Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, November 26, 2016

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Mountain View News Saturday, November 26, 2016

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

THANKS BRUCE AND ELAINE


“Each princess has a unique story to tell that inspires 
dreams of fantasy and fairytales, and empowers girls 
with virtues of integrity, compassion, hope, honor, 
kindness, 

discovery and love.” 

Disney Princesses

Walking Sierra Madre this week, I had the most 
wonderful experience: I met our Sierra Madre Rose 
Princesses. These four young women are simply 
splendid... lovely, yes, but so very accomplished 
already. We met at the Rose Float barn, up there 
behind the swimming pool park. They were there to 
practice the safety drill for getting off the float should 
something go wrong with the mechanisms. All I can 
say is I’m just awfully glad it was those nimble girls 
hopping up and down off the float and not me! Last 
year’s float, “Rollin’ On The River,” was much lower 
to the ground and the princesses just had to sort of 
turn around and sit. This year, however, “Cat’s Away” 
is quite a stretch. The girls can only put their hands in 
two places to get up and down, but they did it quite 
gracefully and were all off and safely away from the 
float in less than the allotted twenty seconds. We’re 
not anticipating any problems, of course, as our float 
builders are pros at what they do. 

 The float is coming along beautifully, by the way, 
and we have already been asked to park in the “Special 
Post Parade Showcase Parking Lot” which signifies we 
are going to be big winners in the prize department. 
At least we all hope we are! But you want to hear about 
the Princesses!

 “A true princess is authentic, courageous, honest, 
kind, sweet, tenacious and brave.”

 Samantha Grijalva is a sophomore at La Salle High 
School, definitely wants to go to college but doesn’t 
know where yet or what she wants to do for her 
major. She participates in the Academic Decathlon at 
school, specializing currently in World War II. She’s 
a dedicated reader and has read all of Harry Potter, 
all of Dan Brown’s books, The Da Vinci Code, Angels 
& Demons, etc. and can’t wait to see the latest movie, 
Inferno with Tom Hanks. Needless to say, she’s also 
done an amazing amount of reading about World 
War II. Samantha is a Girl Scout and is involved in 
Sierra Madre Environmental Society and Habitat For 
Humanity. 

 Camille Buckles is a senior at St. Lucy’s Priory 
High School in Glendora. She has her heart set on 
Cosmetology and is looking at either Santa Monica or 
Citrus College for her degree. Camille would love to 
do make up for movies, weddings, parties, just about 
any kind of event where she could use her skills. She 
is currently on the school dance team, advanced choir, 
and will be involved in the Spring Musical where she’s 
hoping for a solo song. Camille is also an Ambassador 
for St. Lucy’s, which means she attends open houses 
at middle schools and talks about the advantages of 
attending St. Lucy’s. She has worked on the Rose Float 
as part of her community service and participated in 
various walks for charity such as the Susan B. Komen 
walk. Camille has been part of the 30 Hour Famine 
Fast at St. Louise De Merillac Church where teens 
come together to fast for 30 hours and package food 
for 3rd World Countries.

 Sarah Adams is a senior at La Salle High School and 
is college bound planning to major in math and physics 
with a focus on teaching high school. She is a retreat 
leader and takes underclassmen on spiritual journeys 
through Pi Alpha Chi, which is a sorority founded on 
the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. 
Sarah is the Captain of La Salle’s Cross Country 
team, is a distance runner, specializes in the 100 and 
300 meter hurdles and can high jump 4’2”. Needless 
to say, all that hurdle and high jump activity helped 
Sarah get up and down off the float with grace and 
style! She’s a Youth Leader in St. Rita’s Confirmation 
program for Freshmen and Sophomores and has 
already won her Girl Scout Gold Award, which is a 
huge accomplishment.

 Ashley Conlon is a junior at La Salle and she, too, is 
headed for college to major in math and science. She 
is involved in dance and theater, is an ambassador and 
a football cheerleader for La Salle. Ashley is also part 
of the spiritual journey program through Pi Alpha 
Chi. She, along with Sarah Adams is a St. Rita’s Youth 
Leader and an altar server. She has begun the long 
process to earn her Girl Scout Gold Award and says 
one of her biggest joys is solving problems, hence, that 
interest in more and harder math!

 Each of our Princesses must be a Sierra Madre 
resident and have no less than a 3.0 GPA. I’m sure 
all four of our young women are well above that. 
Attitude! once again has helped our Princesses 
with their dress outfits and you can meet these 
really fabulous girls on November 26th when they 
will ride into town on a fire engine and serve as 
Santa’s Helpers from 5-7 p.m. at Sierra Madre’s 
Winter Village. Volunteers and donations for the 
float would be joyfully and gratefully welcomed!

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter” 
is available there…

 As are all the Emma Gainsworth Fall Pumpkin 
Adventures

 Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd

RETIRING DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS BRUCE INMAN, LEFT AND RETIRING 
CITY MANAGER ELAINE AGUILAR WERE HONORED AT A RECEPTION TUESDAY 
NIGHT AT CITY HALL. AGUILAR WILL REMAIN AS INTERIM CITY MANAGER 
WHILE THE COUNCIIL FINDS HER SUCCESSOR. CHRIS CIMINO WILL SERVE AS 
THE CITY'S INTERIM DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS.

PHOTO COURTESY THE CITY OF SIERRA MADRE

PLANNING & COMMUNITY PRESERVATION TO ADDRESS 
CONTROVERSIAL E. MIRA MONTE PROPERTY

FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S REPORT:

 The next Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 
1, 2016 at 7:00 pm. The Commission will continue their deliberations from the 
November 3, 2016 Planning Commission meeting regarding Discretionary 
Demolition Permit 16-01 for the property located at 126 East Mira Monte 
Avenue. At the November 3, 2016 meeting, the Planning Commission directed 
staff to provide a building observation report of the as built conditions of the 
remaining structure and requested that the applicant obtain a historical 
resources evaluation of the property prepared by a qualified architectural 
historian from the approved list of consultants maintained by the City. The 
Planning Commission will review both documents at this meeting before 
rendering a determination regarding the request for demolition of the exterior 
framing and roof structure. 


WEATHER CHALLENGES WINTER 
FESTIVAL

Due to rain expected Saturday evening, the Winner Festival will not have the Snow, Train 
and Horse and Buggy activities will be canceled. Santa will be there rain or shine!

SAFE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

MONROVIA, CA – The Monrovia Police Department will be hosting a holiday safety tips 
event titled, “Don’t Let the Grinch Ruin Christmas” on Thursday, Dec. 8, from 7 p.m. to 8 
p.m., in the Library Community Room.

 This past year, the City of Monrovia has seen an approximate 25 percent increase in crime 
activity, a situation which law enforcement personnel have attributed to new laws that have 
been adopted in California. Those laws include AB 109 and Proposition 47, as well as the 
recently approved Proposition 57, which will result in an estimated 10,000 incarcerated 
individuals who will be released from prison during the next few months. 

 With the increase in crime activities, safety is a high priority for all residents. Join us as 
representatives from the Monrovia Police Department address public safety issues, answer 
questions and concerns, and provide information on ways to stay safe during this holiday 
season. 

 

 For more infor-mation regarding this event, please contact the Monrovia Police Department 
at (626)256-8000.

We’d like to hear from you! 

What’s on YOUR Mind?

Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com or www.
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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com