Gang Member Armed With Assault Rifle Arrested in La Mirada
La Mirada~Deputies from the City's Special Assignment Officers (SAO) team apprehended a confirmed gang member from a neighboring area in La Mirada on Oct. 23. The suspect was armed with a Ruger Mini 14 assault rifle slung across his chest, concealed beneath his clothing.
Working on a tip from a neighboring law enforcement agency, the SAO Deputies spotted the suspected gang member driving southbound on La Mirada Blvd. After conducting a traffic stop at the intersection of La Mirada Blvd. and Imperial Hwy., Deputies quickly moved in on the suspect and two other passengers suspecting he was armed.
During the investigation, Deputies discovered the suspect also had a high capacity magazine loaded with nearly 20 live rounds in one pocket, and methamphetamine in another pocket.
The suspect was arrested for possession of a controlled substance while armed with a firearm.
NLMUSD Board President Hengler Voted Out of Office
Norwalk~The evening started with seven candidates, including four incumbents, hoping to capture one of four opens seats on the Norwalk-La Mirada School District Board of Education- when it ended the president was voted out of office.
In what some would call an upset, board president Ed Hengler, 80, a retired educator and on the panel since 1997, was ousted Tuesday night by challenger Sean Reagan, 38, a teacher at Cal High in the Whittier High School Union District. Hengler finished in sixth place.
Incumbent Margarita Rios, 43, a police sergeant for the Los Angeles School District led all candidates with 2,128 votes and incumbent Darryl Adams, 52, a teacher, finished second with 1,965 votes.
Reagan was third with 1,758 votes and incumbent Ana Valencia, 46, a teacher, received 1,637 votes, rounding out the field of winners.
Challenger Salvador Limon, 26, a special education teacher received 1,460 votes finishing fifth, 177 votes shy of Valencia. Mark White, 53, a field technical engineer, placed seventh with 959 votes.
At one point during the night, it appeared another incumbent might be in trouble when Limon pulled within less than 100 votes of Valencia, but she was able to hold him at bay.
Leading up to the election, Hengler criticized Reagan for running for a spot when his own child doesn't even attend school in the district. Reagan lives in Norwalk and has stated child care convenience as the reason his child attends school in Cerritos and not in the NLMUSD.
Voter turnout was poor. The district area has a registered voter base of over 60,000 and there are 19,000+ students enrolled in the NLMUSD, yet it appears well under 10 percent of people turned out to vote.
Table courtesy County of Los Angeles Registrar Recorder
International Artist Highlights LM Arts Meeting
La Mirada~The Arts Colony of La Mirada will hold its November meeting on Monday, November 4 at the Resource Center in the La Mirada Civic Center Complex at 13700 La Mirada Blvd beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The demonstrator will be Juan "McGoo" Valencia, a watercolorist. McGoo is originally from the Philippine Islands and is an internationally distinguished artist.
The meetings are open to the art appreciating public.
For further information you may call 562-941-4116, 563-245-7940, 562-325-5954 or visit www.acolm.com.
Road Closure Scheduled for Valley View Avenue 10/25-10/28
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La Mirada~Valley View Avenue will be closed between Rosecrans Avenue and Gannet Street from 7:00 PM on October 25th to 5:00 AM on October 28th.
Businesses within the closure will be open and accessible during this period.
The Valley View Grade Separation Project, a shared effort by the Cities of La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs, Caltrans, and BNSF Railway, has made significant progress over the summer months and construction crews have successfully completed excavation work and construction of the new BNSF Railway bridge, which will separate railroad activity from pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic.
The project is ready for another major milestone as crews work to move the railroad tracks onto the new bridge this weekend.
The track relocation is scheduled to take place over this weekend and will require Valley View Avenue to be fully closed during that time.
Motorists traveling southbound on Valley View can get around the closure by turning westbound on Rosecrans, left on Marquardt, left on Borate, right on Anson, continue on to Gannet and back to Valley View.
Motorists traveling northbound can turn left on Gannet, continue on to Anson, left on Borate, right on Marquardt, right on Rosecrans and back to Valley View.
Follow detour signs and drive safely as motorists attempting to get to the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet will also be in the mix.
For questions you may call (562) 926-6334 or you can visit www.vvgs.org for more information about this project.
Public Safety Poster Contest Winners Highlights City Council Meeting
| Kindergarten & First Grade | School |
| 1st-Joseph Jung | Eastwood |
| 2nd-Sarah Wondwosen | Escalona |
| 3rd-Riku Maldonado | Gardenhill |
| Second & Third Grade | |
| 1st-Adrian Hidalgo | La Pluma |
| 2nd-Natalie Craig | Escalona |
| 3rd-Roma Vashi | Escalona |
| Fourth & Fifth Grade | |
| 1st-Nicole Vuong | Escalona |
| 2nd-Trinity Delacruz | Beatitudes |
| 3rd- Marissa Gordon | Dulles |
| Sixth through Eighth | |
| 1st-Berlyn Gonzales | Beatitudes |
| 2nd-Jannah Orbita | Beatitudes |
| 3rd-Jocelyn Diaz | Beatitudes |
| Ninth through Twelfth | |
| 1st-Natalie Day | La Mirada |
| 2nd-Erick Rodriguez | La Mirada |
| 3rd-Dimitri Moreno | La Mirada |
La Mirada~Public Safety Poster Contest winners were presented with their awards at last night’s city council meeting.
Children in kindergarten through twelfth grade participated in this year’s contest. The poster contest promotes safety awareness among La Mirada students. This year’s theme was “Play it Safe.”
Please see table for a complete list of winners.
In other City Council news:
-Introduced Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Kevin Beggs as the new La Mirada Service Area Lieutenant and Sergeant Marc Boskovich as the new Sergeant for La Mirada's Special Assignment Officers Team.
-The City is looking into the possibility of becoming a charter city and at the council meeting, after a recent application process, five residents were sworn in to serve on the City Charter Exploratory Committee.
-The Council presented Molie Schartoff with a 90th birthday recognition certificate.
-The City Council proclaimed October 21-25, 2013 as Red Ribbon Week in the City of La Mirada and made a presentation.
-A presentation was made by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation recognizing La Mirada's business friendly efforts.
Book Dedication Event for New La Mirada History Book
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| The compilers of "Reflections of McNally's Mirror," Glen Cantrell, Tony Aiello and Raymond Fernandez seen here at the Neff Barn, will be attending a Book Dedication at Oxman's Surplus. |
A new history book about La Mirada, by those who lived it
La Mirada~The first history book published about the history of La Mirada since 1970, compiled by two former childhood residents and a La Mirada native, is now complete and available for purchase.
The book, “Reflections from McNally’s Mirror,” at 9 x 6 x 2 inches features 172 pages of early La Mirada history up until the 1980’s, 138 personal stories sent in from La Mirada residents, and 292 rare pictures and photos.
Also included in the book is the entire history of the La Mirada City Council races from incorporation to today and includes the winners and all candidates.
The last history book written about La Mirada was the iconic “La Mirada: From Rancho to City” by C.W. Bob Camp published in 1970.
“Reflections from McNally’s Mirror” has been dedicated to the late Jerome Oxman, community activist and founder of Oxman’s Surplus who passed away in February of this year at 97.
There will be a special Book Dedication Event at Oxman’s this Saturday, October 26th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
There will be an opportunity to purchase the book and meet the three authors-Glen Cantrell, Raymond Fernandez and Tony Aiello.
Oxmxan’s Surplus and Museum is located at 14128 Rosecrans Avenue, just east of Valley View Avenue.
The book is also available for purchase from Xlibris Publishing at www.lamiradabook.com.
Great Fun for the Whole Family at Halloweenfest 2013 at the Neff Estate
Costumed superheroes, fairy princesses, ghost and goblins will fill the night with laughter at the City of La Mirada’s annual Halloweenfest on Wednesday, October 31 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Historic Neff Estate.
The event will feature a haunted maze, Jack-O-Lantern contest, games, crafts and tasty food for sale. This family-oriented event is perfect for all ages.
A costume contest for patrons and their pets will take place throughout the evening. Arrive early to enter and win!
The costume contest categories and start times are as follows:
Pets, 4:40 p.m.
2 and under 5:00 p.m.
3 to 5 5:30 p.m.
6 to 8 6:00 p.m.
9 to 12 6:30 p.m.
13 and up 7:00 p.m.
For more information, call Community Services at (562) 943-7277.
UPDATED: Brush Fire Spreads to Home on Fairhope Drive
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| Smoke rises from a home in La Mirada Wednesday afternoon. Photo courtesy @maand3 |
La Mirada~Los Angeles County firefighters earlier battled a structure fire originally reported at the 8300 block of Los Coyote Drive in Buena Park near Los Coyotes Country Club.
Inspector Mora of the LA County Fire Department told the La Mirada Blog the incident originally started as a brush fire and was reported at 12:13 p.m. today.
The fire spread to the backyard of a home on Fairhope Drive in the unincorporated area of Orange County west of Beach Boulevard and firefighters were quickly on scene with sufficient personnel, said Mora.
It appears just the one home has been affected with fire seen coming through the attic at one time.
No injuries have been reported and the cause is currently under investigation.
John Glenn High School to Host NLMUSD College Expo
Information on nearly 50 colleges and universities will be available to students
Norwalk~Students looking for options regarding their post-secondary educational careers are encouraged to attend the second annual Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District College Expo on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the John Glenn High School gym.
Nearly 50 colleges and universities will be on hand at the expo to give students information on application processes, majors available at their respective schools and more. The event will also feature workshops on the fundamentals of college admission, writing personal statements, community college programs and transfer options.
“Last year, 80 percent of the District’s seniors self-reported that they had planned to further their education after graduation,” said Superintendent Dr. Ruth Pérez. “With the College Expo, we want to see that number grow and encourage our students to think about life after they walk across that graduation stage.”
Norwalk High School Counselor Irene Rifilato, one of the counselors organizing the expo, said she expects a large turnout. Last year’s attendance exceeded the 500 expected. The event is open to the community, including students in elementary and middle schools and their parents. Another workshop, aimed at the transition from middle to high school, is available for younger students.
51st La Mirada Symphony Season to Open This Sunday
La Mirada~Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue is the theme of the first season concert of the La Mirada Symphony on Sunday, October 20th at 3pm at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Dr. Robert Frelly conducts a varied program of modern and classic pieces beginning with John Adams’ Short Ride on a Fast Machine and ending with Overture to William Tell.
The highlight of the program will be Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue performed by acclaimed pianist, Grace Fong. Ms. Fong has performed across the globe from the Disney Concert Hall to major cathedrals and concert halls throughout Europe.
Admission and parking is free, with a $5 donation suggested. For more information visit http://www.lamiradasymphony.com/.
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