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this Week: Calendar: Sierra Madre: Pasadena – Altadena: Around The San Gabriel Valley: Arcadia: Monrovia – Duarte: Education & Youth: Food & Drink: Sports / The World: Just for Best Friends: The Good Life: Business News & Trends: Healthy Lifestyles: Arts & Entertainment: Opinion: Legal Notices (4): Left/Right: Columnists: Recent
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SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2013 VOLUME 7 NO. 33 Inside this week: A REAL DREAM COME TRUE SIERRA MADRE Never give up on your dreams for they do come true. Just ask 90 year old WWII Veterab Ken Anhalt, who recently had one of his greatest wishes become a reality. Story By Susan Henderson/Photo by A.J. Johnson Calendar Page 2 Sierra Madre News Page 3 Ken Anhalt is a very well known resident of Sierra Madre. Involved in a long list of civic activities, he is probably best known as one of our treasured veterans of World War II. When I first met Ken, I was overwhelmed by his vitality. He’s opinionated, compassionate, hard working and charming. He’s a member of the VFW 3208, the Sierra Madre Kiwanis Club and the recipient of the Older American Of The Year Award in 2010. (Partial listing). I will never forget that event. When Ken received the honor, one of the things that he shared with the audience was that he would not have been there had it not been for the Tuskegee Airmen who flew the Red Tail planes that escorted his aircraft during the War. Anhalt, was a Staff Sargent gunner in the Air Force during World War II. He served in the 15th Air Force in Italy between the years of 1942-1945 in approximately 28 -- 30 missions. At one point during the war he experienced the life changing event of being saved by the very well-known Tuskegee Airmen. During his time serving he was given a mission to fly a four engine bomber over the Swiss Alps into Germany, attack, and then return back to Italy. After hitting their target successfully they were struck by a German attacker causing them to lose half of their engines. With a crippled plane and death seemingly eminent, the men felt like it was their last moments alive. Suddenly, off the tip of each wing, two “Red Tails” appeared on the horizon. The tails of all Tuskegee Airmen planes were painted in red so they were easy to identify. The bomber pilots were told via radio traffic that there were German fighters in the area, but they did not attack because the Red Tails escorted them back to the landing site. When bombers reached the target area, they were met with heavy fire from the Germans. The fighters escorts would leave the bombers and re-join them after they finished their bombing run. Mr. Anhalt said he was always impressed that the Red Tails did not leave the bombers when they reached their target area, like the other squadrons did. The Red Tails stayed with them the whole way. In 2011, a friend, A. J. Johnson, was doing a documentary on the Airmen and I told him about Ken. We arranged for Ken to participate in the documentary which was also used to promote the film, “Red Tails”. You can hear him speak of his experiences in his interview by going to www.youtube.com/ watch?v=W-GxSmjd_kI. One of the things that Ken has often repeated is that he always wanted the opportunity to meet one of the Tuskegee Airmen in person an thank them for saving his life. A.J. remembered this too, and two weeks ago Ken received a call from A.J. Says AJ, “Susan henderson introduced me to Ken Anhult in 2011 because I was producing a documentary that involved Tuskegee Airmen. Mr Anhult was a tail gunner on a bomber, that was saved by two Tuskegee Airmen over the Swiss Alps. When I interviewed him, he told me his Captain would not allow him to go and thank the Red Tails. So for 70 years he wanted meet one. I was arranging a meet and greet with Amnon Band of Band Pro, to thank him for providing the equipment to shoot my documentary, so I invited Mr Anhalt to meet Tuskegee Airman Ted Lumpkin, one of 8 still living that saw combat in the war. This was there moment, I just let them sit down and talk about an hour, and stayed out of their way. Mr Lumpkin brought his grandson, and Mr Anhalt brought his son. Special thanks to Amnon Band of http://www.bandpro.com/ and Robin Petgrave of http://www.tamuseum.org.” You have to hear Ken in person speak of his experience. There are no words to completely describe it, you just have to hear it for yourself. So, if you notice that the sun seems to be shining a little brighter lately, that’s just Ken who has been simply overjoyed since meeting Lumpkin. We’re happy to share this experience of Ken’s and we want to thank him, Mr. Lumpkin and all of our veterans and current military members for their service. Without them, we would be here. PASADENA/ALTADENA Pg. 4 Avery Dennison Leaving Pasadena AROUND SGV Pg. 5 Foothill Unity BTS Event ARCADIA NEWS Pg. 6 School Recall MONROVIA/DUARTE Pg. 7 Wishing Well Destroyed EDUCATION & YOUTH Pg. 8 Back To School FOOD & DRINK Pg.9 Peter Dills - Table For Two SPORTS Pg. 10 Arcadia Basketball Champs BEST FRIENDS Pg. 11 Dog and Cat Food Recall Left to right: Mr. Lumpkins grandson, Ted Lumpkin, Edward Anhalt (Ken’s son) and Ken Anhalt. THE GOOD LIFE Pg. 12 Savvy Senior Senior Happenings Katy Tse - This and That BUSINESS Pg. 13 HEALTHY LIVING NEW! Dr. Tina Pg. 14 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pg. 15 OPINION Pg. 16 Snyder -The Amish...... Tolchin - Newspapers Rich Johnson....Who? Gandleman.....Sex, Lies and..... SIERRA MADRE CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSES PRESSING WATER AND SEWER ISSUES By Marina Coco La Salle SMPD HOST TOWN MEETING ON THE IMPACT OF AB109 AND RECENT CRIME SPREE LEGAL NOTICES Pg. 17 PUBLIC NOTICES Pg. 21 Left Turn/Right Turn Hayes on the Left Welborn on the Right Due to the increasing concern over the City’s lack of water and the rising costs associated with the delivery of water to residents, a series of bimonthly meetings spanning from August to October, have just begun. The meetings will take place at City Hall and will inform the residents as to what is happening to the City’s water, how it affects the community, and what people can do to aid in conservation attempts for the future. In this week’s meeting, City Manager Elaine Aguilar, accompanied by Finance Director Karen Schnaider, and Public Works Director Bruce Inman , went over a general overview on the water and sewer budgets and their effect on finances. Since each of the future meetings will be on specific topics, the intention was to prepare people with important background first. It was explained that the City’s water system contains 4 vertical and 2 horizontal wells. Some wells need repair and currently one well has been turned off because water levels in the aquifer are too low. Until most recently, Sierra Madre has been able to stay self- contained in providing all the water for the community. Annually, the City’s water utility provides 880 million gallons of drinkable water. The City has 40 miles of transmission mains and 8 reservoirs, two which were recently replaced, causing talk about debt and bonds. Schnaider reassured the attendees that, “These reservoirs have a useful lifespan of 75 years ... with the bond financing they are being financed for 30 years, so they are being financed for only half their useful life.” Regarding the running of Sierra Madre’s Water Company, the presenters reminded everyone that it is “run like a business.” In proper business fashion, revenue is collected for the services provided. The residents of Sierra Madre need to be billed for the water and sewer utility services and this system needs to be self-sustaining. “For many years, the fund has been using its own savings accounts to pay the bills, because the revenues it’s collecting (the bills that you are paying) are not enough to pay for all the expenses that are incurred” said Schnaider. The City is now in year three of the 4-year water rate increase that had been predicted in a previously conducted rate study. In 2003, a rate increase took place to pay for new bonds. In order to pay the bonds, the City had to pay certain rate increases, but was stopped when state laws changed the way that cities are allowed to increase water rates. Because of this hold on the rate increases, the revenue the City collected was more than 15% below what was estimated to be collected. When the recession hit, many started to conserve their utilities in order to save money. Schnaider commented that the residents are the ones who have control over their consumption. For a two year period, beginning in 2008, consumption decreased by 20% due to the recession. Hence, revenue has decreased as well. Now that the weight of the recession has lifted off the shoulders of many, consumption has increased. Between April 2012 and 2013 consumption increased by 50%. Expenditures for operations have only changed an average of 2% a year, for seven years. Schnaider explains, referring to the (continued on page 3) For just about two hours Friday evening, Sierra Madre Police Chief Larry Giannone, Lt. Len Hundshammer and Sgt. Ruben Enriquez captured the attentionn of an overflow crowd of Sierra Madre residents with information on the current wave of residential burglaries that the city has been hit with. After the meeting, residents felt the meeting was informative and yet the information that was provided was unsettling. Key points of the meeting which was held as the paper went to presss were: AB109 HAS BROUGHT THOUSANDS OF CRIMINALS BACK ON THE STREETS THe primary cause of the increased activity is the thousands of prisoners that have been set free under the state’s early release program. The state is under mandate to reduce jail overcrowding and as confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, must release another 10,000 by December 31, 2013. The releases began in 2011. The end result has been a county wide crime spree. Residential burglaries have been the crime of choice primarily because the fall under the threshold that will return the burglars to prison. SIERRA MADRE IS NOT THE ONLY CITY TO BE HIT. Astonishing statistices were shared. Between January 1, 2013 and August 16, 2013 there have been(residential burglaries only): 79 Break Ins in Arcadia 70 in Monrovia 429 in Pasadena and 34 in Sierra Madre - 9 of which have occurred in the last 10 days. THE CRIMES ARE COMMITTED DAY AND NIGHT. The breakdown of when burglaries occur is evenly divided between daylight events and nighttime events. 100% of the crimes are committed by non-Sierra Madre residents. Of the last six arrests, five have been men, 1 woman, two African Americans, two Hispanics and one caucasion. WHAT RESIDENTS CAN DO: The primary message that was stressed throughout the evening was, ‘IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING!” Alert residents have been responsible for for assisting police in the capture of 5 of the last six arrests. Call the police when you notice strange cars or strangers, especially those who are acting peculiar. LOCK YOUR DOORS AND WINDOWS! Many of the burglars have gained entry into the homes through unlocked doors and windows. DON’T CALL IF YOU HEAR HELICOPTERS! Chief Giannone asked residents to refrain from calling when they hear helicopters noting that we have only one dispatcher and that person is also responsible for communications between other agencies and the officers in the field. PARTICIPATE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM. Contact Sgt. Enriquez at 355-1414 for information on how to start one. A very productive Q&A followed the presentations. In response to one of the questions, Gianonne announced the development of a volunteer citizens patrol in September to help protect our city. He also confirmed that citizens do have the right to protect themselves in their homes if they fear that their lives or their family lives are in danger. He did, however, warn residents of the danger of the burglar getting the weapon from you, or discovering it before you discover them. The best thing, he said, is to get to a safe place in the home and call 911 on a landline. When the presentation was done, the audience gave the police department a hearty round of applause for their efforts. The entire presentation is available for viewing at www.mtnviewsnews.com and click of SMPD Presentation. MVNews FYI Pg. 22 www.facebook.com/ mountainviewsnews Read The Paper Online At: www.mtnviewsnews.com | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Mountain Views News 80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. #327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.604.4548 www.mtnviewsnews.com |