July 2015 Voice of the Village

The Voice delivers 10,000 copies every month from Montrose to Sun Valley to Lake View Terrace
Voice
Serving the Community
of Sunland-Tujunga
and Beyond
The
July 2015
Volume 6, Issue 7
Visit us online at
www.voiceofthevillage.org
Local HSR event derided as ‘dog and pony show’
By Kresse Armour
Since the High Speed Rail project
broke ground in Bakersfield, you’d be
hard pressed to find any Southern California community
willing to let Sacramento’s Iron Horse
charge through its
streets and neighborhoods at breakneck
speeds.
Nor farmers ready
to sell prime agricultural land at lower
than fair market prices. Nor environmentalists supporting the blasting of
tunnels through pristine wildlands.
Though Californians did pass the
HSR measure, it was a close vote. In
round numbers, 53% voted for and 47%
voted against the project. Hardly a ringing endorsement, and opposition from
Photo by Kresse Armour
Concerned citizens gather at Verdugo Hills High School on May 30 for the California High Speed Rail Community meeting.
both wealthy and working class neighborhoods is swelling. From the Bay
Area on south, protests are gaining
ground.
Public transportation, yes. But Sacramento’s slash and burn routing proposals? Not on your life. Impact should be
judicious, Californians are saying, with
routing paths tracking consistently with
existing high traffic corridors.
Even local city leaders are taking up
the sword. A recent community meeting
in San Fernando, sponsored by the
High Speed Rail Authority, was met
with stunning protest. It came from San
Fernando’s elected officials. Spearheaded by mayor pro tem Sylvia Ballin,
who led a small army of some 70 people, the angry group staged a coup of
sorts in the city auditorium where the
HSR meeting was being held.
With city police standing by, officials
set up their own competing sound system, and Ballin bluntly informed HSR
Authority representatives that they
were not welcome in San Fernando.
As Ballin voiced a litany of objections, HSR representatives refused to
address any of the mayor pro tem’s
See HSR, Page 2
Preserving Tuna Camp: The ‘Hitts’ just keep on coming
By Kresse Armour
Though it’s a close call, few
have been more dedicated to
preserving at least a piece of
Tuna Camp than Lloyd and Marlene Hitt. And Lloyd, who has
long led the charge to memorial-
ize the historic site, is getting a
little help from a big federal
friend. The National Park Service has announced that the site of
the former Tuna Canyon Detention Station will receive a $2.8
See HITTS, Page 2
Far left, mid-photo,
Lloyd and Marlene
Hitt join a hundred
other red-shirted
supporters at City
Hall in 2013 seeking support to preserve Tuna Camp
as a historic site.
Smokey Bear to be July 4 parade’s grand marshal
The annual July 4 parade down
Foothill Boulevard promises to be a big
hit with the crowds this year as tall,
dark and handsome Smokey Bear
serves as its grand marshal.
Squirt guns and super soakers traditionally add to the merriment enjoyed
by standing-room-only crowds on
America’s birthday.
This year the parade will roll down
the Boulevard at 10 a.m. on Saturday,
July 4.
This traditional event has long been
characterized as a summer event where
“Mayberry meets Doo-Dah,” and community participants are encouraged to
bring lawn chairs and set a spell.
Streets surrounding Foothill Boulevard
will begin to be shut down starting at
around 8:30 a.m., so parade entries
should get to the parade start and line
File photo by Kresse Armour
Photo by Kresse Armour
The best parade of summer is set to roll down Foothill Boulevard on Saturday, July 4. Start time is 10 a.m.
up by this time.
Sponsored by the Sunland-Tujunga
Rotary Club, there is still plenty of time
to join the parade – the more entries,
the merrier. Service groups, community groups, students, equestrians,
marching bands and spunky folks of all
sorts are invited to participate. For information and parade entry forms visit
the Rotary Club’s website at:
https://www.facebook.com/Sunlandrotary.
The traditional fireworks show will
go on Saturday night at Verdugo Hills
High School, where friends and families have gathered for years on the
grassy infield to enjoy a spectacular
show.
The Voice and Verdugo Hills High School in partnership to help students succeed!
Page 2
HSR ‘dog and
pony show’
Voice of the Village
July 2015
HSR, from Page 1
complaints.
San Fernando is not alone in its fight.
Earlier this year, more than 2,000 residents from the Foothills communities
gathered at All Nations Church to voice
their absolute opposition to high-speed
rail tracks being built above or below
ground –– either proposal portending a
devastating impact on the region.
Still, the HSR Authority presses on.
And residents are still protesting the
proposed routes.
As part of its “Community Open
House Meeting Series,” HSR representatives set up at Verdugo Hills High
School on May 30. Community reception was at best lukewarm, with many
attendees referring to the event as a
‘dog and pony show’ designed simply
to placate the locals. Most attendees
sported stickers featuring “E2” under a
red circle and slash, signifying their opposition to any rail routes through
forested areas.
Under a big show tent there were big
screen monitors staffed by HRS reps,
free snacks and lots of free literature.
And glum faces.
Leading the local fight against an
HSR route through the Foothills communities is “SAFE” –– Save Angeles
Forest For Everyone. The Shadow Hills
Property Owners Association is also
very active on the HSR issue. For more
information visit the website at:
www.DontRailroad.us.
Photos by Kresse Armour
A large tent was set up at VHHS for the HSR Community Meeting. HSR representatives, staffing multiple stations with
large computer monitors, discussed various aspects of the project with concerned local citizens.
Coalition gets $2.8 million from federal government
HITTS, from Page 1
million grant.
It’s a nice shot in the arm to help preserve the site’s history.
Though the process has been slow,
Lloyd said recently, “The Tuna Canyon
Detention Station Coalition is alive and
kicking.”
On December 6, 1941, a Civilian
Conservation Corps Camp was then in
full swing on the property –– one of
many facilities to come out of FDR’s
New Deal reforms. Several WPA buildings from that same era were constructed at Sunland Park. These, which
carry a far more positive legacy, are still
standing.
Today there isn’t even a wood splinter left at the site of Tuna Camp. Everything but the dirt on which it stood has
been brushed away.
It was on December 7, 1941, that
everything changed. Almost overnight
the CCC camp was transformed into
what was essentially a prison. A place
where “alien” enemies of the state
would be held. Tuna Camp was just one
of many such facilities that would be
constructed with high fences, barbed
wire and armed guards –– places where
Americans were sent by the tens of
thousands, arrested and confined without benefit of due process.
Times of war seem to bring on spontaneous and collective bouts of governmental
amnesia
regarding
Constitutional rights. And it was in such
a frenzied atmosphere of war hysteria
that on Feb. 9, 1942, that FDR signed
Executive Order 9066, which doomed
thousands of Americans, primarily of
Japanese ancestry, to incarceration in
American concentration camps.
Much later, in a rare admission of
guilt, a national apology would be issued for this monumental injustice.
Racism, more than terrorism, had been
cited as the root cause of the drastic action taken during WWII. Near the end
of his second term, then-President
Ronald Reagan would sign into law the
Civil Liberties Act of 1988. The act
granted reparations of $20,000 to
Japanese Americans who had been interned.
Following its demolition, Tuna
Camp would be made over again in the
1950s, this time into the Verdugo Hills
Golf Course.
The golf course property has since
been purchased by a developer, whose
plans are to build more than 260 homes
on the sprawling acreage.
Those who want to preserve the
memory of Tuna Camp are asking only
for an acre –– just enough land for a
small park. An acre on which live oaks
and sycamores grow. Enough land for a
historical-cultural monument to remind
people –– now and forever –– of the
horrors that racism begets.
In 2013, the Los Angeles City Council voted to conserve such an acre and
preserve Tuna Camp’s legacy of Japan-
For the record ...
you heard it here FIRST
It’s your
ese-American struggle and ultimate redemption. The council voted unanimously to declare the small plot of land
to be a historical-cultural monument.
The developer has since filed a lawsuit
challenging the city’s designation of the
site.
And the battle continues.
Recognizing its role in preserving
historic sites and providing information
about them to the public, a portion of
the Park Service grant will fund a traveling exhibition that tells the story of
Tuna Camp. In addition to a diorama,
the exhibit will include biographies of
camp detainees and interviews with the
now grown up children who were also
confined in the detention camps.
“The historic significance of this site
cannot be overstated,” Lloyd has said.
“And preserving the area would be a
positive statement that reflects both our
community and the families of those
whose fathers passed through the Tuna
Camp.”
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The
July 2015
Voice of the Village
Page 3
WILDWOOD LAKE: A Sentimental Connection
Growing Up in Sunland
By Tom Gilfoy
I had just finished swimming at Wildwood Lake and was driving down the
canyon when I saw Jack Tobin in a car
headed in the opposite direction. Jack
was an old friend from Verdugo High,
and he had two good-looking blondes in
the car with him. By my calculation, that
was one too many for him to handle by
himself. I pulled a U and took off back
up the canyon after him. Jack recognized
me and pulled over. He provided introductions, and before I knew it I was back
at the lake swimming again, but this time
with him and the two blondes
I didn’t feel much like swimming so
soon after having just finished, but, hey,
under the circumstances, who could
blame me for deciding to go again? After
all, the two blondes were pretty cute.
And, as it turned out, the decision to go
again was one of the best I ever made:
One of the blondes was Dody, the girl
who later was to become my wife. That
Wildwood meeting was 61 years ago this
month, and we’re still going strong.
Although Wildwood Lake is of obvious sentimental significance to us, it is
but one of many old swimming holes
that used to be along Big Tujunga Creek.
Of these, only two others were big
enough to be considered legitimate
swimming pools. These were Pop’s Willow Lake near Hansen Dam and the Boy
Scout pool at Camp Bill Lane. The others were much smaller by-products of a
Civilian Conservation Corp’s dam building program. These little, handmade
check dams populated the entire length
of the creek from the base of Big Tujunga Dam all the way down to the
Hansen Flood Control Basin. None were
deep enough to do much swimming, but
on a hot summer day they were still a
good place to cool off. During these preair conditioning days, my family could
frequently be seen cooling off in one of
the cold, refreshing pools at the end of
Oro Vista.
Unfortunately, the little CCC dams
couldn’t come close to handling all the
runoff from winter storms and nearly
every rainy season most were either severely damaged or completely washed
away. Fortunately, there was a goodsized CCC encampment in the canyon
where workers stood by ready to repair
Wildwood Lake In Big Tujunga Canyon, c.1954. Swimmers and sunbathers flocked to its shores on hot summer days.
the dams after the storms. That is, they
did until the devastating flood of 1938,
which not only completely wiped the
canyon clean of all the dams, but took
out almost everything else in the canyon
as well, including the CCC Camp itself.
When the two big storms of March 1938
hit –– one right after the other –– the resulting flood was one of the worst, if not
the worst, in area history. There was
widespread devastation throughout the
greater Los Angeles area with 115 lives
lost, some of which were in our own Big
Tujunga Canyon.
Because so much damage occurred in
the canyon from the 1938 flood, many
people are under the impression Big Tujunga Dam was constructed to prevent a
recurrence. But this was not the case.
The dam had been completed in 1931
and was fully operational when the 1938
flood impacted the canyon. In fact, post
flood studies credit the new dam with
preventing the flood from causing even
more damage than the terrible devastation that did occur. The new dam was
not, however, big enough to handle all
the runoff, and once it filled to capacity
emergency releases had to be made to
protect the integrity of the dam structure
itself.
The Gilfoy family swims in Big Tujunga Creek, at the end of Oro Vista (1938).
It was these uncontrolled releases that Sunland Grammar School and Verdugo
caused most of the downstream damage. High. Some of the others included
They set in motion a great wall of water, Eddie’s sister Irene, her husband Bob,
which came roaring down the canyon Norm Gillan and Jack Willard. They
sweeping away everything in its path. could frequently be seen at the lake
Eyewitnesses reported that the
wall was still 15 feet high as it
hit the mouth of the Canyon and
spread out through the Sunland
wash.
Needless to say, the wall
made mincemeat out of all the
little CCC rock dams, but this
was the least of anyone’s worries. Over 400 canyon homes
and cabins were destroyed and,
in addition to the CCC Camp,
the ranger station across from
the detention camp in the
canyon was also washed away.
There must have been some
kind of warning about the wall
of water barreling down the
canyon as before it hit the CCC
Camp, as 300 workers were
scrambling for higher ground.
Unfortunately, all of them
didn’t make it. One worker’s Tom and Dody Gilfoy at the old site of
body was found downstream Wildwood Lake where they had met 58 years
near the bridge over the wash. earlier.
Other fatalities in the canyon
included two bodies found dead
near the base of the dam. Aldoing such everyday chores as raking the
though some 28 canyon residents took
refuge in Wildwood Lodge, their stay beach sand or pushing things around
there must have been rather frightening with Pop’s tractor.
Irene has a vivid memory of going
as the lodge was itself badly damaged by
floodwaters. Ironically, although the around with an old cigar box to collect
lodge survived the flood, it was de- the 25 cents per car admission charge.
Eventually, this charge was to rise to a
stroyed by a fire in 1947.
Although the nickname “Pop” is asso- whole dollar per car. The increase
ciated with both Pop’s Willow Lake and prompted some kids to start parking
Wildwood, the reference is not to the around the bend from the pool so they
same person. James A. (Pop) Gautier de- could all pile into the same car before enveloped and operated Pop’s Willow tering the parking lot. Irene thinks Pop
Lake, whereas Bill (Pop) Justice played probably knew all about these shenanithe same role vis-à-vis Wildwood. I gans but couldn’t care less. He charged
don’t know if it was also true at Willow the same dollar per car no matter how
Lake, but Pop Justice had help from many kids were stuffed inside.
Pop Justice passed away in 1962, after
many volunteers in operating Wildwood.
One of his big-time helpers was Eddie
Campbell, a classmate of mine at both
See GILFOY, Page 4
Page 4
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Sunland-Tujunga Chamber President’s Message
By Erin Farrell, President
With summer in full swing, the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce has many activities, events and
local businesses opportunities that we
are excited to participate in and work
with, but first, I would like to give you
a few highlights from the past month.
Last month, the Sunland-Tujunga
Chamber of Commerce was honored
to participate in the opening ceremony
at the 2015 American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event held at Verdugo Hills High School. Our
multi-talented Executive Director,
Alescia Penn, sang our National Anthem for this event and will also be
singing with us at this year’s 4th of
July Family Fireworks Festival!
Congratulations to Jason’s Automotive Specialty Shop for winning the
Small Business of the Year award for
Sunland-Tujunga, presented by the
United Chambers of Commerce. I was
honored to introduce and present Jason
Abbott this award and meet and mingle
with a room full of thriving businesses
from all across the San Fernando Valley. Jason started his own business in
1995. Prior to that he was a technician
and manager of an independent Honda
and Acura shop in Montrose for many
years. With ambition and encourage-
ment from friends and family, Jason
went off on his own. He first opened a
small Honda and Acura shop in La
Crescenta and after a couple years of
growth moved to his current location in
Tujunga where he continues to grow
his business and his employees. Jason
and his team of expert service technicians are the “go to” shop for local
Honda, Acura and Toyota service. Always available. Always thorough.
Jason and his team will get you back
up and running or keep your vehicle in
top condition. Jason and Roxanne are
the proud parents of six children, reside
in Sunland-Tujunga and are always
supportive of our community’s events,
youth activities and improving the
quality of life and business in SunlandTujunga.
Special thanks to Gail Carlson,
Chamber Member and owner of
Auntie Gail’s Happy Tails Pet Sitting
& Dog Walking and Chair of the
Sunland-Tujunga
Neighborhood
Council Clean Up & Beautification
Committee and the many volunteers
who have done so much to keep our
community clean! You are our heroes.
JULY MIXER
Tuesday, July 21
6-8 p.m.
Seward Real Estate & Financial
Growing Up in Sunland
GILFOY, from Page 3
which a nephew kept things going for a
while until finally, in 1969, floodwaters
wiped out the whole development. No
attempt was made to restore the lake,
and in 1973 this small enclave of private
property was purchased by the government to become a part of the Angeles
National Forest. The Forest Service
promptly filled in what remained of the
empty basin and converted the whole
area into picnic grounds.
Dody and I managed to return to the
old Wildwood swimming hole a few
more times during the summer of 1954,
but by the end of fall we had married and
moved away from the area. We were not,
however, able to resist the lure of our
beloved foothills and in 1960 moved
back to raise our family in nearby Lake
View Terrace.
Reach Tom at: [email protected]
Lost cat $100 reward: Have you seen Foffy?
Foffy, a black neutered male cat with
green eyes and a spot of white fur on
his neck, has gone missing in the Sunland area. This very much missed family pet was last seen on 6/15/2015 near
the intersection of Scoville Avenue and
Wentworth. Please check garages and
sheds, he may be trapped and frightened. Call 661-674-0673, or 818-3060508, or 818-821-2124.
Staff Acknowledgements:
Voice of the Village is published on the first day of each month by the Sunland-TujungaShadow Hills Community Fund, a non-profit 501c3 organization established to provide financial support to student organizations at Verdugo Hills High School through matching
grants for community service performed by the students. VHHS Journalism students are encouraged to write for Voice of the Village. Content may also be submitted by people in our
community, who may send in articles, letters, photos, and announcements for publication ––
the content of which expresses the views of senders and is not necessarily that of the Voice
of the Village. The Voice promotes submission of articles on subjects of interest in our community and reserves the right to edit articles and/or to not publish them. Deadline for advertising, articles and announcements is the 15th of each month.
Manager/Publisher: Brenda Fortune
Editor-in-Chief: Kresse Armour • [email protected]
Managing Editor/Photographer: John Emig
Staff Reporter: Eric Owens
Advertising/Account Manager:
Ruth Logan • [email protected] • 818-397-3835
Distribution: John Clausen • [email protected]
Voice of the Village: P.O. Box 4323, Sunland, CA 91041
E-mail: [email protected] •• Website: voiceofthevillage.org
9687 Sunland Boulevard, Shadow
Hills
Newest Members:
• Superstore #24
• Majarian Publishing
• JFM Consulting & Advocacy
• American Cancer Society
• Concordia Schools of LA
Want to see your Sunland-Tujunga
Chamber of Commerce volunteers do
more? Join us! A great community
needs great volunteers and we cannot
do it without you! Please contact Alescia for more information: 818-3524433 and please visit the
stchamber.com website often.
Keep an eye out for business workshops, mix and mingle mixers and
events such as the First Annual Monster Ranch BBQ happening on Aug.
15. Sponsorships are available now.
This will be a fun family night out.
Wishing everyone a Happy and
Safe 4th of July! See you at the Parade and Fireworks events!
STNC Land Use Committee news
There are several new proposed projects under review. Join us at our meetings to learn more about these and other
projects. Next meeting is July 6 at 7
p.m. and will include a presentation for
a new restaurant beer and wine license
at 8005 Foothill Blvd., Sunland (currently Jimmy Dean’s Drive Thru).
7018 Valmont - Multi Residential
Development - Small Lot Subdivision 8 homes
9048 Hillrose - addition needs Specific Plan approval
10855 Eldora - Zoning Administrators Adjustment
10211-15 Tujunga Canyon Blvd. -
8 Apartments
10040 Tujunga Canyon Blvd. small subdivision
9162 Foothill - subdivision 6 homes
7027 Estepa - addition needs Specific Plan approval
More info including applications for
these and other proposals is under the
Projects menu at www.stnc.org —
Agendas are posted three days in advance of meetings.
Next meetings are July 6 and 20 at 7
p.m.
For more info contact: Cindy
Cleghorn at [email protected] or call
818-429-6699
July 2015
Voice of the Village
Looking for your own Voice?
Page 5
We deliver 10,000 copies to locations throughout Sunland, Tujunga,
Shadow Hills, Sun Valley and the Foothills communities — be sure to
get yours! Locations include:
BOLTON HALL MUSEUM
IHOP
CITY HALL NORTH
S-T BRANCH LIBRARY
DO IT CENTER
RALPHS
VONS
MISSION VALLEY BANK
STARBUCKS
VERDUGO HILLS HOSPITAL
C & M PRINTING
S-T CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
McDONALDS
GIAMELAS
ANGELES GOLF CLUB
VERDUGO HIGH SCHOOL
SWEET CHERRIES
COCO’S
0G
mD
FT
PG
$IS
J
T
U
PQIFS
4
3FZFT
Drive with caution: schoool is out!
Page 6
Collins and Reyna to
co-feature at Bolton
Hall July 26
The Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga are delighted to announce that
poets, Beverly M. Collins and Thelma
T. Reyna, will co-feature at their next
Monthly Reading Series on Sunday,
July 26, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., at the
Bolton Hall Museum, 10110 Commerce Ave., Tujunga. Poets, bring your poetry and sign-up
for the open reading. Light refreshments will be served –– a $3.00 donation is appreciated. The community is
welcome to join us for an early evening
of poetry!
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Poetry Corner
Bev (now a member of the Burbank
Historical Society) still loves watching
cartoons and whipping up a mean batch
of homemade chicken stew.
• Beverly M. Collins
Originally from New Jersey, Collins
is the author of the books, Quiet Observations-Dairy Thought, Whimsy and
Rhyme and, most recently, Mud In
Magic (Moonrise Press). Collins is one
of three 2012 prize winners for the California State Poetry Society’s yearly
competition.
Thelma T. Reyna
Beverly M. Collins
Her work has appeared in several anthologies for Poets on Site as well as
Poetry With A Dash of Salt, San Gabriel
Valley Poetry Quarterly, California
Quarterly, Altadena Poetry Review, Poetry Letter and Literary Review, Poetic
Diversities, Rubicon: Words & Art Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s DeProfundis,
Poetry Speaks! A Year Of Great Poems
And Poets calendar (Sourcebooks Inc.).
She often participates in poetry readings around Los Angeles including the
Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga’s
Monthly Reading Series at the Bolton
Hall Museum.
Back by popular demand, Verdugo
Hills High School will sponsor the
2015 Jr. Football and Jr. Cheer camps
this July 20-24, with camp held from 8
a.m. – noon each day. Participants will
enter the VHHS gate on Hillrose and
meet near field. Children should come
prepared with a packed light snack,
water bottle and sunscreen.
Coach is Sean Jackson, e-mail: [email protected]
Participating children must be between the ages of 6-12 in order to participate in this week-long camp. They
will each receive a camp T-shirt, award
and team picture. Cost is $100 with preregistration or $125 at the door. The
high school is located at 10625 Plainview Ave., Tujunga.
For more information and application forms, contact Julie Cuddihy at
818-425-9758 or e-mail [email protected]. For those pre-registering, completed forms must be received
by July 13.
Mailing address is:
VHHS Booster Club
Attn: Football-Cheer Camp
PO Box 4601
Sunland, CA 91041
• Thelma T. Reyna
Thelma T. Reyna is the national
award-winning author of four books: a
short story collection, The Heavens
Weep for Us and Other Stories (2009),
which won four literary awards; two
poetry chapbooks –– Breath & Bone
(2011) and Hearts in Common (2013) –
– which were semi-finalists in a chapbook competition; and a full-length
collection of her poems, Rising,
Falling, All of Us (2014), which also received national recognition.
Most recently, Reyna edited the
book, Altadena Poetry Review: Anthology 2015, a compilation of 105 poems
by 60 Southern California poets. She
received her PH.D. from UCLA and
serves as Poet Laureate of the Altadena
Library District.
Village
Poets
of
SunlandTujunga: http://www.villagepoets.blogs
pot.com
Jr. Football, Jr. Cheer Camp set July 20-24
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July 2015
Voice of the Village
Page 7
Woman’s Club gives scholarships to 7 HS seniors
Community News
On May 8th the La Crescenta
Woman’s Club presented its scholarships to seven very deserving high
school seniors. The recognition night
was full of joy and happiness.
Each student came to the podium to
receive their scholarship money with a
wonderful smile on their face. You
could see their family and friends in the
audience beaming with pride.
The students attend Crescenta Valley
High School and Glendale High
School. Scholarships are selected from
applications from Crescenta Valley
High School, Glendale High School,
Hoover High School and Clark Magnet
High School.
The scholarship committee spent
many hours reviewing and discussing
the applications received to pick the
most deserving seniors.
The first recipient was Odalys Mendoza, who attends Glendale High
School. She did some boxing in the 9th
and 10th grades and won the Adelante
Latino GPA Award. She works parttime, but does not let her grades suffer.
She has not made a decision as to what
college she will be attending.
He also holds down a part-time job,
but keeps up his grade average. Jose is
a cross-country athlete and also a City
Hall Ambassador. He will be attending
Glendale Community College in the
fall.
Alexandria Chwierut attends Cresenta Valley High School and has a 4.4
GPA. This young lady also has a part
time job. In 2014, she won the Duke
Talent Identification Program in Advanced Mathematics. She will be attending Cornell University. This young
Glee Camp at VHHS
planned July 27-31
The VHHS Verdugo Voices Glee
Club and Booster Club will host Glee
Camp at Verdugo Hills High School
July 27-31, 8 a.m.-noon each day.
Participating children must be between the ages of 5-13 in order to attend
this week-long camp. They will receive
a camp T-shirt, award and cast photo.
Glee Campers should enter the gate
on Plainview Avenue and meet in the
VHHS auditorium.
Participants should bring a packed
light snack and water bottle each day.
All campers must be signed in and
signed out each day.
Performances will include, among
others, a talent show and the final show
–– which will be held on July 31.
The pre-registration cost is $100; at
the door the cost will be $125. Discounts will be offered for multiple registrations.
For more information or registration
forms call (818) 425-9758 or (818)
925-8447.
Verdugo Hills High School is located
at 10625 Plainview Ave., Tujunga.
From left, Deanna
Alfeld, Odalys
Mendoza,
Alexandria
Chwierut,
Deborah Rheem,
Justin Wright,
Jose Ruiz Garcia,
and Carol
Huntwork.
lady also received a scholarship check
from the San Gabriel Valley District of
Woman’s Clubs.
Our next shining star from Crescenta
Valley High School is Deborah Rheem.
Deborah has taken 15 advanced placement courses and received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for 250
volunteer hours in one year. She also
won 1st place at Youth Inventors of
America. She will be going to Vanderbilt in the fall. Deborah was also the recipient of a scholarship check from the
San Gabriel District of Woman’s Clubs.
Makayla Mathew has spent 4 years
in marching band at Crescenta Valley
High School. She also plays the piano
and did so for the audience that night.
Makayla is a student ambassador to
Korea. She will be studying at Cal State
Channel Islands.
Crescenta Valley High School has
been the learning place for Justin
Wright. Justin has played four years on
their varsity soccer team and is listed as
one of the top 18 players in the country
getting him a scholarship to UC Davis
this fall.
Our last student receiving a scholarship check is Soli Jones. This young
lady is our Roberta Kurtz Scholarship
for the Arts recipient. Soli attends Crescenta Valley High School and plays
more than six musical instruments. She
The Sunland Woman’s Club has presented three scholarships to local students: Amber Blankenbiller of Mt.
Lukens, who received $500 from the
Vivian Dapp Memorial Scholarship
Fund; Jacky Luo of Verdugo Hills High
School, who received $500 from the
Patricia George Memorial Scholarship
Fund; and Shan Hannadige of Verdugo
Hills High School, who received $500
from the Patricia George Memorial
Scholarship Fund.
The Sunland Woman’s Club supports
qualified students each year with a
$500 scholarship to help further their
education. Starting again in September,
the Club will meet the second Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the
Center for Spiritual Living, 4845 Dunsmore Ave, La Crescenta.
Linda McCollum presents a $500 scholarship from the Vivian Dapp Memorial
Scholarship Fund to Amber Blankenbiller from Mt. Lukens School.
not only received the La Crescenta
Woman’s Club scholarship, but also
won the San Gabriel Valley Woman’s
Club District Music Contest. Soli will
be attending Cal State Long Beach majoring in instrumental performance.
The evening’s presentations began
with the local Brownie/Daisy troop presenting the flags. The troop later sang
for the audience to overwhelming applause. Cookies and congratulations
ended this wonderful evening.
If you know of or have an outstanding student that will be a senior in high
school next fall, check out our website
for an application: LACRESCENTAWOMANSCLUB.ORG
SWC awards scholarships to local students
Watermelon Festival postponed until 2016
The Sunland-Tujunga Lions Club has announced that
the 54th edition of the popular Watermelon Festival will
not be held this summer, but has been postponed until
the summer of 2016. Negotiations are underway at this time for the
venue. For information about becoming a vendor or
sponsor in 2016, please watch the website, lionswatermelonfestival.com.
Page 8
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Arts & Entertainment
Verdugo Hills
Women’s
Chorus seeking
new members
The Verdugo Hills Women’s Chorus
(VHWC) wants women who like to
sing and enjoy bringing music to others
to join in their annual “Summer Sing”
on Monday, Aug. 3 at 9 a.m. The chorus, (not associated with any church)
will meet in the choir room of La Crescenta Presbyterian Church, 2902 Montrose Avenue, La Crescenta for this fun
rehearsal. This is a chance for chorus
members to gather during the summer
hiatus and for women in the community
to investigate the “friendliest group in
town.” VHWC is a member chorus of
statewide California Women’s Chorus,
Inc. (CWC).
The VHWC has entertained in the
Verdugo/Foothills community for more
than 60 years. Currently the chorus has
a membership of 30+ friendly, energetic
and dedicated singers, led by Sharon
Schlarb, their extraordinary choral director since 1999. Sharon presents the
See CHORUS, Page 9
The Dog Days
of Summer
are Here
McGroarty ceramics exhibition
Curator Ray Yocum amid the many exquisite pieces on display at the 12th Annual Invitational Ceramics Exhibition
held at McGroarty Arts Center this past June. The show is one of many such events that McGroarty holds each
year to bring quality art into the local community. As an invitational event, the artists, professionals in their fields,
showcased museum and gallery quality pieces. There was also a separate showing of student work. For more
information about upcoming shows or classes at McGroarty, check out the website: www.mcgroartyartscenter.org
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July 2015
Voice of the Village
Page 9
Obituary
Viola Mae Paynter
Malbon: 1930-2015
Viola Mae Paynter Malbon, beloved
wife, mother, grandmother and great
grandmother, passed away on June 22,
2015, at her home in Sunland.
Viola was born in Lexington, Kentucky on July 15, 1930, the fourth of
five children. She moved to Southern
California when she was 11 years old
and attended Glendale schools.
Viola met and married Steve in 1948,
a marriage that lasted 55 years, ending
with Steve’s death in July of 2003.
They raised four children and instilled
in each the value of a good education
and a strong devotion family.
After sending her last child to school,
Viola continued her studies at CSUN
and graduated with an elementary
school teaching credential in 1963.
She began a very successful and rewarding teaching career, working primarily at Sunland and Apperson
Elementary Schools.
Viola spent her entire teaching career
working at both Sunland and Apperson
Elementary schools, and she and Steve
lived in the community most of their
lives.
Later, she continued her studies and
received a second credential in special
education and completed a Master’s degree in 1971 at CSUN.
She taught for LAUSD for 27 years
as an elementary teacher, special education teacher and an advisor to other
teachers.
Throughout her life, Viola enjoyed
crafting, sewing, crocheting and cook-
ing. She was an avid bridge player and
loved to square dance.
She loved the music of the Big Band
era and enjoyed attending old Broadway musicals with family and friends.
Viola will be remembered for her
strong belief in the value of education,
her creative and sweet nature and her
unwavering devotion and love of family.
Viola is survived by her four children: Cheryl, Pamela, Jefferson and
Kevin and their spouses, eight grandchildren and three great-grandsons.
Interment will be a graveside service at Oakwood Cemetery on July 11,
2015.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the
Donate Life Foundation, City of Hope
or to the Juvenile Diabetes Association.
CHORUS, from Page 8
chorus with a variety of challenging,
fun and enjoyable songs for their performances. She and Diana Tyson, the
most talented accompanist ever, are described as the “duo that can’t be beat.”
With VHWC, women of different
ages and interests come together on
Monday mornings with a common
bond: the love of music and the desire
to sing. They meet for “catch up” time
at 9 a.m. and rehearse until 11:30 a.m.
September to June. Members agree,
“Singing is the best way to start the
week.”
Chorus members reside in La Crescenta, La Canada, Pasadena, Altadena,
Glendale, Burbank and Sunland-Tujunga. The chorus performs in a variety
of venues, among them women’s clubs,
senior organizations and retirement living facilities throughout the Verdugo
Hills and surrounding communities.
The goal of the Verdugo Hills
Women’s Chorus is consistent with that
of CWC: to encourage choral singing
among women and to raise funds for
music awards for vocal students. If
this sounds good to you and you like to
sing, there are no auditions so please
joins us Aug. 3 at 9 a.m. for coffee and
cake. Lend us your voices and experience the joy of singing.
With a “Song In Our Hearts,” we ask
you to contact Sharon Schlarb 626-4035622 or Arlene Massimino 818-4099209 for more information. Please
RSVP if you plan to come to the Summer Sing, a very fun way to spend
Monday morning, and a packet of
music will be available for you that day.
Chorus seeks new members
Page 10
R
l
e
y
a
fo
L
r
fi e
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Relay for Life
July2015
Voice of the Village
Community walks for a cure at VHHS on May 30
Page 11
Page 12
By Kresse Armour
Voice of the Village
Coming home: Krikor Nalbantian
Sitting at his desk in Japan, former
US Air Force member Krikor Nalbantian, whose job then centered on communications signals, was bored. Not in
general, he said, but just at that precise
moment –– the exact moment that an email landed in his inbox requesting five
volunteers to go to Iraq. In a reflexive
computer click, he volunteered to be
one of the five. It was a split-second decision that would charge –– and then utterly change –– his life.
At that point in his military career,
he’d been one year in Korea and three
in Japan.
“Why did I go to Iraq?” he said, “It
was the most pointless reason. No deep
thought or moral dilemma. It was a onehundred percent selfish reason.”
Yet the outcome of a snap decision to
banish a fleeting spell of ennui, would
ultimately find him devoting his life to
the care of others; giving comfort to
people caught up in the worst time of
their lives. “My whole perception
changed,” he said.
Landing on base in the war torn
country, Nalbantian’s primary function
in Iraq was escort duty. “Force protection,” he explained. It was his job to ensure that workers –– civilian
employees, third country nationals and
local Iraqis were protected from incoming fire. He also kept a watchful eye on
the comings and goings of those who
were in and out of the camp. “Some of
them could be spies,” he said.
During those first weeks at his new
assignment, he began volunteering at
the Air Force Theater Hospital, a
MASH unit at the camp that also happened to be the main hospital in Iraq. It
was a place that saw thousands of casualties each month.
“At first I thought I might be stocking supplies,” he said. “I had no big picture idea.” And shrugging, he added,
“Those random choices have lasting
consequences.”
The hospital, Nalbantian quickly discovered, was a “one-stop shop” and received patients suffering everything
level of care and dignity.”
Nalbantian found that insurgents, especially, would often experience a kind
of cognitive dissonance during the
course of their care –– their core beliefs
being radically challenged. The treatment they received from the hospital
staff would be a universe away from
July 2015
bleeding out, he was a low priority. Stabilized, he was transported to another
facility.
Mass casualties at the MASH unit
were not unusual, and with every set of
available hands desperately needed,
Nalbantian joined the team as a volunteer medic. He received on the job
training as fast as
patients arrived.
The hospital’s
helipad saw a
steady stream of
Blackhawks and
Marine
CH46
choppers,
often
stacked in the sky,
and packed with
i n c o m i n g
wounded. As fast
as one helicopter
would disgorge a
load of gurneys
and lift off, another
would take its
place.
Helicopter rotors whipped the
air until it blew
Photo by Kresse Armour like an incoming
hurricane. Those
Krikor Nalbantian displays a Commander’s Coin that he received during his tour of duty.
unprepared for its
force would be
from stomach aches to strokes. “The their expectations.
knocked backward like spindly tumblemost common ailment was kidney
“They went from thinking ‘death to weeds.
stones,” he said. “The water there had Americans, you’re here to kill me,’”
The sound was deafening. “It made
a high mineral content.”
Nalbantian said, “to wanting to stay verbal communication impossible,”
No one in need was ever turned after two weeks of care. We made them Nalbantian said, underscoring the imaway. In addition to American military feel comfortable. We respected their re- portance of preparation and teamwork.
personnel, “We accepted any and all in- ligion, their culture, their diet. We “Know your role, know your hand sigjured,” Nalbantian said. “Everybody didn’t force things on them, ‘like you’re nals. Follow protocol: check for life or
was welcome: terrorists, insurgents, getting pork chops for dinner.’ We pro- death, breathing, pulse, bleeding.
local Iraqis. We didn’t care ‘who,’ it vided culturally appropriate meals. It Everyone has a specific duty to assess,
was what happened to them that mat- didn’t matter who they were. We took so when the injured soldier arrives in
tered, and then they would be treated.
care of them.” That compassion was the ER he or she receives ‘focused
“We treated everyone with the same something that helped to soften long- care.’
standing ideologies.
“It’s order through chaos,” he said,
Even in the open-door atmosphere of describing a well-rehearsed medical
this high-volume hospital, an unusual choreography that plays out as each
case among those that poured in was an new batch of wounded is prepared for
old man in his 80s, who arrived in the surgery. “Everyone knows what to do,
midst of a mass casualty event. “He there are blood bags, portable X-rays,
turned out to be the Polish Ambassador IV lines. “Most end up in the ER,” he
on a diplomatic mission,” Nalbantian said. “It’s not a question of ‘if’, but of
recalled. And though the man had suf- ‘when.’”
fered a stroke, he was nonetheless releIn the aftermath of horrific trauma –
gated to the bottom of the treatment list.
See COMING HOME, Page 15
In a climate where others might be
July 2015
Voice of the Village
‘Day Trippers’ return to Crow’s Nest July 25
The Crow’s Nest Sports Grille, in
Tujunga, will host the return of the Day
Trippers on Saturday, July 25, at 8 p.m.
Day Trippers is an all ages musical
journey incorporating the sounds of The
Beatles (John, Paul, George and
Ringo), as well as the music from the
solo years of John, Paul, George, and
Ringo! The band is the brainchild of
local Tujunga resident, Steve DeAro
(who has performed/recorded with
Harry Nilsson, Eric Carmen and members of The Turtles), and
recreates/interprets in their own
“style” a Fab Four music performance (without the wigs & makeup)
that is a new, creative and unforgettable “blast to the past.”
Performing a vast music catalog
of eclectic and familiar songs to
enjoy, a Day Trippers performance
ensures, “A splendid time is guaranteed
for all!” The July 25 show is an “all
ages” performance. The Crow’s Nest is
located at 7279 Foothill Blvd. Tujunga.
No cover. For more information, call
818-352-0852.
The New Heaven On Earth Ranch is
inviting people to make a difference in
the lives of young equestrians by becoming early sponsors for NHOER’s
annual Summer BBQ set for Sept. 12.
Sponsorships begin at $100.00.
New “Heaven on Earth” Ranch
(NHOER) is a 501c(3) public charity.
ID# 27-2613489. All donations are tax
deductible; 9845 Foothill Place Lake
View Terrace, CA 91342; 818 4705235. Email: [email protected]. Website:www.NHOER.org. Like us on
Facebook under New Heaven on Earth
Ranch.
On Tuesday, July 7, Bethel Church,
10725 Penrose St., Sun Valley 818-7674488, will offer a showing of the film
“Paddington” (rated PG). This family
tale involves Paddington Bear, who’s
rescued at a train station and taken
home by a young boy. Paddington
adapts quickly to city life, but there’s an
evil taxidermist in town. The video will
be preceded by a potluck supper. The
potluck starts at 6:30 p.m. The video
presentation starts at 7:15 p.m., followed by desert and discussion at about
8:45 PM. Free.
NHOER to host
September 12 BBQ
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‘Paddington’ July 7
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Lost dog
Page 13
Missing female dog:
Help bring this special-needs pet home!
Charlotte is a long hair Chihuahua mix. She is golden with black highlights. Her tail is luxurious like a fox. She is microchipped. She was last seen
at Waltonia & Crescent on May 20. Char takes meds for seizures and severe
allergies. Twitches: she spins when excited. She shakes and bobs her head
due to previous injury. Please help us find her. She is our precious rescue
girl and a big part of our family. Call with any information: 818-209-5251
or e-mail to [email protected].
Page 14
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Rotary
fundraiser:
Father’s
Day fun
and
pancakes
Community News
Photo by Kresse Armour
McGroarty Arts Center provided the
backdrop for a Rotary fund-raising
pancake breakfast. The SunlandTujunga-Shadow Hills Rotary Club
holds many events throughout the
community each year, including the
annual July 4th parade. The club is
meeting Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m.
at Sweet Cherries restaurant on
Foothill Boulevard in Sunland. New
members are always welcome.
July 2015
Voice of the Village
Ninety-nines
honor members
Page 15
––––––––––
Photos by
Lilian Darling
Holt
––––––––––
Above, from left,
‘Rookie Pilots of the
Year,’ Dea ‘Cooper’
Payette and Lisa Fusano, receive their
awards from Nora
Feddal. Right, from
left, Anastasia
Vetrova receives the
‘Aviation Career
Scholarship’ from
Jeanne Fenimore.
Below, from left,
Faraz Amirfarzaneh
receives the ‘Kimberly Johnson Memorial Award’ from
Paula Sandling.
For more info:
www.sfv99s.org
Top, Anne Marie Radel receives the ‘Chairman’s Award’ from the
San Fernando Valley Chapter of the Ninety-Nines. Above, from left,
Paula Sandling presents the ‘Schubert Service Award’ to Nora
Feddal, Jeanne Fenimore is at right. At left, from left, John Clausen
receives the ‘Friend of the Ninety-Nines Award’ from Ruth Logan.
Veteran’s wartime experience leads to medical goals
COMING HOME, from Page 12
– over long days and into the night ––
Nalbantian cared for the recovering
wounded. “I loved what I was doing,”
he said. “It mattered. I had reached ultimate fulfillment. If I died in the next
minute, so be it.”
Halfway around the world, Krikor
Nalbantian had found has calling.
But four months after arriving in
Iraq, his time was up. “I wanted to
stay,” he said, “But my tour of duty was
over.”
Coming home, his time in the military would prove a double-edged
sword: he had found absolute life purpose, but had also been diagnosed with
Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He’s
on medication and smiles a little when
he says that fireworks don’t freak him
out like they used to.
Stateside, he has rechanneled his
medical efforts into a civilian career.
He’s earned his LVN and plans to become an ER trauma nurse. Currently
employed at the North Valley Convalescent Hospital, his is one of just three
male nurses on staff.
Noting that nursing has become a female dominated profession, he insists
“there is nothing wrong with caring and
nurturing,” and finds great satisfaction
in helping others. “Being a nurse is all
I want to be,” Nalbantian said. “Not the
doctor. They’re the generals. Nurses are
the ground troops, the foot soldiers. I’m
a foot soldier.”
He has experienced some difficulty
in re-acclimating to civilian life. Every-
thing feels foreign, he says. “The last
year has been really hard…losing social
circles. There are consequences to what
you do in life.”
But he doesn’t regret the decision to
join the military or to go to Iraq. “As
long as I can continue my job of being
a nurse,” he said, “it’s the place I feel
comfortable, where I belong, where I
connect. That’s home. It’s where I want
to be.”
He sees himself ultimately as joining
an organization like Doctors Without
Borders. “I would be the guy who
would walk into the office and say,
‘What’s the one place that no one wants
to go?’ and that would be the place that
I would want to go.”
Sorely missing the excitement that he
experienced in Iraq, he admits that his
professional dedication –– long hours,
volunteering for extra shifts –– is something of an addiction. “But a mostly
healthy one,” he says, although he expects that one day he may just “plop
down dead at work.”
He misses Iraq. If he had the chance
to re-up, he would leave this minute. He
wouldn’t even go home to pack. You’d
simply find his car parked in a very
long-term lot.
Local American Legion Post No. 377
is located at 10039 Pinewood Ave., Tujunga. Phone 818-353-9856. Commander is Paul Pangburn. It’s an active
post that sponsors a number of programs and activities. For help with Veteran’s benefits, contact the post and ask
for Tom Smoker.
Page 16
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Balla receives 2015 Alumnae Panhellenic Scholarship
The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic is proud to announce the award of
a scholarship to high school senior Jordan Balla, a student at Village Christian
who resides in Tujunga, who will attend
San Diego State University in the fall.
Awards of varying amounts are given
annually to eligible area high school
senior women who are planning to attend a four-year college or university in
the fall, as well as to eligible area college women who are active members in
good standing of an NPC sorority.
The Glendale Area Alumnae Panhellenic, which sponsors an annual benefit
luncheon to raise money for the scholarships, is a community-based organization encompassing the Glendale,
Burbank, La Canada, La Crescenta,
Sunland and Tujunga areas, with member volunteers from one of the 26 sororities recognized by the National
Panhellenic Conference (NPC).
Glendale Panhellenic officers and
volunteers for the 2014-2015 year include President Janice Paul, La Canada
Flintridge, Delta Delta Delta; Vice
President/Benefit Chair Georgine
Archer, Burbank, Delta Gamma; Secretary Kim Westhoff, Glendale, Alpha
Omicron Pi; Treasurer Elaine Chapman, La Canada Flintridge, Kappa
Kappa Gamma; Scholarship Social
Chair Jerri Johnson, Pasadena, Sigma
Sigma Sigma; Scholarship Chair Julie
Weller, Glendale, Delta Zeta; Scholar-
ship Committee members Cathy
Daniel, South Pasadena, Pi Beta Phi,
and Lynne Graves, La Canada
Flintridge, Alpha Delta Pi; and
Files/Recommendations Chairs Rondi
Werner Redmann and Deb Ann Orfalea, Glendale, Zeta Tau Alpha.
High school or college woman interested in information about or assistance
with NPC sorority recruitment in the
fall 2015 or spring 2016 can find information on our website: www.glendalepanhellenic.org.
Jordan Balla
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July 2015
Voice of the Village
Page 17
VHHS sports News
In high school sports, summer is conditioning time
By Andrew Angelastro
Summer is here at Verdugo Hills High School,
and that means that it’s time for students to enjoy
their vacation. However, it doesn’t mean that all students have to stay home. There are still extracurricular activities available over the summer, including
summer sports conditioning.
The sports that are coming up in the fall semester
are football, girls tennis, basketball, girls volleyball,
girls golf, boys water polo, and cross-country.
Football has already started their conditioning,
but the incoming freshman will have the chance to
start their training over the summer to try and make
the team. The two teams that the students can try out
for are junior varsity and varsity.
Girls tennis starts their conditioning next school
year, so any students who are interested can practice
by themselves over the summer.
The basketball team has already started conditioning, but anytime is a great time to start practicing for
next year.
Girls volleyball had a good season last year, and
they are ready for conditioning this next school year.
Girls golf is going to train starting next school
year.
Boys water polo will start after summer school is
over.
Cross-country will start their training next school
year and is a great option for any runners who might
be interested.
That’s all the sports that will be conditioning for
the next school year.
‘Super Duo’ of coaching leads boys, girls volleyball
By Cristian Morales
Volleyball has many great
players that do amazing work,
and the teams as a whole excite
the crowd with their skills on the
court. Though the players have
what it takes, we have the coaches
to thank for managing amazing
teams. Both William Reinhart and
Daren McCrary are coaches in
volleyball and have helped the
teams shoot far.
Coach Reinhart first began
coaching 19 years ago when he
first began teaching. Don Scott,
the athletics director at the time,
asked Reinhart if he would like to
coach the boys volleyball team.
Reinhart agreed and started
coaching the boys volleyball team
in 1996. Two years later, Coach
Reinhart also started to coach the
girls volleyball team in 1998.
When asked why he enjoyed
the sport, Coach Reinhart said,
“Well, I like the pace of the game.
It’s a very quick game. I like the
spirit of the game which is a little
bit on the layback, sort of fun side
as opposed to some sports which
are very focused on aggression
and very focused on intensity at
all times, and volleyball has elements of that but it also has a
kickback nature to it, too.”
In 1984, the Olympics were
held in Los Angeles, and Reinhart
was just entering Verdugo Hills
High School as a freshman. Reinhart attended some of the games,
and he was interested and wanted
to try playing volleyball. He then
tried out for Verdugo volleyball,
made the team, and became the
team captain.
Coach McCrary is the second
coach for the volleyball team.
This past season was his first time
being a coach, and he had a great
time coaching the players. After
he was asked about his experience coaching for the first time,
McCrary replied, “It reminded me
of when I first started teaching almost 20 years ago, and it was
very new to me, so I was learning
the actual game or the principles
like I would do with a classroom.
At the same time, I was dealing
with young people, so exciting is
a nice way to put it; terrifying is
another way to put it, and they’re
both true at the same time. It was
a very new thing for me. I enjoy
that.”
Coach McCrary has had an enjoyable experience coaching the
players and is looking forward to
coaching volleyball again in the
seasons to come.
Coach Reinhart and Coach
McCrary are friends who coach
hard together. McCrary may be
new to the sport, but he is learning rapidly, and he’s ready to
coach next season. With these two
coaches, next season for both
Boys volleyball and Girls volleyball will be a promising one!
Volleyball coaching
“Super Duo”
William Reinhart
and Daren
McCrary.
Verdugo Hills High School sports statistics roundup
By Edward Tatulian
Verdugo had amazing teams this year. From
beating Poly, to entering tournaments and championships, this year has been a good year for sports
at Verdugo. Fall season saw some great sports.
Verdugo varsity football had done well under
Coach Chad Runnels, getting a win-loss ratio of 74 overall and 5-1 in league. Verdugo varsity football was able to beat rivals Francis Polytechnic
High School 26-15. Verdugo varsity football’s
season ended on November 14th when the Verdugo varsity football team lost to San Fernando
High School 15-12 in the first round of the 2014
CIF Los Angeles City Section High School Football Playoffs for Division II.
As always, Verdugo had a fantastic girls varsity
volleyball team, acquiring a win-loss-tie ratio of
22-9-2 overall and 10-2 in league. Verdugo varsity
volleyball had beaten rival Poly with a shutout
score of 3-0 on September 29th and on October
23rd. Verdugo went on to win the 2014 CIF Los
Angeles City Section Volleyball championship for
Division III by beating Franklin 3-1 on November
22nd. Verdugo varsity girls volleyball team’s sea-
son ended on November 25th after a 3-0 loss to
Sage Hill in the first round of the CIF State Girls
It’s been a good
year for student
sports at VHHS
Volleyball Championships Presented by Farmers
in Division III.
Winter saw the greatness that was boys varsity
basketball and girls varsity soccer. Boys varsity
basketball had an amazing season, getting an 1814 win-loss-ratio overall and a 10-2 in league
placing them second in the East Valley Basketball
Standings. Both losses from league were from
Poly, who was first in the East Valley Basketball
Standings with a league win-loss ratio of 11-1.
Verdugo varsity basketball’s season was ended in
their third loss to Poly by a score of 50-49 on February 20th. Girls soccer went from a rebuilding
season to a ring, winning the CIFLACS Girls Soccer Playoffs in Girls Division III, after beating
Maywood on March 6th by 3-1 in shootouts. Their
season ended on March 10th to Cathedral Catholic
High School as part of the 2015 CIF Southern
California Regional Girls Soccer Championship.
In spring, our varsity boys baseball team
bloomed, getting only 2 losses in league and winning 18 games overall. Verdugo went second in
the East Valley Baseball Standings, right behind
Poly’s 11-1 win-loss ratio. The Verdugo varsity
baseball team’s season ended on May 19th when
victory was nipped away from them by El Camino
Real. Though Verdugo had lost in the first round
of the CIFLACS Baseball Playoffs for Division I,
it was to El Camino Real, the team that went on to
the tournament’s finals.
Verdugo has seen many great teams with even
greater ones still to come.
Page 18
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Voice of Eric
By Eric Owens
It’s that time of year again, when you
pull out a tissue and cry over a loved
one’s shoulder who just graduated from
either high school or college. Three
hundred twenty-two students from Verdugo Hills High walked across the
stage to shake hands with now fouryear principal Dr. Edward Trimis on
Wednesday, June 3. Seniors Sunshine Espinoza, Cade
Oost and Taylor Nordhagen gave commencement speeches, and two-time
City Champion Beth Blackwell performed a beautiful rendition of the song
“My Wish.”
Fellow graduating students Troy
Richards, Matt Cuddihy, Carter Otte,
Staci Kramer, Aaron Cabral and Karina
Valencia join the list of famous students
who went to Verdugo –– after appearing in the new music video “Pasadena”
by the Russian Pop trio Pompeya.
Other famous students include:
Cameron Evans in Taylor Swift’s
“Shake It Off” music video, Mike Stanton of the Miami Marlins and US Congressman Buck McKeon.
Several local college students were
named to their schools’ dean lists:
Pamela Bogust (Fort Lewis), Siouneh
Shabandari (Cal State Long Beach),
Danny Dixon (USC), Carly Holland
and Ryan Moguel (Cal Lutheran), Abigail Roberts (Simpson) and Emily
Summertime is
snake time, so here
are some safety tips
Rawlings (George Fox). Congrats to all
of you. In other local news, the Dons’ A Cappella came out with the song “Rather
Be” to singer Wayne Remington posting covers on YouTube. QB Gage Van
Kempen captured his golfing and fishing adventures via GoPro and posted
to
them
Yo u T u b e .
Van Kempen
will be playing football
for Glendale
College in
the fall. A Cappella
feat u r e s
vocalists:
Blackwell,
Luz
Rodriquez, Jade
Lane, Kai
Taruc, Samantha Marquez, Kasidee Reconsal, Ellie and Anali Galindo, Leone
Rossie, Judd Oliden, Alyssa Mei,
Stephanie Reynolds, Sydney Donovan,
Amanda Brooks as well as Jeremy Elliott and beat boxer Glenn CoCo Soracco. The Crow’s Nest, located in Tujunga,
was the site of a free Comedy Show on
June 17, which was produced by Dons
Baseball’s Nelson Ventress and Conner
McNutt. The show featured Allen
Strickland Williams from the TBS program ‘Conan,’ Melissa Villasenor of
America’s Got Talent, Moses Storm
of MTV, Whitmer Thomas of FXX,
Krystal the Pistol, Nathan Mosher, Aiko
Tanaka, Brodie Reed and the Chroma
Keys.
Also this month, Jon Owens and
A round-up of sports
news and life events
from our community
Renee Menart started Go Fund Me
pages to raise support for their organizations, while three-time City Section
Champion Ariana Espindola received
her license. Crusader athletes James
Ripple and Jesse Hanckel – a 2X league
champion in baseball – committed to
Utah Valley and Fresno State, while
four locals traveled around the world to
China (Brittany Pubols), Lassen Volcanic National Park (Maddie Shannon),
Fiji (Paige Phillips) and Hungary (na-
All Things Animal
1. Please don’t kill it!! They are important to the ecosystem. They are
keeping our rodent population down. If
you can just leave it and warn nearby
people, that’s best.
2. You can also call a local reptile
rescue or herpetologists group, and they
may be able to move the snake for you.
3. If you MUST destroy it, be very
careful in handling afterwards because
the teeth and head are still toxic.
And, be aware, trying to kill a rattlesnake can get you bitten!
Dear Dana,
I’ve been seeing snakes in my yard
lately. Should I be concerned?
~Snaky in Sunland
A few TIPS & MYTHS to dispel:
1. The size of the rattler doesn’t matter. They say the babies cannot control
their venom, but the adult has more
venom. The adult’s larger mouth is
more likely to be able to get its back
teeth into someone than a baby rattler’s
mouth. It’s safe to say you do not want
to be bitten by either one!
2. If you see a rattlesnake, and if you
CAN, the best thing to do is back away
and ignore it. They are as afraid of you
as you are of them. (I hike weekly in the
Angeles National Forest and have happened upon plenty of rattlers. They
often do not rattle. They are often not
found in the coiled position. I have literally walked right over them several
times. They froze until we passed. They
were terrified.
We are not prey.
An attack will only happen if the animal is frightened or threatened. (I am
NOT recommending walking over rattlesnakes. I’m just stating what my reality has been so far. Rattlers are
tional champion Dons cheer coach
Nancy Meraz). Chris Davidson was named the
Olympic League MVP for the 2nd season in a row at the VCS’ banquet at
Round Table Pizza in La Canada on
June 19.
Davidson, a Coastal Carolina recruit,
went 10-1 with a 0.88 ERA this past
season. Senior utility player Jesse
Hanckel as well as junior infielders
Cameron Wetherby and Gordon Ingebritson were named to the Olympic
League first team for Village.
VCS fell in the third round of the CIF
Division 5 playoffs to host Hemet in the
eighth inning on a walk-off home run. As for CV, UCLA signee Brian
Gadsby got the start at Mission Viejo in
a CIF Division 2 semifinal game. Gadsby, a first time All-Voice selection, allowed 10 hits and three earned
runs with no strikeouts in a 4-2 loss. Beth Blackwell will be the player of
year as well as first teams honors
in three-time CIF champion Ariana Espindola (volleyball, soccer, track),
Makayla Nichols, Cade Oost, Carter
Otte, Marco Quintanar, Grant
Mona, Brian Gadsby and Staci
Kramer. Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton
leads all of Major League Baseball in
home runs with 26 and RBIs with
66. Stanton played baseball at Tujunga
Little League and Verdugo Hills High.
**Mostly though, you are going to
see KING SNAKES (they will shake
their tail at you, too!), which EAT rattlers –– and GOPHER SNAKES, which
eat, well, you know! These snakes are
harmless to humans!
dangerous!)
3. When you hike in brushy, chaparral-type areas make some noise as you
go. Drag a stick. Talk loudly to your
friend (because you shouldn’t hike
alone!). This will keep most wild animals far away. If you come across a log,
don’t step over, step ON it, then over. If
you are climbing, try to see where you
are putting your hands before you put
them there.
4. In your yard, just watch out. They
can be in the vegetation, or anywhere
really. Keep yard clear of debris piles.
Piles of “stuff” attract rats, snakes and
other wildlife.
5. Rattlers are more likely to be
found where gophers are. So, if your
yard is gopher friendly, it will also be
rattler friendly. (They don’t like watered lawns, I hate to admit.)
What to do if you find one?
Should you have any questions about
rattlesnakes or other local reptiles,
please do not hesitate to email
[email protected] or call 1-818305-HERP.
We are so lucky to have such a wide
variety of native wildlife in our local
areas. Keep your eyes open- you just
might spot some!
Contact info is: [email protected]. Dana Stangel is the Founder
and Executive Director of Teranga
Ranch, a local wildlife education and
reptile rescue organization. She is a credentialed Biology teacher and a returned Peace Corps volunteer.
July 2015
Voice of the Village
Page 19
Scenes from VHHS
2015 graduation
School News
Photos by Eric Owens, Daily News,
and event participants
Top, Principal Trimis and Abby
Rickett. Left, Dons teacher Mr.
Peterson’s ‘selfie’ with graduates. Below left, Matt Cuddihy
and Erick Cunningham.
Below, Jon Owens. Bottom
left, Cade Oost and Beth
Blackwell. Bottom right, Grant
Mona and friends.
Summerfest!
Page 20
Voice of the Village
July 2015
Right, face painting was all part of the
Summerfest fun. Top right, Ronald
McDonald gets the kids laughing out
loud at his antics with a hoola-hoop.
Below, volunteers from the Wildlife
Waystation, who brought a variety of
animals, give this climbing lemur a
boost.
Photos by Kresse Armour
Above, the ‘Boys of Summer’ played Eagle’s tunes to a toe-tapping nightime
crowd at Summerfest, which was held at Sunland Park this past June. At left,
kids make the acquaintance of a friendly pony. At right, volunteers helped to staff
one of the many pet adoption booths set up at the event.
Far left, kids at Summerfest
are treated to some of the
world’s biggest bubbles. Near
left, employees of Haggen
grocery store generously
handed out reusable bags
with fresh fruit, water and
coupons. Above, kids try their
luck at one of the festival’s
many carnival attractions.