Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 12, 2014

SECTION B

SATURDAY, JULLY 12, 2014

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY

AN ECOLOGICAL METHOD OF 

INSECT CONTROL: BATS

Tips for installing a bat house

Foothill Gold Line Update: 

Metro’s SRTP Goes to the Board


In advance of Metro board consideration later 
this month, Metro staff has released their report 
on the Short Range Transportation Plan (SRTP). 
The staff report (attached) includes highlights of 
the comments received on the SRTP, as well as 
proposed changes to the SRTP in response to those 
comments. Although new language added to the 
SRTP states that the plan does not program “any 
new funds for any new projects,” in reality billions 
of dollars of new funding is assumed in the SRTP 
to accelerate completion of the Measure R transit 
capital program - including currently unfunded 
segments of certain chosen projects. The list of 
projects to be accelerated (Attachment E of the staff 
report), is included below. The Foothill Gold Line to 
Claremont is not on the list.

 Unfortunately, the proposed changes to the 
SRTP do nothing to resolve the underlying 
disparity which continues to exist for the Foothill 
Gold Line to Claremont – it is the only Measure R 
transit capital project not assumed for completion 
within the SRTP. To justify this, staff has added new 
language to explain that the projects included for 
acceleration in the SRTP are “in accordance with 
the project priorities and funding schedules of the 
2009 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP).” 
However, the 2009 LRTP passed with a motion 
by County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and 
Mike Antonovich, and Director John Fasana, which 
specified the Foothill Gold Line to Claremont as 
a first priority project for new funding. This first 
priority funding status has been removed from the 
revised SRTP, and any plan to fund completion of 
the project is absent.

 The SRTP now advances to the Metro board, 
where the following should be corrected:

(1) The “first priority for new funding to close any 
funding gaps” designation for the Foothill Gold 
Line to Claremont should be added back in the 
SRTP;

(2) The SRTP’s funding assumptions should be 
updated to accurately reflect completion of the 
Foothill Gold Line to its statute-defined endpoint 
of Claremont - the total cost estimate is $1.86 
billion (including a $1 billion funding gap) and the 
expected project completion year is 2022, assuming 
funding is made available; and

(3) The Foothill Gold Line to Claremont must be 
included in the list of projects to be accelerated 
within the SRTP timeframe, if new funding sources 
- like an additional or new tax - are identified.

 The SRTP will be considered for approval first 
at the July 16th Planning and Programming 
Committee, and then at the board meeting on 
Thursday, July 24. It will also surely be discussed at 
a San Gabriel Valley Transportation Roundtable 
meeting being organized by Assemblyman Chris 
Holden in the City of Claremont.

By Christopher Nyerges 

[Nyerges is the author of “How To Survive 
Anywhere,” “Self-Sufficient Home,” and other 
books. He can be reached at School of Self-
Reliance, Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or 
www.ChristopherNyerges.com.]

 Many people believe that bats are dangerous 
because they’ve been watching too many movies. 
In fact, bats are an important way to control insects. 
They do eat mosquitoes too, but this part of their 
reputation is a bit over-rated because bats tend to 
fly a bit higher than mosquitoes. Still, they do eat 
mosquitoes. Encouraging bats to live around your 
place is an easy, natural way to control unwanted 
insect populations. In nature, bats would reside in 
hollow trees, which are abundant in the forest, but 
less common in the urban areas. 

 This is why you’ll probably need to install a 
bat house if you want to encourage them to live 
around your place. Bat houses can be purchased 
at garden supply shops and on-line catalogs. They 
can also be made from scrap lumber, and rough 
lumber is better because bats need something to 
cling onto.

 The location of your bat house is important 
because bats are a bit choosey as to where they 
make their home. Just tacking a bat house up on 
the wall doesn’t guarantee that bats will occupy 
it. Bat Conservation International offers a few 
suggestions for properly installing a bat house.

Make sure that the bat house gets a lot of sunlight. 
The bats don’t like the sunlight, per se, but they 
need the warmth to raise their young. So a bat 
house should be situated where it get a lot of sun, 
ideally on a free-standing pole if possible. The bat 
house can also be painted black to help with heat 
retention.

 Bats are more likely to occupy a house that is 
about 15 to 20 feet above the ground. A pre-made 
bat house should be well-anchored to the house, or 
pole, and studies have shown that the bats are less 
likely to use the pre-made house that is anchored 
to a tree. 

 Make sure there are no obstructions to the entry 
of the bat house within 20 feet. 

 Assuming you’ve done all this, you should still 
give the bats time to notice the house. If there are 
no bats in the house within two years, try moving 
it to another location. 

 Even if bats occupy the house you’ve provided 
for them, don’t expect miracles. They are not going 
to reduce your mosquito population to zero, but 
they will eat mosquitoes and other insects, and 
you won’t have to use harmful insecticides on your 
property to take advantage of their free service.

 And because the needs of bats are very specific, 
it turns out that many bat house that are pre-made 
are not ideal. Bat Conservation International 
provides a list of bat house manufacturers which 
conform to the needs of bats. They also provide 
free plans for building your own. Just check their 
web site at www.batcon.org.

Inside This Section:

Arts and Entertainment * The World Around Us

Business News & Trends * Opinion * Legal Notices

Captain Christopher Reed: New to Altadena,

But an Old Friend to the M.A.D Area


By Joan Schmidt

Captain Chris Reed may be the newly assigned 
Commander to Altadena Sheriff’s Station, but he 
is an old friend to Temple Sheriff’s Station and the 
MAD area.

I met Deputy Chris Reed in the early 90’s, when 
Temple Station’s Deputies were all introduced 
at the Community Meeting at Maxwell School, 
Duarte. (This was the beginning of the formation 
of the Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte Town Council.) 
Deputy Reed was assigned to the “MAD” area 
under Training Deputy Tony Van Beek. Those 
were the days when Pamela Park and surrounding 
areas were VERY dangerous: I remember 
hovering helicopters and wondering if we made 
a mistake buying a home in the area.

Last week, at the Beach Boys Concert at the 
Arboretum, I saw Reservist Commander Gary 
Jones and we were speaking of changes in the 
Sheriff’s Department. I mentioned John Benedict 
was being transferred from Altadena and Gary 
said, “Chris Reed will be the new Commander.” I 
was flabbergasted because I still thought of Chris 
as the young conscientious qualified deputy who 
did my area!

I called Captain Reed to congratulate him and his 
new assignment and asked if I could do a story to 
introduce him to the Community.

Friday I drove up to Altadena, and Captain Reed 
looked to same to me, although it’s been 20+ years 
since I first met him! I asked about his career with 
the Sheriff’s Department; it has spanned 27 years. 
After the Academy, his custody assignment was 
Wayside. (Pitchess Detention Center) for two-
and-a-half years) From there, he came to Temple 
Station (1991) and did his training there. He 
worked at Temple till 2000 when he promoted 
to Sergeant and was transferred to Crescenta 
Valley Sheriff’s Station. In 2004, his promotion 
to Lieutenant brought Reed to Pico Rivera 
Station where he worked until 2007, when he 
went to work in Court Services under Richard 
Barrantes. (Barrantes had been our Lieutenant/
Liaison to the “MAD” area for many years and 
has recently promoted to Assistant Sheriff.) 
In 2013, Reed promoted to Captain and was 
assigned to the newly formed Civil Management 
Bureau, responsible for all civil law enforcement 
operations throughout the county, including 
court ordered evictions and seizures. On June 
22, 2014 began his position of Altadena Station 
Commander.

Captain Reed holds an Associate of Arts Degree 
in Social Science from Citrus College and a 
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science/
Public Administration from Cal Poly Pomona.

I asked what his plans were and Captain Reed 
wants to meet key members of the Altadena 
Community- such as the members of the 
Town Council and Chamber of Commerce, 
and of course residents of the community. He 
acknowledged how involved Captain Benedict 
was with the community, the great rapport he had 
with the community and all he accomplished. 
Captain Reed hopes to continue all of Benedict’s 
fine work.

I asked about family, and Captain Reed is very 
proud of his three sons, one who is on the 
Department also. I found this very interesting- 
I know many members of LASD who followed 
their parents in their careers. In his spare time, 
Captain Reed enjoys running and restoring 
classic cars.

Altadena Station has been assigned a very fine 
Captain and I wish him much success in his time 
there.


Duarte Kiwanis Provides Shoes 

for Children in El Salvador

The children of Central America are near and dear 
to Reyna Diaz’ heart and as a member of Duarte 
Kiwanis, Reyna is an excellent spokesperson 
for the needs of the children. The club has been 
instrumental in many ways over the years, 
providing toys at the holidays, helping house the El 
Salvador High School Marching band when they 
visited for the Rose Parade and even in the delivery 
of an ambulance for their community. This Spring, 
the focus was very basic – children in El Salvador 
and Guatemala need shoes! So with the support 
of the Duarte Kiwanis Club, Reyna was able to 
provide a total of 500 pairs of shoes for children in 
need. In August, Reyna will be traveling again, this 
time to help provide supplies needed for children to 
participate in the Special Olympics in El Salvador.

 The Duarte Kiwanis Club has lunch meetings 
the first, third and fifth Tuesdays of the month at 
Westminster Gardens. For further information 
on speaking or joining the club, contact Dr. Diane 
Hernandez at drdiane@drhernandezoptometry.
com. 


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