SIERRA MADRE EDITION

 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2018 

VOLUME 12 NO. 46


SIERRA 
MADRE 

BECOMES A 
DEMENTIA 
FRIENDLY CITY

SIERRA MADRE CELEBRATES ITS VETERANS


The City of Sierra Madre issued 
a Certificate of Recognition and 
Proclamation of Sierra Madre 
being a Dementia Friendly 
Community. The Proclamation 
was present by Mayor Pro Tem, 
John Harabedian in front of the city 
council with Mayor Denise Delmar, 
and Council Members: Rachelle 
Arizmendi, John Capoccia and 
Gene Goss all present. This was 
presented on Nov 13, 2018.

 The Kensington Sierra Madre 
will be offering free dementia 
classes for understanding and 
communicating with those with 
dementia. The classes will start 
in 2019 and be offered on the third 
Tuesday of every month from 1pm 
to 5pm.

 Further, we will be offering care 
giver support on 2nd & 4th Monday 
of the month at 7pm.

November 11, 2018 marks one hundred years since World 
War I ended. The first Veteran’s Day was celebrated in 1921, as 
a day to honor those who served and sacrificed in the United 
States’ Military. Every year in Sierra Madre, the Knights of 
Columbus and the VFW Lieutenant Kenneth Bell Post 3208 
hold a Veteran’s Day ceremony to commemorate this day 
and to celebrate and recognize the many veterans in town. 

 This year, the Veteran’s Day ceremony was held 
indoors at Memorial Park. Charlie Pritchard read a letter 
from his grandfather, Private Charles S. Pritchard, to his 
grandmother, Pearl Pritchard, written on October 18, 1918, 
just weeks before the end of the war. After this, MaryAnn 
MacGillivray-a former mayor of Sierra Madre- read an open 
letter written by an Air Force veteran who had served in 
Afghanistan. 

 Sierra Madre is a town with many veterans, and many 
of the guests at the ceremony were veterans. Some came in 
dress uniform and some came in street clothes, but whether 
they had served in the Army, Marines, Navy Air Force, 
National Guard, or Coast Guard, they all came together to 
observe this day of memorial and respect. Thank you to our 
veterans. 

SM PLAYHOUSE RECEIVES COMMUNITY GRANT

The Sierra Madre Community Foundation has 
awarded a $1,600 grant to the Sierra Madre Playhouse 
to support its 6th Annual Theater for Young Audiences 
Series. The funds will help underwrite costs of its 
March 2019 production of E.B. White's Stuart Little. 
The Playhouse’s Theater for Young Audiences series 
serves the children of Sierra Madre by providing them 
with an opportunity to experience live theatre at the 
community’s historic cultural landmark. 

 “We believe performing arts provide immeasurable 
added value to an educational curriculum, and that 
we have an integral role to play in introducing young 
audiences to live theater,” said Estelle Campbell, the 
Playhouse’s managing director. “Thanks to the support 
of organizations like the Sierra Madre Community 
Foundation, our annual Spring Theater for Young 
Audiences series has steadily grown since 2014 to now 
annually serve more than 2,500 local students and 
teachers.” 

 For 2018, the Sierra Madre Community Foundation 
has awarded more than $11,000 in grants to the City of 
Sierra Madre and several local organizations to support 
local programs and activities, including Sierra Madre 
CERT, Halloween Happenings, Huck Finn Derby & 
Campout, Mount Wilson Trail Race Kids Fun Run, 
4th of July Fun Run, Creative Arts Group, Shakespeare 
Festival, The Gooden School and Alverno Heights 
Academy. 

 “We are pleased to support the City and local 
organizations,” said Michelle Keith, SMCF president. 
“Through the generous giving of local residents, 
combined with the oversight by our local volunteer 
board, we will help keep Sierra Madre a unique 
community and valued treasure.”

 Sierra Madre Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) 
non-profit organization singularly devoted to Sierra 
Madre. The Foundation solicits donations to enhance 
our community by making direct grants, both large 
and small, to worthy people and organizations that 
might otherwise be overlooked and also assists other 
community groups in collecting and distributing funds 
for programs. If you would like to assist the Foundation 
as it continues to support Sierra Madre activities and 
programs, please send your tax deductible donation to 
the Sierra Madre Community Foundation - P.O. Box 
716, Sierra Madre, CA 91025. Checks can be made 
payable to “Sierra Madre Community Foundation.”

 To apply for a grant, visit sierramadrefoundation.org.

WALKING SIERRA MADRE.. The Social Side By Deanne Davis

“Freedom is never 
more than one 
generation away 
from extinction. 

We didn’t pass it 
to our children in 
the bloodstream. It 
must be fought for, 

protected and 
handed on for them 
to do the same.” 
Ronald Reagan

“As we express 
our gratitude, we 
must never forget 
that the highest 
appreciation 

is not to utter 
words, but to live 
by them.” John F. 
Kennedy

“For the Veteran: 
Thank you for 
bravely doing what 
you’re called to do so we can 

safely do what we’re FREE to do.”

This past weekend, featuring beautiful weather, was 
filled with celebrations of our veterans throughout the 
land. Children sang, veterans came out in full dress 
uniforms, and our Nation thanked them once again 
for their service and their sacrifice. As I watched, I 
was reminded that my Dad was in the Navy during 
World War II. He never talked much about what he 
did, what his job was, what happened to him. As we 
commemorated Veteran’s Day this week, I thought I’d 
put up a picture of some of our Sierra Madre veterans 
and add the following poem. We are fortunate here 
in Sierra Madre, to have quite a few veterans who 
come out smartly and impeccably dressed in their 
uniforms to carry the flag, march in our July 4th 
parade, be on hand to kick off the Mt. Wilson Trail 
Race and be part of the Memorial Day observances. 
They stand tall and straight and we admire them. If 
you haven’t been down to Memorial Park to look at 
the Veteran’s Memorial Wall, take a few minutes, look 
at the pictures and see who you know. 

“Just A Common Soldier”

A. Lawrence Vaincourt

 He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was 
falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the 
past

 Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that 
he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, 
every one

 And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales 
became a joke,

 All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew 
whereof he spoke

 But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has 
passed away,

 And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died 
today

 He will not be mourned by many, just his children 
and his wife,

 For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life

Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own 
way,

 And the world won’t note his passing, though a 
soldier died today

 When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie 
in state,

 While thousands note their passing and proclaim 
that they were great.

 Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time 
that they were young,

 But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and 
unsung

 Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our 
land

 A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow 
man?

 Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and 
strife,

 Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

 A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives

 Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that 
he gives.

 While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small

 It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago

That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but 
we know

 It was not the politicians, with their compromise 
and ploys,

 Who won for us the freedom that our Country now 
enjoys.

 Next time you see the flag go by, held in the hands 
of one of our veterans, stand and salute, for our flag 
and our veterans both deserve that honor.

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Kindle readers, give yourself the gift of the Emma 
Gainsworth Adventures:

“Just Dessert: A Fall Fantasy” – “The Intergalactic 
Pumpkin Battle” – “The Lost Amulets”

 They’re on Amazon.com on my book page!

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


CITY SET WHEELS IN MOTION FOR 
KERSTING COURT REMODEL By Kevin McGuire

After much research and discussion, City Council 
approved Resolution 18-58, agreeing upon the 
application and adoption of the Youth Employment 
Plan for a Kersting Court Remodel Project. 

 The next step is a hearing scheduled for November 
20, 2018 by the Los Angeles County Board of 
Commissioners with the desired results to include 
$300,000 in funding for Kersting Court, the main 
meeting place for shopping, dining and social 
gatherings in Sierra Madre, located where Baldwin 
Ave. meets Sierra Madre Blvd. The remodeling grant 
funds would be provided by the Los Angeles County 
Regional Park and Open Space District. 

 The community project is set to meet goals 
including ensuring the city is in compliance with 
the American Disabilities Act Report, that public 
art funds are being utilized and existing characters 
and elements of Kersting Court are maintained. 
The city is budgeted for $57, 714 for fiscal year 
ending 2018-2019 for art components in the project 
design. Other principles in the project being sought 
include preservation of the pepper tree and bell 
tower, maintenance of the flag pole and establishing 
drought-friendly landscaping and adequate seating. 

 On October 9, 2018, City Council received the 
latest proposals on the Kersting Court remodel from 
the Community Service Commission. In addition, 
a request was submitted to Lawrence R. Moss & 
Associates as the lowest bidder for the project. 

 The target for project completion is two years. A 
request for extension would be needed if the project 
is expected to exceed past two years. 


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