Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 19, 2014

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 19, 2014 4 Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 19, 2014 4 
FUTURE MEETING DATES SET FOR PASADENA UNIFIED MASTER 
PLAN/BOUNDARY SUBCOMMITTEE 

Next Meeting to Take Place April 22 

Pasadena, CA – Upcoming meeting dates for the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board Master Plan/Boundary Subcommittee 
have been determined, with the next meeting to take place April 22. The subcommittee will also meet May 20, June 10 and June 24. 
All meetings will take place in the Elbie J Hickambottom Board Room (Room 236), 351 South Hudson Avenue, Pasadena. All meetings 
of the subcommittee will begin at 6 p.m. 

Members of the PUSD community and residents of Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre are invited to attend and provide input on 
potential school attendance boundaries at the subcommittee meetings. Agendas will be posted on the board subcommittees webpage 
under the board of education tab at www.pusd.us. 

With an eye toward shifting residential demographics within PUSD and the lopsided distribution of students at district campuses, the 
PUSD Board of Education created a Master Plan/Boundary Subcommittee to study possible school attendance boundary scenarios and 
other master planning issues for the district. The board subcommittee is chaired by Dr. Mikala Rahn with Ms. Kimberly Kenne and Dr. 
Elizabeth Pomeroy also serving on the committee. 

This limited term subcommittee has been tasked with the following:

• Examine feeder patterns and enrollment data, population data and school configurations 
• Maximize school size/facilities, specialty programs and neighborhood capacity 
• Examine where specialty programs are needed based on district value statements 
• Examine strategies for increased enrollment at secondary level 
• Focus on strategies for under-capacity, small schools 
• Community outreach and public input on various boundary scenarios 
The committee will develop recommendations for the full board by September 2014 for school attendance boundaries starting in the 
2015-16 school year. 

Event: PUSD Master Plan/Boundary Subcommitee Meeting 
Date/Time: 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2014 
Location: Elbie J Hickambottom Board Room (Room 236), 351 South Hudson Avenue, Pasadena 

Just Because You Always Wanted 
To Know: 

EASTER BUNNY HISTORY


The Easter bunny has its origin in pre-Christian fertility lore. The 
Hare and the Rabbit were the most fertile animals known and 


APRIL 30 STEM CELL DRIVE PLANNED FOR HILLSIDES CHIEF 
ADVANCEMENT OFFICER NANCY GARNI 

Charity Urges Community to Participate to See if They Can ‘Be The Match’ 

Chief Advancement Officer Nancy Garni and her husband Mike Seltzer.


they served as symbols of the new life during the Spring season. 

The bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, 
where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 
1500s. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during 
the early 1800s. These were made of pastry and sugar. 
The Easter bunny was introduced to American folklore by the 
German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country 
during the 1700s. The arrival of the "Oschter Haws" was considered 
"childhood's greatest pleasure" next to a visit from Christ-
Kindel on Christmas Eve. The children believed that if they were 
good the "Oschter Haws" would lay a nest of colored eggs. 

The children would build their nest in a secluded place in the 
home, the barn or the garden. Boys would use their caps and girls 
their bonnets to make the nests . The use of elaborate Easter baskets 
would come later as the tradition of the Easter bunny spread 
throughout the country. 

FOURTH OF JULY GRAND 
MARSHAL NOMINATIONS 
SOUGHT 

The Volunteer Sierra Madre Fourth of July Committee is seekingnominations for the 2014 Fourth of July Parade Grand Marshal. TheParade will be held as always the morning of July 4th. 
Parade Grand Marshal nominees should embody the spirit ofSierra Madre, be an active volunteer in any of the local nonprofitorganizations or in some way contributed to the betterment ofSierra Madre. Nominees may be an individual or volunteers or an 
organization.
Nominations must be submitted in writing by Thursday, May1, 2014 and should be sent to the Fourth of July Committee,
PO Box 1073 Sierra Madre CA 91025 or emailed to 
4thofjulysierramadre@gmail.com. Nominations should be no more 
than 1 page but at least a paragraph explaining why the honor shouldbe given including contributions to the Sierra Madre community. 

Previous Grand Marshalls have included 2013 VFW Post 3208 & 
Hometown Hero Mama Pete; 2012 Nel and Bob Soltz (WistariaVine owners); 2011 Gayle Bluemel & Hometown Hero John Shear;
2010 Lew Wantanabe; 2009 Midge Morash; 2008 Sierra Madre FireDepartment; 2007 Ward Family (E. Waldo Ward & Sons); 2006Judy Webb Martin & Toni Buckner & Hometown Hero BarbaraWamboldt; 2005 Police Chief Wayne Bailey; 2004 Doug Berkshire;
2003 John Grijalva; 2002 Bob Quamstrom; 2001 Ty Gaffney; 2000Dr. Bill White; and 1999 Jim & Barbara Heasley. 

This All-American friends and family event is made possiblethrough the wonderful contribution of donors and sponsors. Ifyou’d like to help please visit www.sierramadre4thofjuly.com orfollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/4thofJulyInfo 

This past Christmas is one Hillsides Chief Advancement Officer Nancy Garni will never forget. As she was unwrapping presents with 
her family, her doctor called to tell her that a routine blood test had come back abnormal, and she needed to go to the emergency room 
immediately for another test to rule out a lab mistake. On New Year’s Eve, Garni learned that the original test results were not an error. 
Her diagnosis: leukemia. 

The news caught Garni by complete surprise. “I had been feeling tired, but wrote it off as due to the holidays and working long hours,” 
she said. “I was completely asymptomatic.” 

Within 10 days, Garni underwent her first round of chemotherapy at City of Hope hospital in Duarte, CA. Since then, she’s undergone 
two more rounds of treatment, with a fourth scheduled. Her last four months have been a 
blur of extended hospital stays, coping with the difficult effects of the chemotherapy, and 
limiting her activities to avoid compromising her fragile immune system. 

For the best prognosis, Garni needs a stem cell transplant. This is a procedure where faulty 
stem cells are replaced with healthy ones, which helps stimulate new bone marrow growth 
and restores the immune system. 

So far, doctors have been unable to find a perfect stem cell match for Garni, but this is 
needed to give her the best chance for a complete recovery. As the result of the initiative of 
one of Hillsides former board members, Mark Mertens, Hillsides has created #TeamNancy, 
an effort to identify a stem cell donor for Garni. Hillsides has teamed up with the City of 
Hope and Be The Match, which manages a world-wide registry, to conduct a donor drive 
for Garni from 12: 00 noon – 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30, 2014 at Hillsides Support 
Services, 815 Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90041. 

“We invite all of Nancy’s friends, supporters, and co-workers to participate in the drive. 
There’s nothing all of us wouldn’t do to help her get through this ordeal, and becoming a 
donor is the best way to help,” said Hillsides chief executive officer, Joseph M. Costa. “The 
procedure is incredibly simple – with a quick swab of the cheek, you will be added to the 
registry as a potential donor.” 

To participate in the drive, donors must be between the ages of 18 – 44. Participants do 
not need to pre-register; they can just show up the day of the drive. For those who can’t 
attend the drive, they can register online to order a swab kit: http://join.bethematch.org/ 
teamnancy 

Those who are not able to be a donor can still contribute by making a monetary donation to 
offset the cost of each swab by visiting www.bethematchfoundation.org/goto/TeamNancyG. 

By participating, donors are added to the registry as a potential donor not just for Garni but 
for other cancer patients in need of a transplant, which brings Garni joy.

 “I want others to benefit equally from these efforts,” she said. “Worldwide, only one percent 
of the population has registered. People simply don’t know the magnitude of the way they 
could help by simply registering. It is so simple to save someone else’s life.” 

Garni is dedicated to spreading the message of the need for stem cell donors, a mission that 
she finds healing. “It keeps me focused on hope, rather than on the reality of my disease,” 
she said. 

Hillsides is a premier provider dedicated to improving the overall well-being and 
functioning of vulnerable children, youth, and families. To learn more about #TeamNancy 
or Hillsides, please visit www.hillsides.org. For more specific information on the drive, 
please contact Marisol Barrios at mbarrios@hillsides.org or 323-543-288, ext. 128. For 
more information on becoming a donor, please visit www.BeTheMatch.org.