Splash! Enjoys Record Summer Success
La Mirada~Record attendance and revenues were seen at the Splash! La Mirada Regional Aquatic Center during the recently concluded summer season.
Summer attendance of over 189,000 drew in $1,200,000 in revenue. More than 6,300 Splash! season passes were sold.
"Attendance by families from the La Mirada area, particularly those with smaller children, was especially strong throughout the summer", according to La Mirada Community Services Director Lori Thompson. "Splash! has become a very popular destination for aquatic recreation, instruction, and competition".
The creative design of Splash! which combines instructional water and competitive pools with the family fun activities found in Buccaneer Bay water park area, is also proving to be a viable business model. While traditional pool complexes can be costly to operate and produce very little in the way of revenues, Splash! produces significant revenues to offset costs. The net investment in Splash! operations is within that of other recreational and cultural facilities serving La Mirada.
Splash! also offered hundreds of local youth a free program of swim lessons and activities during the summer. The program included lessons, competitive activities and water play. The program was offered in cooperation with the County of Los Angeles and LA 84.
Althought the Buccanerr Bay water park ihas closed following the end of the summer season, Splash! will continue to offer a wide variety of swim lessons, exercise classes and open swim opportunities. For additional information on the Splash! schedule of activities, visit www.cityoflamirada.org or call (562) 902-3191.
Hats Off at the Kiwanis Installation Dinner
La Mirada~On Wednesday, the 23rd of September, members of the La Mirada Kiwanis Club, spouses and friends met for an installation dinner of the new term of the La Mirada Kiwanis Club.
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| Longtime Kiwanian Tony Armas with outgoing President, Debbie Scheibel |
All in all, the plusses well outweighed any negatives. The Club enjoyed a membership growth from 34 to 52; and for the math inclined, that’s a 53% increase.
Kiwanis also hosted the second annual Duck Race, served Tri-Tips at the 3rd of July City fireworks show, sold fireworks, and sold hamburgers at the city Stroll in the Park. We served pancakes to all comers at many, many youth activities. We cooked the pancakes for the Knabe Katch and treated some 50 plus children to a Shopping Spree last Christmas at Sears, with breakfast after at Ruby’s.
When everything was totaled, we logged in 1783 hours on 89 projects, spending over $17,000 on service projects. We gave out $11,000 in Scholarships to local seniors plus over $12, 500 in donations. Debbie thanked all members for their efforts and singled out some special members for their continuing efforts.
She called up Tony Armas, Ronnie Knight, John Tovar, Reed Taylor and Lou Piltz, giving them awards for their continuing efforts. She gave hats to each to signify their specialty, with Tony getting a hot dog hat, Ron, a patriotic hat, John, an umbrella hat, Reed, a Fire Chief hat and Lou, a wizard hat.
The McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts Launches “Broadway-U”
Yorba Linda~The McCoy Rigby Conservatory of the Arts (MRCA) will launch "Broadway-U", it's all new, professional-level training program for young singers, dancers and actors, grades 6-12, from all parts of Orange County and neighboring communities began September 28, 2009 at both its Yorba Linda studio and on the campus of Dana Hill High School in south Orange County.
McCoy Rigby's "Broadway-U" will provide intensive instruction in Musical Theatre and Dance to young people, selected by audition, who have aspirations for careers in the arts. All classes are taught by working industry professionals including many celebrated actors, singers, dancers, directors, choreographers, composers, lyricists and producers from Broadway and Hollywood.
Concurrent with their classroom instruction students have the opportunity to participate in professionally produced stage productions and performing groups, in many cases alongside celebrated professionals, at major venues throughout the region. The "Broadway-U" is fully accredited by The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Pflanzer to Host Meet-and-Greet and Fund Raising Golf Tourney
La Mirada~Chris Pflanzer, one of six candidates vying for four spots on the Norwalk-La Mirada School Board next month, has two campaign events next week.
On Thursday, October 8, Pflanzer will be hosting a meet-and-greet, where the community will have a chance to learn more about the candidate. The event will be from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus, 12138 Front Street in Norwalk.
On Friday October 9th, Pflanzer's campaign will be hosting a Golf Tournament/Fund Raiser at the Fullerton Golf Course in Fullerton. Shot gun start at 1:00 p.m. Prizes and raffle opportunities will be provided. Hole sponsorship will also be available.
For more information call (714) 553-6770 or visit www.pflanzerforschoolboard.com.
Adams Hosts Fundraiser Tonight
Norwalk~Incumbent Darryl Adams is hosting a fundraiser tonight, Thursday October 1, 2009 at Frantone's Italian Restaurant, located at the intersection of Imperial Hwy. and Norwalk Blvd. in the city of Norwalk.
Ther are four seats up for bid on the Norwalk-La Mirada School Board in next months election.
Along with Adams-who is seeking his fourth four-year term- incumbents Ana Valencia, Ed Hengler are also bidding for re-election. Challengers include Chris Pflanzer, Margarita Rios and Jesse Urquidi.
Suburban League Football Week 3 Recap; Week 4 Review
Editors Update: Recently, Artesia High Head Coach Aaron Craver either resigned, or was fired. Craver claims he was fired and school principal Sergio Garcia is saying Craver resigned.
Week 3 Review: Well, I was right on picking five of the seven winners from this past weekend games. I thought that the Dons of Cerritos would finally pick up a win. This was not the case. I feel really bad for those kids; a lot have been on varsity for the last three years including this year, and have only one varsity win. That is just awful.
Week 3 Results:
Norwalk 33 Paramount 8: This Game was a blow out from the start. The Lancers moved from their traditional Double Wing attack in the second half, and went to a Triple Power I formation that had 5'11'' 275 FB Davion Edwards, 6'2'' 240 FB Adrian Cortez leading the way for Elijah Penny, who is 6'2'' 245, and he showed break away speed on a 60 yard gain that took Norwalk's offense to the two yard line, before he punched in the TD. Paramount was their own worst enemy on their first drive when they committed five penalties and where forced to punt. It was downhill from there.
La Mirada 38 La Serna 17: The Matadores beat another team in the area, by trouncing the Lancers of La Serna. QB DanielPoncedeleon was lethally accurate as he picked apart the Lancers defense. Coach Moschetti has these boys playing well and they are rolling full steam ahead. Senior TE/DE R.J. Lujan made his presence felt on both sides off the ball as he had two sacks on defense and had a TD catch on offense. He has really stepped his game up while senior Keith Coty is out with a knee injury.
Glenn 55 La Quinta 14: The Eagles got back in the win column against a team that seemed over matched from the start. The defense forced four turnovers, including three INT's with Jose Escobar, Clinton Greenway, and DJ Bernard each hauling in one. D.J. Bernard was electric in this game as he had five TD's (three rushing, one receiving, and a punt return). The Eagles also debuted a new face on offense, a bruising back in MLB Niumataevalu, who seemed to enjoy punishing those that got in his way. Sophomore Vincent Watkins made the catch of the night with a defender draped all over him; he leaped over him, and made a catch right on the goal line.
Celebration in the Park Victorian Tea
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| La Mirada's Pride and Joy, the Neff Mansion |
La Mirada~Enjoy a Victorian Tea at the City’s Celebration in the Park event on Saturday, October 3, at the historic Neff Estate.
Tea will be served at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. The cost is $12 presale and $15 on the day of the event, which includes a variety of desserts, tea and lemonade. Presale tickets are available at the La Mirada Resource Center and the La Mirada Activity Center until September 25.
The Neff Estate is located at 14300 San Cristobal Drive. For information, call the Community Services Department at (562) 943-7277.
Suburban League Football Week 2 Recap; Week 3 Review
Week 2 Review: Well, I was right on picking five of the six winners from this past weekend’s games. I thought the John Glenn Eagles would soar high and go 3-0 for the first time in almost two decades. Whoops! The other teams in Glenn’s district are rolling right now. This is the last week before we get into league play and all of the teams are looking to fine-tune themselves and gear up for the playoff push. I will re-examine my predictions from the beginning of the season and I will update them next week.
Week 2 Results:
Norwalk 32 Pacifica 14: The Lancers look like they have found another pair of running backs in senior Adrian Gonzales and Junior Billy Moore as both looked unstoppable in shredding the visiting Mariners defense. I look for them to continue their tear into league.
La Mirada 35 California 20: This game was a huge game for both schools, and the crowd size was evident. Cal High’s side was almost sold out and that was amazing especially for a Thursday night game. The game was a slugfest. Unfortunately for the Condors, they made the first mistake, and the Matadors capitalized by going 29 yards for a TD. QB Daniel Poncedeleon looked like a Division I QB, and the connection of him to Julian Matta works really well for them. They hooked up for an 80 yard catch-and-run for a TD.
H.H. Wilson 35 Glenn 14: The Eagles looked like a team that walked into the half with a lead and came out not knowing how to play football. The only thing more atrocious than the way they played the second half was the officiating. In this case, it had nothing to do with bad calls, but their inability to protect players. Several skirmishes broke out during the game, and not one official intervened. The bright spot for the Eagles was D.J. Bernard taking a bobbled kickoff 93 yards back for a TD. Their MLB Niumataevalu looks like a beast; he seemed to be everywhere.
Deputies Employ New License Plate Recognition System To Catch Wanted Vehicles In Unincorporated Whittier
South Whittier/La Mirada~Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, announced that two Sheriff’s vehicles have been equipped with a new license plate recognition system that can automatically detect wanted vehicles. The vehicles are now deployed in the unincorporated areas of South and East Whittier.The new technology known as Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) transforms how law enforcement personnel search for wanted vehicles by automating the task. Sheriff’s deputies currently have to manually type in a license plate and request a database search, which can be a time-consuming process. A vehicle equipped with the ALPR system has a mobile computer and multiple cameras that can capture all license plates within the cameras’ field of view. The process is entirely automatic and doesn’t require any action on the part of the deputy. Up to 1,000 license plates can be read and recorded hourly.
The two ALPR vehicles will be deployed 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week on all shifts. Each deputy that works the unincorporated Whittier area went through 2 hours of training on how to operate the system. Each ALPR unit cost $32,600, and was funded with a Federal Juvenile Crime Prevention Grant.
Norwalk Deputy Shooting Update
NORWALK~SHERIFF'S HOMICIDE DETECTIVES ARE CONTINUING THEIR
INVESTIGATION INTO THE CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE DEPUTY
INVOLVED SHOOTING WHICH OCCURRED IN THE 11600 BLOCK OF
IMPERIAL HIGHWAY, NORWALK.
A LONE MALE DEPUTY, 13 YEAR VETERAN, WAS CONDUCTING A PATROL
CHECK AT THE LOCATION (TOWNE HOUSE MOTEL) WHEN HE
ENCOUNTERED A SUSPICIOUS MALE IN THE REAR PARKING LOT. THE
MALE WAS BELLIGERENT AND UNCOOPERATIVE AS THE DEPUTY
ATTEMPTED TO CHECK THE MALE FOR WEAPONS.
A PHYSICAL STRUGGLE ENSUED. THE MALE BROKE AWAY AND ATTEMPTED TO DRAW
A LOADED HANDGUN FROM HIS WAIST AREA. THE DEPUTY, FEARING HE
WAS ABOUT TO BE SHOT, FIRED HIS DUTY WEAPON AT THE SUSPECT
STRIKING HIM IN THE UPPER TORSO.
THE SUSPECT WAS TREATED BY PARAMEDICS AND TRANSPORTED TO AN
AREA HOSPITAL WHERE HE DIED.
A LOADED HANDGUN WAS RECOVERED AT THE SCENE. THE DEPUTY WAS NOT INJURED.
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