
battle. Lastly, as a teacher, we attended an AIDS/HIV 
Awareness Workshop and the presenter told us that 
HIV patients are told NOT to drink the water in our 
area.

 The other issue brought up was that 60% of 
water is imported from Northern California and 
the conditions of levees, etc. (However certain cities 
maintain their own water supply. Pasadena is on top 
of the Raymond Basin.) The Central Valley farmers 
don’t like southern California using the water from 
the North. They need the water. We have become the 
beneficiaries of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 
There is a proposed huge new Delta Project; Steve 
mentioned two thirty-seven mile tunnels bringing 
water to the area. The Project is controversial because 
who will pay the $25 billion cost? Part of this project 
was on the ballot in 2010, but removed because it 
was too costly. Steve warned everyone to read up on 
the water issues and be cognizant of what it will cost 
taxpayers. The Water Companies need to be held 
accountable. 

 After Steve’s presentation, we heard from Mark 
Harmsen. He extended Congressman Drier’s 
gratitude for support during his 16 terms. Mark 
also thanked Steve Scazillo for educating people in 
how to make the San Gabriel Valley a better place 
to live, “Government is successful when citizens are 
involved and find out information.”

 David Monroy from Senator Huff’s office 
mentioned the increase of retirement age to 67 years 
for pensions, which will save a lot of funds. Brian 
Mejia related that Supervisor Antonovich is not in 
favor of giving driver’s licenses to undocumented 
residents, because of the high costs of servicing 
them. Hovanes Gasparian gave a hand-out of all the 
bills introduced by Assemblyman Portantino. We 
received an update from Rodrigo Gonzalez stating 
that Metro Gold Line can FINALLY proceed with 
the extension; they have reached an agreement with 
the City of Monrovia and the property owner who 
had been holding everything up!

 Lastly Mayor Gary Kovacic and Mayor Pro Tem Bob 
Harbicht gave updates. Bob mentioned an update on 
Arcadia’s Water. They have two underground basins 
and years back, residents were asked to cut back on 
their use and they have, so Arcadia has been one of 
the few cities /areas that hasn’t seen great hikes in 
water bills.

 The forum was so informative and interesting, 
that the Arcadia Chamber should be commended. 
For any informative on upcoming Chamber events, 
please call 626-447-2159 or ww.aracdiachamber.org. 


Monrovia Police Blotter

Operation Safe Neighborhoods

Tuesday night’s Council meeting was really the 
Police Department’s show. Chief Hunt made 
the annual presentation on the evaluation of the 
City’s anti-gang injunction. This was the 2nd annual 
report and there has been relatively good 
news over this past year. Chief Hunt announced 
that Monrovia’s crime levels were at an all-time 
low and that they had not received any complaints 
on the City’s injunction program. He also 
recapped a few of the significant events from the 
City’s Operation Safe Neighborhoods and Gang 
Task Force efforts. Some of these were:

The recognition of the Monrovia Police Department 
by the California Police Chiefs’ Association 
as a finalist for the James Q. Wilson Excellence in 
Community Policing Award.

In January 2011, a Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gang 
member was arrested and charged with assault 
with a deadly weapon and violating the permanent 
gang injunction. The gang member was sentenced, 
and a request for probation was denied.

The Monrovia Police Department and the Los 
Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were able 
to assist in securing a conviction of a gang member 
in February of this year.

The Graffiti Bounty program was confirmed successful 
this past year, and even resulted in capturing 
and the detainment of the individual who 
was responsible for as many as twenty-eight of 
the graffiti taggings. We will continue to promote 
awareness to the community about reporting 
graffiti.

Chief Hunt also gave an Update on AB109 Realignment. 
In 2011, the Governor signed Assembly 
Bill (AB) 109 that closed the revolving door 
of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state 
prisons. For Monrovia, this meant that our Police 
Department would heighten public awareness of 
those non-violent offenders being put back on 
the streets. Chief Hunt reported that since the 
enactment of AB109, there has been an uptick 
in vehicle and residential burglary. We will continue 
educating and promoting awareness in our 
community. We hope to encourage participation 
in neighborhood watch programs and encourage 
our residents to report suspicious activities.

For more information on Operation Safe Neighborhoods, 
please contact the Police Department 
at (626) 256-8000. 

THIS WEEK IN MONROVIA: THE CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

During the last seven-day period, the Police Department 
handled 447 service events, resulting in 99 investigations. 
To see a complete listing of crimes reported, go to 
http://www.crimemapping.com/map/ca/monrovia for 
crime mapping.

 

Grand Theft Auto

On March 6 at 7:36 a.m., officers were dispatched 
to the report of a stolen vehicle in the 1800 block 
of South Fifth Avenue. A female victim parked her 
silver, 2005 Dodge Stratus in front of her apartment 
complex on the street at approximately 8:00 
p.m. The victim returned to her car the following 
morning and discovered the vehicle was missing. 
The vehicle was entered into the Stolen Vehicle 
System and the investigation is continuing.

 

Residential Burglary - Suspect Arrested

On March 6 at 5:51 p.m., a residential burglary 
was reported in the 900 block of West Colorado. 
The female resident had received a phone call 
from her friend/suspect while she was in the hospital. 
The friend told her the window of her house 
was open and that she should be more careful. 

When she was released from the hospital on 
March 1, the victim went home and found her 
cell phone and some jewelry had been stolen. She 
called the number of her cell phone and a female 
friend who lives in San Diego answered. The victim 
asked her friend how she acquired the phone 
and was told her son obtained it from the suspect; 
the son also had the victim's jewelry. The victim 
subsequently confronted the suspect, who admitted 
he went into her home and took the items. 
The victim desires prosecution.

 

A wanted person was placed on the suspect by 
the investigating officer for burglary and receiving 
stolen property. On March 7, an officer was 
searching for the known suspect and located 
him on the city streets. The suspect was arrested 
and taken into custody. He admitted to taking 
the property to teach the victim a lesson for 
leaving her residence unlocked. The property 
was returned by the friend in San Diego to the 
victim. Additional property was also recovered, 
which was not related to this case. Investigation 
continuing.

 

Tip of the Week

 Parent's Guide to Internet Safety From the FBI

"Our children are our Nation's most valuable asset. 
They represent the bright future of our country 
and hold our hopes for a better Nation. Our 
children are also the most vulnerable members of 
society. Protecting our children against the fear of 
crime and from becoming victims of crime must 
be a national priority.

 

Unfortunately the same advances in computer 
and telecommunication technology that allow 
our children to reach out to new sources of 
knowledge and cultural experiences are also leaving 
them vulnerable to exploitation and harm by 
computer-sex offenders." 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation offers parents 
an information packed Parent's Guide to Internet 
Safety. The guide offers tips on watching for behavior 
changes or indications that a child may be 
the target of online predators. Arm yourself with 
knowledge - be a part of your child's online life!

YOUR AD 
COULD BE 
HERE

CALL PATRICIA

(626) 818-2698