Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, January 16, 2021

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 16, 2021 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

by Deanne Davis

A WORD FROM THE 
CHIEF 


“When Life gives you lemons, tell Life to get a 
Life, ‘cause lemons are a terrible gift!”

Patrick Schell

“I believe that if life gives you lemons you should 
make lemonade then try to find somebody 
whose life has given them Vodka and have a 
party!”

 Ron White

“When life gives you lemons, grab the Tequila 
and salt!”

The week we’ve just had certainly could make one 
think it was loaded with lemons, what with Covid 
continuing to take beloved friends from us, 
distance learning making our children crazy, the 
Capitol being attacked by bizarre persons wearing 
fur-trimmed Viking horned hats and other 
assorted atrocities. Tequila and salt sounds like it 
might take our mind off some of this. 

But here’s another alternative you could consider. 
The picture is of three of the lemons that are on 
my lemon tree. There are three others, but these 
are so lovely. They won’t be there long, however, 
as I am intending to make Lemon Bars with them. Yes, I’m still four pounds heavier than I want 
to be, but I NEED these Lemon Bars. If you’ve got a lemon or two, you can have some, too.

These are easy, don’t take long to make and you can enjoy them almost immediately. 

1/3 cup butter 

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

In your electric mixer bowl, beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup 
sugar; beat until combined. Beat in 1 cup flour until crumbly. Press mixture into the bottom of an 
ungreased 8-inch square baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until just golden.

Meanwhile, for filling:

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 tb. flour

2 tb. finely grated lemon peel (more is good, lots more is better)

3 tb. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. baking powder

Whip eggs in same bowl you used for the crust. Add 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tb. flour, lemon peel, lemon 
juice and baking powder. Beat 2 minutes or until combined. Pour filling over baked layer. Bake 
20 minutes more or until lightly browned around edges and center is set. Sprinkle powdered 
sugar over top after it has cooled.

You will feel better as soon as you eat two or three or the whole pan of these. Trust me! I realize 
every other commercial on TV is for Nutrisystem, GoLo (not even sure what that is), and that 
Peloton exercise bike that leans to the left then leans to the right with some sweating person peddling 
for all they’re worth while an instructor screams at them from the screen in front of them. 
Ignore that. Have a lemon bar.

A little more about thoughts for the New Year…not resolutions, just thoughts…

“Good persons need to be talked about.”

“We have to choose JOY and keep choosing it every day.” Henri J. M. Nouwen

“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” 

“Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah the Ark builder:

1. Don’t miss the boat.

2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.

3. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark.

4. Stay fit. When you’re 60 or 70 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

5. Don’t listen to critics, just get on with the job that needs to be done.

6. Build your future on high ground.

7. For safety’s sake, travel in pairs.

8. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

9. When you’re stressed, float a while. (Or have a lemon bar.)

10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs, the Titanic by professionals.

11. No matter what the storm is, when you’re with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.”

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. And when you have 
laboriously accomplished your daily tasks, go and sleep, in peace. God is awake!”

Victor Hugo

There now, Lemon Bars and encouraging words…almost as good as Tequila and salt. 

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

“Sunrises and Sunflowers Speak Hope” 

Is available there, as is 

“A Tablespoon of Love, A Tablespoon of Laughter.”

Easter is on its way and “The Crown”

My story about what happened to that crown of thorns

Is now a real book! Also available on Amazon.com

PROTECTING YOUR HOME

I am very happy 
to tell you that 
our community 
has continued its 
downward trend 
in crime, seeing a 15% drop in overall crime 
for 2020, and that included an almost 50% 
drop in burglaries. Sierra Madre continues to 
be one of the safest cities in all of California. 

[Sierra Madre had a crime score of 16.5, which 
was well below the average of 46.8 for midsize cities 
between 10,000 and 100,000 residents. 

Sierra Madre's violent crime rate was 2.1 per 
1000 residents, compared with an average of 8.1 
per 1000 across all midsize cities.

 The city's property crime rate was 7.2 per 1000 
residents. Statewide, the average property crime 
rate in midsize cities was 21.3 per 1000.

 You can see our complete study and the rest of 
the cities here: https://advisorsmith.com/data/
safest-cities-in-california.}

 Even with that, it is important that we as a 
community continue to work together to 
keep our community safe for all people to visit, 
work, live and play. Below are some steps 
that can be taken to help make your home 
less appealing to burglars and more difficult 
to break into. 

Scout your home for weaknesses.

Have you ever took the time to look for ways 
to break in your home as if you lost your keys? 
This may sound silly, but although not for the 
same reasons, this is exactly what burglars do. 
If you can easily tell that a window could be 
pried open, a thief will defi-nitely be able to 
come to the same conclusion.

How secure are your side gates? 

Are they locked, low and easily scaleable? 

Padlocks on side gates can be a pain when it 
comes to taking the trash out, but many bur-
glary victims will tell you finding comfort after 
your home has been intruded will be far 
more uncomfortable. Most daytime burglars 
want to enter from an off the street entry 
point.

How secure are your vehicle and pedestrian 
garage doors? Garages are a gold mine for 
burglars because they contain bicycles, tools, 
and lawn equipment, all highly desired easy 
to sell items.

Keep shrubbery around entrances and 
walkways trimmed. The last thing you want 
is to make it easier for a thief to hide when 
attempting to break in, so eliminate his op-
tions for hiding spots. You could even plant 
thorny shrubs, and there are many beauti-ful 
versons, by your windows to make it not only 
difficult to break in, but painful.

How much lighting do you have around your 
home? Burglars more than anything want to 
not be seen. Something as simple as an motion 
sensitive light can be a power-ful deterent 
to crime.

Don’t advertise! Take note of any expensive 
electronics, art, or furniture that is easily 
spotted through windows. You don’t have to 
redecorate your entire home to keep ex-pensive 
items out of sight, but it doesn’t hurt to 
make small adjustments where you can. No 
need to tempt thieves any more than you have 
to. 

Keep your yard free of toys, tools, and 

ladders. A yard littered with toys signals to a 
thief that the house may be filled with equally 
interesting entertainment, like game consoles, 
tablets, or laptops.

Additional Steps

Consider forming a neighborhood watch 
program. This will give you the opportunity 
to get to know your neighbors better and 
create an invaluable awareness and commit-
ment to crime prevention in your area. You 
can contact SMPD for information and as-
sistance developing the program.

Consider a home security systems. Many 
companies are making response no-tififcation 
systems much more affordable, and there 
are audible alarms available as well….burglars 
hate noise.

Notify neighbors when on vacation. If you are 
going on vacation or your home is go-ing to 
be unoccupied for a number of days, let your 
neighbors (neighborhood watch club) know. 
Just knowing that you are not home will cause 
them to pay closer attention to your property, 
and question why that harmless carpet cleaning 
company van is parked in front of your 
home. Also, remember to schedule vacation 
checks with SMPD. 

We live and work in one of the safest communities 
in all of California….TOGETHER, we 
will keep it that way.



Rodrick Armalin

Chief, Sierra Madre Police Department

(626)355-1414

rarmalin@cityofsierramadre.com

SIERRA MADRE POLICE BLOTTER

TRESPASSING



At 10:00AM on 1-9-21 officers were dispatched to the 00 block of S. Baldwin Ave. for a report of 
an individual that had been sleeping in the lobby of the business and now refused to leave. During 
the interview process, the subject became combative making it necessary for the officers to restrain 
him. The subject was taken to a local hospital for medical clearance, then taken to Pasadena Jail. 
Case to DA’s office 

 
January 3, to January 9, 2020 
During this period the Sierra Madre Police Department responded 
to 131 calls for service. 


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