HAPPY HALLOWEEN 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2013

VOLUME 7 NO. 43

NEIL THE PIG - A SIERRA MADRE ICON - IS HERE TO STAY!

THE COLOR OF WATER IMPORTED WATER’S 
CHARACTERISTICS CONCERN RESIDENTS

 
If you are a Sierra Madre resident 
and have been in a deep 
trance this week or didn’t turn 
on the TV or Radio; or if you 
didn’t log on to Facebook or 
Twitter or You Tube; or just 
in case you didn’t speak to 
any of your neighbors since 
Wednesday, then there is a 
good chance that you don’t 
know much about how this 
community rallied together 
to save Neil, the quiet, peace 
loving, vegetarian, PIG that 
lives on W. Montecito.

 The furor began when Neil’s 
big sister, Kate Emerson 
was cited twice for allegedly 
breaking the city’s municipal 
code regarding having a hog. 
Problem was, Neil isn’t a hog, 
just a little chubby Pot Belly 
pig.

 Nevertheless, the idea that Neil, a 17 year 
resident of Sierra Madre might have been 
asked to leave town, did not sit well with a 
lot of people. And to make matters worse, 
the whole controversy over Neil’s right to 
live here was the result of our porcine resident 
being caught in the cross-fire of a dispute 
among neighbors.

 As with all Sierra Madre drama, the stories 
grow each time they are told, but the 
bottom line is this: When the Pasadena 
Humane Society came out to cite the 
owner of a rooster who was probably not 
in compliance with the city’s early morning 
noise ordinance, they noticed Neil who 
they thought, erroneously was a hog and 
therefore in violation of the city’s ‘no hogs 
here’ ordinance. (Yes, we have one).

 There was also an investigation of whether 
or not Neil’s cousins - dogs that belong to 
his Big Sister, were responsible for attacking 
one of the chickens in the neighbors 
yard, but that hasn’t been proven either. Nevertheless, the dogs were not cited for possible chomping a chicken, but poor 
Neil, who was in his own house, minding his own business was suddenly the focus of attention. Neil lives in his own 
yard with a lovely white picket fence, his own playground and his own house. His yard is very clean and he has delighted 
children and adults in Sierra Madre since at least 1996.

 However, in the end, SMPD Chief Larry Giannone paid a visit to Kate Emerson and let her know that it was official, Neil 
was not a hog and as such, was not in violation of anything other than being a cute, 
little chubby pig.

 The story didn’t end there however, the next day the TV crews attended a rally in 
support of Neil held in Memorial Park and proceeded to take Neil’s story and how 
the community rallied to save him to the airwaves. Moral of this story: Be careful, 
things that people in town really care about, they will fight for! By the way, the 
poor Rooster was taken away because we do have laws that govern chickens and 
roosters. Hmm, do we have a ‘turkey’ ordinance? Want to hear Neil’s interview 
with the press, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C91UwdwfHkI

 Above - Chief Giannone and Kate Emerson talk to supporters at the Park rally. 
Below, Neil at home eating fruits and vegetables brought to him br friends. 

S. Henderson/MVNews

From The City of Sierra Madre E-Blast

Several Sierra Madre water customers 
have contacted the City with questions 
and concerns regarding water coming 
from their taps that is yellow or orange 
in color. Although the discolored water 
does not pose health concerns, it 
is perfectly understandable that our 
customers do not want to drink that or 
use it for cooking. The water is safe for 
use, but aesthetically unappealing.

 The discoloration of the water is a direct 
result of the change from our deep 
well water treated with free chlorine to 
the use of MWD chloraminated water. 
The difference in chemistry between 
the two sources has caused a scouring 
effect on our distribution system. 
While the imported water has zero 
iron and manganese when it leaves the 
MWD treatment plant, the discoloration 
is caused by iron precipitating 
from the City’s older steel pipelines 
and the galvanized plumbing of many 
of the city’s residences and businesses. 
The iron is what gives the water its 
coloration.

 Buildings and homes with galvanized 
steel plumbing are more likely to see 
water discoloration. Moreover, within 
those buildings, a little-used bathroom 
or faucet is more likely to produce red-
tinged water. If this happens, please be 
patient and allow your cold water to 
run for a few minutes at full velocity. 
After a few minutes the water should 
clear. In addition when running laundry 
allow for whites to be laundered 
last as discolored water may stain 
whites.

 Until the City’s water system acclimates 
to the “new” water, incidents of 
discoloration will continue. Water Department 
staff has estimated that these 
incidents may continue for as long as 
6 months, particularly in low flow areas 
where water system circulation is 
minimal. In order to reduce the acclimation 
time, water department staff is 
“flushing” the water system frequently, 
by opening fire hydrants to rapidly 
move water through the system. The 
City is dedicated and committed to 
water conservation. We understand 
water is a limited resource that must 
be carefully managed. Since flushing 
is critical to maintain high-quality 
drinking water, an efficient flushing 
program is also essential. The flushing 
program is monitored to ensure the 
least amount of water is used. Whenever 
possible, flushed water is captured 
in a water tanker and released at the 
spreading grounds so that it does not 
go to waste. 

 Sierra Madre’s water system has for 
over 100 years provided the highest 
quality well water possible. The situation 
with the discolored water is likened 
to the fuel system of a car, for 
years a system running on “premium,” 
will notice the car just doesn’t run as 
well when the grade of fuel is switched. 
This is all the more reason to continue 
to conserve water as much as possible 
to allow for the City’s underground 
aquifer to recover to a level at which 
the City can return to its historic water 
source.

 The Sierra Madre Water Department 
remains committed to providing the 
best quality water possible to its customers. 
To that end, we continue a 
rigorous water sampling and quality 
testing program. 


REDUCTION OF STAFF AT POST OFFICE NOT 
TO EFFECT SERVICE, POST OFFICE SAYS

By Bill Coburn

 If you’re wondering why the parking 
lot at the Sierra Madre Post Office is so 
empty tonight, totally devoid of Postal 
Service delivery trucks, even in the 
evening, the answer is, they’re in Arcadia. 
Trucks that left Sierra Madre’s 
office to go out on their Sierra Madre 
delivery route today didn’t return to 
Sierra Madre, they went to the Arcadia 
office. In an effort to cut costs, delivery 
to Sierra Madre will now be handled 
by the Arcadia office.

The Sierra Madre office isn’t closing, 
not yet, anyway. The P.O. Boxes will 
still be receiving mail, and residents 
will still be able to drop off mail and 
purchase stamps at the windows in 
the office. One window clerk is being 
moved to Arcadia, according to Liz, 
who was working the counter when 
I stopped by today, and whose name 
tag said she was lead clerk. When I 
asked if this move might be indicative 
of a future closure of this office, Liz responded 
that “I hope not.”

 

According to an article by Adam 
Poulisse in the Pasadena Star News 
which quoted Raul Halili, the officer in 
charge of the Sierra Madre post office, 
removing the carrier operations out 
of Sierra Madre will decrease facility 
related costs there, ultimately saving 
money for the USPS. Halili told the 
Star News that “It will be transparent 
to the community…There will still be 
the same number of letter carriers.” 
According to the article, Pasadena and 
Altadena offices have faced similar 
consolidations in the last year

Also Inside this week: 

SIERRA MADRE

Calendar Page A2

Sierra Madre News Page A3

PASADENA/ALTADENA

Pg. A4

Suspect Arrested For 
Rash of Burglaries

AROUND SGV Pg. A5

CITY COUNCIL MEETING WRAP-UP 

By Marina Coco La Salle

Nyerges & Witches 
Eyeballs

ARCADIA NEWS Pg. A6 

 Mayor Nancy Walsh, Mayor Pro 
Tem John Harabedian, and Council 
Members John Capoccia, Chris 
Koerber, and Josh Moran were all 
present at this week’s city council 
meeting. This week’s reports were short 
and sweet. In fact Council Member 
Capoccia was the only one to report 
highlights from the Golf Tournament 
that took place over the weekend. He 
happily stated, “It was a good time had 
by all.” 

Public Facilities Fee Adjustment 

 Development Services Director, 
Danny Castro, led the first public 
hearing on the adjustments to the public 
facilities fee. This was a follow up topic 
from the last city council meeting. This 
proposed alteration to the resolution 
is to raise the public facilities fee for 
new development taking place in our 
village. 

Building Code Adoption 

 Building Official, James Garrick gave 
a short presentation to begin this public 
hearing on the California Building 
Code Adoption. Every three years 
the cities of California are to adopt 
up-to-date codes. Time is given after 
the new codes are accepted for local 
amendments based on specific city 
laws. City Clerk, Nancy Shollenberger, 
pointed out an interesting fact, saying, 
“If it’s a demolition of an historic 
structure, in addition to the $1000 fine, 
you will not be able to pull any building 
or construction permits or put anything 
on that parcel for five years.” There 
followed much discussion. The council 
decided that for the second reading, 
there needs to be a presentation on 
the possible options of changing 
repercussions to those who demolish 
or build a structure without a permit. 

Fire Code Adoption 

 The last public hearing on the agenda 
was led by Fire Marshal, Captain 
Richard Snyder. He repeated that every 
three years there are adoptions of new 
fire codes stating, “It’s that time of 
year again.” There are a few adoptions 
of amendments in the California fire 
code and the international fire code, 
which he briefly touched on. There are 
no significant changes that will impact 
Sierra Madre. The codes will go into 
effect this coming January. 

Youth Seat To Community Services 
Commission 

 After the past months of trying to 
add a youth seat to the community 
services committee, it was decided 
that this would be a good idea, and 
was passed. To get the word out on 
this new opportunity there has been 
advertising at the local schools in 
hopes of receiving many applications to 
the commission. Months have passed 
and time is ticking. The commission 
is ready to appoint this new promising 
young person, Peter Siberell Jr. ,as the 
youth seat. He will hold this position 
for the rest of the school year ending in 
June. 

Future Budgets 

 Director of Administrative 
Services, Karen Schneider gave a 
brief presentation highlighting the 
information that was given on the staff 
report. There were only two specific 
highlights: the history of the use of 
the Utility Users Tax and the classic 
expenditure reductions. 

Process Water and Sewer Rate Increase 

 City Manager, Elaine Aguilar spoke 
on behalf of staff as she explained the 
proposed new process for the water 
and sewer rate increase. With this new 
process, residents will each be mailed a 
ballot with detailed (cont. page 3)

MONROVIA/DUARTE 

 Pg. A7






EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Pg. A8

CROSS COUNTRY CYCLING UPDATE:

FOOD & DRINK

ARTS & MORE

 Pg. A9

BEST FRIENDS Pg. A10

THE GOOD LIFE 

 
Pg. A11

Savvy Senior

Senior Happenings

This and That

SECTION B

SIERRA MADRE SEARCH AND 
RESCUE 

OKTOBERFEST RESULTS

 Pg B1

 It’s been a little over a week since 
Jerry Poole and Mike King set started 
on their journey to support a cause 
important to them. The are on a 
3,000 mile bicycle journey from 
Sierra Madre, California to Key West, 
Florida in order to raise money for, 
and bring attention to the Wounded 
Warrior Project. They intend to bike 
50 miles per day and should arrive in 
a little less than two months. At press 
time, this dynamic duo was resting 
comfortably in Yma Arizona. After 
spending Thursday night in El Centro, 
California, they began a 56 mile trip 
to Yuma, Arizona. According to 
Jerry’s Facebook Post, “It was 106 
degrees outside and an uphill grade 
the entire ride.”

 Jerry’s best friend since high school, 
David (Duck) Foster, has joined the 
effort as their Road Manager. According 
to Vicki Poole, “Dave has done a 
lot of promoting and has become a tremendous 
asset to this event. He has 
been mapping out bike shops, checking 
roads, informing the local media, 
Highway Patrol and military of what 
they are doing. They have been fed, 
clothed, comped at bike shops for 
significant costs of repairs, and really 
shown a great deal of appreciation for 
the cause they are promoting.

 They have a fundraising goal of 
$10,000. If you would like to support 
their efforts, please go to the link below 
and make a donation to WWP in 
the name of their Ride: Coast To Coast 
For Courage. 

https://support.woundedwarriorproject.
org/individual-fundraising/
JerryPooleatFaceBook/

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 
HEALTHY LIVING 

 Pg. B2

BUSINESS /WORLD

 AROUND US Pg. B3

LEFT TURN/RIGHT 
TURN/OPINION 

 Pg. B4

SMTV Channel 98 

Program Guide Pg. B5

LEGAL NOTICES Pg. B7




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