La Mirada Kiwanis Offering Scholarship Money for Area High School Seniors
La Mirada~Scholarships of are now available for area high school seniors students who are interested in continuing their education after high school.
For over 30 years, The Kiwanis Club of La Mirada has offered the scholarships; open to all current high school seniors. Scholarship amounts will be awarded in the amounts of $500 and $1000, totally at least $10,000.
To qualify, students must reside in La Mirada, but can be attending ANY high school. Applications are now available from school counselors at the following high schools: La Mirada, John Glenn, El Camino, Whittier Christian, and La Serna.
Students must return completed application packets by April 13th, 2012.
The La Mirada Kiwanis Board will conduct personal interviews with all the candidates on Saturday, May 5th, 2012.
La Mirada Kiwanis Scholarship Chairperson Lou Piltz says the applicants will be judged on “merit, grades, school activity; along with community involvement and accomplishments, and their financial situation.” Piltz added, “We wish good luck to all the applicants.”
Winners will be notified by a letter, and will be presented with their awards at either their graduation, or other school ceremony.
Interested students may get more information at their respective high school counselor office or by calling (714) 521-0996.
La Mirada Symphony Association Presents Third Concert of Season
The La Mirada Symphony Association invites you to attend the third concert of the "New Horizons" (2011-2012 concert) concert Season on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 8 pm. (Free concert) All concerts are free and are held at the La Mirada Theatre for Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd, La Mirada 90638
Musically travel with us to the dramatic landscape of Russia, with its vibrant people and rich traditions in "The Russians are Coming!" Musical selections will include
Festival Overture, Op. 96, Stravinsky-Suite from the Firebird (1919), Tchaikovsky-Variations on a Rococo Theme, OP 33-featuring acclaimed cellist Kihae Kim DeFazio, and 1812 Overture, OP 49, Tchaikovsky.
Kihae K
im-DeFazio began her musical education at the age of four on piano. She began playing cello when she was eight years old. . She has been awarded Korea's highest prize for musical performance, the coveted Nan-Pa award. Since Ms. Kim's arrival to the United States, she has studied with some of the world's greatest cellist; Janos Starker, Gregor Piatigorsky, and Gabor Rejto. Since the completion of her studies, Ms. Kim has appeared as soloist in a variety of venues including the Hollywood Bowl, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Wilshire Ebell Theatre, the Herbert Zipper Concert Hall, the Crystal Cathedral, the Cerritos Performing Arts Center and the Richard M. Nixon Birthplace and Library. Her audiences have encompassed school children, churches, concertgoers, and the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
Ms. Kim has more than 30 years of teaching experience and has served as a jury member for a variety of competitions and auditions. She is a coach for a variety of orchestras including the Southern California Youth Philharmonic and is a member of the Musical Arts Club, the SYMF, and the Music Teachers Association of California (MTAC).
Join us Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 8 pm. (Free concert) All concerts are free and are held at the La Mirada Theatre for Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd, La Mirada 90638
Your generous donations at the door will ensure a successful, ADMISSION FREE concert season.
Visit our website at www.LaMiradaSymphony.com
Adopt a Duck at Fifth Annual La Mirada Kiwanis Race
This Saturday After Easter Egg Hunt! Still Plenty of Time to Adopt a Duck for Big Race!
La Mirada~On Saturday, April 7th, the La Mirada Kiwanis will drop nearly 10,000 rubber ducks in the water at Splash! Regional Aquatics Center in La Mirada, while thousands of people watch the race to the finish line in hopes their duck will be the winner!
This is the Fifth Annual GOING QUAKERS FOR KIDS duck race fundraiser that helps support the La Mirada Kiwanis, many community projects, as well as other non-profit organizations that can help sell duck adoptions.
Ducks can be adopted at $5 each and $4500 ($2500 for first-place) in prize money will be distributed to the winning duck adopters. The duck buddies, (the non-profit organizations that sell the adoptions), will be able to keep 50% of their sales!
La Mirada Kiwanis is currently looking for community sponsors and selling groups for the duck race. This event is a great opportunity for local businesses to get exposure to the many people who will come out to the race.
All sponsors (starting as low as $250.00) can bring out a table, pop-up tent, and information to meet and greet with the community.
If you are interested in being a sponsor, a selling group or want to adopt a duck in the race please contact La Mirada Kiwanis at www.lamiradakiwanis.org/duckrace.htm.
Matadore Boys Head North; Girls Soccer Will Host Playoff Opener
La Mirada~The CIF-Southern Section basketball playoff match-ups were announced yesterday, with both the boys and girls teams of La Mirada High School playing on the road in the first round.
The Lady Mats, (13-12, 6-6), under second-year coach Nicole Hyde, will play at No. 10 seed Wilson High School (Hacienda Heights) Thursday in a Division 3AA first-round contest beginning at 7 p.m.
Junior Lexi Vanzuillen (avg.13 pts. a game), and senior Kalena Glover (11), lead the Matadores who enter the playoffs as a Suburban League at-large entry.
They will face a tough opponent in Wilson (20-6, 10-2), who finished second in the Valle Vista League and are riding a four-game win streak.
The boys will have a more scenic route, heading 200 miles up US-101 to Arroyo Grande High School, which is a couple of blocks from Pismo State Beach and just south of San Luis Obispo.
The Matadores (17-11, 8-4), bring a modest two-game winning streak along for the ride, finishing as the Suburban League third place team.
Led by first-year head coach Bryce Jones, the Matadores will face a very tough Arroyo Grande squad. The Eagles (18-8, 11-1), finished first in the Pac-7 League. Start time for the Division 3AAA game is 7 p.m.
You can follow both games on our Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/lamiradablog.
In Girls Soccer, the playoff brackets were announced today. The Matadores, one of the premier teams in the area, finished in first place in the Suburban League and will host the Division 3 post-season opener Friday against Cypress, a very familiar foe from years gone by. Game time is 3 p.m. at La Mirada High School
Copper Thieves Hit Gardenhill Elementary
Four Wings of the School Still Without Power as of Late Wednesday
La Mirada~Thieves stole copper wiring at Gardenhill Elementary School this past Monday evening/early Tuesday morning, leaving parts of the school without power all day Tuesday and Wednesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, four wings of the school, including the kindergarten section, remained without power as district electricians, continued to work on replacing the wiring.
The wiring was stolen from underground, with the thieves accessing two manhole covers.
"At an unknown time, 110 feet of 1¼ inch copper wiring was stolen, resulting in approximately $800-$1000 dollars in damage, said Sergeant Gary Harman of the Norwalk Sheriff's station, "As a result, two wings of the school lost power."
Gardenhill office clerk Sandy Roberts told the La Mirada Blog that she, along with the custodian noticed the theft almost immediately, "We saw two big holes in the ground, it was kind of obvious something happened."
Spaghetti Dinner and Show Goes Off Without a Hitch
La Mirada~The 32nd Annual Meals-on-Wheels Spaghetti Dinner was held Friday, January 27th at the La Mirada Activity Center.
The event, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of La Mirada, serves as a major fundraiser for the La Mirada Chapter of Meals-on-Wheels (MOW).
La Mirada Kiwanis reported that over 240 meals were served and over 350 were in attendance at the social/fundraiser.
As a guitarist played in the background, and a magician roamed the dining room, attendees feasted on some fabulous fare donated by Bon Appétit contracted food server at Biola University.
"The City of La Mirada has been very generous to us over the years, and we hope that remains the same. But, you never know, with this economy that could change. So, this event is very important to us," said Executive Director Lou Piltz, who is also a former La Mirada City Councilman.
The city provides an annual subsidy, currently around $8000, evaluated yearly. The city also in recent years has provided the venue for the event, hosted in previous years at La Mirada High School.
La Mirada MOW, since its inception, has served over 400,000 meals to shut-ins, and provides food and comfort along with support and encouragement for those unable to provide for themselves, in the La Mirada community.
International “Simpsons” Hit Comes to La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts
The Simpsons Do Macbeth in Rick Miller's internationally-acclaimed one-man show February 16, 2012 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts; His first Southern California Appearance in Six Years Marks the 25th Anniversary of The Simpsons Debut on The Tracey Ulman Show
La Mirada~Phantom Projects Theatre Group will present the return engagement of the international smash hit comedy, MacHomer, February 16, 2012 at 10AM and 7PM at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
MacHomer is a one-man performance featuring TV's favorite dysfunctional family in a hilarious multi-media performance of Shakespeare's bloodiest tragedy, complete with video projections and puppets. The script, which is 85% Shakespeare and 100% hilarious, stars Homer Simpson as MacBeth and Marge as Lady MacBeth, along with more than 50 other well-known Simpsons characters. MacHomer has played to capacity crowds across the U.S. and Canada and recently toured the world to rave reviews and awards in Scotland, England, Australia, and New Zealand.
La Mirada Presents Community Spotlight Award to Resident
Robert Esnayra Saves His Friends' Life After He Collapses While Playing Racquetball; Look For This Story in This Weekend's La Mirada Lamplighter
La Mirada~Robert Esnayra and Marco Perez were doing their usual thing this past October 31st, playing racquetball, but the day ended in a fashion they never imagined-with Robert saving Marco's life.
The two often get together at the now closed La Mirada LA Fitness to play racquetball.
On this day, while they were playing, Robert watched in fear as his partner collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. He noticed Marco was struggling to breath and also was gasping for air.
Robert immediately started performing CPR to his friend, applying compressions to his chest, and began to call for his friend to come out of it.
He acquired the knowledge of performing CPR at a police academy and other jobs he has worked at.
Marco was not responding. A worker at the gym brought Robert an Automatic External Defibrilator (AED) unit. "After I hooked up the device it indicated he had no pulse, so I followed the instructions on the machine and administered a shock," he said.
He continued with the compressions and about a minute and a half later, before another shock was needed, Marco miraculously regained consciousness.
La Mirada Presents Community Spotlight Award to Resident
La Mirada~Robert Esnayra and Marco Perez were doing their usual thing this past October 31st, playing racquetball, but the day ended in a fashion they never imagined-with Robert saving Marco's life.
The two often get together at the now closed La Mirada LA Fitness to play racquetball.
On this day, while they were playing, Robert watched in fear as his partner collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. He noticed Marco was struggling to breath and also was gasping for air.
Robert immediately started performing CPR to his friend, applying compressions to his chest, and began to call for his friend to come out of it.
He acquired the knowledge of performing CPR at a police academy and other jobs he has worked at.
Marco was not responding. A worker at the gym brought Robert an Automatic External Defibrilator (AED) unit. "After I hooked up the device it indicated he had no pulse, so I followed the instructions on the machine and administered a shock," he said.
He continued with the compressions and about a minute and a half later, before another shock was needed, Marco miraculously regained consciousness.
Splash! Water Slides to Open This Saturday
La Mirada~Enjoy the California sun in February at Buccaneer Bay's large slides, which will be open this Saturday, February 4 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The cost is $4.95 for unlimited use, and includes Recreational Swim from noon to 5 p.m. in the 25-yard pool. The slides are open for anyone 48 inches and over.
For more information, call (562) 902-3191 or visit www.SplashLaMirada.com.
