Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 20, 2016

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 20, 2016 


Walking Sierra Madre…The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

El Nino! El Nino! Wherefore art thou El Nino!

So here we are in the midst of a heat wave when we were all planning on hunkering down, strategically 
placing our sandbags, bringing in extra cans of soup just in case we couldn’t get out in the downpour, 
and telling our trees that lots of water was coming soon. There are vague rumors of rain in March but 
meanwhile, we’ve all had to go back to watering the disappointed trees and trying to keep the plants alive, 
using as little water as possible. I’m ashamed to report I haven’t been as vigilant lately as I need to be 
about water in the kitchen, but I’ve shaped up and will do better. Still taking 20 second showers and tooth 
brushing with the water off, but rinsing dishes has gotten lax. How ‘bout you guys? There was an article 
in the L.A. Times recently about how folks are tired of being asked to save more and more when they’ve 
already done as much as they can. I’m willing to try harder, but I don’t want any more trees to die. We need 
those babies!

 Walking Sierra Madre this morning shortly after 6:00 a.m., while it was a balmy 63, we noticed a lot of 
interesting things. How great the veggie garden at the Gooden School is looking, and how the wistaria on 
their fence, which has usually leafed out by now still looks like a collection of dead sticks. The wistaria on 
the central pergola at City Hall has a few blooms, but seeing as how the Wistaria Festival is March 13th, it 
had all better get it together and start blooming! Speaking of the Wistaria Festival, it’s going to be amazing 
as always, with live music, 100 crafters and food vendors, the car show. You can find out all you need to 
know at www.sierramadrechamber.com. There are shuttles, too, so you don’t have to hike up Baldwin if 
that’s not your cup of herbal tea. 

 Rum raisin ice cream is back at Mother Moo’s and my hiking buddy and fellow town admirer, John, 
grew somewhat rhapsodic over the root beer float sign in Moo’s window. Looks like root beer floats are 
coming up in our near future. Wonder how it would taste with rum raisin ice cream. 

 Have you noticed that BJ’s Beauty Salon is under new management? Looks like they are going to 
concentrate on mani-pedis and have some absolutely fabulous pedicure chairs. Take a look!

 The wreath in the park commemorating President’s Day was beautiful in reds, whites and blues. Nice to 
see. We looked at each other in some chagrin and commented that we forgot to put our flag out. 

 There are still pumpkins out in people’s yards! Months after Halloween and Thanksgiving have been and 
gone. Three of those cute little ones are still sitting in a basket at our house, looking like they plan to be part 
of the décor when October rolls around. 

 Have you got jade plants? They are in bloom right now and the bees are loving it. Camellias are beautiful 
all around town and roses are covered with new red leaves. Daffodils are showing their yellow heads and 
the fig tree has little green buds at the ends of its branches. The deciduous trees are still looking like they’re 
never coming back, but that, too shall pass.

 It’s Daddy-Daughter Dance season and our two 
Texas girls, 8-year old Jessie and 5-year old Emily 
escorted their Daddy to the annual dance at Wally 
W. Watkins Elementary. We asked for pictures of 
them with their Daddy, but got confused stories 
about the line being too long, somebody insisting 
on standing in the line for a teddy bear, doing the 
Chicken Dance, the Nae Nae Dance, and something 
else exciting. Violet and Fay, two of the four little 
girls next door, escorted their Daddy to the Daddy-
Daughter Dance and he proudly wore a boutonniere 
on each lapel of his jacket as each girl had made one. 
He, however, had rules for behavior:

1. Do not run up the stairs, you might slip in your 
fancy shoes.

2. Do not climb the trees in your pretty dresses.

3. You have to leave your shoes on.

Our Texas girls and the next door girls all looked 
exquisite with hair done up with bows and bands 
and their best smiles on. An evening out with Daddy 
is quite something. I remember the Texas girls’ 
mommy, when she went to the Daddy-Daughter 
Dance at Alverno some years ago. Exact same look 
of excitement to have the Daddy to herself. And the 
year when he was unable to attend, her big brother, 
John, took her and all the other girls thought she had 
the best looking date ever! I’m sure there are some 
Daddy-Daughter Dances going on in your life, too. 
Enjoy every second of them, my friends. Every single 
second.

 Check out my book page on Amazon.com: 
DeanneDavis@Amazon.com

 You might like my blog, too: www.authordeanne.
com 


Speaking of Daddy-Daughter dances, above 
are Sierra Madre Elementary School dancers, 
Milania Thomas with her dad, Fred

SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGMENT 
DISTRICT – LEAF BLOWER EXCHANGE PROGRAM

SCAQMD sponsors an annual Leaf Blower 
Exchange Program that helps clean the air 
through the exchange of backpack leaf blowers. 
Commercial landscapers and gardeners operating 
within the South Coast Air Basin can exchange 
old, noisy, high-polluting backpack leaf blowers 
for new low-emission/low-noise backpack 
leaf blowers available at a discounted price. 
The 2016 Leaf Blower Exchange Program 
will offer three STIHL models—the BR500 will 
be $200 with the trade-in of a used backpack 
blower. There will also be 2 battery-electric 
models—the BGA85, will be $200 with trade-in 
and the BGA100 which retails at $1,400 will be 
$600 with trade-in. School districts, college and 
local governments also are encouraged to take 
advantage of this year’s program. For additional 
information on trade-in options, please visit 
www.aqmd.gov/home/programs/community. . 
Since the Leaf Blower Exchange Program began 
in 2006, 12,000 old leaf blowers have been replaced, 
reducing 138,729 pounds of hydrocarbon and NOx 
emissions per year. The Program has also reduced 
smog-forming pollutants by 88,282 pounds per year 
in the Southland. All old leaf blowers that are retired 
through this program are scrapped and recycled. 
The 2016 Leaf Blower Exchange Program will 
include 20 events scheduled in March and held 
throughout Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San 
Bernardino Counties. The list for the Leaf Blower 
Exchange locations is available on the www.aqmd.
gov website. The Leaf Blower Exchange is not 
open to the public. Those interested in attending 
any of the locations for the Leaf Blower Exchange 
are required to register by contacting SCAQMD at 
888-425-6247.

 For additional information, call the Department 
of Public Works at 626-355-7135.

SIERRA MADRE POLICE DEPT.

During the week of Sunday, February 7th, to Sunday, 
February 14th, the Sierra Madre Police Department 
responded to approximately 223 calls for service. 

Wednesday, February 10th At 8:23 am, Sierra 
Madre Police responded to the station lobby 
regarding a report of a stolen bike. Upon arrival 
the victim informed Officers that the day before, 
he left his bike locked and secured on the hitch 
mounted bike rack on his vehicle that was located 
in his carport. When he returned to his vehicle 
the following morning, the victim discovered his 
bike was gone, the bike rack was damaged, and the 
locking device attached to the bike rack was gone. 
This case has been forwarded to the Detective 
Bureau. 

 At 12:55 pm, Sierra Madre Police responded 
to the 200 block of East Highland Ave regarding 
a theft report. Upon arrival Officers were met by 
the victim who stated that he had parked his van 
in front of the location at around 11:45 am and left 
his lawn mower and trimmer in the back. When 
he returned to his truck at around 12:00 pm he 
discovered that his tools were now missing. There 
were no signs of forced entry and the victim stated 
he was unsure if he had locked his vehicle. This case 
has been forwarded to the Detective Bureau. 

Saturday, February 13th At 10:54 am, Sierra 
Madre Police responded to the station lobby 
regarding a theft report. Upon arrival, the victim 
informed Officers that the day before, he placed a 
box of car washing supplies on his porch sometime 
around the afternoon. The following morning, 
he realized the box was missing from his porch. 
The victim searched the area and was unable to 
locate the box. This case has been forwarded to the 
Detective Bureau. 


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