Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, December 24, 2016

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Mountain View News Saturday, December 24, 2016

Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

SIERRA MADRE CIVIC LEADER 
JAN REED PASSES AWAY


Sierra Madre has lost another Treasure, a woman 
who was greatly admired by this writer. Her 
achievements were an inspiration to me and the 
words of encouragement she shared inspired me 
to continue with the publication of this paper. 
There aren't enough words to tell her story on this 
page,however the words of her daugthers will help 
those who did not have the pleasure of meeting her 
to understand what a great loss our community has 
suffered. Susan Henderson, Editor and Publisher of 
the Mountain Views News.

JANNENE G. REED 

2/8/29 - 12/17/16

Our mother, Jannene G. Reed, was an amazing 
optimist who considered herself “the luckiest person 
in the world.” She passed onto her new heavenly life 
incredibly peacefully on Saturday, December 17, 
2016 at the enviable age of 87. In fact, a veteran nurse 
at Huntington Memorial Hospital who witnessed 
her transition stated that she had never witnessed 
such a peaceful death. She truly was a mother who 
taught us how to live and then how to pass on. 

Mom was born the youngest of four daughters to Frank James and Pearl Margaret Griffith on a 
farm outside of Wayne, Nebraska on February 8, 1929. Family lore has it that it was 21 degrees 
below zero. 

As a girl Mom loved to play piano, make up songs, write poems and stories. Later she started 
drawing comic strips. She drew constantly, illustrating most stories she studied and various classical 
stories she read. As a young woman, she began to work at the Wayne Herald (the local newspaper), 
collecting subscriptions at first, then she went into writing. Later she became Features Editor. Mom 
attended Wayne Prep High School where she was Homecoming Queen and valedictorian — which 
came with it four years of college classes at Wayne State College FREE. Mom met Don Reed at 
Wayne State College in their junior year (she was 4 months his senior) and they were married April 
5, 1953. He had enlisted in the Air Force and they were stationed first in Madison, Wisconsin; then 
Sault St. Marie, Michigan; and then Chicago, Illinois. 

In Chicago Mom worked as a layout prospective artist for General Telephone Company. They 
subsequently moved to Kearney, Nebraska where Dad was a news director and Mom was a copy 
writer. When Dad decided to go to law school, they moved again to Vermillion, S.D.. As Dad got 
his JD, mom taught art in the local schools. After law school they moved back to Wayne, Nebraska 
where Dad became a partner in a law firm. Their first child, Cameron Leigh (Camee) was born 
on October 5, 1959 and their second child, Barbara Jayne (Barbee), was born December 20, 1961. 
Mom and Dad moved our family from Wayne to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1972, then they settled 
permanently in Southern California in 1974, first in San Marino, then Sierra Madre and finally 
retiring in Pasadena. 

In San Marino Mom worked for the local newspaper, the Tribune. Her dream was always to own 
a small newspaper and be editor and publisher, so when the Sierra Madre News became available 
in 1980 she and Dad bought it. Mom called it “a broadsheet, typical ‘country’ weekly newspaper.” 

Sierra Madre was wonderful to Mom and Dad. Camee and Barbee had left the nest and Mom was 
truly a town leader. In the 1980s, she kept very busy with the paper, the printing business that came 
with it, and also was invited to serve on the board of the Methodist Hospital in Arcadia. This was 
a golden time for Mom and Dad. By 1994, though, Mom was getting pretty tired (her hours were 
horrendous as both editor and publisher) and they sold the paper. Unfortunately, the paper itself 
folded (without her inspired leadership) in 1996. Mom stayed very active in town, belonging to 
several groups including Kiwanis (she was the first woman member), and she was humbled and 
thrilled to become Sierra Madre Citizen of the Year in 1995. She was also a member of the Sierra 
Madre Women's Club and was chosen in 2010 as one of the Sierra Madre Treasures at the Annual 
Wistaria Festival. She stayed active and vital, rarely sitting still. 

At their retirement community in Pasadena, Mom wrote profiles of many of the employees and 
residents. She continued to find humor in many situations and to be positive even as the years caught 
up with her. Mom is survived by Dad,(Don Reed) Camee, Barbee and four beloved grandchildren 
— Wesley (Megan), Jayne, Sara and Henry. We are confident that St. Peter met Mom at the Pearly 
Gates with a typewriter, a deck of bridge cards, and directions to the nearest piano. She won’t sit 
still long.

The family will hold a private ceremony and Jan will be laid to rest in Sierra Madre's Pioneer 
Cemetery. However on February 11, 2017, a public Memorial will be held. Details for that event will 
be forthcoming.


“Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your 
heart be light.

From now on, our troubles will be out of sight.” 
Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin

Remember that? Judy Garland singing to Margaret 
O’Brien in the 1944 movie, “Meet Me In St. Louis.” 
You probably do as this is a perennial Christmas 
favorite movie, along with “Miracle on 34th Street” 
and “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Of course, we love 
“Charlie Brown’s Christmas” and the original 
version of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole 
Christmas. There’s “Frosty” and “Rudolph,” and 
we’ve enjoyed a bunch of Christmas movies on the 
Hallmark Channel, too. 

 The lights and decorations around town have 
been spectacular this year. This fabulous Santa, his 
sleigh and reindeer (pictured) are on So. Baldwin, 
just above Orange Grove. These folks also had 
terrific Halloween decorations and we truly admire 
everything they do. I’m giving a Walking Sierra 
Madre...The Social Side award to Les, Barbara, Nina 
and their cat, Bentley – who live on the south side of 
Sturtevant, just east of Mountain Trail. They have 
a tiny little garden window which they decorate 
beautifully for each season. Their Christmas 
window this year is charming and they have lights 
all along their garden, showing that sometimes the 
best things do come in small packages! 

 We hope you’ve had ‘a merry little Christmas’ 
this year, and that your heart has been light. As 
we were out walking Sierra Madre last year, my 
Christmas light connoisseur walking buddy, John, 
and I, found a piece of paper on the sidewalk and 
this is what it said:

A Child’s Prayer of Thanks

Dear God,

I’m thankful for all You give,

For food,

For love,

A place to live,

I thank You for my family too,

And I want You to know

That I love You.

Amen.

 I have kept this out in our kitchen ever since 
and think it expresses pretty much everything 
for which we can be thankful. We live in such a 
beautiful place, with our own personal mountains 
available for good long ‘look’ moments. We have 
friendly people who smile and say Hello! when you 
pass them on the street. We have beautiful homes 
on every street, so many trees - which are doing 
fairly well in spite of the drought, and a splendid 
Christmas tree, crèche, menorah and dreidel in 
Kersting Court. 

 While making Christmas Jam, lemon 
marmalade, and about a million cookies, I had my 
Child’s Prayer of Thanks out where I could see it…
and even managed not to get cookie dough all over 
it! Like you, we’ve dined with friends and family, 
enjoying a nice glass of something sparkly and…
of course…taking good long looks at our personal 
mountains. We have truly had “a merry little 
Christmas” this year and are looking forward to 
blessings and joy in the year to come. 

While I’m listing blessings, here are a few more: We 
had rain! There might even be more! Our health is 
good...we enjoy Walking Sierra Madre more than 
ever. It was 15 degrees earlier this week in Wylie, 
Texas where our daughter, Crissy, and her family 
live. It was 41 degrees here last Monday but we’re 
not complaining! I’ve only gained three pounds 
while cooking, baking, wrapping and sending 
cookies, bread, apple butter and Christmas jam 
all over the place, and that’s not bad at all! Merry 
Christmas, dear friends!

 “Christmas! It’s almost here! My favorite...
favorite time of year!

 Think mistletoe and holly...children’s faces jolly!

 Carols on the radio...happy smiles each place you 
go,

 Presents piled beneath the tree...some for you 
and some for me!”

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 “A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of 
Laughter” is available from me!

 Kindle readers, give yourself the gift of Star of 
Wonder – A Christmas Story

 It’s on Amazon.com on my book page!

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

SIERRA MADRE SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM

City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 16-04 (MCTA 16-04) SECOND 
UNITS URGENCY ORDINANCE 1383-U

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the City of Sierra Madre, County of Los Angeles, State of 
California

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, that the City Council conducted a 
public hearing on December 13, 2016 and adopted Municipal Code Text Amendment 16-04 (MCTA 16-04) 
Urgency Ordinance 1383-U amending Chapter 17.22–Second Units. Urgency Ordinance 1383-U is effective 
immediately. The purpose of the MCTA is to achieve compliance with Senate Bill No. 1069 (SB 1069), which 
expands a property owner or developer’s ability to build a second residential dwelling unit on their property 
and simultaneously restricts discretionary and regulatory authority over such development by introducing new 
development standards, including allowable floor area, garage conversion requirements, setback provisions, 
rental restrictions, fire sprinkler requirements, and utility connections. The Planning Commission, at its 
November 17, 2016 meeting, unanimously approved Resolution 16-11 recommending to the City Council 
approval of MCTA 16-04 and Urgency Ordinance 1383-U.

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: An Initial Study was prepared for the 2008-2014 Housing Element 
in accordance with the City’s guidelines implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This 
Initial Study was undertaken for the purpose of deciding whether the measures identified in the Housing Element 
to fulfill the City’s RHNA allocation may have a significant effect on the environment. On the basis of the 
Initial Study, City staff concluded that they will not have a significant effect on the environment, and a Negative 
Declaration was adopted by City Council on June 11, 2013. The project also qualifies for a Statutory Exemption 
pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3), in that the City can say with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity 
in question may have a significant effect on the environment because adding the regulatory requirement of a conditional use 
permit in order to build a second story unit is not likely to result in additional construction beyond that already permissible.


The Rotary Humanitarian STAR Award 
committee is pleased to recognize Sierra Madre 
Search and Rescue Team, as the 2016 RHSTAR 
Trophy Recipient in the Disaster Relief and 
Recovery Category.

 President: Arnold Gaffery

Nominated by: Wendie Johnston Ph.D., Pasadena 
Bioscience Collaborative

 Nominated For: The development of searcha and 
rescue MapSar technology used across the country 
and around the world. 

 Maps are at the core of any Search and Rescue 
(SAR) operation. Geographic information system 
(GIS) software allows rescue personnel to quickly 
generate maps that depict specific aspects of a 
rescue operation and show what is happening on 
the ground over time. The maps and operations 
data can be shared over a network to supply an 
enhanced common operating picture throughout 
the Incident Command Post (ICP).

 Sierra Madre Search and Rescue played a key 
role in the launch of a new web portal that supplies 
search and rescue (SAR) personnel with GIS tools, 
educational materials, and a virtual community 
for learning and sharing.

 The launch of the MapSAR website is the result 
of a community of search and rescue personnel 
linked together by their use of GIS with a goal 
to build on that work and supply standards, 
documents, and training to the international SAR 
community with the invaluable job of finding lost 
people

City of Sierra Madre

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

From: The City of Sierra Madre

Subject: MUNICIPAL CODE TEXT AMENDMENT 16-06 (MCTA 16-06) – GROUP LIVING 
FACILITIES 

Applicant: City of Sierra Madre

Project Location: Properties in the City of Sierra Madre, County of Los Angeles, State of California

The City of Sierra Madre gives notice, pursuant to State of California law, that the Planning Commission will conduct a public 
hearing to consider recommending adoption of an Ordinance amending Chapter 17.08 (“Definitions”) Section 17.08.020 
(“Words, terms, phrases defined”), Chapter 17.60 Section 17.60.030 (“Conditional Use Permits–When Required”), and a 
new Chapter 17.94 (“Group Living Facilities Subject to a Conditional Use Permit”). Following a Planning Commission 
recommendation for approval, the proposed text amendment will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration. The 
amendments would afford the City the ability to better regulate licensed and unlicensed group living facilities serving more 
than six (6) residents by imposing operational and distance requirements through a conditional use permit to preserve the 
residential character of neighborhoods and to provide some protection to a vulnerable population in the absence of State or 
Federal licensing or other regulatory oversight.

DATE AND TIME OF HEARING PLACE OF HEARING

City of Sierra Madre City of Sierra Madre

Planning Commission meeting City Council Chambers

Thursday, January 5, 2017 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.

(Hearing begins at 7:00 p.m.) Sierra Madre, CA 

All interested persons may attend this meeting and the Planning Commission will hear them with respect thereto.

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The project qualifies for an exemption from the California Environmental 
Quality Act review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations as it can be seen with 
certainty that there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment, 
because it will impose greater limitations on development in the City and protect the aesthetic character of Sierra Madre, 
thereby serving to reduce potential significant adverse environmental impacts. 

APPEAL: The decision of the Planning Commission is subject to a 10-day appeal period to the City Council. If in the 
future anyone wishes to challenge the decision of the Planning Commission in court, one may be limited to raising the 
issues that were raised or presented in written correspondence delivered to the Planning Commission at, or before, the 
scheduled public hearing. For further information on this subject, please contact the Planning & Community Preservation 
Department at (626) 355-7138.


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