HAPPY NEW YEAR!


VOLUME 7 NO 2

SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2013

SIERRA MADRE COUNCIL VOTES 
TO PROTEST COUNTY PARCEL TAX

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON 
EAST GRAND VIEW

Sierra Madre, CA – City of Sierra Madre Public Works staff has begun the first 
of three projects that will take place along the 600 block of East Grand View 
Avenue over the next few months. The first project consists of constructing a 
new, permanent entry to the spreading basin facility. The new gate will replace the 
existing entry that’s adjacent to Sycamore Place. The project includes removal of a 
portion of the old rubble perimeter wall around the facility and the construction of 
new entry pilasters using the wall materials. This project is designed to facilitate the 
two following projects. 

The second project will begin on February 4th, when staff from the Metropolitan 
Water District (MWD) will arrive at the spreading basins and begin to make 
preparations for the construction of a point of connection to the 9 ½ foot MWD 
Upper Feeder pipeline that traverses Sierra Madre along Grand View. Actual 
construction in the street will begin February 14. The project will require the 
complete closure of Grand View between February 21st and 28th, along with 
around-the-clock construction activity during that period. The project will continue 
with intermittent traffic interruptions through April 21. (Inclement weather may 
lengthen the project duration, beyond the current schedule.) 

While traffic will be detoured around the work area along Foothill Avenue, 
residents are urged to use Sierra Madre Boulevard instead of the Foothill detour, 
out of courtesy to the residents of that neighborhood. Please assist MWD and the 
City in minimizing the impact on the project’s neighbors.

The third project will be the construction of a 12 inch pipeline from the new MWD 
point of connection along the east side of the city’s spreading basin property to 
connect directly with the City’s water system at the maintenance yard. This project 
is not expected to have traffic impacts.

The MWD connection for Sierra Madre is being constructed in 
order to provide an emergency water supply for the city. The project 
is timely in light of one of the City’s four wells being damaged and 
out of service indefinitely, and in light of the decline in water levels 
in the City’s aquifer. Both water projects are wholly funded by the 
San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District. 

On Tuesday, the Sierra Madre City 
Council unanimously voted to protest 
the LA County’s proposed “Clean Water, 
Clean Beaches Act”. The Measure 
would impose an annual fee to pay for 
clean water programs for all property 
owners within the LA County Flood 
Control District. 

Because the Measure would result in 
a tax increase, the Board of Supervisors 
are required to follow the Prop. 
218 protest process which allows those 
on whom the prposed tax is to be imposed 
to protest. If sufficient protests 
are submitted, the tax cannot be imposed. 
Protest forms were mailed to 
property owners in December and the 
deadline for submitting them is January 
15th. 

 

 The City of Sierra Madre will submit 
protests for each of the 74 properties 
owned by the city as a result of the 
council’s vote on Tuesday.

In the staff report, it was noted that 
the city’s fee on its properties would 
be about $16,919. The would receive 
approximately $156,000 in additional 
revenue from the county to use on 
Clean water programs such as the reduction 
of pollution from storm water 
runoff.

 “Sixty percent of the money goes to 
bureaucracy. It goes to establishing a 
watershed authority group, where, if 
you ask them what a watershed authority 
group is, they’re not quite sure yet”, 
said Councilman John Harabedian, 

 

Throughout the impacted area, 51% 
of the affected parcels would have to 
submit a protest in order to stop the 
Measure. 

 LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich 
is opposed to the measure. He 
urged county residents to check their 
mailboxes for the “Official Notice to 
Property Owners of Public Hearing” 
and went on to say, “While the mailing 
looks like junk mail, it is an important 
document that allows one to protest 
the proposed parcel tax,”, encouraging 
property owners to “return the protest 
form to stop this additional tax,” he 
added. “Property owners, schools and 
businesses already pay flood control 
taxes and now they are being asked to 
fork over more money at a time when 
families are struggling, schools are 
hurting and businesses are fleeing the 
state.”

The Board of Supervisors will hold a 
public hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 
9:30 a.m. regarding the protests.

 

Property owners may contact (800) 
218-0018 or visit www.lacountycleanwater.
org. for additional information.

S. Henderson/MVNews

SIERRA MADRE SEARCH AND RESCUE LOG

During the month of December, 
Sierra Madre Search and Rescue 
(SMSR) responded to five calls 
for assistance. December 
closed out a busy 2012 for SMSR 
with the Team responding to 
105 incidents during the year. 
During these search and rescue 
operations SMSR provided 
assistance to 123 individuals 
lost or injured in the mountains. 
Over 5,100 hours of time were 
logged by Team members while 
on these calls. 

In addition to actual search and 
rescue calls, Team members 
logged over 7,900 hours of time 
in 2012 in support of the Team’s 
mission. This included 27 public 
preventative search and rescue 
(PSAR) events where Team 
members discuss wilderness 
safety and preparedness with 
scout groups, schools, and 
other community groups. Team 
members logged over 5,400 
hours of training in a broad 
array of SAR disciplines in order 
to maintain the high level of 
proficiency required to safely 
perform SAR operations. In 
total, Team members logged 
over 13,000 hours of official time 
in support of SMSR work. Many 
additional hours of unofficial 
time are spent by individual 
Team members maintaining their readiness to respond to any need. Two noteworthy calls from December are described in more detail below. 


Injured Hikers, Mount Baldy: The Team 
responded to Mt. Baldy at 5:30 p.m. as part of a 
mutual aid request by San Bernardino County’s 
West Valley SAR team on December 23rd. At over 
10,000 feet in elevation, Mt. Baldy often presents 
hikers with significant winter mountaineering 
challenges. Snow and ice conditions on the 
mountain had resulted in two hikers being injured 
in unrelated accidents. Any accidents on the 
mountain can easily result in very difficult rescues 
for SAR teams. Nine members of SMSR joined 
personnel from several LA County Sheriff SAR 
teams including Montrose Search and Rescue 
and San Dimas Mountain Rescue, along with 
additional San Bernardino and Kern county SAR 
teams, the USFS and LA County Fire on what 
would be a complex multi-hour rescue. One of 
the injured hikers was stranded at over 9,300 feet 
on the mountain and was suffering from multiple 
serious injuries sustained in a fall along the Devil’s 
Backbone Trail. 

Due to weather conditions, rescuers were unable 
to use a helicopter to effect a hoist rescue and 
instead lowered the subject over 1,800 feet by rope 
in a series of high angle lowers to the Sierra Club 
Ski Hut located near the base of Baldy Bowl and 
approximately 2.5 miles from the trailhead. This 
technical rescue operation took several hours and 
was conducted during the middle of the night 
in extremely stormy conditions involving high 
winds, snow, and freezing rain. The second hiker 
had been injured in a different location and had 
also been brought to the Ski Hut by rescue crews. 
The sun rose on Christmas Eve with rescue crews 
using the Ski Hut to get the injured hikers out of 
the weather, rewarm them and provide additional 
medical treatment in preparation for a litter 
evacuation. Additional personnel from SMSR 
responded to the incident to provide support for 
crews on what would be a multi-hour evacuation 
down over 2.5 miles of trail for the two injured 
hikers along with 3 additional hikers who, while 
uninjured, required assistance getting out. The 
litter evacuation often required the use of an array 
of rope rescue techniques to safely get the subjects 
to the trailhead. Once the trailhead was reached 
the injured hikers were loaded into waiting 
ambulances and transported to local hospitals for 
treatment. 

The operation was concluded almost exactly 
24 hours from when it began with a significant 
number of the rescuers having worked the rescue 
continuously from its beginning. Rescuers would 
be home for Christmas Eve knowing that they 
had made a difference in the lives of 5 people. 
The ability of rescuers from multiple teams and 
agencies to work together in adverse conditions is 
a testament to the dedication, determination and 
skills of those involved.

The Team extends our appreciation to the other 
emergency services agencies that we work 
with including; Sierra Madre Fire Department, 
Sierra Madre Police Department, LA County 
Fire Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s 
Department, the US Forest Service, and our fellow 
SAR teams across the state. 

Most importantly, we’d like to extend our sincere 
thanks to the residents of Sierra Madre and those 
that support the Team and enable us to help those 
in need. 

For over 60 years the all-volunteer Sierra Madre 
Search and Rescue team has been responding to 
calls for help in the local mountains and beyond. 
Funded entirely by private donations, SMSR 
provides a range of public programs on wilderness 
safety in addition to its search and rescue activities. 
The Team never charges for any of its services. 

For more information, including how to arrange 
a wilderness safety demonstration for your school 
or group, visit www.smsr.org.

Photo courtesy Tim Cadogan, SMSR

March 17, 2013March 17, 2013• 
Sierra 
Madre Wistaria Festival 
•• 
Sierra 
Madre Wistaria Festival 
•
MEDICARE PREVENTIVE SERVICES................................Page 13

This Week’s Highlights: 

Calendar Page 2

Sierra Madre News Page 3

Pasadena/Altadena Page 4

Around San Gabriel Valley Page 5

Looking Up Page 5

Arcadia Page 6

Monrovia/Duarte Page 7

Education and Youth Page 8

Good Food & Drink Page 9

Best Friends Page 10 

Arts/Health Page 11

Homes & Property Page 12

The Good Life Page 13

Business Today Page 14 

Left Turn/Right Turn Page 15

Opinion Page 16

Legal Notices Page 17-21

FYI Page 22

AROUND SG Valley

SIERRA MADRE NEWS

5

3

Nyerges on Huell Howser

Remembrance:

ARLIE HAHN

ARCADIA NEWS

6

PASADENA/ALTADENA

4

MONROVIA/DUARTE

7

Councilman Steve Madison 
Recall Effort Begins