Happy Thanksgiving


VOLUME 6 NO 46

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2012

SIERRA MADRE CHAMBER KICKS 
OFF HOLIDAY SHOPPING WITH THE 
WHO VILLE FESTIVAL AS AMERICANS 
ACROSS THE COUNTRY TAKE PART IN 
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY

CITY OF SIERRA MADRE APPOINTS LARRY 
GIANNONE CHIEF OF POLICE

Sierra Madre, CA – After serving as the Acting Chief of Police for 
the past year, the City of Sierra Madre is honored to announce that 
Larry Giannone has been appointed as the City’s permanent Chief 
of Police.

Chief Giannone is an active member of the FBI’s Law Enforcement 
Executive Management Program, a member of the San Gabriel 
Valley Police Chief’s Association, a member of the Los Angeles 
County Police Chief’s Association, and is currently the President 
of the San Gabriel Valley Peace Officers Association.

Chief Giannone began his career as a police cadet in 1973 with 
the Huntington Beach Police Department. He then joined the 
Monterey Park Police Department as a Police Reserve Officer 
rising through the ranks to a Reserve Police Captain. Larry 
was recognized twice by the California Reserve Peace Officers 
Association for his dedication to volunteerism.

Because of a true appreciation of the profession, Chief Giannone 
left the Reserve Corps and joined the Monterey Park Police 
Department as a full time employee in 1981. He has worked 
a variety of assignments including dispatch, technical services, 
patrol, motor officer, vice, narcotics, gangs, detectives, organized 
crime, administration, and professional standards. He also 
took on a specialty assignment as the department’s first Arson 
Investigator, working with many Fire Departments in the San 
Gabriel Valley and was a member of the San Gabriel Valley 
Arson Task Force.

After spending 26 years with the Monterey Park Police 
Department he joined the Sierra Madre Police Department in 
2007 as a Captain. He was tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the department’s daily operations, administrative 
services, and budget. In December 2010 he was appointed the Acting Chief of Police for the City of Sierra Madre.

Chief Giannone is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards during his 34 years in law enforcement. He lives in San 
Dimas with his wife, Diane, and daughter, Christi. His eldest daughter, Marissa, is married to Donny, a City of Glendale 
Police Officer. Chief Giannone is the proud grandfather to their daughter, Zoey. 

City Manager Elaine Aguilar stated, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with Larry over the past five years; his exemplary 
professional experience, combined with his knowledge of the community, will serve Sierra Madre well.”

Chief Giannone will be sworn in at the November 27, 2012 City Council Meeting. 


On Saturday, November 24th, 
Sierra Madre, will transform itself 
into Who Ville, as its formal kick-
off of the holiday shopping season. 
The Who Ville Festival, which 
replaces the towns annual Dickens 
Village will be complete with 
Snow, Horse Drawn Carriages, The 
Grinch and Santa Claus. The will 
also be a special viewing of The 
Grinch Who Stole Christmas in 
Kersting Court on Saturday. The 
event is encouraing families to 
come to town and support our local 
business and civic organizations as 
well as have FUN!

 Small Business Saturday is a day 
dedicated to supporting small 
businesses on one of the busiest 
shopping weekends of the year.

From 1 to 8pm Saturday, the 
downtown area will host special 
festivities designed to bring 
shoppers to the popular shops in 
the Foothill Village. Beginning at 
1pm, there will be an opportunity 
for kids to snow sled and ride a 
choo choo train. Local artists will 
have their work on display and for 
sale along with many of the local 
civic organizations in Kersting 
Court. Beginning at 4pm, horse 
and buggy rides will be available in 
a loop around a four -square block 
area downtown. 

 Later in the day, shortly after dusk, 
the official tree-lighting will take 
place, also at Kersting Court. Santa, 
accompanied by the Sierra Madre 
Rose Float Association princesses 
from the 2013 Rose Float, will be 
available to listen to the wishes of 
youngsters, from 5to 8pm.

For more information about 
the Who Ville Festival, call the 
Chamber Offices at 626-355-5111.


VFW VETERANS DAY SPEAKERS REMIND US OF THE DIFFICULTIES 
FACED BY RETURNING VETERANS by Bill Coburn

 Sierra Madre VFW Post 3208 held its annual 
Veteran’s Day Ceremony on Sunday at 
the Veteran’s Memorial Wall in Memorial 
Park. Commander Dave Loera announced 
the unveiling on the Memorial Wall of fourteen 
new photos of veterans who have lived 
at least a year in Sierra Madre, and gave a 
brief history of how Veteran’s Day came to 
be, starting with Armistice Day in remembrance 
of the end of World War I. Commander 
Loera then turned the ceremony 
over to member Brian Neumann, who introduced 
the day’s three speakers, two Vietnam 
veterans, Stan Pinta and “Doc” Harold 
Martin and one Iraq veteran, Nathan Kemnitz. 
Neumann noted that due to a partnership 
with the PCC Veteran’s Club, Post 
3208 has welcomed several new 
members, including the event 
speakers.

 Mr. Pinta recalled seeing the 
Vietnam war on the news every 
day throughout high school, and 
a coach who discussed with the 
students that some of them would 
end up in Vietnam, and that there 
would be those who did not make 
it back, and how that really hit 
home with him. He talked about 
his parents encouraging him to 
sign up for the Navy, since there 
might be less danger out on the 
water than might be encountered 
if he were based on land, as his 
brother was with the Marines. He 
discussed his service as a mechanic, 
and his assignments as a member 
of the Underwater Demolitions 
Team, which evolved into a 
Seal Team, and his work with Seal 
Team 2.

 “Doc” Martin, so nicknamed because 
of his Ph.D., not because 
he is a medical doctor, currently 
teaches classes for returning veterans at 
PCC. He served in various infantry divisions 
and special forces in his first go-round 
during Vietnam, then after a ten year break 
he re-enlisted and was assigned to the transportation 
corps. He spoke of his childhood 
desire to be a soldier, and how that changed 
as he became a young adult. He spoke of a 
comrade at boot camp, who explained his 
surly attitude by saying he was concerned 
that “all this might change me,” and that 
it had never occurred to him that it might 
change him. He thought he might change 
the Army, but it hadn’t occurred that IT 
might change him.

 But it did, and Doc Martin shared with attendees 
that he became resigned to the fact 
that he would die in Vietnam: “I was cold. I 
felt I was already a dead man, that death in 
Vietnam was my destiny, of the nine men in 
the original squad that I was assigned to, I 
was the only one left at the end of a month, 
so I was totally convinced I had no future, 
there was only a present, and if that’s all I 
had, I was going to fight like nobody’s business… 
I had the anger and the bitter hatred 
of a young man whose dreams were snuffed 
out, and whose life would soon be too. I 
was mean, I was brutal, I appreciated that 
I was unraveling as the kind of person that 
I had been….I was changed…and the only 
way I could tolerate these changes in me 
was because I believed that this sick bastard 
that I had become was soon going to 
be shot, blown up, and be gone forever, and 
so that made it tolerable. I wasn’t brave, I 
was fearless.”

 When he realized that he was going to 
come home, and that he hadn’t died, he was 
in shock: “I was fully ready to die, I was 
totally unprepared to live…Before I entered 
the Army, strangers were drawn to me… 
it would be decades before that happened 
again….You know how we have Memorial 
Day for those who lost their lives, and we 
have Veteran’s Day, like today for those who 
came back, I often think there maybe ought 
to be a third day for those whose body 
came back, but their spirit did not. That really 
great guy that I thought I was, he never 
survived Vietnam, and for years I didn’t 
like the guy that came back in his place, I 
hated that guy. I used to fly an MIA flag 
from my house, but it flew for me, I was 
the MIA… over the years I used to search 
for his remains, and occasionally find bits 
and pieces. Well you can pinpoint on a 
manifest when a person returns, but that’s 
the physical return, the emotional, mental 
and spiritual parts take a lot longer, if ever 
they return.”

 But the years have helped Doc to come to 
terms. After several minutes of more light 
hearted talk about his service experience, 
he closed his speech on an upbeat note. 
“Others have had it far, far worse than me. 
I’m standing here today. I’m not homeless. 
I’m not an alcoholic. I’ve got problems, but 
they pale. I got to be the kind of officer I 
wished I deserved, I got to be the kind of 
soldier and have an affection for the army 
which I’d always wanted and didn’t have 
initially. I’ve got three great sons, one of 
whom came back from Iraq safe and sound, 
a wonderful wife of 35 years, I am a blessed 
person, far, far better off than I deserve.”

 Last to speak was Nathan Kemnitz, who 
served in Iraq and was wounded in Fallujah, 
losing the sight in his right eye, and 
the use of his right hand, arm and shoulder. 
(See related story on page 13). 


The latest additions to Sierra Madre’s Veteran’s Wall Photo by Bill Coburn

ALTERNATIVE GIFT FAIR & BOUTIQUE

Sierra Madre United Methodist Church is holding an Alternative Christmas 
Gift Fair & Boutique on Sunday, December 2, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 
Celebrate the spirit of the holiday season with a gift that truly “gives back.” 
Your donations help support the relief efforts of local organizations such as San 
Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity, Friends in Deed, Foothill Unity Center, 
Family Promise, and global efforts such as Heifer International and missionary 
programs in Mexico. New this year is a boutique featuring homemade gifts. 
Fair Trade items from Equal Exchange and the Ten Thousand Villages Store 
will also be available. Enjoy free refreshments while you browse. The Church 
is located at 695 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. in Sierra Madre. Call 626-355-0629 for 
more information. 

THANKSGIVING SPECIAL RECIPES..... Page 9 

This Week’s Highlights: 

Calendar Page 2

Sierra Madre News Page 3

Pasadena/Altadena Page 4

Around San Gabriel Valley Page 5

Arcadia Page 6

Monrovia/Duarte Page 6

Education and Youth Page 7

Good Food & Drink Page 8

Best Friends Page 9

Arts/Health Page 10

Homes & Property Page 11 

The Good Life Page 12

Business Today Page 13

Sports Page 14

Ballot Box - Election 2012 Page 15

Opinion /Left Turn-Right Turn Pages 16-17

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

AROUND SG Valley

3

5

A Hiker’s Thanksgiving Story

ARCADIA NEWS

6

PASADENA/ALTADENA

4

MONROVIA/DUARTE

6

Man Charged In Deadly Fire 
Incident

For Breaking News Go To: 

www.mtnviewsnews.com